Chapter 4

Yan walked into the cave to catch the princess sleeping on a log. He wondered to himself how she was brave enough to fall asleep in such a place, knowing how valuable she was to anyone.

He walked slowly towards her and knelt beside her. He watched her for a while as she slept but suddenly, So much anger and bitterness ran through his blood. He believed her father was the reason for the harsh treatment He and Vernon received from the police official and he planned to get even by killing her in her sleep. He fought hard within himself . He wanted to take revenge but some side of him urged him to spare the young princess. He brought out his dagger and placed it at the neck of the princess, hoping to kill her quickly and quietly but something would not let him. He was not sure it was his nice heart or fear of being beheaded if he was ever caught . In total disappointment, he tossed the knife away and woke her up.

"Hey....Hey wake up "…..he repeated continuously until she finally woke up. She got up in such a graceful manner which left Yan stunned.

"How could you even fall asleep in such a place?"...he scoffed with unbelief.

Her weary eyes glanced at the knife on the floor and then back at him. A sudden feeling of trust and Comfortability clouded her emotions and feelings towards him.

"Didn't you just try to kill me ?"....she smiled.

"I tried. But it seemed like a waste so, I have decided to take you back to the palace. Your time with me is up because you are starting to give me dirty thoughts and I hate them"….he didn't bother to hesitate.

"No!"...she immediately refused.

"What…. why not?, aren't you fed up with this place and my filthy look?"…

She ignored him completely with nothing to reply with. She stared at the floor worriedly as though something was running through her mind.

"Whoever sent those bandits to attack me, doesn't want me in the palace. If I return today, it might trigger some unwanted reactions. Let them celebrate today and then later on, I'll burst their bubbles."...

Yan stared at her as she continued to speak.

"Where do you plan to stay because, the caves get very creepy at night and a princess like you, would not find it pleas—"….

"I'll go to your house!"…..she interrupted,

"What?, you know very much that that is against the laws of Mono!"…...his voice gave away his annoyance at her suggestion.

"I know. But no one has to know about it. If anything happens, I'll speak to my father to spare your life"…,,.,

Yan's sigh immediately put a smile on her face. Though she was Royalty, Yan's lack of respect for her had humbled her and left her at the mercy of negotiating every move with him.

"Fine. As you say."….he reluctantly agreed.

He held unto her and helped her out of the cave and into the village. Yan used an old cloth to cover her face as they made their way through the village. As soon as they got to Vernon's little cottage, he immediately let go of her sending her straight to the ground.

She scoffed angrily and glared at him while still on the floor.

"Why did you do that?, you really hate me don't you. Why did you even help me in the first place ?"....she yelled at him.

He ignored her and went into the cottage. With a loud scoff, she managed to rise to her feet and make her way to the bench. She mumbled to herself continuously until her growling stomach interrupted her.

" ahh I'm so hungry. I'm sure if i tell that guy, he'd probably knock me unconscious with a pot and tell my spirit to cook for itself"…she mumbled , ignoring the painful growls of hunger going on inside of her. She sat still for a while and immediately became bored.

"He's been gone for a while, I wonder where he is?"….she said to herself.

She got up and went into the house, looking for Yan. She wondered why she couldn't find him as she stepped out.

"Maybe he's at the back"…..

She limped repeatedly while searching the backyard for Yan. Her jaw dropped in a stare at the sight of a shirtless Yan wetting himself with water from a green pipe sticking out of the floor.

He took a casual glance around but stopped in surprise at her sudden appearance.

"What do you need?"...he asked, snapping her out of her spaced out self.

"I uh...Um….I just….um …well I was hungry so yeah"…..she stuttered.

Yan behaved normal as though a princess wasn't staring at his bare chest while he was washing himself.

"I'll fix something up in a minute "…..he replied.

"Tha….Tha…That's fine "….. she stuttered into a hiccup and then quickly turned away in embarrassment.

After what seemed like Yan's shower, He stepped out of the cottage with two plates of rices and a greenish sauce poured all over it. As he set it down on the bench, he immediately sensed the princess's disgust at the food, though she did not complain or even say a word. She was still a bit shy in his presence but seemed better.

"Do you not like the food?"...he asked.

"What is on the rice, and why does it smell this way?"…..,

Yan sighed and stuffed his face with a spoon full of rice.

