CHAPTER EIGHT

"What?"Bryan said touching the king's hair

It was long

He had seen the king's hair before and it wasn't as long as this

He looked closely and examined the king's face

"Princess Brenda?"He muttered in shock after examining the king's face

It all made sense

The fist day he came to the palace,she couldn't remember what happened during the last meeting because she wasn't the real king

She also went to the princess's room when the meeting ended instead of the king's room and she wasn't good at archery whereas the real king is

Bryan's mind also raced back to the times they spent together

Her enchanting eyes,her beautiful face and how she treated his wound

He was glad he wasn't going crazy thinking that the king's eyes were enchanting

He was actually thinking about the princess all these while

He tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at her,staring at her sleeping face

But he quickly snapped out of his trance and packed her hair back into a bun

He also tied her collar,but not too tight

He covered her with a blanket and glanced back at her with a worried look on his face before leaving the room

<NEXT DAY>

Brenda had meeting with the members of the royal cabinet

While the meeting was going on,Bryan felt uncomfortable

One of the rules of Cyan Haven kingdom was that no woman was allowed to rule and right now,the princess was ruling, pretending to be king

'This doesn't feel right ' He said to himself

After the meeting ended, Bryan took excuse from the king and went to meet his father

He greeted his father and proceeded to tell him about what he found out about the king

"Father, there's something I'd like to tell you"He said to his father

"Go on" His father said, listening

"It's about the king" He said and cleared his throat,rubbing his hands together

While he was doing that,he sighted his injured thumb

His mind drifted back to when the king - Princess Brenda, he corrected himself,helped him treat his injured thumb

"I'm listening"His father's voice jolted him back to reality

"No, it's nothing"

"You were about to say something about the king"

"No, I... it's nothing, really"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes" Bryan answered

"O-kay then, I'll take my leave"His father siad before leaving

Bryan left the meeting room and went to the rose garden

He met princess Brenda seated on one of the decorated wooden chairs as usual

He walked closer to her and saw she was lost in thought

"Your highness" He bowed

Brenda raised her head to look at him

"You seem worried,is there something wrong?"

"No,not really. But...I was wondering...last night,I don't remember going to bed or even entering my room"

'Should I tell her I know her secret?'Bryan asked himself 'No,I have no idea what's going to happen if I decide to tell her.She doesn't have to know I know her secret"

"After the feast last night,you went to your room and didn't come out until this morning" Bryan lied

Brenda exhaled,she was afraid she might have done something to reveal her secret

"Your highness, should we resume our archery lessons?" Bryan asked breaking the prolonging silence

"No,maybe tomorrow" Brenda said

She wasn't interested in doing anything

All she wanted was to go out,away from the palace

She wanted to know what it felt like to be in the real world

"What's it like outside?"She suddenly asked

"Outside?I don't understand your highness"

"Outside, like...the real world,away from this palace"

"Well, your highness,the real world is beautiful,filled with people of different kinds and..."Bryan paused"I'm sorry your highness but why are you asking me this?"

"I want to know what it feels like to be away from the palace"

"Why?"

"I've never been outside of the palace gates before"She sighed but then her eyes widened 'i shouldn't have said that ' She muttered to herself, remembering she was the king and not the princess

"I mean, I've been outside the palace gates a few times...no,a lot of times fighting wars in the outside world,other kingdoms and other places"Brenda said and looked at Bryan hoping her lie would sink in

Bryan understood now that he knew she was the princess

He knew the princess had never gone out of the palace gates before so he didn't ask further questions,he only nodded to her last sentence

"Of course"He said "But would you like to get out of the palace your highness?"

"Yes,I would love to"She said and he smiled

She smiled seeing him smile at her

She stood and they both left the garden

<PALACE STABLE>

"Would you like to take a carriage or a horse"Bryan asked

"Horse"Brenda answered

The carriage would prevent her from seeing properly

Bryan went into the stable and brought out two horses

He helped her climb on one and climbed on the other before heading towards the palace main exit

which opened immediately they got there

She held the reins of her horse tightly and breathed in and out

She was finally going to leave the four walls of the palace

She came out of the gate and spread out her arms in the air

"Finally,this is it. Freedom" She said,inhaling the air

Bryan came with his horse and stood beside her

"What's that noise"Brenda asked and looked back

She saw about five guards on horses behind her

"What's happening?"

