He is a Prince

Francis gazed at Laija's small face, closing in slowly. It was smooth and white like the glowing white moon peeking from the windows across them.

'I'm actually a prince.' He whispered. And waited for her reaction. Their faces were only a few inches apart.

Laija's light green eyes upturned to meet his violet ones. They stared at each other for a moment until she broke the contact and pulled herself away.

She spoke. 'I didn't know a prince would be free to be anywhere but a castle.' Then, turning her head away she added, 'Well, as long as I can find a place for them to stay without any problems, it is fine, I guess.'

Francis was taken aback. Usually, when he told people that, they would only laugh at him or scold him for joking. But she was not doing any of that. She simply commented him on not living at a castle.

'You believe my words?' He asked, his tone an odd mixture of disbelief and surprise.

Laija faced him again. With a raise of one of her dark brows, she uttered, 'Were you lying?'

'No!'

'Then, prove it.'

'I will prove it to you by taking you all to Aurvina.'

'Alright.' She said and headed for her room.

'Good night!' He wished her from behind.

She had no reason to believe him nor to disbelieve him. Maybe she just doesn't care because she really had no destination in mind by her own. It was good to rely on someone who knows better about this world, prince or not.

After all, she needed to look for a permanent place where Domi and Aniya could settle themselves properly. It is not that she is trying to get rid of them fast. She just can't take care of them when she is not fully committed. She needed to find them a suitable home where they could grow up along with children around their age. Domi and Aniya were still very young, aged seven and twelve only.

After that, she will continue on her solitary travels as usual. It was never good getting attached to anyone. Especially for her.

-

They bid farewell to the old couple who had treated them like they were their own family members.

Then the group of four went to the town marketplace where they bought some supplies for their journey. Laija bought another horse because she fell it was too much for only one.

Francis said they needed to go through four major towns until they can arrive to the coastal city of Aurvina. And in between, there will be dozens of villages. It was going to be a terribly long expedition.

On this quest like journey, Laija noticed that the man called Francis had bonded very well with the children. He was great at entertaining, making them laugh and teaching them things. Laija sometime found her own lips curling upwards at his silliness, against her will.

One day, Domi asked, 'Hey, are you really a prince?'

They had stopped by a brook to rest their horses. It was noontime too, so they decided to relax under the shades of the tall trees.

'Of course, are you doubting me?' Francis tried to sound offended. He was leaning his body on the trunk of a tree, hands folded under his head. He had already mentioned to the kids he was a real prince and they believed him in a heartbeat.

'No, no.' Domi shook her head and sat up straighter. 'It's just I heard that princes and princesses live in a big palace from stories.'

'Oh, that's true. But you see, I'm runaway prince.' He answered the boy with a mischievous wink of his eye.

'You ran away? Why?' It was Aniya who asked this time.

'Because it is boring inside the palace.' He told her with a smile. But Laija noticed it did not reach his eyes like usual. He was forcing it.

He sat straight and said, 'But you know all the ladies who comes to the palace are very pretty. They dressed in beautiful gowns during balls.'

'Did you dance with them all?' Aniya's eyes brightened, imagining it in her mind.

'Mmhm.' He hummed his eyes closing.

'Wow, I wish I could wear a nice dress and dance in the ball too...' Aniya trailed off sounding sad.

'But you have to be a princess first, Aniya!' Domi claimed loudly. His sister face fell.

Francis let out a carefree laugh. 'You can wear pretty dresses too! I promise to buy you one when we arrive to Aurvina. I will even dance with you, Aniya dear!'

The girl eyes lit up again at his words.

'What about me, Francis?' Domi pouted.

The man turned to the little boy and ruffled his hair. 'Since you are a boy like me, I will buy you the best wooden sword and I will teach you how to fight.'

Domi and Aniya were in high spirits after hearing his promises. Laija only quietly listened.

They travelled the coming days from one village to another. In one more day, they will be arriving to the first major town.

On their way, they came across two women. They were lying on the roadside, looking tensed.

'Ladies, what's the matter?' Francis asked as he halted the vehicle.

The two women appeared startled to see them at first. Then, the brunette stood up and made her way to him, in a flirty tone she started saying, 'What a stroke of luck to see a handsome man like you! We have been starving for days. Can you share us your food and drinks, hm?'

'Sure, I would love to.' Francis said breaking out into an attractive smile of his own.

Then, as if remembering something important, he turned to Laija and asked for permission, 'Shall we stay here for tonight?'

Laija glanced at the dozing faces of Domi and Aniya. They were sleepy so they might as well stop here. Besides, it will soon be night time. She nodded her head in agreement.

Francis turned to the ladies again and said, 'So, tell me how did beautiful ladies like you came to such troubles?'

The brunette cozied up to him and answered with a giggle. 'We were on our way to the next town to find work. But the carriage we were traveling threw us out because we had no money! So cruel!'

