The forgotten past of a servant

“Come on, Aline, get up, we’re gonna check out the city today! You wanted that, right?” Twinkle Star said excited, but Aline groaned and crept even lower under her sheets.
“What? Mother went through some trouble to get you along with us, you know. You should be grateful. Get out of that bed and refresh yourself!”
“I don’t want to, I’m sick.” Aline said from underneath the sheets.
“Yeah, right. You did that too yourself, you know.”
“Hmmmm….”
“Why did you drink so much anyway?”
Aline sighed. “How was I supposed to know that I would feel like this right now?”
“What? You mean you never drank wine before?”
“No…” Twinkle Star laughed. No wonder Aline had been so drunk the night before and was so sick right now. Never had any wine and then more than half a bottle at once!
“Twinkle, I’m thirsty…” Aline groaned, and Twinkle Star couldn’t help but laugh again.

“Yeah, well, I’ll go fetch you some water, okay? You try to get up and try to look a bit representative. Oh, don’t throw up, will you?” Twinkle Star said, and Aline groaned again.
Twinkle Star walked out of the room and softly closed the door behind her. That Aline… she was so drunk last night, it was a miracle nobody noticed anything, except she and Stanno. Now, of course, she had a major hangover. Twinkle Star of course had had wine before, and she knew better than to drink so much. She grinned when she realised Aline probably didn’t even know it had side effects. But now, where to get a glass of water? She promised Aline, and she probably really needed it, but where would she get some? She didn’t really know her way around here. She walked out of the hallway and down the stairs. When she was down, she noticed a door being open to her right, and a pony was there, a waitress with the white and green apron. She walked towards the pony, and she realised the pony was the one that had helped her and Aline down yesterday, the one Stanno had referred to as Anda, the one Twinkle Star couldn’t help but recognise from something.

“Ehm, excuse me…” Twinkle Star said, and the pony looked up. She stared at Twinkle Star with her clear blue eyes.
“Yes, can I help you with something?” Anda asked.
 “Yes, my friend Aline doesn’t feel very well, I was wondering where I could get some water for her?”
The pony smiled. A cute smile, and once again Twinkle Star got the feeling she had met this pony before.
“Just wait here, I’ll go get some.” The pony turned around and disappeared in yet another door. Not much later she returned with a bottle of water and a glass.
“Here you go. I hope your friend gets better soon.” She said, and Twinkle Star nodded.
“Thank you.” She said. She took the bottle and the glass from Anda and turned around.
When she was a few steps up the stairs, Anda asked: “hey… you are going into the city today, right?”
Twinkle Star stopped walking, and answered: “Yes why?”
Anda sighed. “No, nothing. Will Stanno come along?” She asked, and Twinkle Star detected a faint blush on her cheeks.
“I suppose he will, why?”
“Could you… could you maybe tell him everything is okay? He’ll understand.” Anda asked. Though Twinkle star had no clue what this was about, she answered: “Yes, sure.”
“Thank you.” Anda replied, and she disappeared in the doorway where Twinkle Star had found her a bit earlier.

Odd, Twinkle Star thought. Everything is okay? What on earth is that all about? She had forgotten all about the pony because of Aline, but once again she had caught her complete attention once again. Where oh where had she seen this pony before? Didn’t Stanno mention she had only worked here for one and a half years? Where did she come from? Twinkle Star had already reached their room, and Aline was out of her bed, looking rather pale, but brushing her hair. Twinkle Star gave her the water, which made Aline feel a bit better. Fortunately for her, they had over two hours before they were expected to have a tour of the city.

For Aline, these two hours went by way too quickly, as she still felt rather bad when Stelline nodded on their door that they had to go down. But Twinkle Star had noticed the color in Aline’s face was returning, and, well, she wasn’t really sick anyway. It was hr own fault, and some fresh air would do her well. So they both went downstairs, where the rest of their party was already waiting. Katine and Stanno were there, too, but fortunately not his sisters. Yuuro wasn’t there, either, and neither was Gracile. One of Katine’s sisters was there, though, and Twinkle Star recognised her from dinner the evening before. When Twinkle Star and the others arrived, Katine asked if everyone was present, and when this was confirmed they left the castle.

Like the castle of the new Friendship Lands, it was possible the climb the castle walls, which was something they did first. Once on top, they could see the entire city laying below them, as the castle was on top of a hill. “Kise is over two thousand years old.” Katine began to tell. “However, not much remains now from so long ago. The castle of Kin has always been here, but not until about seven hundred years ago, when the ancient castle was destroyed in a horrifying storm, a city began to develop. The ponies that had helped to build the new castle, build their own little houses around the castle, and in this way our trade became concentrated. All the houses of that time are gone now, of course, but the old writings still speak of it. Today, I will show you why we are proud of our city, and I will show you that our hard work paid off. Even the residents of Kin that don’t live in Kise are connected to the city, and basically all trades are done here. Our other villages are small, our farms are far apart, but the heart of our country is this city, and this is what made us, and will keep us, wealthy and active.” Twinkle Star thought Kise was indeed made of a lot of hard work. It was nice, all right, but it still felt so unnatural.

