Playing: Mozart- Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Time flew by swiftly, things were at their best for everyone as they made quite a progress with each other especially Catherine and Kai who have grown closer to each other. Kai told her of his plans to reclaim what was once theirs and Catherine thought that it was utterly ingenious and that it was splendid how Kai came up with this. She'd never settle for any man other than Kai. He set her standards too high and not once did someone made her feel this way other than him.
It was a usual morning stroll at the Royal Garden for Princess Catherine except the fact that she was with Kai. She was heading to a part of the Garden she loved going to. Pavona's cage.
Her Peacock although taken care of the servants, still prefers Catherine's supervision. She's his owner after all and he enjoys her company more than anyone at this time. As she saunters towards his cage closer with Kai trailing behind her, Pavona squawked at the sight considering that it has been quite some time since Catherine last paid her visit given her pretty tight schedule with everything that's happening. They are to attend a Royal Picnic later by the lake and while the servants are setting up the venue, she decided to spend some quality time with Pavona and her lover.
As soon as she unbolted the cage, Pavona flew out of it and settled on one of the branches of a tree. He flapped his wings repeatedly as if to serve as a warm up since it has been dormant for quite some time given the fact that he was somewhat set aside to focus on more important matters for the queendom.
"Hey, get down there Pavona! Won't you greet me?" Catherine yelled at Pavona since it was quite a height he settled on. She fake pouted and crossed her arms playfully. Kai found this utterly adorable and smiled as he stared at her admiringly.
"Shouldn't you be calling him with some sort of a distinct call? I suppose you came up with one, am I right?" Kai queried to her, halting her tantrum over Pavona's stubbornness.
"Oh you're right! It sort of slipped off my mind given the influx of information I had to take in these past few weeks." She chuckled. Soon after, she whistled towards Pavona's direction who seemed to notice the call and darted his gaze towards the lass. He flapped his wings and flew towards her, settling on her right arm gently as to avoid scratching her delicate skin.
She reached for something on her clothed chest and Kai could've sworn he'd collapse then and there. He gasped and immediately looked away, beads of sweat dripping down his temples and blush creeping up on his face as he bit his lips over how flustered he was. Catherine took out a small cloth bag that stored Pavona's favorite snacks in it and reached her hand out to grab some. She dropped a number of pieces to the ground and Pavona was quick to get off of her arms and started pecking on the snacks.
Kai somehow felt like it's safe to dart his gaze back to the lass and he was proven right when he saw Catherine looking at Pavona with a grin on her face. It was the most beautiful sight he saw throughout his lifetime and he'd practically do anything to see it often and keep it from disappearing. She looked exceptionally dazzling under the morning sunlight with the sunlight illuminating her big doe brown orbs. He breathed out in satisfaction, her smile was indeed contagious.
After all these years, he finally gets to see her again. He endured all those years trying to not read the newspaper to not catch a glimpse of her knowing that it was too risky because she was basically always in the news and now that she is in his arms again, he wanted nothing but to keep her close to him until the end of time. It might sound selfish but given the burning flame of their love for each other, they'd do everything for the sake of it. After all, love outweighs everything.
He was awoken out of his reverie when Catherine snapped her fingers at him as she called for his attention noticing that he wasn't paying any heed over what she was saying.
"W-what is it? Hussey?" He stutteringly queried, blinking abruptly.
"I was talking about how Pavona still hasn't found his mate yet. Look at him, he's flashing his ravishing feathers yet it's futile given that not a single peafoul is around." She explained, sighing in frustration right after.
"I'm certain he will have one someday. I assume you're already looking for one, am I right?"
"Yes. I always request for one from India but they always don't survive the journey for some reasons."
"You will find one that's resilient enough to cope with the stress and other hardships of the journey. And when that time comes, she will be the one." He reassured, smiling at her as he grabbed her hands and placed it in his own. It was very thoughtful of him as it was still considerably cold as it was still early in the morning.
"How thoughtful of you." She uttered, grinning at him as he returned it with a soft smile. They chuckled without a particular reason which was halted when they heard someone cleared their throat. They both shifted their gaze towards where the sound was coming from only to see Bahiyyih.
"It is with great displeasure for me to interrupt the two of you. However, the Royal Picnic is to commence shortly and your presence is to be expected at the said venue. Make haste now, time is of the essence." Bahiyyih reminded, bowing and leaving them both to supervise other matters.
Both of them snickered as they heard Bahiyyih's faint squeals from a distance before heading to the venue of the event.
Joanne and Ben on the other hand were getting too close for comfort with mostly Ben sticking close to her wherever she goes. She agreed on letting him court her and she couldn't be more regretful over a decision she made than she is now. He just wouldn't leave her alone and it's already beyond too much for her to handle as he goes too intimate for someone who's just courting. If he is to court her, he should do things and say words that would please her. Giving flowers and uttering complimentary words towards her are just some examples yet Ben failed to grasp upon the idea as he thought courting someone means expressing his love towards her as much as he could which terribly isn't the case especially for someone like her who lose her temper very easily.
