29

Noah
“Why are you smiling, my prince?” I heard my driver, ask with a bemused expression on his face.
I had asked him to circle the entire neighborhood so I could inhale the clean air and let the tension I felt in my nerves be replaced by relief.
My right thumb was on my lips, fondling the soft tissue. The imagery of Ashley standing so close to me crossed my mind and my lips curved, forcing a dimple to form under my left cheek.
“Nothing,” I muttered, “But wait, did you see any of the secret service around the street?”
Daniel squinted an eye, trying to recollect, “I saw a few, walking behind the bakery and also around a small mart.”
I let out a chuckle, “So my mother is still watching me? Fantastic, isn’t it?”
“I think she’s only looking after your safety, my Prince. ” Daniel responded slowly.
“But no citizen of Midon knows who I am, I am quite certain that the only picture they have of me is when I was twelve. ” I slanted a hand across my lips, trying to hold back another laughter.
“But anything can happen, sir,” Daniel countered, “You could be in danger and of your identity-”
I cut him off in mid-sentence, “I am aware of that, Daniel.”
He bent his head slightly, griping the wheel tightly. I looked through the window and noticed a group of men kicking a woman out of a house by the stomach with her kids watching. I felt my insides churn at the scene that unfolded before me. I could see blood seeping out of her lips and her kids crying in despair. A crowd surrounded them but made no effort to stop the brutality.
“What’s going on there?” I asked with trepidation, fearing his response.
“She probably didn’t pay her rent and it’s due, ” Daniel spoke with his facial expression void of any emotions, “There’s scarcity of food, water and other goods including fuel and the house owner also needs to feed. ”
I shut my eyes for a brief moment, thinking about the events that happened in the last few hours.
A thug trying to scare Ashely into paying a debt and scarcity of flour in the bakery and now people were physically abusing others just to get money off them.
“Wait a minute, did you ask someone to make a delivery of flour to Mrs. Ping’s bakery?” I asked, receiving comfort in the headrest of the car.
“No.” Daniel shook his head.
I tilted my head to the left and then to the right, wondering who it was. I clicked my tongue, hoping it wasn’t my mother but how on earth would she know that?
“Did something happen, sir?” Daniel turned to look at me, “Should I make some enquires?”
“No.” I waved a dismissive hand, before parting my lips to give a smile. I rolled the glass window and shut my eyes, thinking of one woman.
Ashely.
***
I scoffed noticing how the entrance of the palace was transformed. There was a red carpet right from the entrance straight into the large hall. I noticed the way the servants, staff, and butlers moved around in scattered formations and groups, some holding wine glasses and others, napkins while a large group of servants held yellow curtains.
“It’s a big day, tomorrow, isn’t it?” I heard my sister, Ruby exclaim as she stood beside me.
“Yes.” I placed a hand into my pants, my eyes avoiding her sharp gaze.
“Are you still upset with me, Noah?” she questioned, “You don’t relate with me as you used to. You’re setting boundaries, aren’t you?”
I took quick steps towards a butler who was holding a wine glass filled with red wine served in a small silver tray.
I shot him a smile before taking a sip. I rolled my eyes noticing that Ruby had caught up with me.
“I am not upset with you, why would I?” I arched a brow, “If you had told me the truth, I would still be in Boston.”
“Mother didn’t let me tell you,” Ruby emphasized.
I shot her a glance, looking at her brown eyes, “Really? And you forgot the bro-sis code?”
I heard her click her tongue, “There was no way around it, Noah. You weren’t serious about Diana. You cheated on her with my friend, Fiona and now you still have no interest in the Duchess of-”
“How’s Fiona by the way?” I asked.
“Heart-broken, why?” Ruby said, “You want to make up for it?”
“Nah, she was too clingy. ” I shook my head, trying to get a mental picture of Fiona.
Fiona was hot, charming, and the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Priston. I met her when Ruby and her wet horse riding around the forest region which was close to the castle. She was chatty but needy. She talked about our future lives and even our kids as if I had put a ring on her.
It took me several weeks to realize that she wanted to use me to satisfy her mother’s wishes so she could finally be a Queen without anyone questioning the circumstances regarding her birth.
“Excuses, excuses, Noah, ” Ruby muttered, “That’s all you give.”
“Funny how it’s coming from you, ” I shot a bemused smile at her, “Your betrothed hasn’t taken you to the altar yet. ”
“There’s just been a little delay,” Ruby lifted her neck, “So what have you been up to, rebellious one?”
“Nothing,” I shrugged, “Why are things around Midon not like before?”
We both took a step towards the large stairway with Ruby’s hand on the handrail and with mine in my pants. She inhaled sharply before speaking.
