[Arthdal Chronicles] Fight for freedom

CHAPTER 31: A first victory for the Queen of Arthdal.

"Aren't you hungry?" Tanya asked him.

He shook his head but his own body betrayed him not long after and the rumbling sound coming from his stomach made everyone, except him, laugh. Slightly embarrassed, he glanced at Enoria who silently made him understand to wait outside the time for her to prepare their plates so that they would eat together. Yangcha excused himself to the High Priestess who restrained herself from laughing more at him and he left.

Enoria wasn't long to prepare their plates and she joined him soon after.

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While eating the meal they had all prepared together, Sana and Tanya were chatting about diverse subjects. Looking at them -or rather at Tanya-, Saya had to recognize that he was actually enjoying the time he was spending in her presence, though they weren't alone. She was different when she was surrounded by others, she smiled, laughed and talked more, maybe because she was less on her guard, and he wondered if she would be at ease like that with him one day. She would soon be his wife and he wanted her to trust him completely, to share happily, with him, simple moments like they had just done, with something as ordinary as the preparation of a meal. He thought maybe that was what it looked like to be a family. Had he ever shared a happy meal with Taealha or Tagon? No, actually, they had never sat around a table to speak about their respective days. Would they if he were to ask? He didn't know that. Would he dare to ask? Probably not. It was like he could already hear Taealha laughing mockingly at him for having such expectations as for Tagon, he would probably make an effort but it would probably be awkward. Why had they torn him away from his real parents? What if, if Tagon hadn't picked him up, his birth mother had come back for him and brought her two children to Iark instead of only bringing Eunseom? Would he have grown up witnessing a happy Tanya by his side? Would she have smiled at him the way he had seen her smiling at Eunseom through his dreams? Or had he always been destined to be the rejected one? No, he would prove to her he was worth her smiles and could make her happy too.

"Tomorrow," he started, without realizing he was actually interrupting the conversation of the two women who just stopped to listen to him. He noticed the way they were looking at him, and with a smile Tanya encouraged him to continue. "Tomorrow, I would like to have lunch with you."

"Are you proposing a date to Tanya Niruha?" Sana teased.

A date? He hadn't thought about it, "it's not," he replied not to make Tanya embarrassed, "it's just, I have thought about it and I think we should spend more time together before we officially announce our marriage. I know we have an arrangement but in the eyes of the people we have to be credi-"

"Let's do that then," Tanya interrupted him, "maybe you should accompany me in some of my activities and me in some of yours."

"It would be a pleasure to do that," the Prince replied with a smile.

Sana looked at them one after the other. There was something wrong about the way they were looking at each other and she awkwardly cleared her throat to remind them she was still there. "Should I go pick up some flowers or something like that so that the two of you can fli-"

"For how long have you known Enoria?" Saya interrupted her before she dared to say what she was about to say. He didn't want to make Tanya uncomfortable by putting words on things that didn't need to be named.

"I met her when I was 8, so ten years."

"Wait, there's something I am actually curious about," Tanya replied, "how old is she exactly?"