"Would you leave me the fuck alone?!" Joanne hissed, capturing flabbergasted attentions of dozens of royalties over her foul mouth. They are already at the said venue as Joanne picks up choux pasty puffs from the Croquembouche tower at the long table under the shade of a tree.
"Why should I be leaving you? I am courting you, aren't I?" Ben questioned with a hint of mischief in his tone and façade. Joanne's jaw clenched at this and glared at the lad with utmost sharpness it could pierce through titanium.
"How about you shut that filthy mouth of yours for a brief moment? Or atleast help me pick one out of this endless variety of bread & pastries here?"
"Macaroons would be great or mont-blanc. How about croissants? Beignet could do too!" He recommended enthusiastically, unbeknownst of the fact that it only made her crisis worse.
"Inutile, you're not helping in the slightest. Hey, Terry! What do you recommend me to get?" She asked the baker. She knows Terry even before he left the Forsaken District to manage his family's bakery at the capital. Terry is here as he was asked to provide them with the pastries. He was offered with a job at the Royal Kitchen as their baker and as opportunity seeking as he was, he took it with utmost willingness. His suspicions about Prince Steve showing interest on his bakery were indeed proven and he couldn't be more joyful than he is now to earn a spot in the Royal Kitchen.
"Anything is tasty, Your Highness. After all, I'm the one who baked all those." He boasted.
"You're also pretty useless." She deadpanned, sighing in exasperation as she walked away from the scene with Ben tailing behind her with a grin on his face as habitual.
"It is true though." He mumbled to himself.
"She wanted you to atleast pick what you think she would like the most dumbass." Judy stated, crossing her arms as she shook her head lightly.
"How would I know?" His face crunched.
"Let's just drop that topic off. I don't want to lose a hefty amount of my braincells trying to convey my words past through your thick head. Anyways, you should start recruiting employees now that you've secured your spot at the Royal Kitchen."
"I'm eyeing someone. He's got serious potential and if given the proper training, he'd be just as good as I am in a short span of time." He explained, smirking in satisfaction pondering of the mysterious lad reaching his full potential.
"And who might the lad be?" She queried, intrigued by his smirk as if he's plotting the biggest scheme the world will ever witness.
"Yang Jungwon." He uttered with utmost confidence, even resting his hands on his waist.
"The beggar?" Judy queried, pouting in confusion.
The tent Judy weaved was doing its job exceptionally well as Princess Julia and Lucy sat under its shade, sipping their cups of tea while overlooking the scenic view of the lake. It was tranquil and blissful. Breathing in the fresh and fragrant air of the Royal Garden perhaps served as a momentary break from the stressful things they've faced up until now. Julia smiled at the sight of Jinni and Prince Steve getting along and enjoying each other's company whilst fishing at the bank of the lake.
"Would you look at them." Julia muttered, sighing in satisfaction as she watched how Steve triumphantly teased Jinni for not being able to catch a single fish and Jinni effectively being fed up with all the teasing pushed him towards the lake, causing a huge splash which alerted the ton as the scattered attentions from the royals that dotted the place were all but diverted to the Prince that has fallen into the lake. Julia was flabbergasted by what her younger sister had done yet she couldn't do anything like pinch her waist during this situation. Not when the watchful eyes of other royalties are focused on her and Prince Steve who successfully made it out the water.
He was soaking wet, and the sight of his toned body sticking out of his white sleeve polo was causing a cyclone of unfathomable emotions to assault Julia's system. She couldn't utter a single syllable, she was unmoving and it was safe to conclude that she was caught on a reverie. Lucy seemed to have noticed this and clapped her hands right in front of Julia's face, snapping her back to reality.
"It is not proper to stare." She stated, grinning at the now flustered lass beside her.
Julia cleared her throat as she fixed her posture her fiancé unknowingly disfigured. She was just about to argue when Lucy shushed her.
"I see no need for you to be indenial. It is completely natural for couples to feel some type of way whenever they see such sight of their partner. You needn't to deny it." She reassured.
It was indeed very true and no one else could relate to such experiences better than her. Daniel and her still weren't together when both of them started looking at each other in a different way. Glances and peeks all led to what they are now and as conservative as they may be, it always comes naturally within them.
Julia grinned when she saw Steve squeezing the water out of his garments. He ruffled his hair to rid off the floating debrees from the water that might've stucked on his head and she had to admit, it was turning her on. She shook her head slightly in an attempt to banish the lewd thoughts she had on her mind and diverted her focus onto her little sister which caused quite a ruckus in this event. She will definitely receive a ton of chastise from her later on and she was already plotting on how she could teach a thing or two on that brain of her sister.
As a payback, Steve splashed water droplets towards Jinni, causing the lass to fume in anger as her mouth fell agape. She was yet again fed up but she knew better than to shot back at him and cause yet again another ruckus. Not when her sister is attentively watching from a distance so instead, she stood up from her seated position and dusted her skirt, Calling for her group of friends that dotted the place namely Haewon, Lily and Sullyoon.