'How heartless! To mistreat you ladies like this!' Francis commented, angry on their behalf.

The other woman said nothing, only stared at them with caution. Laija understood that she was probably not fond of new company. She was like that too.

The woman introduced themselves, 'My name is Ruli and this is my sister Lina.'

'I'm Francis and this is Laija. The little ones, they are Aniya and Domi.' He also did the introduction for them.

Ruli nodded. 'So you guys are brothers and sisters too?'

'Eh, no...Don't we look like a couple and their kids?' Francis trailed off.

'Not at all.' Ruli answered at once.

Francis appeared shattered by her words.

They started up a fire to keep warm and share a meal together.

Ruli looked oddly at Laija sitting with her hood covering half her face. She asked, 'Why is she covered like that? Does she have a scar or anything? I'm saying this because we don't mind.'

Francis glanced back at Laija and replied, 'She is just shy, that's all.'

'Oh, is that so? My sister Lina is the same! She don't like speaking to strangers. We are the only talkative ones.' She said laughing.

Francis laughed along with her. He was really enjoying himself talking about this and that to her. After all, he was a sociable person, always fascinated by new things and new people.

The exact opposite of her.

Laija pushed aside the thought and turned her attention to the sleeping kids. They were fast asleep. She reminded herself, once she found good places for them, she would immediately part ways with that man. He was too much for an introvert like her.

The next morning, when Francis and Laija woke up, they were in for a complete shock.

The two women from the previous night were missing. Their horses and cart were nowhere to be seen too. It was highly likely they had hit the road after stealing their vehicle and goods altogether.

The troubled women were actually robbers!

'Ugh, I can't believe they fooled us!' Francis complained, stomping his feet on the ground in rage.

Laija sighed. She also can't believe she let her guard down just because they were women.

'Why did they took our things?' Domi asked innocently. He was confused.

'Because they are rotten thieves! I can't believe I was laughing and drinking with them!' Francis was still fuming.

'What should we do now?' Aniya at least seem to understand now they were in trouble.

'Don't worry. We will think of something.' Laija said. She turned to Francis and asked, 'How far is the town from here?'

'Not far but it will take more than half a day by foot.' He answered, messing his own hair out of frustration.

This was really troublesome but they had no choice but to simply go by foot.

It was soon evening. They had nothing to eat or drink so they stopped to rest.

Later, Francis apologized to Laija. 'I'm sorry. It is my fault. I shouldn't have stop to help them.' He said, his head drooping out of shame.

Laija did want to scold him for being over friendly but it will not help their current situation in any way.

She sighed. 'Neither of us thought over the possibility of being swindled by them. Let us be careful next time.' She told him. She was in the middle of casting her magic.

She remembered something her mother used to say often-'Wisdom that comes late should be kicked away'. Meaning that there was no point in clinging to wisdom that comes too late.

Laija manipulated the magic circle that floated above the palm of her right hand to become bigger. The glowing pink circle rose above their heads, expanded further like a giant umbrella being opened, then the visible light faded around them.

Domi and Aniya looked on in awe. Francis was impressed too.

It was barrier magic that will protect them from wild animals since they were camping near the woods.

That slept hungry but soundly that night.

At dawn, they commenced their journey by foot again. And at last, they arrived to the town as dusk fell.

They checked into the first innhouse they came across. It was a rather good establishment with room service. They booked two rooms, Francis and Domi together in one while Laija and Aniya in another. They ate dinner separately in their own rooms.

The next morning, Francis stepped out of his room, stretching his body after a good night's sleep.

Little Domi came running. 'Francis! We need your help!'

'Hm, what?'

'Laija said we are going to open shop!' Domi cried, his brown eyes shone with excitement.

'Huh? Why?' Francis was dumbfounded.

'Because we need money.' Laija appeared. Aniya following behind her.

'Won't it be faster to find work instead?' Francis questioned.

'For you, maybe. I've always had trouble on my end.' Laija replied, walking towards him.

'Anyway, Aniya and I will do the groceries. I request you to secure us a place in the market square. Take Domi with you.' She said and handed him a small white pouch, 'We already had our breakfast, this is for you.'

'Ugh, this is rather shameful for a gentleman.' Francis groaned.

'Just pay me back later.' Laija told him and went to her room.

-

While shopping for the ingredients, Laija discovered this town was quite poor compared to the rest she had gone to. The shops were all lacking in materials and there were not many shops. And maybe because of that, they were easily able to rent a place to open their stall.

'What are you going to sell, young lady?' The woman next to her asked. She was selling hot buns.

Laija did not answer her but showed the main ingredient she was going to use.

The woman appeared shocked. Looking at the big bowl of cooked rice, she exclaimed, 'Young lady, if you sell that you are not going to make any profit!'

'That's what I said!' Francis said as he entered and sat down before a small table, that was going to be the counter.

'I have to try and see.' Laija responded with a small smile.