"They are here to protect you your highness"Bryan said

"What!" She was a bit angry but was trying not to show it

Just because she was going out doesn't mean she should be followed around by this much guards

It was the same as being trapped in the palace

She turned her horse and faced them

"I don't want anyone of you following me around!"

"But your highness -" A guard tried to protest

"No buts. Now all of you,go back inside" She commanded"Right now" She said again and they obeyed

Bryan looked at her

She looked angry just like the day prince Nicholas came

"Is... everything alright your highness" He asked

"Yes" She forced a smile on her face

"So,um...where would you like to go"He asked

"The market?"

"Okay" He nodded

Soon they got to the market

"So, this is what a market looks like"Brenda muttered to herself,nodding

She came down from her horse

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on the horses"Bryan said

"I don't know my way round the market,you should come with me"

"But,your highness we can't leave the horses here without -"

"I'm sure this gentleman wouldn't mind keeping an eye on them" Brenda cut his sentence short and walked to a man selling shoes

"Sir,can you help us keep an eye on our horses?" She asked the man

"Of course your highness"He bowed

"Thanks"She said and walked into the market with Bryan walking behind her

Brenda walked around the market

She admired almost everything she saw and greeted almost everyone even though she was the king

She bought presents for some children and played with them also

Bryan couldn't help but smile as he watched her

They later went back to where they kept their horses

"Where would you like to go again your highness"Bryan asked

"I don't really know"She said

This was the first time in her entire life that she was outside the palace and didn't know anywhere aside the market and the reason she knew about the market was because she usually heard maids talking about it

"Do you know anywhere else we can go?" She asked

He smiled and nodded

Shane was sure the food he ate two days ago was prepared by his mother

The same woman that served them the food came into the dungeon to pack the plates that was used in serving them the food and out of curiosity,he held her hand while she was busy packing the plates

"Excuse me"He said and she turned to look at him "Do you know who cooked this food?"He asked

"I cooked it" The woman answered

"Hey"A guard shouted "What are you saying to her?" He asked and moved closer to them

"Nothing I was just -"

"Come out here"The guards commanded and Shane obeyed

The woman followed behind

"What were you telling her?" The guard asked again

"Nothing" Shane said with a blank expression on his face

The guards brought out a whip

"Tell me" The guard said but Shane refused to speak

The guard whipped him thrice and asked if he was ready to talk but Shane stared at him,tight lipped

The guard continued to whip him

The woman watched as the guard whipped Shane

She felt guilty

"Stop"She yelled

The guard stopped and looked at her

"What are you still doing here?" The guard asked

"It's my fault.You don't have to punish him"

"Are you suggesting I punish you instead?"The guard asked,walking to her.

He raised his whip,wanting to whip her but Shane held it before it touched her

He dragged the whip from the guard

The woman stared at Shane,her heart racing fast at the thought of how much pain she would have felt if the whip had touched her

He had bruises and cuts on his face,strands of hair also lied across his forehead,covering his eyes,making it hard for her to see his face properly

"Hey!What do you think you're doing?The guard asked as Shane advanced to him,his eyes red with pain and anger

"You can whip me all you want but I won't let you touch her" Shane said.

He raised the whip and wanted to whip the guard but he stopped,breathing hard

It would be pointless beating the guard

He would only put himself in more trouble

He threw the whip at the guard,allowing it to hurt his nose

"Thank you"The woman muttered and left immediately before Shane could even get a chance to look at her face properly

He wanted to be sure if she had any resemblance with his mother since she said she was the one who cooked the food

He sighed and walked back into the dungeon

"Hey,come back here"The guard shouted after him

Bryan showed Brenda most of the places he knew round the kingdom

Brenda found most of the places amazing and couldn't contain her happiness that she was outside the palace gates

For once in her life,she felt free

Later,they stopped by a river to rest

They had been on their horses all morning

They both came down from their horses

Brenda sat on the ground not minding if her clothes would get dirty or not

Bryan stood beside her

"Worried your clothes would get dirty if you sat beside me?"She teased him

He sat beside her,staring at her as he did

She smiled

"Thanks for today"She said "it feels good to be outside. I've always wondered what it would feel like to be outside the palace but thanks to you,I now know how it feels"She said, forgetting she was king

Bryan smiled seeing how happy she looked

Her eyes shone just like her smile and he couldn't help but stare into her beautiful glittering brown eyes

He had never seen someone so beautiful on the outside and also on the inside

Brenda smiled,staring at him also

They brought their faces closer and closer and then their lips