Prince Daniel on the other hand was running late on attending the Royal Picnic. He rode his Rabicano stallion and sped through the seemingly endless stretch of grass in the Royal Garden. He strayed away from the trail and chose a shortcut as his horse leaped through fences. He barely avoided some of the crowd that dotted the said venue and he hastily searched for where his beloved was situated. He roamed his vision across the landscape and spotted her sitting down under a tent with Julia beside her as she held her cup of tea, grinning at whatever they are conversing about. The constant anxiety he gets whenever he ponders over the possibility that she could've been constantly picked on by other royalties whilst he was away were eating him up so much so that he has to leave the duties he needed to fullfill as the first born.
But to see her enjoying herself among the presence of the brutally evaluative eyes of the royalties was like having a spike picked out of his throat. Without hesitation, he guided his horse to cross the bridge on the lake as his flashy entrance gained flabbergasted and astonished attentions. He halted right in front of Lucy and grinned at her, panting loudly as if he was the one sprinting through the place instead of the horse he rode.
He got down and sauntered his way towards the lass, bowing at her and giving a gentle peck on her soft hand as she was left baffled by his sudden affection behavior.
"Are you alright?" Daniel queried, standing firmly.
"Does it appear so that I am not?" She asked back, obviously enervated by his lack of common sense.
"I was just worried, you know. Don't I have the right to be worried of you?" He furrowed his eyebrows, his plump lips morphing into a slight pout.
"Did you literally just ditched from your duties as the first born just to check on my whereabouts?" She questioned, narrowing her eyes as she eyed him in suspicion.
"Hey, attending such events is also one of my responsibilities may I remind you." He defended.
"You needn't to remind me that. Anyways, what made you ride your horse?"
"I was in a haste. I was worried sick that you must've been constantly picked on by other royalties amidst my absence." Explaining his part, he sighed in frustration. He couldn't take the risk.
"Are you implying that I cannot handle such things? If they're spiteful towards me then I'll apologize in advance as their thirst for satisfaction will only be left unquenched." She smirked.
"What if they harass you? Perhaps push you and cause a miscarriage? I can't afford to lose either one of you!" He exclaimed.
"You're blatantly overacting Prince Daniel. I am here to keep her in company and assure her safety." Julia butted in, grinning as she finds his antics adorable. She somehow wished that when the time comes for her to get pregnant, Steve would do the same and just the thought of it caused a surge of joy to her.
"Fine. Anyways, how is he?" He asked, eyeing Lucy's bump.
"You clearly won't stop assuming your child's gender wouldn't you?" She sighed in frustration, he has been doing it even before they left the Forsaken District and Lucy clearly has had enough of his constant blabbering over how they would fence together and do other things men enjoys.
"Hey it's a Dad hunch you know, I can feel that I will be having a son this year." He stated, grinning as he rested his hands on his hips.
"How does that 'dad hunch' even work? You sort of like feel it your stomach that you'll be having a son?" She queried mockingly.
"I dream about it. He'd be exceptionally handsome like his father. He'd be fond of literature too and is proficient in different forms of combat." He raised his eyebrows twice whilst still grinning, reaching out his hand to gently caress Lucy's bump that has grown exceptionally large. This is certainly suspicious as they haven't seen anyone's bump grew this large before.
"Make sure you have a son before you have an heir, Daniel. I don't want anything else than for my child, whatever its gender may be to live his or her life in a way where he or she doesn't feel restricted or locked up by the duties he or she shall bear in the near future. I don't want them to long for their freedom because they were deprived of it. Please do me a favor." She sternly stated, what once was a light and jolly conversation suddenly morphed into a serious and heavy one. There shall always be times where they are needed to talk about these sort of things. After all, the future of Larkspur lies on the future of their family. And if they fail to balance their duties and their bond as a family, it either turns out that the country will suffer a huge loss or its future rulers will lose themselves along the way.
"I'd do everything in my power to ensure that, Lucy. You needn't to worry over such thing." He reassured, flashing a smile at her as his hand reached for the side of her face, gently caressing it.
Julia was delighted from what she saw but she shall help her drenched fiancé get dressed with a new set of garments and so with that in mind, she sauntered away as she bid them her farewell and headed straight to Steve. She called for his name and the lad's head immediately snapped to her direction.
"Come with me. I shall never allow anyone else to see my fiancé's bare body under a thin white fabric." She explained, reaching her hands our for him to grab in which he obliged.
"Look at you being possessive and all. You want me to strip in front of you once we arrive?"
It indeed was a day full of teasing.
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IMPORTANT NOTICE:
This book Flora has been suffering from lack of idea and a condition called "Silent Readers Syndrome." The only cure for this is for the readers to be vocal with their thoughts on the comment section and actually create conversations with each other. If this is to not happen, th author is afraid that she'll/he'll drop the story with the loss of engagement.