“To be honest, there was a feud between the Kingdom of Narnia and Midon when you left for Boston and it dragged on, for a reason I had no understanding about, ” There was a pause, “But from what I have heard, Narnia supplies us with food, fuel and we share the same border, don’t we? They have pulled back their soldiers from helping us in wars and also in supplies of gunpowder. ”
My mouth opened as I let out a frustrated sigh, so that was the reason why my mother wanted to set me up with the Duchess of Arendelle and why a lot of things were crashing in Midon.
“And why can’t we beg for forgiveness?” I questioned.
“Forgiveness? Do you know who we are, Noah? We are one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world and we won’t belittle ourselves,” Ruby responded with a smirk, “But there’s something strange about it. ”
“What?” I asked.
“Come closer, it’s a secret. ” Ruby urged and I shot her a glare before moving towards her and slanting my head so that her lips were directed facing my ear.
“A few months after the feud was when Father fell ill and he wasn’t like that before,” she whispered.
I pulled away and rubbed the tip of my nose. I crossed my arms across my chest and then my legs followed with a tilt of my head dramatically.
“And is that why you think that Narnia has something to do with Father’s illness?” I asked.
“It was just a mere thought.” she shrugged and rolled her eyes.
“Or a conspiracy theory that could put you in a bad place if you go around whispering this to everyone. ” I mashed my lips together and let out a sigh.
“I heard it from Uncle Eli,” her eyes darted away from my piercing gaze, “Talk of the devil, there he is.”
I followed my sister’s stare as I watched Uncle Eli dressed in a suit, his eyes narrowing on a servant’s bottom as he licked his lips lustfully.
“Now he can’t keep his loins together, ” Ruby said while picking up a wine glass that its content was filled with white wine from a butler, “It’s a shame, isn’t it?”
“I wonder why Father hasn’t stripped him of his title,” I muttered with my gaze fixated on him.
“Father is ill, don’t be insensitive, ” she said, “And Uncle Eli is family.”
“Maybe to you, he’s family. ” I responded with a sly smile while taking steps up the stairs. Ruby followed behind me and I was beginning to think that she was bored. I greeted a few servants and then reached my chambers.
“I have forgotten what your room looked like. ” she groaned while placing a hand on her hip.
“They clean my room, every day and change the sheets. Sometimes they adjust some furniture without my consent so I’m used to it. ” I said while removing my shirt buttons. With my other idle hand, I began to search for a pain-reliever balm from the drawers.
“What are you looking for?” she asked.
“Something, Ruby,” I replied with a wink, “I am looking for something. ”
I let out a sigh of relief when I found the balm. I removed my shirt with little effort and crouched low on the floor on all fours like a four-legged animal.
“What is wrong with you, Noah?” Ruby asked and I swallowed a bit of saliva. I heard her exclaim a few seconds later.
“That is a big bruise, ” she started to ramble, “-Where on earth did you get that from?”
“I accidentally crashed into a table. ” I lied through my teeth.
“You are a bad liar, Noah. It looks like you were beaten with something,” She stated, “And why is there a cut on your lip? Mother will practically kill you. ”
“You can either help me apply the balm or you can walk away and allow me to struggle with it.” I deadpanned with a witty smile on my face.
“You are unbelievable, ” she bent slowly, retrieving the balm from my hands, her hands reaching out to scoop the oily jelly.
She then rubbed it on my shoulder and I bit my bottom lip, trying to hold myself back from screaming.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
“Not,” I rebuffed with a hard grunt.
“You know, Mother is going to ask of you, soon, ” Ruby let out a sigh, “She’s going to make sure that your clothing is ready and that you’re not planning anything weird. ”
“Why would I?” I squinted as another sharp pain hit my shoulder.
“Because it’s you, Noah, ” she said, “You are capable of doing anything, rebellious.”
I scoffed, “Thank you for the help, you can leave, Ruby. I’m sure you have a lot of Princessy duties. ”
She rose on her feet and moved to pick up a hand towel from one of my wardrobes, “You should join, it’s fun.”
“I don’t fancy that. ” I spoke with gritted teeth.
“You are going to be King, someday,” she said, “-you better start getting used to it. ”
I clicked my tongue and when she observed that I wasn’t responding, she said;
“Don’t try anything stupid. I’m warning you.”
I shook my head and waited for her to walk out of my chambers and bang the door shut. I then inhaled and exhaled, laying on my sides. I still felt a slight pain on my shoulders as I clenched a hand into a fist while griping the rug.
I wondered if Ashely got my note. I hoped it didn’t fall into the wrong hands.
Because that would be disastrous.