Along the way to the House, they endured no difficulty. No rocks or tree branches blocking the way and no hardship gave to their heart. The former one was contributed by the clever efficient work of the labours, cleaning out the aftermath of the storm. The later one was the result done by the careful planning of the road path, separated it from the camp and any disturbing scene that would arouse hurt over anyone’s conscience.

Speaking of the storm, how peculiar it was. A thunderstorm in December? The month of Christmas! How extraordinarily impossible! Almost rare, as a supernatural sign from above, a rebuke of their evil schemes or the weep for the loss of humanity.

If the storm was not peculiar, thinking of it now, Aurora should be more in awe of the lilies by the roadside and the snow meadow! Wild lilies, blossomed with dabs of snowflakes, in such fruitless frozen season! Perhaps, with all the cruelty the world performed, it still left a space for hope to survive.

A rebuke and a solace. It was always after a formidable storm that came to a calm beautiful blue ocean. And it was always followed by a heart of gratitude for peace and truly cherished what happiness was.

It was the place which they finally arrived, a place of illusion from reality, a decent five-storey house with an impression as a family temporary stay while on a vacation away from the busy city. However, history would break the bubble of fantasy, which not so far from this lovely comfy house, you would expect to see a Camp. A stain of human history, a horror that should have never been taken place, a disgust and disgrace of all humans.

“Welcome, Lieutenant Colonel Von Bach and Mrs Von Bach.” A stern voice from a soldier.

“Thank you,” Hubert nodded while Aurora was bewildered by his title to her as “Mrs Von Bach”

“Hail Hitler,” the soldier saluted.

And Hubert replied his salute by shooting his arms powerfully straight toward the sky, making a vile gesture, a curse, a mock, to the one above who made the beautiful firmament. Standing aside, Aurora was almost shocked by the sudden animated movement and flinched a bit.

When Aurora came to her senses, she asked, “Pardon me, but I'm as Miss Aurora. I believe our ceremony has not yet come to past.” If one would be careful, one would have observed her pink blushed cheeks caused by such an embarrassing mistake.

“Still the same, as a matter of time, it sounds lovely though, does it not?” The archly smile on his face failed to convince Aurora that he belonged to one of them, the wicked ones.

“Yes, apart from the coming wedding, Lieutenant Colonel, I also need to congratulate you of the promotion. How much you are valued by the Fuhrer is shown on the frequency of your ascension.” The soldier performed his words in a very smart tone that you could hardly separate it from sincerity and flattery.

“Hubert!” An affectionate call from not a far distant kicked away the questionable praises from the soldier and it caused another powerful salute, Hubert and the soldier, stretched out their arms almost simultaneously. Of course, this gave another shock to our beloved heroine, yet, she thought of it as rather a funny articulation later the day.

“My dear nephew,” the man came close to Hubert and gave him a passionate hug after the passionless salute, “Welcome!”

“General Franz, I hope - “

“Call me uncle, nephew,” the man interrupted.

“Yes, uncle, I hope we would not bring you any trouble for such short notice,” Hubert put on an apologetic smile in case his words didn’t show off convincingly.

“There is never a trouble for the happiness of my boy! Tell me, is this the fair maiden?”

As to how the soldier was cast aside and remained silent, so as to how Aurora thought herself to be in such foreign surrounding and was surprised by her presence being noticed.

“Yes, uncle, she is Aurora.”

“Sir, it is my pleasure to greet you. I am Aurora,” she let out her hand as she learnt that it was a custom for the man to kiss a lady’s hand in a greeting, as much as it was similar back in the Court of the Fantastical Realm.

“What a graceful maiden,” General Franz laughed casually which made one wasn't sure whether he meant it or not.

“Well, I wish I were to be a few decades younger than my nephew so I may look more appealing to you right now,” this time he laughed more freely for it was his joke.

Aurora gave a light smile, of course, it would be considered as rude when one expected you to react positively to one’s joke and one simply ignored the beg.

“Indeed,” she continued, “age might cause beauty to fade but it also causes wisdom to grow.”

“Good words, dear,” General Franz nodded approvingly and turned to Hubert, beamed wittily, “don't let this one go. She is a treasure.”

