Chapter 7: Angelina and the Prince
ANGELINA had returned to her room in the North Star Palace. On this pleasant afternoon, the breeze carried the fragrant scent of tea olives. Meanwhile, the Garuda’s golden tail feather continued to glow in one corner of the room. As Angelina read a book, Ryuho placed his jaw on her head in his feline form. He purred comfortably while listening to her read aloud.
A little while later, Angelina stopped. The next passage of the book contained song lyrics. For many generations, Jinlongian children had sung this song together using hand gestures. The scene even described children playing together in that manner.
Unsure what to do, Angelina glanced at Ryuho.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Well…” Angelina began, pointing at the book. “This part is a song, and I’m not sure how I should read it.”
Ryuho peered down at the page as well. “Oh, you’re right,” he spoke through a carefree yawn, his maw opening wide. “Since you’re so good at reading, I never would’ve thought you couldn’t sing.”
Angelina’s shoulders slumped. Ryuho hadn’t meant to be malicious, but singing and reading aloud were different things.
“I didn’t know either,” she said. “I’d never tried to sing before then…”
She’d never had friends of the same age to sing with like the characters in this book. Marfa—her wet nurse—had sung lullabies to her, but those songs had originated from Yule. As a young girl, Angelina hadn’t been able to memorize lyrics in an unfamiliar language.
During Angelina’s first life, the palace ladies had sneered at her when she’d attempted to imitate their humming. “Just looking at you is giving me secondhand embarrassment,” they’d scoffed. Consequently, Angelina had withdrawn into her shell and become incapable of singing.
Despite her multiple loops, Angelina had never recovered from the thought patterns drilled into her as a young girl. From her perspective, songs were meant solely for listening. She’d never considered singing one herself. That said, the Garuda covering its ears had still shocked Angelina. “I don’t want to force you to sing,” the divine avian had been trying to convey. Still, whenever she recalled the perplexed faces of the daoshi, embarrassment welled up within her. Unable to bear the shame, she covered her flushed face with her hands.
“What’s wrong, Lina?” Ryuho asked.
“I’m embarrassed,” she replied.
“Why?”
“Singing so poorly in front of the Garuda was humiliating, right?”
“In what way?”
Slowly, Angelina peered at Ryuho from between her fingers. The tiger cocked his head, unable to understand her.
“You weren’t embarrassed that I couldn’t sing?” Angelina asked.
“Why would I be embarrassed because you couldn’t do something?”
“You really feel that way?”
Ryuho furrowed his brow. “What reason would I have to feel embarrassed? Weren’t you the one who felt ashamed?”
“But didn’t you feel humiliated being with someone as embarrassing as me?”
“Why would I? You’re you, and I’m me.”
“You weren’t put off when I couldn’t sing well?” Angelina asked in a soft, quivering voice. “Or disappointed? You didn’t start to hate me…?”
Ryuho huffed angrily. “Don’t doubt the way I feel!” he barked. “I love you, Lina! Even if everyone in the whole world hated you, I would still love you! Even if you hated yourself!”
As Ryuho continued huffing angrily, tears spilled from Angelina’s eyes. “You’re right…” she mumbled, squeezing him in her arms. “Sorry about that. And thank you, Ryuho. I love you too.”
Ryuho gave her a big, wet lick on the cheek. “And anyway, I thought you were pretty cute back then,” he said, his mouth opening wide in raucous laughter.
“Cute?” Angelina repeated.
“Yep. You were trying so hard to do something you stink at! It was cute enough to melt my heart!”
Angelina smiled. “But what should I do about this song?”
“I’ll sing it!”
“Okay, but do you actually know this song? It looks Jinlongian.”
“Nope! But you should sing songs however you like, right?” Grinning widely, Ryuho sang in a loud voice. Despite not even knowing the pitch, he belted out the lyrics. “Black bear walking down the road! Clap, clap, clap!”
Incidentally, the words clap, clap, clap weren’t part of the lyrics. Ryuho was interjecting his own chant into the song.
“White bear walking from the other side!” Ryuho continued singing. “Clap, clap, clap!”
As his tail wagged like a conductor’s baton, Angelina’s body began to sway of its own accord.
“When neither bear moved out of the way…! Clap, clap, clap! They crashed together and turned into a panda! Clap, clap, clap!”
After looking at each other, Ryuho and Angelina burst out laughing.
“What a weird song!” Ryuho shouted. “That’s hilarious!”
He sang the song over and over again, having taken a liking to it. “When neither bear moved out of the way…! Clap, clap, clap! They crashed together and turned into a panda!”
“Clap, clap, clap!” Angelina interjected.
Ryuho smiled. “See, Lina, you can sing!”
“You’re right!” Angelina said with a gasp. “I did it! I just sang!”
The two threw their arms around each other while squealing with delight.
After seeing Ryuho sing so comfortably, Angelina had been encouraged to imitate him. “Songs are songs, regardless of whether you mess up the lyrics or don’t know the pitch,” he’d taught her. Making a mistake didn’t have to be embarrassing, and no one would despise her for being unable to sing. Ryuho’s lesson had freed her from the curse of her past.
“Hey, you’re pretty good, Lina!” Ryuho said with a laugh. “I’ll teach you a different song some other time, so let’s sing together then!”
Ryuho hated studying but quite liked singing and dancing. He knew plenty of songs.
“Okay!” Angelina exclaimed. “Teach me songs from your country!”
Ryuho nuzzled his forehead against her vigorously. “Leave it to me!”
Angelina’s chest swelled with joy. Once, her box of songs had been empty, but Ryuho had placed one in it for her. When she imagined the box filling little by little, giddy anticipation overcame her.
She recalled the Garuda’s words.
“Songs should flow naturally from one’s lips, Polaris Princess. You needn’t sing if you don’t want to. I would love to hear your voice someday, but watching others force you to sing pains me. Being unable to sing isn’t your fault. The time isn’t right—that’s all.”
It’s just like she said, Angelina thought.
She looked at the Garuda’s tail feather, now decorating her room. As the autumn wind caressed the golden feather, it glowed faintly, appearing to celebrate Angelina and Ryuho’s song.