45. THE RUNAWAY PRINCESS
Lydia and her friends are in Italy,
still trying to find the Flower in Seven Colours.
They took the train and are now approaching Rome.
Rome is a very old city!
Indeed. Most of these ruins have more than 2000 years of existence.
Please, hide me!
Please! Someone is following me!
Who's there?
Please excuse the intrusion. I am looking for someone.
But here is only me.
Please excuse me, but I must check.
Again, excuse the trouble!
Everything is all right now. You can come out, Madam!
Thank you for saving me! I must get to Rome no matter what!
There, I don't have to worry anymore about that guy.
I will call for the train conductor, to have the police arrest him.
Wait! It's not worth the trouble.
Why not? He is a gangster or something like this, isn't he?
- Actually, no. - A spy, then?
A spy? Yes, something like that.
Really? But why is he looking to catch you, Madam?
Well...
I don't know how to better say it. Actually, I am a Princess!
I come from a small country, of course!
- A Princess? - Yes, I am a princess.
Do you understand? I must go to Rome and fulfill my mission.
- But who was that guy? - A spy, a revolution man.
He wants to kidnap me and take me back to my country.
This is really something!
There's no need to alert the police. This is just a political affair.
- I see. - Where will you live in Rome?
I don't know. For starters, I need to find work.
Then, would you like to be my bodyguard?
Your bodyguard?
I need a protector until tomorrow and I would like it to be you.
Here we are, finally, in Rome.
The city changed tremendously in 60 years, of course.
- 60 years? - Yes, I needed to leave when I was a child.
What? Then, you are the Princess of which country?
The revolution man!
Let's leave quickly, Madam!
Hold this until tomorrow!
I must meet with a very important person tomorrow, at the Trevi Fountain!
The Trevi Fountain?
Oh, it's that fountain where people throw coins when they leave Rome!
- Isn't it, Madam? - Yes!
The tradition is to throw the coin standing backwards.
This means that you will see again your partner in Rome someday.
And if you throw a second coin, it can fulfill any wish.
Anyway, this box of yours looks very old.
Yes, I am keeping it religiously since I was a child.
- But what's inside? - It's a secret!
From what I have heard from you, I am very keen to find out more!
Lydia, you say that you are searching for the Flower in Seven Colours.
Is this true? Would you spend your entire life searching for it?
Yes!
Since you are guided by an ideal in life, you can understand what I am about to tell you.
In this box is my Flower in Seven Colours.
What? The Flower in Seven Colours? I must inform Sabrina!
Heeeeelp!
- It isn't a flower, obviously. - I think I understand.
The content of the box is for you the same as the Flower is for me.
You understood it perfectly, my little Lydia.
60 years have passed since then! Finally, tomorrow, at three o'clock!
It must be very important! I wonder what it is.
She is glowing this morning.
Good morning! Please open the door! Room service!
But we didn't ask for anything!
In this hotel, we come automatically!
Curious! It's the first time I see this.
Have a nice day!
Boris!
I have blown my cover!
Now, the Flower in Seven Colours is mine!
Where is my box? Give it back to me!
Madam!
I must have back that box, at any cost!
Don't worry, I am going after it right now!
Cador, watch over her!
Sabrina!
Now, you can call me Royal Highness!
You are wrong, Sabrina! This has nothing to do with the Flower!
Poor Lydia! Do you think that I'd fall in such an obvious trap?
- You are not serious! - Please, Sabrina, believe me!
Enough! Magic Whirlwind, take Lydia as far as possible!
We got rid of her! Now let's see how the Flower's seeds look like!
You are right, Miss! I can't wait too to see the content of the box!
We finally did it! We were searching for so long!
We have found the seed of the Flower in Seven Colours!
What's this?
What do you mean what's this? It's the seed of the Flower in...
Boris, you are a creepy idiot!
This is nowhere near looking like a seed!
That Sabrina witch interfered again!
Let's hurry! We must protect Madame Princess!
- You mean, from the revolutionary man? - Yes! And from Sabrina!
So this is it! I have finally cracked it.
- What? - Actually, this was a trap.
The real seed must be hidden somewhere else.
I am sure of it!
Cador!
- Where is the Princess? - I did it!
I am so sorry! Boris took me by surprise! They have kidnapped Madame Princess!
It is not your fault, Cador.
All three of us should have been here, but we have left you alone.
We must act quickly, find Madame Princess and help her!
The revolutionary man!
Tell me right now what have you done with my grandmother!
What? She is your grandmother?
Don't play the innocent! You have kidnapped her for a reason!
You are her grandson! I would never have imagined!
