18 Reason #16: Only Troublesome Days Ahead (1)

For the past 3 hours, Prince Leon and I have been running and hiding away from Father's men.

This time father is pretty persistent in trying to find Prince Leon and me. We've been running and hiding so much that we didn't have any time to talk at all.

Before we knew it, the sun had begun to set, and night began to fall.

Ivy stopped at a corner, trying to catch her breath

"Fuh-uh... Wha, what did you do to make father so angry?"

Prince Leon looked around while trying to stay alert.

"Fuh-uh ... I had a slip of the tongue."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

Just when I thought that things couldn't be any worse, my stomach started to grumble loudly.

<Wuah... That's so embarrassing! I hope he didn't hear it.>

As she looked up at him to check, she saw the Prince chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. You look too cute. I guess it's about time we find somewhere to rest and have a meal."

"Yes, please."

Ivy blushed in red and obediently nodded.

As soon as they decided to depart, they felt droplets of rain that started to fall.

Prince Leon grabbed Ivy's hand as he said

"We better hurry. There might be a storm coming."

Before they knew it, the rain started to pour down. While the Prince and Ivy tried their best to search for a place to rest, all the stalls and shops had closed for the day.

Feeling cold, wet, and drenched, Ivy held on to the Prince's hand and asked.

"What shall we do now? Shall we return to the manor instead?"

Although Prince Leon was reluctant, he couldn't bear to see Ivy standing and shivering in the cold.

"I guess that we have no choice. Let's go back and..."

*SPLASH*

Suddenly, a large amount of water splattered at both of them, causing their whole body even drench and muddy.

It seems that the wagon that had passed by, the thunderstorm had spooked its horses, causing the driver to lose control of the wagon's speed.

The wagon owner, who looked like a middle-aged farmer, stepped down from the cart to apologize for the misfortune he had caused them.

"I'm so terribly sorry!! The horses went out of control because of the lighting. Are you two, ok? Please tell me that you are not hurt?!"

The middle-aged farmer continuously bowed down his head while nervously apologizes to them.

"It's ok. We are ok. You can stop apologizing now."

Ivy, slowly feeling bad for the man, immediately tried to reassure him that they were ok.

"But your dress is now drenched in mud. I run a small inn just right outside of town. If you like, you can come rest with us for the night and for free, of course."

"No, it's fine. We won't want to trouble..."

Before Ivy could finish her sentence, Prince Leon covered her mouth to stop her from talking.

"Yes, we would be eternally grateful to accept your kind hospitality."

"Ah, of course! It would be my pleasure! Please, please step into my wagon."

While the man happily led them into the wagon, Ivy pulled the Prince's hand away from her mouth and rolled her eyes at him.

"We shouldn't trouble the kind man."

"But it would be impolite to reject his kind offer, and if we go back dishevelled like this, it might cause further misunderstandings, and we won't want that do we."

The Prince gave a sinister smile while he gently pushed Ivy towards the wagon.

"....."

Even though it is not in Ivy's character to trouble others, she too could not help it to want to get herself out of these uncomfortable wardrobes soon.

As soon as they boarded the wagon, the man began introducing himself.

"My name is Hensley, but the folks here call me Papa Hensley."

"My name is Ivy, and this is Leon."

Ivy and the Prince decided not to reveal their identities as they didn't want to alarm the man.

"Why do people here call you Papa Hensley?"

"Hahaha, It's a little bit embarrassing, but I'm the proud father of the three most beautiful daughters in Ester Lake! You might have recognized them from the beauty pageant at the festival today, and I was just on my way home to see them. They are really my proudest treasure in the family. I cannot wait until I introduce them to both of you."

"Hehe, to hear how much you love your wonderful daughters makes me excited to meet them too. Thank you again for inviting us to your home Mr Hensley."

Ivy chuckled at how Hensley reminded her of Duke Augustine.

"Honestly, your bird mask that you are wearing was the one that caught my attention. I was one of the committees that helped organizes this year's Mask Festival, and those bird masks that you are wearing are the ones that I helped produce this year, and it's the number 1. best-selling mask among all the couples."

"Wow, that is amazing, but why is it so popular among couples? Are there no other matching masks? How did you manage to compete with so many other merchants?"

Ivy being a business person herself was amazed by Hensley's achievement.

"Hehe, are you interested in being a merchant yourself, young miss?"

"Well, actually, I have been running a small clothing store for two years now. My grandfather is a merchant, so I had a lot of help from him. I'm really interested to know how other merchants trade."

"Hoho, well, let me tell you. It's all about the story!"

"Story?"

Hensley's answer made Ivy puzzled.

"Yes, the story. The mask you are wearing is the eyes of white doves, and white doves are a symbol of true love. It has been told that doves are associated with Venus, the goddess of love, and it's the only birds that pair up with the same partner for life.

So when you wear the White Dove mask with your lover, you are showing to the world that this is the person that I will love and mate for life.

Haha! Couples love that kind of stuff!"

Ivy's mouth widens in shock.

<Mate for life...? How can you even wear such an embarrassing thing around?! That means we've been running around town while other people have thinking about us like that???>

Ivy's whole face blushed. She immediately turns and glances at Prince Leon, but the Prince turns his head away from her.

< THIS NARCISSISTIC BASTARD KNEW! That's why he change my mask! Even with that lover's stone thing, he has planned all of it this whole time!>

From that moment on, Ivy learns that Prince Leon is the only person in this world that she can never EVER lower her guard down.

(Author: Actually, when Ivy found out about the story about the White doves, the Prince turned away his face from Ivy because he didn't want to let her know that he was actually really embarrassed about it as well. And because both of them were so embarrassed, they did not talk to each other until they reached Hensley's Inn.)

