Adric walked to where the small crowd had gathered. He noticed someone’s dress hidden inside a nearby carriage but didn’t pay mind to it.
"Your Highness," one of the construction workers bowed, "I have told these men here to turn back as the work has been cancelled."
Louis didn’t like the man’s tone; he interjected. "Your Highness, please, we are from another town. One that is far away from here. Inside our carriage are goods that are perishable."
Adric moved his head to the side, seeing the old carriage. "And what do you do?"
Louis bowed, "I am the head cook. I follow these workers everywhere, cooking for them while I get paid. I also provide for workers who depend on me for their pay."
Adric nodded, "The construction here has been cancelled due to internal issues. I can pay you for the inconvenience," he suggested.
Oriana, who was inside the carriage, brought her ear closer to listen. When she heard Adric speak, she scoffed. "Acting like an angel when he is the clear opposite!" She shook her head.
"Who?" Freya’s voice startled her; she thought that the girl was sleeping. Oriana held her finger over her lips, signaling for the girl not to talk. The slight movement of the carriage didn’t go unnoticed by Adric.
"Your Highness, that is very kind of you. But I’m sorry; I can’t accept the offer." Louis said with a bow, "I love what I do. If there’s somewhere else I can sell off my food, then I’ll leave after that."
Rowan, who was standing beside Adric, spoke. "How dare you try to make a bargain with His Royal Highness?"
Louis got on his knees, "I would never think of such; please forgive my audacity, Your Highness."
Adric waved his hand for Rowan to leave the man, "Stand; it’s okay. You’re a man of integrity; it’s a rare virtue." He said, and Louis bowed before standing on his feet.
"I’ll make provision for you to get an open space here in the kingdom. But it’s just for one day, no extras," Adric remarked.
Louis was happy; it didn’t have to be the builders, as long as he gets to sell his food. "Your kindness is immeasurable. Thank you so much, Your Highness."
Adric didn’t say anything; his eyes were on the carriage, which was moving to the side. "You should let the cow walk on foot if you won’t kill it yet," he said before turning his back to enter back inside the palace.
Louis was confused; he turned to look at the carriage. But he didn’t come with a live cow; his meats were preserved in dried leaves.
Oriana grinded her teeth in anger as she now sat on the carriage couch. Obviously, she was the one being referred to as a cow, and if not that she was avoiding Adric, she wouldn’t take the chance not to retort.
Freya rubbed off the sleep from her eyes, "Is he someone you know, the prince?"
"Mm..you can say it like that... someone I know and never want to cross paths with." Oriana inhaled deeply. Not just because Adric was always aiming at making her life miserable. She didn’t want him to see her in such a situation, where she had been abandoned by her own family. He might make jest of her. Also, because Oriana was yet to find out who exactly told her family about the fake letter. It was either Bessie or Adric as long as she was concerned. And she had all her bets on Adric because he was not to be trusted.
Freya twitched her lips, "People you don’t want to meet always end up somehow being on your path," Oriana raised her brows when the girl said this. "I saw it in a book," Freya said, in her defense.
"That’s why it’s just a book," Oriana rubbed her palms together; she didn’t want such a thing to be her reality.
Freya shrugged her shoulders, "Why would you be avoiding that handsome Prince like a plague?" The girl asked, stretching her body while searching everywhere around the carriage for her book, which must have been lost while sleeping.
Oriana sneered; she couldn’t believe Freya also thinks of Adric as handsome too. "You think he is handsome?" She asked, and Freya nodded. Oriana shook her head, using her hand to pet Freya’s hair, "You’re still young; you will understand with time."
Louis now came to the carriage window, "We have somewhere else we are going to; the construction here has been cancelled."
Oriana was more than pleased to hear the news, though she felt uneasy staying in the same kingdom with Adric, but it was better this way knowing that she wouldn’t have to meet him if she tried to avoid him at all costs.
Louis entered the carriage, and they started leaving the place. With the carriage moving in silence, Oriana thought about what she had just heard. Adric was finally going to get married; she didn’t know why the thought of it suddenly popped into her mind. It was for the best; she just pitied the princess who was going to be his wife.
As they moved, Freya continued with the book she was reading. Her attention was fully focused on it.
Oriana turned to look at the girl; she noticed how engrossed the young girl was in the book, so she moved her head down to look at the title, "More than a Bird," she muttered the title.
Louis smiled, "That’s among Freya’s favorite books," he said. "And it reminds me of the night when you came back from the village fair. You wouldn’t let the Queen mother rest; you kept telling her about the Young master you met during the village fair and how he had called you Icarus."
Oriana knitted her brows; it wasn’t a memory she could clearly remember. "Really? I don’t really remember,"
"Well, I’m not sure you would, because you were still very young. And it was that night that the Queen mother..." Louis trailed.
Oriana felt her heart squeeze; she had tried to bury the day her grandmother died away from her heart. Because the woman left without saying goodbye, and somehow she had succeeded because she couldn’t remember what happened that day. "Oh, I don’t remember much from that day," 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Louis bowed, "I’m sorry, Princess, if I hit an uncomfortable topic,"
Oriana shook her head, "No, no; it’s all good," somehow she regretted the decision she made. Maybe keeping the memories would have given her the closure she needed with her Nana. "Tell me about it; what did My Nana say to you,"
"I had only come to serve her dinner, and she told me how you went to the fair. Met with a friend who was wiser than his age and how you wouldn’t stop talking about the carelessness of Prince Icarus," Louis said, smiling at the memory as if it just happened a few days ago.
Oriana’s smile was a sad one, "Must have been a long night, where I bored Nana with my questions."
"No!" Louis interjected, "Don’t ever think that way. Queen mother enjoyed her last days because of you. And I’ll let you know, after speaking with you. She smiled all night, saying how she was relieved you’ve finally made a friend who is reliable."
Oriana was happy to know her grandmother didn’t die in pain. "It’s a shame I don’t even remember this reliable friend of mine," she chuckled dryly.
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