[Music Recommendation: Toxic /~ Britney Spears]
Not far from the kitchen, inside one of the rooms in the palace, Walter’s voice pierced the air.
"Kai...let’s go and see her please before the cooking competition starts," Walter tugged Kai’s shirt as he whined.
Kai flipped his book to the next page. "You can go alone if you want to. I don’t want to."
"Why, Kai? I made her cry. Why don’t you want to go see her?" Walter asked again, pushing his brother. "Alright, if you follow me, I’m going to give you the best food served today."
At the mention of this, Kai closed his book and looked at his brother. "Let’s go."
Walter clapped his hands excitedly. "Yes!!" He ran out of their room with Kai walking behind him. When he found a flower garden, he plucked two flowers, holding them to his nose with a smile on his face.
"Do you think Mother will win today’s cooking competition?" Walter asked, bringing the flower down to his side. "I saw her getting very ready for it."
Kai moved his eyes away from the bird in a nearby tree and settled them on his brother. "I think Auntie Adelaide will win again," he replied.
Walter nodded in agreement. "We are here," he pointed at the physician’s rooms. The first one in the wing was where Freya was resting with her leg wrapped.
"Auntie Freya!" Walter shouted, running towards her bed.
Freya was surprised to see the boys. She moved the cup of water to the side, wiping her mouth gently.
"Walter! Kai, how are you here?" She was happy to see them but was still surprised because their mother wouldn’t have allowed them to visit a lowly maid like her.
Walter brought out the flowers that he had plucked earlier. "I brought these for you. I heard if you’re sick and keep flowers close to your bed, flower fairies will come and heal you."
Freya gasped. "Really? Then this is too small. You should have brought the whole garden. I really want to heal very fast so I can assist the princess."
Walter gave it a thought. "I will tell the servants to bring the garden then, but where should we put it?" He furrowed his brows, looking at the small room and thinking of how they would contain the entire flowers. Even the ones in their smallest garden wouldn’t survive in the small room.
"She didn’t mean it," Kai tried to explain to his brother with a small shake of his head.
Freya giggled. The boy was just so innocent and cute. She reached forward to rub his hair. "Walter," when she did this, she noticed Kai frown at her action. She retraced her hand quickly, bowing to him.
"I’m sorry," Freya bowed. She was yet to understand this other prince and didn’t want to offend him.
Walter looked at Kai, then Freya. "I don’t mind, Auntie Freya. We are friends now, right?"
Freya nodded. "Yes, we are. Look, the physician applied something on my leg. Do you want to see too?"
Walter nodded and went to look at Freya’s ankle where a white piece was used to tie her leg and something darker like oil was applied on it.
"It’s shiny. I want to have one on my leg too," Walter pouted, looking at his own leg.
Freya smiled, touching his hair gently. "You don’t want to. It hurts so much."
"Really? Then I don’t want it. I hate pain, like when I lost my front tooth," the little boy opened his mouth for Freya to see, then he giggled shyly.
Kai stood at the corner, looking at them. His brother was always quick to be comfortable around people he didn’t know. After minutes had passed, he said,
"Walter, it’s time to leave. The cooking competition will start soon and Mother will be looking for us."
Freya bit her lip when she remembered that the princess would have to stay alone during the competition. She had really wanted to help out with everything, but now she wasn’t able to.
"Your brother is right, Walter. You can come back and tell me all about it later."
Walter clapped his hands excitedly. "I will come back, okay? Bye bye."
Freya waved as he ran out of the room. Kai was yet to leave. She stared at the other boy unblinkingly.
"Won’t you go too?" she asked, as he was the one who suggested they leave.
Kai walked closer to Freya’s bed and placed something there. "Scented candles. They help you recover."
Freya was surprised by this as she didn’t expect the boy to get her anything. She raised the blue-colored candle to her face and smiled. Before she could say anything, the boy walked out of the room.
"Wow..." Freya hugged the candle and the flower. The boys were so kind and cute. Even the one who looked mean and unapproachable was still kind too. She was enjoying the feeling when her door opened and the next visitor walked inside.
Freya’s face turned red immediately. It was someone she didn’t want to see ever again. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Rowan stood at the door with one of his hands dipped inside his trouser pockets and another holding a box. Both of them stared at each other for a few seconds before Freya broke her gaze, looking at her leg like there was something interesting there.
"About the bodies found near you in the forest, can you tell me if you’d seen anything?" Rowan broke the silence. Now walking deeper inside the room, he moved a small stool out and sat beside her bed.
Freya cleared her throat, massaging her knees gently. "I didn’t see anything much because I passed out and when I woke up I saw blood and then..." Her voice trailed off.
Rowan nodded. He dropped the box he was holding beside Freya. "I found one leg of your shoe in the woods." He stood up to leave but stopped when he heard Freya speak.
"You!" Freya’s voice was higher than she had intended. She stopped and gulped. "The woman you were with...that day, she’s-" she stopped when Rowan’s eyes darkened.
Rowan turned properly to face her, his eyes narrowed at the girl. "You did see something that day, didn’t you?"
Freya gripped the sheet with her hands, her heart beating very fast. When Princess Oriana asked her to tell her everything she knew, Freya had thought to first talk to Rowan about what she saw first. If it was a misunderstanding then get it resolved. It was the best she could do for someone who saved not just her but her father too.
After seeing him smile the other day, she thought he was approachable and she forgot all her fears. But they all came back now that she looking at him. Freya blinked her eyes her hear beating very fast.
Rowan smirked. "You did see." He sucked his teeth, walking slowly to Freya’s bed. He held her chin up, making her face him.
Freya held her breath. She felt like she had been captured under his gaze and she couldn’t look anywhere else.
"Sweetheart, loose lips sink ships, as it’s a deadly sin. Silence is the only currency that’ll keep your precious life and your father’s. So, let’s keep our little secret...hidden, shall we?" Rowan’s fingers tightened on her chin. "If I should hear our secret from another, I can’t promise to be gentle. Do you understand?"
Freya nodded twice, her throat feeling parched like she hadn’t had water to drink in years. She thought he was kind and she had misjudged him after he saved her in the forest, but it was all a lie.
"I love to seal instructions with words. Now did you hear me, little rabbit?"
Freya nodded more than twice this time. "Y-yes, I did," her voice trembled with fear.
Rowan gently let go of her chin. "Now get well soon so you can wear your shoes again and walk around freely and alive." He smiled before leaving the room.
Freya gasped for breath like she had just stepped out from water. She looked down at the flowers she had crushed while tightening her grip earlier.
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