[Music Recommendation: Losing My Religion ~ Gnus Cello]
Freya ran straight to the kitchen. She didn’t know why she always had to meet that scary man. Walking straight to the kitchen, she grabbed the tray of food and ran to the princess’s room.
Inside her room, Oriana lay on her bed with her leg touching the ground. She covered her eyes with her hand, thinking about when Adric touched her chin. She used to be repulsed and angry if he came even a step close, but now she was turning red with just a mere touch.
Freya pushed the door open and walked inside the room, setting the table first before she went to inform the princess about it.
"Princess Oriana," she called with a tiny voice to avoid waking the princess up in case she was deeply asleep.
Oriana opened her eyes. Sitting up, she sighed. "Freya," she called her with a tired voice.
"I thought you already had breakfast. Was what was served not to your taste?" Freya asked, getting down on her knees to help Oriana slip her legs into her shoes.
Oriana groaned. "It was to my taste, exactly my taste." She raised her hand, demonstrating it like it was human size. All she could picture in her mind was Adric; he was just to her taste.
Freya touched her hair gently. She wasn’t sure if they were talking about the same thing, but she smiled anyway, leading Oriana to the table where the food was set.
Oriana sat down, ready to eat, while Freya stood by the side, waiting on her in case she needed something.
"Have you eaten?" Oriana asked, taking a spoonful of rice and letting it melt in her mouth.
Freya nodded. "I already had breakfast with my Pa," she replied with a bow.
Oriana nodded. Adding more soup and chicken to her rice, she took a spoonful. It felt like ages since she had good food. Or was it just because she hadn’t been enjoying the palace food until now?
"Still, sit. Standing there would hurt your feet," she said with her mouth full as she chewed slowly.
Freya shook her head. Though she knew the princess and they spoke casually, the difference in class was still there, and she didn’t want to cross that line. "No, Princess Oriana," she replied with a bow.
Oriana held her hand over her mouth and chuckled. She swallowed the food in her mouth before saying, "Freya is all grown now. You can even talk and act like the women in the palace," she teased. "But you don’t have to be like that when it’s just you and me alone. I mean, you weren’t a maid to start with. All I’m saying is that you’re a free soul. If your father gets better and you choose to leave, I won’t stop you. Though I might be selfish and want you to stay, you have your choice."
Freya touched her eyes, stopping the tears that were threatening to slip. "Thank you so much, Princess Oriana. Thank you for everything." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
Oriana nodded. "Now come sit with me," she tapped on the empty couch before she resumed filling her mouth with food. As she ate, she closed her eyes to savor the taste before she swallowed.
Freya got the water ready for her, wondering how long it had been since the princess had a comfortable meal. She decided to let her eat without bringing up any discussion.
Oriana finished everything on the plate and drank water. She rubbed her stomach with a wide smile of satisfaction on her face. "That was great!" she gave Freya a thumbs up.
Freya smiled. For some reason, it gave her pure delight to watch the princess eat so happily. She had never seen someone eat food so gratefully, like it was their last meal.
"Was it so good?"
Oriana smiled, nodding her head with so much excitement. "The chicken was so tender, and the rice well cooked...wow! It gave my taste buds a well-deserved treat."
Freya was happy to hear that. She started packing the plates when she remembered something, "Princess, can I ask you a question?"
"Yes, go ahead."
Freya paused, trying to put her words right so she wouldn’t hurt or disrespect anyone. Oriana noticed the hesitation in the girl’s eyes, but she didn’t say anything. She allowed her to take her time.
"The nephews of Prince Adric, one of them..." Freya started, looking for the word that would best describe the young boy.
Oriana exhaled; she knew exactly who Freya was talking about. "You mean Kai? The older one. It’s not just you; he just doesn’t like strangers. But I believe he is a good child," Oriana nodded to herself. It was the boy who had stopped her from leaving, if not she wouldn’t have realized her feelings for Adric. In some way, the boy played cupid, so that makes him a good child.
Freya sighed, so it wasn’t just her. She had thought it was just her who the boy treated like an outcast.
Oriana continued, "He is still just a child, but the responsibilities and work put on him have made him act wiser. Walter, his younger brother, still retains his innocence though," she explained.
"Who is their mother?" Freya asked, as she hadn’t had time to see every member of the royal family.
Oriana raised her brows. "You should know her, the one who has red hair like the Crown Prince. She was there during the horse-riding event."
Freya tried to remember the face, but she was too focused on Princess Oriana that day to even look at other persons. She shook her head.
Oriana tapped her fingers on the table. It was bad that Freya didn’t know the members of the royal family. She needed to so she wouldn’t get into trouble. Oriana went to her table and got a parchment.
"Now listen carefully. I will demonstrate it here, but I will show you the members when I have the chance." She started by illustrating the king.
"This is King Fidelis Galgani. He is a very kind man but also quiet. He is a good man and father. Then there is his second wife, Queen Gwen Galgani."
Freya pointed at the drawing. "Second wife?"
Oriana nodded. "Yes, the first wife was Queen Charlotte. She is the mother of Prince Adric. She is late now," she paused to see if the girl was following, then continued, "Queen Charlotte only gave birth to Prince Adric. Then Queen Gwen had Princess Jasmine and Adelaide. They are all alike; you should avoid them. Princess Jasmine is married to Caspar. He is in charge of the royal storage. I’d say, avoid him too. So Princess Jasmine and Caspar gave birth to Walter and Kai. That’s it about the royal family."
Freya touched her nose slightly. "You mean avoid every member of the royal family except the king?"
Oriana cleared her throat. "And maybe the Crown Prince," she coughed.
"You said he was the dragon?" Freya blinked in confusion. It hadn’t been long since the princess called the crown prince a dragon with her voice filled with spite. "I understand, he is a wicked dragon. I won’t ever cross his path."
Oriana touched her neck, wondering just how much she had said bad about Adric in the past, now feeling guilty about it. "Not all wicked dragons are bad. I mean, there are kind ones too."
Freya was lost. She didn’t understand how a wicked person could be kind at the same time. She didn’t question it. "What about his wife?"
"Who?" Oriana raised her face, scribbling something mindlessly on the parchment without looking.
Freya leaned closer with her voice lowered, afraid the person might appear if she mentioned his name. "The personal guard, R-Rowan," even calling his name was heavy on her tongue.
Oriana moved her head to the side. "He is not married. Rowan is not married. Why?"
Freya frowned. "I saw him with a woman the first day I arrived," she paused, getting the clear picture. She had maybe seen something she wasn’t supposed to.
"Maybe he was just having fun," Oriana added. Then a thought came to her head. What if Adric also had fun with other women? Because since they got married, they haven’t done it.
Freya bit her lip. Now she understood why they wanted to get rid of her. Maybe the woman was someone that shouldn’t be seen. Her eyes moved to look at the parchment the princess was drawing on. She gasped, pointing at it.
Oriana looked at the girl before looking at what she was pointing at. Her eyes widened. On the parchment where she drew Adric, she kept drawing hearts and writing ’Do it, do it.’ Oriana quickly crumpled it.
"Tomorrow is the hunting game. Let’s prepare," she stood up, gathering the parchment and ink.
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