They followed Katine back to the garden, where they left the castle grounds for a tour of the city. A pony like the one that had led them to the castle yesterday was walking in front of them again, carrying a banner. All ponies bowed as they passed, and katine simply nodded at them. The ponies had a lot of respect for Katine, or they were ordered to show it. Twinkle Star felt a little uneasy about this, but she was comforted by the fact that her friends were with her. Her mother was walking next to Katine in the front, followed by Regala, Katine’s sister, Stelline, Crystal, Stanno, Aline and her. She noticed Stanno was walking a bit alone, and Aline still didn’t feel well. Twinkle Star remembered Anda’s message. ‘tell him everything is okay…”  Twinkle Star walked a bit faster, leaving Aline behind who didn’t really seemed to notice, and she walked next to Stanno.
“Hi there.” She said softly, and he looked at her.
“Oh, hi. How is your friend?”
“Oh, she’s fine. She has a hangover of course, never had any wine before. But she’ll be fine.” Twinkle Star answered.
“Ah, that’s good.”
“Listen…” Twinkle Star hesitated. “This waitress asked me to give you a message, is that right?” She asked.
“Who, Anda?” He asked, almost whispering.
“Yeah.”
“What was it?”
“She asked me to tell you everything was okay.”
Stanno sighed with relief. “Oh, am I glad to hear that.”
“Who is she?” Twinkle Star asked, thought she wasn’t sure if Stanno would answer.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you told me she had only worked at the castle for one and a half year. Where did she come from?”

Stanno sighed. “We found her.”
“Found her?” Twinkle Star asked surprised.
“Yes. We were on our way home. We had visited Tarem, the main trade village, where the coordinators of the trade route live. My mother had a meeting there about the quality of the roads. She thought it would be good for me to come along, to get some experience. Anyway, we were on our way home through Tavi valley, when we found her. She was lost, and she looked like a wild pony. Her coat was a mess, she was dirty, skinny and hungry. Mother didn’t want to do anything with her at first, but I told her we couldn’t leave her behind, because she wouldn’t survive. It turned out she didn’t know who she was, where she came from. All she knew was that she had walked around for a lot of weeks, eating wild plants as she found them. She had no name, no history. We gave her food and clear water, and my mother proposed that she would come with us, live in our country. She accepted, and we agreed on the name Anda. When we arrived here a month later, we heard our oldest and most loyal servant had died. I proposed to my mother that Anda would take her place. After some hesitation, my mother agreed. Since then, Anda lived here, working for us.”

Tavi valley… That was close to the old Friendship Lands. Across the ancient desert it was, a valley with some really old trees, but not really a great place to live. Not many fruits could grow there, nor vegetables. It was hard to get your food there. So they found Anda more than one and a half year ago… but she didn’t remember anything. No memory, no past, no parents… When she realised what she had just thought Twinkle Star thought her heart would faint. It couldn’t be. More than one and a half year ago… No parents… no past… close to the Friendship Lands, lost, forgotten… What was she told?
“ I tried to safe her… … I lost her just like my other two children, Twinkle Star… But when I got down, I couldn’t find her. She wasn’t there! I looked for her, I looked for her…I still don’t know what happened…”  
The voice of her aunt rang in her head. Her aunt had lost her daughter two years ago. She ad never found her. She had no idea where she was. Twinkle Star looked up and saw her aunt Regala talking with Katine’s sister. She didn’t know. She hadn’t seen Anda yet. Anda…

The tour simply had no end, at least to Twinkle Star. When they got back to the castle three hours later, Twinkle Star had the idea three years had passed. She hadn’t told anyone what she was thinking, not even Aline, who was feeling considerably better now. They were to their self until dinner, which was going to be two hours from now. Twinkle Star excused herself to Aline, who looked confused as her friend ran up the stairs. It didn’t take long until Twinkle star found Anda. She was cleaning the hallway next to the one where Twinkle star and the others were sleeping.
“Anda!” She said, a bit too excited.
“Oh, hello my lady.” Anda looked behind Twinkle Star, but she saw no others. “Have you been able to deliver my message to Stanno?” Anda asked with a soft voice. Twinkle Star nodded.
“I have. Listen, Anda… do you remember anything from your past?” Anda was surprised by this question.
“Why?”
“I talked to Stanno about you. I think… no, I want to know. Is there anything you remember?” Anda sighed.
 “I never talk about my past, my lady. Why do you care?”
“Because I might have the answers to all your questions. But I have to know if I am right.” Anda stared at the ground.
“Well… all I remember is a large fire. Fire… and heat. Something that destroys it all.”

This was all Twinkle Star needed. She asked Anda to follow her and she galloped to her mother’s bedroom. Anda knew galloping was prohibited, but she was just as excited as Twinkle Star. Someone actually knew something about the past she had tried to remember so hard. Could it be…?  Twinkle Star didn’t knock when she reached the room, he simply opened the door and walked inside. Her mother was surprised at Twinkle Star’s behaviour.
“What the…?” She said, but Twinkle Star interrupted her. “Where is aunt Regala?” “In Stelline’s…” Twinkle Star turned around before Regina could finish her sentence. She ran towards the end of the hallway, followed by Anda. But when she was close, Regala came out of the room.

“Aunt Regala, I…” But Twinkle Star realised words wouldn’t do. There was only one way to find out whether she was right or not. She stepped aside, and slowly Anda approached. Regala froze, she was unable to move, to breathe, to do anything. For a few seconds nothing happened, and them Regala inhaled deeply. Softly she whispered, and tears began to appear in her eyes.
“Togli…”