***

If the surrounding gave a gloom touch of the trip, the policy within the house was no better but rather a hopeless embarrassment. It could be treated as great disrespect in the Fantastical Realm if a lady is shown to share the same suite with another gentleman, in a castle or in a hut, whichever you'd like to imagine, there shalt be no other words to disregard the rules between a man and a woman.

“Aurora, I should have informed you sooner. Since the policy only allows the inspector to bring along his wife, it is determined that the inspector shall get a suite which is supposedly appropriate for a couple.”

It was after his words jumped out and showed him how awkward they made the atmosphere to be that he started to notice the sudden pinkened cheeks of Aurora. Then, he immediately added, “I will take the sofa.”

The room was decent and nice. When compared it with the one in Hubert’s family estate, of course, it could be unfair. However, if you must insist, the room wouldn’t fail you much with a comfortable design of a countryside vacation house. The wallpaper suggested a flavour of simplicity and grace, like the one you would expect from the bedroom of an elegant old grandma.

“Thank you,” she replied with a genuine smile and glanced at the only sofa which was pathetically small and instantly felt guilty for agreeing with his plan.

Perhaps Hubert also felt the same way as Aurora did because a determined appearance arose on his face when he looked at the sofa, as if his face was declaring, “Face it, my shell, however small it is, you better fit yourself in. The suffering will end after this inspection.”

“Hubert, as much as I appreciate your proposal, it seems to me that it is an impossible case, physically.”

She sat on the sofa and demonstrated it for him which she would be scolded for if her action was shown to her mama.

“You see, sitting here is quite right. To read a book or to daydream.” Then she tried to sleep on it and failed to fit in, “See, and you're much taller than me!”

Honestly, there was an impulse within Hubert to laugh at her doing. Because at that moment, she looked like a child more than a lady. The old child that he recognised in the orphanage.

For a moment, no one wanted to be the next one to continue the conversation for no one had enough courage to suggest the plausible proposal.

“I think it's time for dinner,” Hubert pronounced in a relieved manner when the bell was rung. At least they could hide from it till after dinner.

***

The dinner table was a long rectangle, like the one of the train track, extended to the point of no return. Aurora sat next to Hubert who sat next to the General (his uncle). And there were soldiers and lieutenants at all different ranks, sitting and waiting for their meals to be served.

Actually, it could be quite ironic. The food. It was warm, warmer than the body of those on the other side of the fence.

“So, let us all welcome the accompany of Fraulein Aurora, the fiancée of our Lieutenant Colonel!” General Franz rejoiced and raised his glass in the air and everyone immediately followed his gesture.

He then pronounced, “To my nephew’s happiness and to our Lieutenant Colonel’s career!” Turning to Aurora, he continued, “And to my nieces in law a merry family, inheriting the ideal Aryan family in this new age!”

Glasses tossed in the air and sounds of celebration raised. Aurora didn’t understand whether it would be appropriate to lie. On one hand, she didn’t want it to be just a pretend. She remembered all those days mama and papa helped her find the Prince. How much she wanted to write a letter to them and told them she had found a man who gave her heart a strange feeling and would like for the advice from mama! Of course, she would hide his nameless title from them, especially from papa.

She wondered whether her parents would be celebrating over their engagement just like what the soldiers were doing at the table. Or would they…..

“So, Fraulein Aurora, tell us, how do you find the surrounding? And do you like the room?” One of the officers asked.

“Everything seems decent and comfortable. I like the smell of grass and the view of wildflowers. They seemed more beautiful decorated by dabs of snow.” She didn’t forget to put on a smile even though she was terribly nervous.

“Grass? Flowers? Fraulein, how peculiar! I suppose I’d like to see this miracle in the late of December.” A friend of the General scoffed, not in a mean way, but playfully.

“But….I do see them, breathing under the snow, faintly. A life kept in silence in the chill.” She replied with a bit of bashfulness and her voice gradually faded as she met the last word.

“Your language, dear Fraulein, I suppose you love books?” The General asked with the tone so similar to his elder brother, General Friedrich.

“Yes, I do. How I terribly wish that there is a library!” Perhaps the friendly manner of the General had eased her nerve and she started to be more relaxed to reveal herself.

