[Music Recommendation: Je te laisserai des mots ~ Patrick Easton]

Oriana was hauled inside the carriage that was now leaving Orion. It wasn’t her problem at the moment, but why had Bessie acted the way she did?

"Where did everything go wrong?" She tried to remember. The maid was new and very friendly, and they had been working well together. Nothing was wrong, except Bessie was threatened by Sophie. That was the only explanation for all of this, but what was that smile?

Lost in thought, Oriana didn’t notice that the carriage was now moving. Her mind was still messy with everything that happened back in the palace. Finally, when she decided to let it go, she looked around the carriage and noticed she was sitting on the floor and she wasn’t alone.The other persons in the carriage didn’t speak to her as they were tied in chains.

Oriana got on her knees and moved towards the window to look around the place, but it appeared that the horses of Avon were behind them with their flags raised high, and they were slowly leaving Orion. That was when she remembered Sophie’s words. Her title as a princess had been removed, and she was being taken to Avon to learn proper manners. This was absurd. Oriana sighed and sat back on the floor. She was too tired and didn’t want to argue. At this point, she was just going to move with the flow.

Finally, when the carriage stopped, the door to the carriage flew open, and standing at the entrance was a guard with scars on his face making him look scary.

"You, you, and you. Down now," Oriana was among those pointed to, so she jumped down from the carriage, following the guard behind until they got to another town’s gate. Oriana noticed the men talking in hushed tones, then coins were exchanged.

Was she being sold right now? This wasn’t Avon. She was quick to notice the rest of the carriage depart, and from the window, she saw Queen Gwen looking at her with a smirk on her face.

Inside the carriage, Adric’s mother pushed her head back inside, her wide smile showing. "She will finally learn her lessons," the woman muttered.

"You promised you were going to take her with us to Avon to teach her a lesson, why are you dropping her off now?" Her husband asked.

The woman pursed her lips, not happy with the way her husband looked at her at the moment. "Fidelis, you’re supposed to be my husband, but you don’t seem to support what I do. How do you expect me to bring someone her family rejected to our own kingdom? It’s obvious she’s a bad omen I can’t deal with that," Queen Gwen sighed, rubbing her temples gently.

King Fidelis shook his head slightly. He didn’t want to argue more with his wife as it wouldn’t end well, so he let it be, praying that the girl would survive life outside until the day she would go back to her kingdom.

Oriana’s eyes followed the carriage. She knew very well what had happened. That Queen had never planned on taking her to Avon. This was the punishment she meant.

"You! What are you looking at?" The loud voice of a woman was heard, bringing Oriana back to her reality.

Politely, Oriana bowed to the woman. She knew she was just an ordinary girl at this point, and the best she could do for herself was stay low. "My name is Oriana," she replied.

"I know, we all do. Aren’t you a princess pretending to be like us? Pray you survive this place first," the woman pushed her forward roughly.

Without a word of complaint, Oriana walked. She had wanted to keep her identity hidden, but it was already too late. All she needed was to survive here first by avoiding any more trouble.

"Hello, Princess," one of the men drawled, "Her skin looks pure and clean. Can I get a taste?" The man whistled, and soon others joined to ogle at her.

Oriana kept her face down, trying not to make eye contact with the people here. All she needed to do was to act right, and soon her family would come back for her. The girl nodded to herself in assurance.

"Here, change into this. The work you’ll be doing here doesn’t require some fancy dressing," The woman with a deep voice said to her, before pushing the worn-out dress in her direction. Without complaint, Oriana took hold of it, looking around for where to change.

"What are you waiting for? Get changed!" The woman barked again.

Everyone around turned their focus on the princess to watch her get changed outside. The woman who had given her the dress folded her arms on her chest with a smirk on her face.

Oriana pressed her lips. She couldn’t afford to change in front of people. Though she was not a princess anymore, she was still a woman with her dignity, so she hesitated.

"I see you won’t get dressed. Fine, I’ll help you out," the woman now took a step closer, tearing the sleeve of Oriana’s dress with one rip.

"Ah!" Oriana gasped, holding her shoulders to cover her bare skin.

"Look at her, trying to act all modest," the men who were watching laughed and pointed at Oriana.

