It didn’t take the princess long for her to visit back the town.
After her breakfast, she immediately took off riding Arinna, but this time, she took another route.
She decided to scout the south side of the mansion where a couple of meters away was the famous white sand beach connected to the wide stretch of blue-green ocean.
It was a scenery she had always hoped to tour since she had seen only a small part of the ocean from her balcony, which was facing the east side; so there was always the sunrise and the mountains greeting her every day.
She so much wanted to swim the ocean and taste the saltiness of it. Now, it was her chance to plunge into the water and feel the burning light of the sun touching her skin.
She left her horse and her riding dress just a few meters away in a stony rock ledge when she arrived at the shoreline, confident that no one would find her swimming half-naked underwater.
By afternoon, she again visited the bakery, and Lenora was of course gleeful on the princess’ presence.
They both went again on foot to the central town, to the marketplace, and to the opera house.
She was disappointed when she found out that the opera house was closed for three days, no doubt, because of the burial.
“I guess I’ll just come next time,” Lianne announced with a sad face.
“I really do think you should, Your Highness. The opera here is one of the best in the kingdom!” exclaimed Lenora.
“Hmmm, and I am going to let you go too, so you’d see the opera also.” Lianne gave her a cheeky grin.
“Really?” Lenora squealed in excitement. “Oh! Thank you, Your Highness! I’ll be looking forward to that day indeed!”
The princess gave a small laugh. She glanced up at the sky and find that the palate was changing from sky blue to a neon orange.
“I better go back to the mansion now. It’s almost sunset,” she said.
“Ah, of course, Your Highness.” The young girl tipped her head in agreement.
They went back to the bakery to fetch Arinna who was tied down on one of the metal fences that supported a pumpkin vine.
Lenora, after exiting the house, handed the princess the saddle of her horse.
“‘Til next time then Lenora,” Lianne said with a wave of her hand.
“Goodbye, Princess!” Lenora replied.
Lianne rode quietly into the forest which she had passed the other day. In her thoughts, the words of the prince played on her mind.
This forest was supposed to be full of traps, just as Ruen had warned her, but she did not take heed.
This was the very road she had taken when she tried to escape her impending wedding with the duke, but because of her foolishness, she had placed herself and subsequently the prince in danger.
It was possible that Ruen had already ordered the guards to take all of the traps out, but she could not be sure. Maybe, if she were to be in danger again, would he be there to save her life?
She shook her head to erase the thoughts.
‘Stop thinking of him Lianne!’ she commanded to herself.
She remembered the picture in the wooden frame and instantly felt mystified by the young boy’s eyes.
The way he looked was somehow baffling to Lianne. He was almost happy and contented in the picture, but there was a sliver of fear in his eyes. The crest, however, was also more puzzling. She was sure she had not seen the crest in every family insignia that Garlow had invited as a guest in the Regaleria ball.
She vowed to herself she would ask Lady Faye about the picture when they will arrive, hoping she could find some answers.
***
“You summoned Your Majesty?” Lord Jared inquired the moment he stepped foot inside the prince’s tent.
“Yes Jared,” Ruen replied.
He stood up from his seat whilst holding a glass of wine on his right hand.
Jared had the notion that the prince had drunk much of the wine away, but he observed him to perfectly control his drunken state.
The prince continued to pace and began to stand in a nearby stained glass window looking at the full moon high above the night sky.
“I care not of what these people would say,” he slowly spoke; his face apathetic with any expression.
“I am always ready Your Majesty, just say the word,” Lord Jared replied, immediately understanding what the prince meant.
“Yes. Jared. Yes.” The prince turned around to face his majordomo. “We will go back to the mansion right away,” he sternly declared.
***
It was only just the second night of the burial of the late king, but the vassal of the prince was already preparing to leave.
The dignitaries and other royals of other continents were perplexed as to the prince’s action, but as royal blood themselves; insensible and narcissistic in nature; cared less of it.
It was past midnight. The deadly dark blackness covered the entire sky with only a couple of stars seen.
Ruen only appointed a handful of guards to escort him back the mansion, with also Lord Jared and Lady Faye following him by another coach.
By his order, the generals most especially Lord Cain and his troops stayed until the next day. Cain had thought it was odd and felt uneasy of Ruen’s actions but nevertheless stayed to accompany his brigade.
Cain seated comfortably in a medium boulder at a nearby bonfire close to his tent. His knees flexed up to his chest as he stooped down to face the fire.
He was wearing his cloak to fight the immense coldness of the moist wind, while his leather black boots warmed his feet. However, his hands were exposed to the cold air after he slid out his gauntlet while he was in the tent, so he rubbed them both to produce some heat.
The graveyard’s mourning atmosphere didn’t deter him from conjuring in his mind the memories of the princess.
It had already been days since he was able to talk to her. Only once had he caught a glimpse of her after the Regaleria ball, and it was when she was with one of the servants plucking roses in the royal garden.
He knew he was advancing too fast on his actions, but nevertheless, he just got to make his feelings known.
It could be that the timing was not right considering she was still under Garlow’s command, but now that the princess was free, he could move on with his plans on wooing her even though he knew his rival was the prince himself.
“I’ll have you, Lianne, soon…” Cain whispered to himself, as the crackling of the fire continued to dominate the wood logs. His ash-mauve eyes glowered as he stared at the fire.
One of his comrades handed him a bottle of ale and he gladly accepted it, gulping a good amount into his mouth then licked a drop of it at the corner of his lips.
The liquid instantly kicked in like burning fire in his throat. He could feel his stomach warming up in response, but he thought that no matter how intoxicating the liquid could be, it could not sate his desire directed at the one woman in his mind.