[Music Recommendation: Tattoo ~ Loreen]

Freya took the two boys to their room. When she turned to leave, Walter held her hand. The boy was still startled by what had happened in the market earlier and didn’t want to stay alone.

"Can you stay?" he asked in a small voice, looking at Freya with his innocent eyes.

Freya turned to see Kai, who was also looking at her. "Do you also want me to stay?" she asked, not expecting any response. She was surprised to see the boy nod. It only proved that despite trying to act like a grown-up, Kai was still a child and scared after all.

"Fine, I will stay," Freya smiled, carrying Walter up to Kai’s bed. She tucked them in and knelt beside the bed, looking at the boys. She gently touched Walter’s hair, "Who is your favorite person?" she asked.

"Uncle Adric," Walter replied, and Kai nodded in agreement. "What about you?" the boy asked, now paying full attention to what Freya was going to say.

Freya hummed, "That should be my pa..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered that the children had lost their father. She was really worried about how they were going to grow up without him. "Let me tell you a story."

"Yes!" Walter clapped his hands excitedly, "Tell, tell!"

Freya sat properly on the floor, using her gown to cover her feet. She started, "When I was small, my mother went to a faraway place, and then she lost her way home. When I grew up, I prayed that my mother would turn into a star so that even if she didn’t know her way home, I could always see her when I looked up, and she could watch over me from there. So whenever you miss anyone you love, pray for them to become stars."

"Like Father?" Walter asked. "But I don’t miss him. He never played with us or bought us gifts like Uncle Adric and Uncle Rowan do. I don’t want him to be a star."

Freya was shocked. She had thought the children wouldn’t understand what was going on and their father’s death, but it turned out they were smarter and very much aware of everything.

"That—"

Kai added, "Don’t worry about us, Auntie... Freya," he whispered.

Freya gasped when she heard the boy regard her as an auntie, she touched her chest happily.

"Kai called you auntie," a sleepy Walter muttered as his eyes closed with sleep. He turned around and held his brother.

Kai closed his eyes, "I wish Mother was like this too," he joined his brother in sleep.

Freya watched the two boys sleep peacefully. She felt heartbroken watching them. They had grown up amidst so much evil, yet they had kept their innocence at heart as children. But that wasn’t enough. Though they had both of their parents, they never received the love they deserved. Even after knowing that their father was no more, it didn’t bother them. It only showed how pitiful and hard it was to be born in a royal family.

Looking at the children, Freya felt nothing but gratitude for her father, who, despite losing his wife, still gave her all the love in the world. Freya covered the children properly and gently touched Walter’s hair. Walking to the dim candle, she blew it out and left the room quietly.

Outside the room, Freya made her way to the royal library to read some books before going to sleep. When she got there, there was no guard at the entrance, so she entered, descending the stairs slowly so she wouldn’t trip. The girl walked slowly, searching for a book that would interest her.

"A tale of royal forbidden affair," Freya muttered, reading the text on the book cover. She blew away the dust on it, ready to open the book and start reading.

Meanwhile, not far from the library, Rowan had just finished locking the new prisoners securely inside the dungeon. He turned to leave when Jasmine blocked his path.

"Princess Jasmine," Rowan bowed to the girl.

Jasmine pressed her lips, "Rowan, I need to talk to you," she whispered, looking around the passage to be sure they were alone before dragging Rowan by the hand and pulling him inside the nearest room, which was the library.

Freya was about to leave the library with the new book she found when she saw two people walking down. She quickly ran to one of the racks and hid herself there.

It was only after she hid that she realized she had done nothing wrong to warrant hiding. Oriana had given her instructions to use the library, and she wasn’t stealing. Freya stood up again to leave, but she caught a glimpse of the two people. It was Princess Jasmine with a guard. Freya knew immediately which guard it was, and not wanting to make things awkward for them, she bent her head, hiding between the book racks.

Jasmine dragged Rowan inside, pushing him against the same rack Freya was hiding in. Without saying anything, the princess started kissing the guard.

Rowan stood there with a bored look on his face, looking at the princess who was moaning without being touched. When Jasmine reached for his zipper, Rowan stopped her by holding her hand.

Jasmine pulled away from the kiss, "What is wrong with you, Rowan? Why are you not touching me?"

