their encounter

Michael disappeared into the woods to find control which he knew he would have lost without the talisman.

Joseph had to scour the forest in search of him and found him by the riverbank throwing pebbles into the sea.

" What's the matter? Scared to touch a girl? He teased poking him.

" You wish. It wasn't that. Forget it you won't understand" he said staring at the calm yet dangerous sea. Just like himself.

" You better snap out of it cos Asher has her. I don't think he's letting her go until he sees you" it had Micheal on his feet instantly then he started pacing. He had wanted to pull her along when he was leaving but she was the source of his problem so he couldn't.

" Why? Did the girls steal something from him again? I specifically told them to steal from the nobles" Joseph puffed out some air then rolled his eyes.

" Oh yeah? And how did that work out for you besides not everyone getting away with stealing from nobles like you? Some of us got something to lose you know. No hard feelings" he paused to access his reaction then continued " you know they needed the money for our little mission to fend for the poor. In the meantime let's get something to eat. I'm famished" Michael sighed ignoring him then sprinted off.

" Show off" Joseph cussed under his breath. Now he has to walk back to the village alone.

Tired of repeating the same thing to Asher, queen Shamira decided to give it a rest. He had refrained from seeing her ugly face as he chose to call it.

" What's your name thief? She didn't answer. For a second there she thought about his actions when he finds out who she was.

" Hey, I'm talking to you* he yelled causing her to jump.

" Do you always get answers from yelling? No wonder you're all alone and unhappy" that was it. That was the limit he could tolerate her as he held her chin up ready to unmask the girl that thinks he's unhappy.

" Let her go, Asher. She's not one of us. Seriously can't you tell? No friend of mine can be captured by you. No offense lady" Michael interfered scrunching his nose to avoid losing control. She huffed in annoyance already offended by his remarks.

" Pay up Michael. I don't want to do this either" Michael scoffed while scrutinizing his cabin.

" How much did they take from you? He asked then noticed her bruised wrist and sneered ready to pounce on Asher then caught a view of her rune and sneered' royals" he thought deciding not to waste his time on her then again he'd witness her kindness at the market.

" Perhaps we can settle this another way" Asher started " on the condition that you get to train me for a month. I can hardly throw a punch" he finished earning a chuckle from someone. Wait did a girl just laugh at him for being defenseless? He thought facepalming himself.

Michael seems to understand his goofiness and chuckled then nods afterall he was good at it. Something he learned from his father Mark.

" Deal. You know where to find me. Follow me, young lady. We should have that treated" she furrowed her brows with wandering eyes definitely looking for an injury. Momentarily, her eyes darted to her wrist which had red blisters around it. Was Asher that strong. She didn't forget to give Asher a hateful glare. One he wasn't expecting.

" This way" Asher started giving her an apologetic look before leading them out but she ignored him trying to catch up with Michael if he would slow down and when she did catch up with him, he was busy humming like a hummingbird and it was great.

" Where are you taking me? If Michael was unhappy about saving a royal before, hearing her voice had him excited. For once he noticed it was worth it. Her voice sounded like an opera song drawing him in that he didn't know he was rooted to a spot.

" You're far from home princess. So what are you doing out here? What has daddy got to say about that? He asked shaking the feeling off. Awkward he thought waiting to hear her melodious voice again.

" I can see that you're a nice man but I'm not a princess" she defended much to her dismay trying to keep up with him while avoiding hurdles in the way. Affin wasn't actually a clean city.

" No need to lie. You don't have to hide your face here. We don't know royals here. We hate royals actually. Frankly speaking don't you feel hot wearing all that? Women, I can never understand them" he grinned thus she shrugged.

" I'll be the judge of that" she sneered which amused him.

" Feisty, I like that. Careful. Which kingdom are you from? We have a marquis in Affin and he doesn't have a daughter" he spoke finally finding a shortcut home then offered to help her with it and retracted his hands after she climbed over.

" I'm not your responsibility" he heard her say and smirked.

