The low-born {Book 2}

Chapter 12

Not Edited

Many moons went by and Abal could only watch prince Arsham from afar.

She didn't know his name or where he came from yet something about him drew her in. Whilst young Abal thought it was her inquisitive mind of wanting to find out prince Arsham's secret, her heart knew it was Abal's first brush with love.

Abal would watch his compound from her tiny window at nighttime just to make sure they were around. Since her hut sat on a hill, it gave her a perfect view of the village and it's surrounding.

Although she couldn't make out exactly who occupied his home, the only give away was the light that glows from his home indicating someone was in. She knew they traveled a lot as she had heard the villagers speak of it.

Many have cited their curiosity with regards to the occupants of prince Arsham's home.

But life for young Abal haven't changed much. The adults now acknowledged her but the young children were ordered by their parents to steer clear of her. Surprisingly, that had pleased Abal immensely.

She didn't want friends and certainly not ones with far younger minds than herself.

Also one very good thing she benefited from her revenge was that the songs and taunting had immediately stopped. Her name was now uttered in hush whispers both in fear and reverence. Much to her delight.

When lord Ramin received a missive from the village chief informing him of Abal's fiasco with the other children, he praised her swift and commendable ways to take matters into her hands but rebuked her harsh resolve.

"Couldn't you have come up with something less life threatening?" Lord Ramin had asked in his missive to Abal. But she wasted no time in explaining the poison wasn't life threatening but rather meant to cause immense discomfort.

Abal's spare time which she had plenty of were now spent underneath the oak tree as she watches the young girls dance each day with the support of their instructor. At evenings, she would study medical journals and experiment on treatments to cure her ailment.

Although she had have problems with her bones for as long as she could remember, she often wondered what had caused it. When she confronts Adara, all she ever gets were vague response. "You were born this way." Adara would say avoiding eye contact.

Abal suspected there was a story behind it but for now she would humour Adara and not investigate any further.

Prince Arsham made conscious efforts to avoid running into Abal as the months went by. Even as he went around rural Persia, home for him and his group still remained the little village.

"Aref I do not want you to befriend that child!" Prince Arsham had ordered one day when he caught Aref staring at Abal longingly.

"Why not young master?" For once Aref questioned. He has never been one to question authority especially one from prince Arsham but he couldn't help but wonder what rattled his master about the little girl.

"You do not question me Aref! You follow my orders!" Prince Arsham growled in annoyance.

"Pardon me your highness, your servant deserves to die." Aref says as he immediately got on his knees to apologize. He had momentarily forgotten his place as he scolds himself for his lack of judgment.

"You may rise. I just don't want her around me. She's far too intelligent for her own good and if anyone is going to find out our true identities in this village, it's going to be her." He quietly explains. "Furthermore, we do not want to set tongues wagging."