It's true! She is recovering after an illness and she left without telling us.
She was telling us that she will leave only after she will feel better.
So this is why you are chasing after her?
Yes! And to further complicate things,
she invented this story with spies and princesses!
What's going on in her head?
Either way, we need to find her.
I know what to do. We will check all hotels in Rome.
OK.
Where is the seed of the Flower in Seven Colours?
Pleas, give me back the box! I don't have much time left!
Stop it with the jokes! You have forgotten your good manners!
The box! There is no doubt!
Look up there!
I know what to do!
Flower! Flower! Flower!
Tell me where is the seed or I will hit you!
Hands up! Don't move!
- Who are you? - The captain of the Princess' Guard!
I have come to set you free!
- A Princess? - Who, this old lady?
Enough! Shut your mouth!
The bastard who threatened the Princess' life must pay!
Say your prayers!
No! Have mercy! I don't want to die, I'm still young!
Enough talking! Do as I say!
- Be nice and go in that cupboard! - No way!
You refuse? Then I will kill you!
Just a second! Come, Miss Sabrina! Be reasonable!
So? What are you waiting for?
Yes, yes, yes!
There you go, Princess!
Lydia! It's terrible!
She ran again!
Tomorrow, I have to meet with someone at the Trevi Fountain!
The Trevi Fountain!
Did you see an old lady?
I came here, at the Trevi Fountain, especially to meet her.
Did you see an old lady around? I came especially to see her.
Madam!
Here is your box, Madam!
The box?
So lucky! It's still inside!
This was your Flower in Seven Colours?
Yes! Thank you, Lydia!
I have finally found Rita again!
Rita?
Yes, she was my best friend then.
At the orphans house, we were inseparable!
What? You were in an orphans house?
Yes. The truth is that I have never met my parents.
I have been asking myself what country's princess I could be. All was make believe.
- So this is how it was! - Like I told you, we were inseparable.
Someday, they moved me to another city and we had to separate.
I could never forget you, Rita.
You are my best friend. I could never forget you as well.
If we throw a coin in the fountain, we will find each other again in Rome.
Yes, and we will play again together.
Yes!
But we didn't have any coin.
However, on our way back to the orphans’ house...
- Be careful! - Yes, mom!
He dropped this!
- He must be working at the restaurant. - Yes. Let's go after him!
And what happened then?
We knew that it wasn't right, but what do you want? We couldn’t resist temptation.
We are not thieves, aren't we?
When we will grow up, we will come back to repay him for this coin.
This is what we'll do, Gina.
Then, let's meet here again ten years from now,
at three o'clock. OK?
I'll be here, Gina.
If it will not be possible then, let's return after ten more years,
in the same day, at the same hour. OK?
Yes! And after another ten years, if necessary.
Where is the paper airplane?
It's a napkin from the restaurant.
I know what we will do.
With this napkin, we will surely recognize each other.
You will keep a half, and I will keep the other half, with great care.
So this was the meaning of the paper!
Yes, but I couldn't come after ten years, for the next 50 years.
There was the war, then somebody in the family got sick, then many more.
And now, 60 years have passed.
This time I have decided that I will come back to Rome no matter what.
This could be my last chance.
I am sure that Rita will come too!
Grandma! Lydia!
Roquino!
Finally, I have found you! Mom and dad were so worried!
Your grandmother has a very important reason to be here.
Let's leave this for later. Let's go, grandma!
Rita! It's you!
- Gina! - Rita!
My Rita! After such a long time!
Gina! It's you!
Yes, it's me! We have finally fulfilled our wish!
Gina!
You haven't changed at all, you are still a crybaby!
Me, crybaby? Not at all! It's just a very emotional moment!
I feel this way too!
- Me too. - I remember perfectly that day.
I really don't understand what's going on!
60 years have passed, you know?
Do you know something, Gina? I wonder if the restaurant still exists.
I haven't been so happy for so long!
For me too is like I have returned back 60 years.
Why didn't she tell me? I could have helped her to find her friend.
We all have secrets that we don't want to share.
Yes, I think that you are right, Lydia.
Before leaving Rome, Lydia made a wish for herself at the Trevi fountain
and threw in it two coins.
For one, she promised herself to return someday to Rome,
For the other, she wished to find someday the Flower in Seven Colours.
To remember this day, would you like to plant these seeds?
Gina and Rita went back to their homes and planted the flower seeds,
from which bushes with white flowers grew.
Looking at them, they reminisced about the girl who helped them see each other again
and about the deep friendship that united them.
In the language of flowers, these flowers symbolize 'the promise'.
diclonius subs