"It's olive sauce made with curry leaves. It's not as bad as it looks"…

with a lot of hesitation, the princess ate a few grains just to taste it but to her surprise, it actually was delicious. She ate more and more until she found herself scraping on the plate.

"I thought you would be very picky, but I guess you really are hungry"…..he chuckled loudly.

"What makes you think so?"…..she replied with a mouth full of rice.

" Well for starters, you are scraping the plate and secondly, you are all messed up "..,,,.he continued laughing.

She lowered her head in embarrassment at Yan's continuous teasing as she chewed on her last spoon of rice.

"Whatever "…. She found herself chuckling too.

"I saw an old man asleep in the room, who is he?, he looked a bit unwell."….she changed the topic.

Yan's happy mood immediately became sour at the sound of this .

"Why did you go into the room?"..,,,his voice deepened into an annoyed tone.

seeing the expression on his face, she immediately regretted asking the question and blurted out a submissive reply.

"I was looking for you—-"….

"If you are done eating, you can take a walk round the compound to help your digestion"…He interrupted her rudely, after which he walked out on her, leaving her a bit upset at his sudden outburst.

She sighed slightly as she watched him leave without even a glance back at her.

After some time, she went looking for him outback. She wanted to clear her doubts and get to the bottom of why he was so mean and disrespectful to her. After a while of searching, she found him pulling out weeds beside an old water pit.

"If you're done being mad at me, can we talk about it ?"….

"There is nothing to talk about with you!"….He gave a rude reply before returning back to removing the weeds.

"I'm sure you didn't save me just to show me how much you hate me. All you've done since my stay with you is threaten, scold and hate my every action. I'm truly surprised you didn't poison me earlier. Could you please tell me what's going on?"..,,,,she asked gently.

He sighed deeply and then turned to her.

"Whenever I look at you, all I see is the government who treat my father and friends like dirt, claiming to have our backs and provide for all our needs—"…

"So you think taking out your anger on me would solve anything?".:..she asked with a slight smile on her face as though she sort of understood his feelings.

"Don't think of it as taking out my anger, it's more of expressing pain and irritation"...he answered.

"Fine. I get you well and good but I have a question"…

He debated within himself, whether or not to continue with this discussion with her. A part of him wanted to see if she would be of any help while a bigger part of him wanted to ignore her and walk away.

"What is it?"… he finally blurted out. The frown on his face made her want to rethink her question but somehow the words flew from her tongue.

"What exactly do you want from my father?, I think he has been more than a good king to all his subjects"….

Yan spat out in disgust immediately, slightly startling her. With a loud scoff, he turned to her and approached her. Glaring down into her eyes, he grabbed unto both her shoulders with a firm grip. She didn't know how to feel about his sudden move. A mixture of fright, curiosity and embarrassment ran through her veins as she stared back at his piercing glare.

"When you are over fed, pampered and spoilt day and night, you tend to lose your ability to reason and end up asking foolish questions like this!"...his voice deepened as he spoke.

She struggled to free herself from his tight grip but all to no avail. Her eyes lowered in fright and annoyance at his behavior and words and with so much regret, she found herself trying to get out of the awkward situation.

"Let go!"….she yelled in a shaking voice.

With a deep breath as though he was calming himself down, he let go of her shoulders and looked away from her.

"I'm sorry. I don't think we could live in the same place together. Get ready I'll take you back to the palace immediately "…..he lowered his voice in repentance.

With nothing else to say, he walked away from her, leaving her amazed at his sudden change in behavior.

"Does he get possessed from time to time?"….she scoffed to herself before following after him.

"I won't leave until we are on Better terms"….she demanded.

"don't you think you are digging a grave for yourself?"…:.Yan turned to her.

" it's worth a try"...

"Fine. If you feel you must"..,..

"I see my father's officials have hurt you, and we both know that as a woman I can't influence much so tell me, how can I make it up to you?"....she asked, expecting another rude reply.

"you can't."…

"it's getting late. If we won't return to the palace, you best get comfortable even though I doubt you'll be able to sleep with all the mosquitoes"….he continued.

"Are you going somewhere?"…. She asked, watching him leave.

"I'll be back in a while. Don't wake father up. I'll go get dinner for us."…,,.Yan rushed his words before leaving quickly.