“Aurora,” Hubert looked at her with calmness and warmth flowing, he said, “I didn’t have time to show you. But we have one, though not as large as the one back home, a library with a decent collection.”

Her eyes sparkled, “Thank you!”

***

The question remained sitting in their suite, proudly laying on the floor between the bed and the sofa. So, they decided to ignore it again.

“I would like to take a bath,” Aurora proposed when she sensed the presence of the unsolved problem.

“Of course,” Hubert echoed.

However, unfortunately, it was until this moment when she realised another ridiculous problem she might have to encounter. She didn’t know how to run herself a bath, not in this realm nor in her realm.

Before you would judge her, it had to be understood that she was a Princess. In the Fantastical realm, a bath would normally be prepared for her by her private maids. Though she didn’t have to do it herself, she knew that the water came from the Royal pond and it was boiled in the Court’s kitchen before applying it into her bathtub. When she was transported to this realm, being a guest in the Von Bach household, maids were assigned to serve as well. Though the maids wouldn’t serve her from head to toe, they would still be around if their guest required a bath.

So…..back to the topic, yes, she didn’t know how to explain it to Hubert. More precisely, she didn’t want to. Standing next to the bathtub which was barren and dry, she was desperate to know the source of water. She looked for a sign of a fountain.

The only point helpful was that she knew the water source for the hand wash sink. By comparing the similar structure, she turned the tap as the way she turned that of the sink, and finally, water! Then it followed a scream.

“Aurora!” He rushed to the door and opened it, “Is everything all right?” His nerve prevented him from minding his manner.

“The water is burning hot!” replied she with the red spot on the back of her hand as evidence.

A quiet moment passed by and when his alert faded, he laughed, “Aurora! Please, you gave me a great fright!”

Perhaps it was the laughter that he might fail to capture her eyes, moisturised by a thin layer of tears from embarrassment.

“See,” he walked toward the bathtub and knelt next to it and rolled up his sleeves, “Aurora, this tap is for cold water and the one next to it is for hot water.”

She nodded quietly.

“Now, do you want a very hot one or a milder one?”

She could barely control her tears from falling, she had no other spare strength to be distracted, let alone to open her mouth and replied a question.

It was at that brief moment that Hubert caught sight of her and realised she was abashed by the condition she brought herself in and continued, “It was an awfully cold winter, I would suggest you take the very hot one.”

Then, he turned the tap and held her to run a bath. It was very quiet with only the elegant sound of running water. She didn’t speak and neither did he. But they both enjoyed each other’s presence. For what seemed terribly embarrassing to Aurora, now, it just seemed calm and she couldn’t deny the subtle delight in her heart.

After ten minutes, he stood up and walked out to take something from his luggage and came back with a bag of dry flowers. “Don’t tease me, but I love using these in my bath and I hope you’d like them too.”

“They usually put in roses and three cups of milk,” she giggled, not realised that Hubert, as a man, would like to relax like a lady.

“They?”

“The maids,” she replied with bits of sadness hanging at the shadow, “They were wonderful.”

“Thank you,” he thought she was talking about the maids of his household.

“Well, it’s done,” he proudly sprinkled those dry petals onto the peaceful water surface.

“Thank you, Hubert.” She looked at his eyes and saw the same softness again, the magic that made his music beautiful.

That magic, once more, convinced her that he was not one of them, definitely not one of them. She didn’t give up on her belief.

“I hope you’d remember me,” she suddenly said, breaking the quietude.

“Of course, I remember you. All along.”

“No, not as the one you remember. But as me.” She wanted to reveal what she had been concealing because she didn’t want to pretend anymore. She believed with one more day pretending, she would suffocate herself. She wanted to be seen and liked as herself.

“What do you mean?”

“I am Aurora and we’ve met before, in once upon a dream,” she replied seriously as if making an official greeting.

“Yes, of course, you are,” he replied with a gentle smile. He knew it was her memory loss, exactly like what the doctor informed so he didn’t put much care in her words.

“I….Hubert,” she stammered which was quite rare.

“Yes, stop putting so much pressure on yourself. You will remember. The day will come. Now, pardon me, I have to leave,” he nodded and walked away while closing the door, he said humorously, “Oh, this time, please remember to lock the door.”