The princess stood there as an object of spectacle for these people. It was as if the cold wind was now biting into her skin, and she was all alone in the world. With her eyes closed, Oriana listened to the laugh of mockery directed at her.

"You still won’t change?" The woman raised her hand to rip the entire dress. This time, Oriana didn’t try to defend herself. She just stood in place, with her hands now trembling.

"What is going on here?" A man’s voice was heard. Immediately, the men who were ogling at Oriana dispersed like they were never there, and the woman who was trying to put her down bowed to the man.

"Master Louis, this is the new girl. She has refused to get changed," the woman reported.

The man named Louis frowned. "And you expect her to change outside? Are you not a woman like her who should protect her dignity and not soil it?" the man scolded.

"I—no," the woman stuttered. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

"So much for women supporting women. Leave now!" The man ordered, and quickly the woman disappeared.

"You can open your eyes now. They are all gone," Louis said to Oriana, who still had her eyes closed with her hand on her chest.

Oriana opened her eyes slowly to see the man who had just saved her. He was an elderly man with full black hair, and streaks of grey hair on the side. She bowed deeply. "Thank you so much for helping me."

"You don’t need to bow to me, Princess Oriana." The man said with a small smile. Oriana was taken aback to see someone so polite around here who even acknowledged her title.

Seeing the confused look on the girl’s face, the man smiled. "I used to work as a chef in the palace but left after the Queen mother passed on."

"You knew Nana?" Oriana’s eyes brightened at the mention of her grandmother.

Louis nodded. "Of course, my father worked as her chef, then I took over. When the Queen mother passed away, I knew it was time for me to leave the palace. You were still this little when I left," the man illustrated with his hand.

Oriana smiled. "I’m happy to see you."

"The pleasure is mine. Every time I went to serve the Queen mother her meal, she only spoke about her youngest granddaughter." Louis said, remembering the days he served beside the older woman, who, if she were alive, wouldn’t have allowed her granddaughter to be treated like a commoner.

Oriana was happy to meet someone who knew about her grandmother. Somehow, this punishment was a blessing in disguise, she thought to herself.

"You can stay with my daughter while you’re here,"Louis said, looking around for his daughter. "Freya, come here quick and greet the princess," the man called.

A young girl walked towards them, with her head buried in a book. Without looking up, she bowed. "Welcome."

"Please don’t be offended, Princess Oriana. Training her all alone is quite difficult, especially since her mother passed away," the man tried to explain. Turning to his daughter, he scolded, "Freya, quick, greet the princess properly," he ordered.

The young girl grumbled, finally raising her head from the book. "Greetings, Princess Oriana. My name is Freya, and I love reading."

Oriana couldn’t help but laugh. The girl was very cute. "Hi, Freya," she waved.

Louis ruffled his daughter’s hair. Now turning to Oriana, he said, "This place is filled with builders and freelance workers, so it’s a little tough to survive here. They only respect me because I am the head cook, so rest assured that your position would be respected, as you’ll now be working beside me."

"Thank you so much," Oriana didn’t know how to express her gratitude. She had already given up on her own life.

"It’s not a problem at all. This is the least I can do for all the kindness Mother Queen showed me," his voice now sounded distant. "Quick, let’s take you inside, so you don’t catch a cold." Louis quickly ushered Oriana to a room.

The room was smaller compared to the one Oriana slept in back at the palace, but she was grateful. If it wasn’t for this woman, maybe she would have been forced to sleep outside.

"Thank you once again," Oriana bowed.

Louis shook his head. "Don’t hesitate to let me know if you need anything. I’ll be more than willing to help, though it’s not enough for a princess," he said with a slight bow.

Oriana waved her hands dismissively. "This is more than enough."

"Freya, quick, draw a bath for her so I can introduce her to other workers," Louis said to his daughter before leaving the room.

The young girl finally dropped her book. After staring at Oriana for a moment, she asked, "Are you really a princess?"

Oriana was surprised by this question. "Do I not look like one?"

Freya hummed. "Aren’t princesses supposed to be in their castle? What are you doing here?"

Oriana didn’t even have an answer to this question. She was not sure what she was doing here away from her family. It was an absurdity that shouldn’t ever be logical.

"I know, right?" Was Oriana’s soft reply with a deep sigh.