Her first time outside the palace II

Melina just wanted the earth to open and swallow her as she observed the man's brow arched up, supported by his puzzled expression.

Why couldn't people leave her hair alone? Was it a crime to be a redhead?

Tynan too seemed taken aback by the man's remark.

"Is there a problem, Nabal?" he called the man's name with furrowed eyebrows while cautiously stealing a glance at Melina trying to know what was wrong with being a redhead.

As if Tynan slapped his sanity into him, the man blinked back to his senses, clearing his throat.

"Oh, not at all, I just thought it was rare to see a lady with red hair." the before smile plastered on his lips again but even Melina who was not very smart could tell it was a blatant lie. The man sure knew there was something wrong along the line!

Seeing both of them not willing to let what he said slide as they probed him, Nabal said tentatively,

"I heard redheads are special children.

But it could be that people are just speculating because they are very rare." he feigned an explanation, shrugging.

Tynan and Melina ogled at him as he explained, not believing a word he said.

The man licked his lips in frustration before stretching the packaged meats to them again.

"Thank you," Tynan collected it, not seeing a reason to keep asking as they would soon be out of time.

"Hope to see you again, my children," the man gave a crooked smile.

Melina picked up the scarf that fell from the ground, trying it back on her head before following Tynan who already started walking away.

When they had left the confined area, Melina raised a question,

"Why didn't you give him a gold coin?" she had noticed and was sure it was intentional.

"He doesn't need it," he replied coldly, unlike how he had earlier answered her on their way.

He doesn't need it? Melina wondered. Wasn't he like every other human? She wanted to ask again when they heard a loud slam on the street that repeated thrice. It called the villager's attention and they all gathered around the person who hit the gong.

It was a town crier, hitting a gong, religiously. He wore a red and gold coat, white breeches with a tricorne hat and black boots.

"Important message from the palace! The King's burial will end a day from now. The prince has urged all commoners to stop grieving the late king and prepare for a new rulership. His rulership!" he spoke with vigour as he hit the gong again three times. His voice was loud enough to reach the whole marketplace and Melina could feel her throat hurt from the way he kept shouting.

"Behold, Prince Leon will be crowned Ruler of Vlamunda Kingdom on Sunday by noon. So all youths, old and aged should be present at the village square for the initiation tradition before noon. Anyone who goes contrary to this order will face the wrath of the new King. I have conveyed the message!" the newscaster concluded and hit the gong one last time.

The people in the area seemed astounded by the news and began to whisper amongst themselves.

"I pray his reign to be better than his ancestors. He is a Kind man."

"Falsehoods! Did you forget how we all taught King Lucas would be better than his forefathers but he turned out even more wicked."

"But the prince has no bride yet. He didn't even marry his betrothed. This is opportunism!" a merchant said.

"He is lucky his father only had one son. Else he would be thinking of how to kill his brothers and take the throne now!"

"True, he wouldn't even think before he floods his bloodline with children. But now he wants to be a prude."

"You are all misunderstanding his intentions, what if he plans to marry her later on?" only one out of all tried to reason.

Melina heard all the vile things people said, not even paying regard to them as people from the royal palace any longer. It was virtually like they were invisible.

It was funny how they who had been in the palace weren't even aware of this news and heard it from the town crier. So this was how news was conveyed to the people? How did she not know anything about all these even? It felt like she had been living in the darkness all her life and now she admitted she did want to explore more.

They were already walking to where the horse had been tied by the tree and Melina noticed Joan was already there from afar with her pouches. Gauging the girl, she noticed how her mouth went agape at the sight of Tynan and her coming together, even looking at Tynan's hand that still held the meat.

Embarrassed, Tynan threw the meat back at Melina who looked at him startled by the sudden cold behaviour. Still not forgetting what they had discussed earlier concerning their parents, she rushed to speak,

"We would talk later about your pa-" she didn't even finish before he deadpanned,

"We did not ever speak to each other, got it?" his facial expression was stoic.

What? Why would he suddenly say that?

"We are heading to the palace now" he informed her. By then, they already reached where the horse was tied. He untied it and placed all the pouches on it, including Joan's own. He took note of how she stared at him curiously but blatantly ignored it.

He was good at faking oblivious.

.....

After some minutes of trekking, they entered the main gates of the palace which was now brighter, they could see the magnificence of the castle which was a big contrast to where they were not long ago.

The paved road with vast landscapes on both sides, exotic flowers of several colours laid out in a symmetrical layout and exceptional architecture and paintings seen from the pavilion not far from the main gates. Melina could still see some of the maidservants tending to the flowers and trimming them.

She wondered why Ms Carlos never allowed her to even do these types of chores. At least, she wouldn't get tired and frustrated easily. She was sure she could handle this better.

"Woof!! Woof!" the barks jerked her back to reality.

If Tynan was not skilled at dealing with horses, she was sure it would have kicked her off by now. She saw how it leaned forward its head in panic but Tynan managed to tame it and walk it forward, far away from the dogs that had scared it.

Now her turn to pass the gate where the dogs were, nervousness filled her as she shuddered at the thought of what would happen if the guards mistakenly let go of the chains pulling the dogs.

'They could at least keep it in a cage for heaven's sake!' Melina screamed in her head, thinking of how foolish it was that the guards thought holding these big wild dogs could secure them.

Just as she was thinking in her head, Joan courageously went forward, managing to get past the wild dogs with a thumping heart as she reached the other gate.

Seeing she was the only one remaining, she became even more fearsome. She took a deep breath and opened the entrance, revealing the gruesome-looking dogs that continued to bark as they saw her.

If not that Melina had not seen a dog her entire life, she would sure be convinced these animals looked nothing like dogs. They were thrice an average dog's size, had pointed conical teeth and red eyes that flared daggers at her as she tried to pass. Compared to the morning, they looked scarier.

Abruptly, she detected the atmosphere that was tense earlier begin to calm down, even the creature's barks lowered down...