*********************

At Hensley's Inn

When we reached Hensley's Inn, the heavy rain continued to pour, and it didn't seem like it would lift anytime soon.

The Inn was rowdy and crowded with people, and many looked like performers that came from town, waiting for the storm to pass.

We were soo soaking wet that even the insoles of our shoes were drowning in mud water.

"Come on in, come on in!" Hensley yelled, "Let us get you two settled down. Robbie! Come here! We got guests!"

A young man with red hair, wearing an apron, shows up at the door.

"Coming pops! Oh! So two loved birds have just flown in, I see."

Robbie smiled at Ivy and the Prince cunningly.

After hearing the boy said that, Ivy and Prince Leon immediately remove their mask. Their face was flustered as they did not realize that they were still wearing their mask as they were too focused on being embarrassed during the whole trip.

As soon as they remove their mask, Hensley and his son's eyes widen when they see the Prince's face.

"Wow, I never expected to see such a handsome young man. Are you two nobles?"

Hensley looked at Prince Leon's face, closely suspecting both of them to be children from noble families.

"Oh, no. You think too highly of us. We are just commoners from a slightly wealthy merchant's family. We were at the festival for business."

"Ohh! That's why!"

Ivy's lies totally convinced Hensley.

"Forgive me, and I shouldn't doubt you like that even if you are noble's children, it shouldn't have mattered. That was incredibly rude of me."

"No, it's ok, Mr Hensley."

"No, no, young ms. Please do forgive this old fool. Let's get both of you to check in first. Robert, please show our guests their room."

"But pops, we only have one room left. We are fully occupied due to the festival."

Robbie looked troubled as he flipped through the records on the counter.

"It's ok. Suppose we could just have an extra bed or blanket. We could.."

Again before Ivy could finish her sentence, Prince Leon covers her mouth to stop her from talking.

"No, it's fine with the one bedroom. My Lover and I can share it."

The Prince said it with a straight face while Ivy tried to struggle her way out.

"Are you sure? Your lover doesn't seem to like it very much, though. It's no trouble, and we do have a spare bed that we can put in the bedroom."

"No, no. We wouldn't want to trouble you after all the hospitality that you have given us. My lover is just a little excited."

The Prince gave them a gentleman's smile, charming them to believe his every word while Ivy continued to struggle to break her way out.

Suddenly three female voices could be heard coming from the kitchen.

"I heard Daddy's voice. Has daddy return, Robbie?"

"What daddy's here?"

"Daddy!!"

Then three beautiful young ladies came rushing out of the kitchen and hugged Hensley from behind.

"Daddy!" X3

"Oh, my beautiful daughters. I'm sorry it took me a while to get home. I accidentally stumbled upon some unexpected guests. Let me introduce them to you."

When the three fair maidens laid their eyes on Prince Leon, their eyes sparkled like diamonds under the sun.

Before Hensley could even introduce Ivy and the Prince, they flew themselves over to the Prince's side and fawn over him like fangirls.

"Oh my god! You are the most handsome man I've ever met. Are you single? If not, I'm available."

" Kourtney! Stop spewing your saliva over him. Besides, I'm sure he prefers someone younger like me."

"I'm Khloe, 16 years old, single, 5ft5inches, my three sizes are ....."

"Girls! Behave yourself. Stop crowding over them. You should respect them; they are our guests for the evening."

Hensley sternly scolded them while he tried to pull them away from the Prince.

"But daddy!" X3

"Hush! I'm sorry that you have to see that. They don't usually behave that way. Let me officially introduce you to my children. From my right,

My eldest daughter - Kourtney, 19

My second youngest daughter - Kim, 17

My youngest daughter - Khloe, 16

And finally, my youngest and only son, Rob but all of us call him Robbie. He is currently 13 years old.

After Hensley introduced his family to us, the only thing that came up in my mind was

<ISN'T THIS THE KARDASHIAN FAMILY?!>

<Uwah... I always thought that the author had a lousy naming sense, but who would've he would use Kardashian family to name his characters. knew it from beginning this rom-com novel s*ck and absolutely overrated! This may have just been lazy them all.>

Prince Leon started introducing himself while Ivy was still shocked by meeting the Kardashian sisters.

"My name is Leon, and this is Ivy. We are travelling merchants from the capital."

Prince Leon said it with a straight face while still holding Ivy and her mouth tightly in his arms. Ivy, at this point, had already given up on breaking free.

"Wow! From the capital! How impressive! I love merchants. Please do tell me more about what you do."

Kourtney clings to the Prince while pressing her large chest into his right arm.

<Wow, is it C? Or D?>

Ivy silently analyzes, it's an occupational hazard due to her work at the clothing store.

"Yes, yes! We don't get many chances to meet people from the capital. Do tell us more! We love to hear more of it!"

Kim smoothly snuggles herself to the other side of Prince's arm, again pressing her large chest onto him.

<Wow, another D!>

Ivy continues to be amazed by the ladies' impressive figure.

<Can I call you big brother? want to know more about brother!>

Khloe just directly hugs the Prince head-on from the front, forgetting that Ivy's existence in between.

<E! E!  Definitely an E!!>

Ivy could guess accurately after being suffocated from Khloe's hug.

"My apologies, ladies. But My lover and I are feeling tired from the storm. We would like to retire for the night. Maybe next time."

"LOVER?!!" X3

The three fair maiden shouts in frustration.

Prince Leon just smiled courteously and immediately pick up Ivy like a Princess and head towards the bedroom.

*****************

Author:

Oh no! Finally, alone at night in the same bedroom. What's going to happen now?

See you in the next chapter!

Give me a thumbs up if you like this one, hehe ;D