The Princess and The Bandit

SEVENTEEN

Which earned her an unimpressed glare from the princess.

"I found a snake pit," Camila shrugged, "Instead of wasting my time hunting some cow or chicken for you, I thought why waste this exotic things. They look meaty enough,"

"It looks disgusting!"

"It's unconventional . . . And I won't be putting those oversized worms in my mouth," Normani sort of agreed, putting down the snake she was holding with a grimace.

Camila simply took a huge bite out of her own pick of roasted snake, glowering at Lauren as if daring her to complain some more. Dinah, Ally and Simona had nothing else to say and seemed to enjoy their breakfast while she's still processing how primitive their food choice were, doubting the process of how it was prepared and cooked. Apprehensive of whatever excess venom that might still linger in it.

"I got some berries and apples, Laura, you can have some if you don't like the barbecued vipers," Normani offered.

At least this girl somehow share similar opinion as her. She rolled her eyes at Camila then smiled thankfully at Normani.

"Thank you, Mani,"

The ebony skinned girl nodded in response and ate her fruits quietly.

They all ate in relative silence. Until Lauren expressed what's on her mind.

"So, now that you're all finished giving away your excess loot, what exactly are we up to today?"

She doesn't know precisely what's on the agenda because the only thing she's been told is that these bandits are going to drop off stuff for the villagers uphill. The princess found it quite generous of them to do so, but in all honesty, she couldn't quite make sense of this particular action.

Why steal something that isn't yours and then give it to someone else anyway? That isn't what common thieves usually do. Why are they not keeping it for themselves?

Princess Lauren almost suspects that since these girls has now given away their loot, they are about to attack some other store or shop and steal some precious goods once again. But then, she can sense that something else is going on, especially after what transpired in the tavern the day before.

She may have been a little distracted, but she heard a part of the bandit's conversation about some faerie woman setting up trouble for them.

"We're traveling northwest," Camila curtly replied.

"We're all heading towards Reiham Port and from there, we'll be going on separate ways. Camila and the girls will continue heading further west and the two of us are going far north," Simona elaborated.

Lauren has a vague idea where Simona and her are going, but she's got no clue as to where Camila's destination will be.

"Where are you guys going?"

"A business trip," Ally answered for her this time.

"A business trip where you guys are gonna hit up some poor merchant and steal their merchandise? But where exactly?"

"Why do you keep asking?" Camila snapped, "It's not like we've asked you where you're taking Simona or whatever it is the both of you are up to. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Arcadian,"

Lauren rolled her eyes, "I'm not trying to pry. I just need to find out, so I know which higher authority to summon when you go pillaging on some marketplace or something,"

The three other girls eyed her warily while Simona chuckled. She knows that the princess was just getting back at Camila for messing with her the day before.