𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐥.𝐫.𝐡

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈

"Ahem!" someone loudly coughed, just as Lukes lips were eagerly about to brush against my own and he jumped back in shock to see Michael standing there with a snicker on his face. "Your father wishes to see you." he smirked, before bowing and walking out, leaving Luke to let out a groan.

"Are we always going to get interrupted?" he asked, taking hold of my hand and intertwining our fingers together and I laughed as we made our way out the armoury and back up to the castle. "Father... You wished to see me?" he asked, as soon as we walked through the doors to see him just opposite and consulting with his advisors.

"Ah yes, I need you to go do something for me down in the village." Andrew said, excusing his men and giving us both a smile. "As you know, it is expected that snow will start to fall soon so I will be sending some guards down to check the state of the people's homes and making sure they are still well intact for this winter." he explained. "The guards have also been ordered to send out the invitations for the approaching Frost Festival so I only need you to escort them and let the people see you."

"Why can't the guards just go on their own?" Luke asked with a bored expression.

"Because as the Crown Prince you need to start making public appearances. The people need to know who will be ruling over them don't they?" he asked but Luke screwed his face up, as if not wanting to go. "The Queen, can join you if she wishes." he sighed glancing towards me and a toothy smile was quick to appear on his sons face.

"Brilliant! Where are the guards?"

—

"Can you believe that I've been here in Cadeiric for almost half a year but not once have I visited the village?" I excitedly said as Luke helped me out the carriage and I flattened out my clothing.

Having arrived in Cadeirics village, I only needed to take a look at the buildings once to know that everything here was well look after, starting from the buildings, to the people.

"Well, at least you've already met the people." he smiled, snapping his fingers to one of the guards who passed him a some sort of black belt with a sword attached to it. I quietly looked round as Luke gave out orders to the guards whilst wrapping the weapon around his waist, before they went off, carrying two brown sacks. "Come on then, let me show you round."

Our hands met each other's as we started down the dirt path, passing houses and all sorts of shops. The villagers that were standing on either side of the road were quick to gasp and bow when they spotted us, not hesitating in whispering or gossiping to each other.

'Hellos' and 'good afternoons' were exchanged between us, as well as warm smiles from almost everyone. I enjoyed the villagers friendly and polite presence, something a lot of other villages didn't have.

The time had passed and Luke had shown me around everywhere by going down all these different streets, alleys and having a look round the shops. I noticed he was also paying attention to the buildings themselves, just like his father had instructed. He even stopped to have a conversation with a few families and salesmen, asking if the money that was currently being earned was enough to keep them going and even offered to lend a hand.

Although he wasn't that keen on coming here at start, I could tell that he truly did care for his people. Not many Kings or Princes were like that which gave me another reason to admire Luke.