11 A Stroll in the Courtyard

The Eternal Gods must have cursed this day.

She didn't have any choice but to agree with his father's plea. Besides, it was him who rescued her from another round of reprimanding from her mother. She owes that to him, at least.

Before her mother could return, she planted a petite smile to both of the Kings and walked away. Kaius followed.

Allyria sensed him, but she didn't mind, nonetheless. They already strolled past the Great Hall when she was still silent. Though Kaius didn't seem to bother asking about where they were going and just continued to walk behind her.

Suddenly, the castle's courtyard then came to view. The spectacular exterior was proudly adorned with large balconies, landscape gardens, marble paths and splendid stone sculptures. A huge, white fountain with a wolf atop rests in the middle of the patio, water flowing from its mouth.

"Not in a good mood, huh?" he said, trying to lift the atmosphere.

Allyria didn't speak.

"Don't worry, my father and I also have a love-hate relationship. It sucks, but I guess that's what you get for being a son of a king," he said, seemingly amused by his small talk.

She remained silent.

"Seriously though, I'm actually glad I finally met you. It would be awkward to see each other for the first time during our engagement day," he chuckles, "So, what do you do these days? I mean, being stuck in the castle—"

"Can you please keep quiet?" she screeched, her brows furrowed. She could have been patient, but his nosy tongue just couldn't keep still.

"I'm sorry I—" he stopped mid-air when he tripped over a huge rock. He screamed like an old lady, groaning with the impact, and fell face flat to the ground. When he rolled sideways, Allyria almost swore she saw threatening tears that wanted to escape from his eyes.

The look on his face impelled her to laugh, but she didn't.

"Told you to be quiet," she ticked off but when she saw that he was still holding his rammed foot, squeezing his eyes shut from the pain, she knelt, concern taking over.

Allyria noticed a scratch bleeding slightly just above his eyebrows. She tried to look at it closer and ran a hand on the side, but all she received was a flick in the hand.

"Stop being an ass," she commented. When he finally let his guard down, she tried to examine the wound. Luckily, it wasn't that deep, so the healing process wouldn't take that long. "Can you stand?"

He shook his head and looked over his foot, "I think I strained my ankle."

"A scratch and a strain," she muttered, "Today must be your lucky day."

He glared and avoided her stares.

'So all he needs is an accident to stop talking.'

"Wait here," she said.

Allyria didn't stay for Kaius to speak and instead went back to the castle. A majordomo was dusting the hallway, so she ordered for her to call the family medic. When she was on her way, she dropped by to her bedchamber to get a health kit.

"How's your ankle?" she asked as soon as she arrived.

"I thought you had no plans on coming back."

Not answering, she knelt beside him and placed the kit on the ground. She wasn't a healer herself, but she at least had enough knowledge on basic first aid. She grabbed the side of his arms and helped him sit.

"This will hurt a little," Allyria warned before she placed a small amount of alcohol on the cotton and dabbed it on his forehead.

Her hand was gentle, wiping off the bleeding edges on the wound. But suddenly, he winced and yelped in pain. Allyria immediately lifted the cotton off his skin and examined his distressed face, "Are you okay?"

A shake in the head was all she received. She started to panic, not knowing what to do. The family medic will arrive soon, but it would take them minutes to reach the castle. By now, the letter must have just been delivered.

"What should I do?" she stammered between words and lifted off the kit to empty its contents, but there wasn't any medicine to relieve the pain.

She was about to leave and call for help, but Kaius unexpectedly burst into fits of laughter, "You should have seen the look on your face!"

Allyria's eyes narrowed, throwing daggers at him. She stomped back to where he was seated and whacked his shoulders. If it were a normal boy, he would've slumped back on the floor, but this one was a trained warrior.

"Woah! That actually hurt," he rubbed the part to where he was hit.

Allyria glared, "How dare you!"

She slapped the other side of his shoulders, not minding his slight injury when he tried to move away from her. She wasn't even sure it was real. Maybe it was also just part of the joke.

Instead of talking more, she stood up and walked towards the opposite direction, leaving him slumped on the grass.

"Hey! Don't leave me here."

Allyria didn't turn around. When she was almost at the entrance, the family medic appeared and took a bow before the princess. She nodded and curtsied in return. They arrived early.

"Don't worry, you'll be healed in no time," she hollered just enough for her voice to reach to him and still seem modest in front of the castle staffs and medics.

"Kindly tend the patient's wounds, he needs it badly," she said to them and finally entered the castle.