Chapter 9

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Our eyes seemed to flutter everywhere except to each other, both of us on either side of my horse, taking our time to walk through the forest

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Our eyes seemed to flutter everywhere except to each other, both of us on either side of my horse, taking our time to walk through the forest.

She had said her house was located towards the edge of the forest, wedged in between the entrance to the regions where the villages rested, and one of many rivers.

As we passed that particular river, I was taken back to the night where I lost the chance to fully see the face of a very mysterious woman. It could have been her curves, that didn't need an extravagant gown to be accentuated despite the darkness, or her refusal to speak any words even in her moments of desperation, that still had my curiosity intact.

Women, in general, seemed like epitomes of mystery. My recent interactions with them over the past couple of weeks, promisingly spoke for themselves.

But, the female I was currently walking with, Zyanna, seemed to be much less of a mystery than all the other women I had met. Her layers were easier to peel off to deduce what her thoughts entailed, her eyes mainly being the window to look through. It was definitely reassuring to know that I might not even need to calculate how to open the window that might have had a particular type of lock, for the keys, seemed like they would be easily handed to me.

All I had to do, was ask. 

The comforting silence continued as I surveyed the surroundings, more so than I would have done if I was riding my horse. The number of trees seemed to decrease as we ventured further, but strangely enough, there were more leaves scattered everywhere, even if there were fewer trees to release them.

Suddenly, Zyanna started moving around in a weird manner, her legs swiftly hopping around as she looked like she was trying to carefully avoid stepping on the fallen feathers of many birds. Then, she began to pick up the damaged feathers, as much as her palms could carry, and gracefully delivered it into the saddlebag attached to the horse.

"I hope you don't mind boy, I promise it isn't too heavy." She smiled softly and patted his back.

I refrained from questioning her actions, just choosing to revel in the satisfaction her doings gave me, and it felt delightful to not suffer from an urge to know the reasons behind something for at least once.

In the quick passing of time, it was apparent that we had reached our destination. There was a wide square-shaped clearing in front of a small cottage that delicately sat between two bent trees, the only area that contained no dirty leaves. It marked the entrance to her house.

The cottage emanated a sweet and homely aura, even the natural dust around it adding life to the classic brown colour of the bricks. There was one lamp hanging next to the door, highlighting a little porch, though it wasn't lit yet.

"The place is a little messy inside. Let me go and clear it up a bit so that you don't get too uncomfortable. Also, you can tie him up anywhere you please, Prince Elijah." She hurriedly ran inside the house, as I proceeded to let my horse rest in a suitable place.

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