Rowan let go of the princess’s hand, "You said you wanted to talk."

Jasmine nodded, coming closer. She placed her hands on Rowan’s chest. "We can always talk after this." When she craned her neck to kiss Rowan, she saw that he wasn’t going to kiss her back. Jasmine pushed him roughly.

"Rowan! Why are you doing this to me? I so much want you to touch me, feel me up like you once did. I want you to hold me roughly while slamming into me. Make me feel like a woman again. Hold me, squeeze me, and kiss me. I am shameless about it because this is how you make me feel."

Freya closed her eyes. She didn’t want to be there to listen to two people talk about their desires. Listening to them talk made Freya remember the book she was reading about royal forbidden affairs. Here, a guard and princess were proving the point of the book. She looked around the room for a way to escape so she wouldn’t have to see or hear what she wasn’t supposed to.

The nearest exit was two steps away from the shelf, so calculating her steps, Freya inhaled deeply. She had already taken her first step, but then her gown got stuck on a hanging nail. When she tried to take another step, the books on the shelf crashed, making a loud noise inside the room. Freya felt her soul leave her body. She bent down again, holding her chest.

Both Jasmine and Rowan turned toward the direction of the noise.

"What was that?" Jasmine frowned, holding her gown up. "Is anyone there?" The princess started going toward the shelf.

Freya’s heart raced fast and loudly, thinking it would give her away. She decided to stand up and explain how she got there and that she hadn’t meant to eavesdrop. But she doubted they would believe her, especially since this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Jasmine’s shoe clicked on the marble floor, announcing that she was near, and this increased Freya’s anxiety.

Rowan stood where he was, his eyes on the shelf. He noticed a piece of fabric on the floor, and the next minute, it moved. That was when he suspected it was a person hiding there. He took two steps, dragging Jasmine by the hand. He pinned her back against the wooden shelf.

"Ah!" Jasmine gasped, seeing how her body was touching Rowan’s. The girl blushed, "You are so naughty."

Rowan’s eyes were not on the princess. He looked through the shelf, only to see the girl who was hiding like a book squirrel with a book in her hand.

"Was this what you wanted?" he asked nobody in particular.

Jasmine nodded, "Yes, I want this part of you that treated my body the way you pleased. I’m leaving the palace tomorrow. Please leave with me. I can tell Brother Adric. Marry me, Rowan. Let’s start a family of our own." As Jasmine said this, she moved down her sleeves, baring her body in front of Rowan.

Rowan had a stoic expression even though a woman was naked in front of him. He looked at the princess who had started brewing feelings for him, and when he found out, he decided to use it to find out everything they planned against Adric. But it was no use now since Adric was now king.

"Princess," Rowan started, "Did you know that Kai was almost hurt today?" As he said this, he raised Jasmine’s sleeves, putting them back in place.

Jasmine blinked, "What hurt? I told them to stay in their room today. Did anything happen?"

Rowan sighed. It was no use explaining to her. "You need to focus on your children and give them the attention they need. All I’m saying is it’s time for you to wake up. This?" Rowan pointed at both of them. "It was never real. I have no such feeling as love to give to you, and I’m certain I’d never feel that way. Princess Jasmine, it’s time for you to grow up and be a mother to your children."

"Ro—" Jasmine paused, "But we... we were in love. Was it all a lie? It was..." The princess muttered, seeing the coldness in Rowan’s eyes, with a feeling of betrayal budding inside of her. Without saying anything else, Jasmine quietly left the room.

Rowan bowed deeply as the princess left the room. He looked from the corner of his eye at the place where the girl was hiding.

Freya felt so bad for the princess and felt even worst hate for the guard that only knew how to use people. She prayed in her mind never to meet or fall in love with someone like him.

"When are you-"

"Ah!!!" Freya shouted the top of her lungs, standing in front of her was the same person she was hiding from.

Rowan raised his brows slightly, "Planning on leaving?" he completed his question.

Freya tried to stand but her legs now felt numb because of the position she was in for a long time; she touched the tip of her tongue with her fingers and placed it on her nose.

"Hear no evil, see no evil," Freya picked her book muttering the same words as she dragged her numb leg leaving the library like she didn’t see anything or even anyone.

Rowan watched the girl leave without acknowledging him, "I wonder who is evil" he muttered to himself.