Chapter 102

Thump Thump

Vorbuk felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest when he realized the princess was holding his hand. Flinching out of reflex to quickly separate his hand from hers. It was hard for him to focus on where they were going until he realized they were near sweet stalls. He could see a warm expression on Isis's face as she glanced around them without a word. Even if she wasn't from werewolf lineage the look in her eyes was still enough to give of the delicate look of a lost puppy. To him it felt as if her wolf lineage only added to how much she resembled one from her expression towards seeing so sweets.

Hm? Vorbuk glanced from her to the sweets that the stall was selling. It was something that resembled earths rock candy that he had once seen as a child.

Taking out some money from the money pouch he had taken from the prince earlier he held it out towards the one managing the stall. He could feel the confused glances from Isis behind him. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Here. You looked like you were going to go crazy if we just passed it up." Vorbuk said to her calmly as he shoved the candy towards her. Though he was not certain how to feel about the girl he was not willing to ignore someone who was so obviously desperate for such a simple thing.

"Thank you!" Princess Isis gave off a warm smile as she took the sweet candy from Vorbuk. Instantly she began to enjoy it while following him from his side. "So where are we going?"

"I want to stop by the guild.. It should be one of the best places for information. I have some things I want to check on while I am out.." Vorbuk glanced over at Isis as her beautiful golden eyes stared straight at him. Something about her gaze felt as though she was contemplating something in her mind.

"They are great for that indeed.." The princess turned away as she started walking ahead of him.

Vorbuk could feel that she was thinking about something important to her. As someone who had lived on the run for a while he pondered the idea that the guilds were probably used many times by her father in order to track her down. That was a possibility that he knew was greatly possible. If a person was willing to pay the price the guilds could be hired as informants for many things. There were even chances if the right terms were carefully met it was possible for someone to even get details on royal families themselves.

This was something even royal families were aware of but lacked in the proper methods to solve. They resided in every kingdom and held power enough to destroy a kingdom if the system of guilds throughout the continent were pushed into cooperating with each other. Because of this reason no kingdom dared to go against them. The only method they had to minimize risk was to watch over them and resort to a cooperation that guild masters were to be chosen by the royal family of the kingdoms they were placed among.

Information, Quests, Protection, and Trade were all things guilds held a deep grasp on. A guild master was no different then a snake hiding in the grass. Caution was something to take when making deals with them.

"I use to dream of days where I could live without the king's control ruining everything around my homeland," Princess Isis crunched on the sweet candy in between her words as if she was trying to hide the fact that her memories were hurting her. "I know.. Things in the future will get complicated between you and him.."

"You don't have to talk about-" Vorbuk tried to stop her from continuing as he held up a hand to her but she continued.

"No. I want you to know.. I don't blame you for whatever happens." Isis smiled at him. "Even if the thought of father being killed in the war hurts.. I will never blame you.. because I know only his downfall can help my people. My family has had enough time on our throne. I wont help you.. but I wont stop you either."

Vorbuk and the princess both paused in the street as they stared at one another in silence. Only the sounds of other people around them could be heard. Neither of them knew what to say after what she had just told him. She did not believe she could ever come to dislike Vorbuk over the matter with her father, the king of Theapan. He did not agree with the way she looked at the matter.

"You're wrong. No matter how you look at me you will always recall that day when it comes. The moment I take his life," Vorbuk held on to her shoulders and stared her deep in the eyes. "You might not hate me but you will never be able to look at me the same."

Isis thought about his words as they stood there. She could feel the warms of his hands on her shoulders causing her face to flush slightly. Tears were starting to fill the corners of her eyes as she tried to hold it in.

"Think about it more carefully. It's alright to mourn the king when that day comes but don't try to force yourself to think it means nothing to you. I would rather you express your anger at me then watch you kill yourself inside over something I am planning to do.. Just because its best for the people doesn't mean it isn't painful." Vorbuk pulled her in close to his chest so that others would not be able to see her upset. Isis was a girl and he felt she would not want others to see her face when she was tearing up from their conversation.

When her emotions started to calm down she realized he was holding her in his arm. Although she was only being held against him with a single arm, it felt warm. She could tell that Vorbuk was not experienced in helping others calm down. Yet that realization only made her feel even warmer because she found his attempt to calm her rather cute.

"We should get going!" The princess tilted her head up to him and spoke.

The moment he glanced down their faces became mere inches apart. They could both feel each other's warm breath. It made the prince's heart pound hard in her chest. She quickly removed herself from his grasp and started walking forward without a word.

Did she need to react that way? All I did was hold her. Vorbuk was puzzled by the princess's reaction. His mind had not been on their position like hers had. Because his mind had simply been wondering if she was feeling better. He had not realized right away that the princess had been thinking about something else because of how close they had been until she was marching off ahead of him out of her own embarrassment.

"Are you coming or what?" The princess shouted back at him when she realized he was still standing there with a dazed expression. A faint smile slipping onto his face as he began to silently follow after her so that he could make his visit to the guild.