Kingdom of Tulips

Chapter 9

~Oriella~

My mother gave me a long kiss on the cheek. "Be careful, alright darling?" She cupped my face and looked me kindly in the eyes.

"Of course, mom. I'll see you a little later on" I replied and hugged her. My father stood beside us, waiting for his turn to say goodbye to my mother.

I left them and walked down the long white stone stairs that led up to the front entrance to the castle. A few guards either stood by the carriage or by their horse.

"Your Highness, the carriage is prepared for you," a guard announced as I reached the gravel on the ground. I replied with a thank you and walked over to it.

The door was already open and before I could even take the first step on the small staircase, I felt a hand grab mine. Not tightly, but it had a good grip. I quickly turned to see who took a hold of it.

Arlys standing with his side to the carriage. In his uniform and sword in its scabbard by his side. He had one hand behind his back and the other one was gently holding mine. His eyes weren't meeting mine, but instead they were staring straightforward, not looking at anything specifically.

I stood there, only for a brief second and looked up at him. I used his hand as a railing and took the first step on the small staircase leading up to the carriage.

My gaze went from Arlys to the insides of the carriage. As I reached the comfortable seats inside of it, I went to let go of Arlys' hand, but his grip tightened slightly.

I looked in his direction, expecting him to stand in the same position as before, but he was now facing me and looking me in my eyes.

He smiled slightly, but I wouldn't call it a smile, it had a cocky look to it. His face slowly leaned down to my hand, his dark hair falling down over his green eyes, hiding them. He placed a soft kiss on my hand, letting his lips sit there for a moment. His soft lips left my hand and he peeked up at me. "I will look forward to seeing you later, Tulip" I felt myself lean towards him, slowly and unintentionally, but before I could get close to him he backed away, smiled at me and left me alone in the carriage to return to his horse.

"Was that Arlys?" My father entered the large carriage and seated himself in the seat in front of me.

"Yes, it was. He was just saying goodbye or rather saying see you later." I explained. One of the guards shut the door and gave the cue to the chauffeur to begin moving.

My father hummed in acknowledgement. Beside him, laid a small binder with papers in them. It was the papers he needed for the meeting with Mayor Columbine. I asked him this morning why I wasn't attending the meeting, like some of his other important ones, but he simply shook it off and said I shouldn't think about it and just explore and enjoy the town while I was there.

I didn't think much of it, since it didn't seem like he would give me an answer and decided just to enjoy that I could have a day of fun, instead of sitting in a meeting.

My father told me yesterday that Arlys was going to be my companion during the trip. After yesterday, I hoped it wouldn't be awkward, but we made up, so I didn't expect it to be.

I moved the small curtain away from the window and gazed out at the approaching town. Chesterfield. I have heard a lot about the town, but have never been there myself.

I observed the town. Stone houses, both small and huge, shops, a big church placed beside the Townhall, where the Mayor works and people everywhere on the streets. The stone path the carriage was riding on was large and partly muddy. I saw people gather, as they saw us come nearer the actual part of the town, where there weren't just a few houses with farms. This part was more cramped and a lot more people and buildings. They seemed to be curious, as to why a rich looking carriage would be entering Chesterfield.