" Yet you keep following me" she didn't like his response thus glared at him. He was right she was following him like a lost puppy but she doesn't know anyone.

" Don't worry I'll be gone before you know it. Just take me to an infirmary" the word infirmary had him laughing and she was commanding him.

" Such arrogance. It's a pity it won't get you anything here in Affin and guess what we've no infirmary. A local physician maybe but that's all. You royals care about yourselves thinking you can get anything you want in a snap of a finger" she was fuming in anger by the time he was done thus unveiled herself which of course stunned him. His jaw practically dropped with eyes almost popping out of its sockets. She was an epitome of beauty with eyes deep as the sea and lips as plump as a succulent fruit.

" As you were saying? She challenged in satisfaction yet he didn't reply. Nope, he wasn't done gawking in fact the image was going to haunt him for a very long time.

It's not every day he gets to see a blonde flawless beauty in front of him with eyes complimenting her beauty.

" What's exactly is your point princess? He teased waving at some random friends.

" I need to see a physician or you show me the way out of here. I need to go home" he hummed softly then grabbed a quil from a table to avoid upsetting her.

" Where's home exactly? Walking for a long time wasn't her thing so she sat at the table staring at his calligraphy skill. She couldn't help but admire it or she didn't want to answer his question.

Only the rich had the privilege to learn yet he was educated. Her scent got denser thus he raised his head meeting her blue eyes only then did she realize their proximity and blushed to rub hands on her neck nervously. Awkward.

" Your calligraphy skill is greatly better than mine at least" he smiled tucking a lock of hair behind her ears " Didn't pay attention in class? I'm sure you'll learn as you grow older" he advised earning a smile from her. The quil fell from his hands as he wasn't expecting her to smile and she had an amazing set of teeth. Subconsciously, he reached for her hands to entwined it surprisedly, she didn't pull away instead locked gaze with him.

" You're so pretty princess" he commented earning another smile which had him smiling as well.

" I'm no princess, so tell me, Michael, what do you mean when you said there's only a local infirmary here? How do you treat the sick? He wanted to yell at her for asking. One look and he could tell she cared thus ran a hand through his auburn hair after letting go of her hand.

" You should go, princess. You shouldn't ask things you can't change" she shook her head stepping closer to him

" I just wanna know. Please? She pleaded. He sighed leading her to the highest building helping her to climb at some point afterall she was new to it.

" Isn't it beautiful princess? He asked as she looked at the city of Affin from the top.

" Yeah," she said not impressed or infatuated.

" Affin is mostly surrounded by forest. We've vast lands for infrastructures, infirmaries, schools, markets, mines, and training grounds yet there's no one to provide for us. We've to fend for the poor ourselves. Feed the widows, orphans, and the disabled. It will really help if our king can do something about it. People die in Affin every day to minor illnesses. Do they deserve that? She took a good look at the beautiful city with hurt and loathe. Why couldn't Cyprian provide for his people regardless of their status?

" Perhaps you should let the marquis know about it" she suggested earning a burst of loud laughter from him.

" What's the matter? She asked definitely offended glaring at him.

" No offense princess. Are you kidding me? They care about no one but themselves. Have you taken a walk around Affin? You should" she wanted to refute but didn't after all her husband was a tyrant but spoke nevertheless.

" What are you doing for a change? Stealing from others? He frowned as he wasn't expecting her to say that. Whatever affection he felt towards her a few minutes ago was gone.

" I don't steal from anyone princess. I'm a blacksmith I actually have a job you know and even if I do it's to help others but what are you doing about it? If you royals would just make an attempt, the world will be free from disease and suffering. I'm sure you know your way home princess" he yelled darting off while she sneered.

He was right. She was a bad queen. Her people were suffering and she didn't know about it. Who is she kidding? Most of her subjects don't know her. The real suffering wasn't in Affin but in solovan. A lot of people thought the supernatural was just a myth or they knew but chose to ignore it since they were enslaved.

She took a good look at the town then decided to return home. She didn't belong there with her veil on, she climbed down from the building, scoured for her horse, and rode off.