Chapter One - Prince (c)

Making my way to the kitchen, which is located in the basement, I greeted every servant that has come across my path. More and more servants greeted me as I got closer to the kitchen. The kitchen has a direct - almost secret - passage to the stables. So I thought that it would be nice to pay someone a visit in the kitchen today.

“Good morning, everybody,” I greeted as I entered the kitchen with a smile on my face.

“Good morning, Your Highness,” they all greeted with their usual cheerful tone.

As I continued to smile at everyone in the room, I headed straight to Nana Olsa. “Good morning, Nana,” I hugged her from behind without any sort of warning.

“Oh!” she exclaimed out of shock, her hand landed on her chest as she calmed herself. “Oh, my dear boy, it’s good to see you,” she giggled as she turned around to hug me. “You gave me such a fright.”

Nana Olsa was my nanny when I was little but she was removed by James when I reached the age of twelve thousand years. He said I was old enough to be transferred into the care of my tutors. Although she was removed as my nanny, she was welcomed to stay as a servant and so she did. She stayed as the head cook so she could continue to look after me from afar.

“It’s good to see you as well, Nana,” I slowly pulled away from her and gave her a gentle peck on the cheek.

“Oh, my dear boy, you’re still sweet as you were a child,” she giggled. “What brings you to my lair?” she then turned around and continued to stir the soup she was cooking.

“I was on my way to the stables so I stopped by to get my water container and a few apples for Lady,” I explained. “Also, I thought it would be nice to pay you a visit as well.”

“The stables?” she stopped stirring as she asked. She then turned her head to my direction. “Are you going out on your own? Isn’t today the day for your visit to the village with your family? Were you left behind?” She then returned to stirring the pot after letting out all of her questions.

I stayed quiet for a few seconds as I tried to think of an excuse. “I wasn’t left behind. I didn’t go with them. I’m not…” I hesitated as I continued to think of a neutral way to say what I want to say. “I wasn’t in the mood to join them today. There are some days where I don’t enjoy doing those visits.”

She, once again, turned her head towards me. “Is it because of your father?”

My eyes widened when she knew the answer but a smile crept up to my face right after. “How did you know?”

“My dear one, we live in the same castle,” she put her spatula down and walked over to the sink beside her, washing her hands. “Everything that happens inside the castle is being reported to me,” she continued as she wiped her hands dry with her white apron. She then walked towards me. “And besides,” she gently cupped my face with her soft hands. “I know that you and your father don’t have the best of relationships at the moment.”

“You know me too well, Nana,” I held her hands tightly as I looked directly in her eyes. “And I’m very grateful to have you as my guardian.”

She then giggled as she gave me a light pat on the head. “Now, there are crates of freshly-delivered apples in the stables. And here,” she let go of my face and reached for something from the cupboard above her. “Here is your water container.” In her hands, she revealed my leather water container that’s already been cleaned.

“This is already clean,” I replied as I received the leather container in my hands. My brows furrowed in confusion. The last time I used this, I didn’t have the time to clean it. “Did you clean this, Nana?” I looked up at her.

“For some reason, I found that thing in the garden yesterday. I knew it was yours so I took the liberty of cleaning it for you,” she approached the pot once more and added a few more ingredients to the boiling soup. “I know you never liked to clean your containers unless you find it absolutely necessary.”

After I checked the leather container, I gently kissed Nana on her cheek. “Thank you very much, Nana. I’ll be back from my stroll before lunch is served,” I began walking to the entrance to the stables.

“Be safe, little one,” I heard her speak from behind me.

“I will,” I answered, not bothering to look.

When I arrived at the stables, three servants were taking care of Lady as I instructed. One was brushing her hair, one was making sure her hooves are secured and one of them grabbed her saddle off the wall, which is something I made specifically clear with Gonzalo that I will be doing the saddling myself.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” I entered the stables without any form of announcement.

As soon as they heard my voice, they dropped whatever it is that they were doing and rushed towards me. “Good morning, Your Highness,” they bowed as they ran up to me, their right hands currently on their chest with their heads down.

“Thank you for preparing Lady for me. I will take it from here,” I smiled.

They all took a second bow and left me alone with Lady.

I grabbed the saddle that was put on the table and approached Lady. “Hello there, my Lady,” I gave her a hug which was answered by a whinny. I began to check the kind of brushing that was done on her. I have to make sure that it was done just right. “I think you need a few more strokes.” I settled the saddle on the side, grabbed the brush that was left on the floor and started to give her a few more brushes.

Lady has been a loyal companion of mine ever since I was a little boy. When I reached the age of seven thousand years, I became fascinated by how majestic horses are. James took notice of it and decided to give Lady to me as a gift. From that moment on, Lady and I have been on multiple rides, most probably when my family holds their summer progresses across the kingdom.

In the midst of silence, I heard faint footsteps approaching the open entrance of the stables. I turned my head to look and saw Mallory enter.

“Hello, Robert,” she smiled as she walked towards me, her hands in front of her skirt.

“Good morning, Mallory,” I greeted as I put my focus back on Lady.

Mallory is Nana Olsa’s granddaughter and I consider her as my childhood friend. We were very close as children but as time went by, we have become distant because of how James was raising me as his heir. We still managed to talk every now and then but most of the time, I don’t really get to see her. With my royal duties and daily reports, I’m always in my study or in my room.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she stood beside me.

“Giving Lady a few more brushes before saddling her up,” I replied, not even bothering to look at her.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“Yes,” I then put the brush down in the bucket by the wooden pole beside me. “It’s still early so I’ve decided to go to the Mortal Realm to free my mind from my royal duties.”

“Well, the Mortal Realm does have the best operas so it is the best place to unwind,” she said, giving out a nervous giggle at the end.

Throughout that short exchange, Mallory’s voice has been… shaky, to say the least. I could sense that she was tense, trembling. She never acted that way when she’s around me, which is something I’m curious about.

I turned to her and held the sides of her arms. “Mallory, is there something wrong? You seem to be… shaking. Are you sick?”

“Oh no, I’m fine,” she smiled but I could easily tell that she was lying. Mallory was never a good liar. I don’t think she has the heart to lie about something.

“Mallory, we’re practically siblings which means there’s nothing that you can hide from me,” I moved closer to her and caressed her arms in an attempt to calm her down. “You know I’ll never judge you, no matter what you tell me.”

She then let out a sigh as I let go of her arms. “Robert, for the longest time, you’ve been the only person I could call as a friend. But I need to tell you something,” she kept her head low as she began to play with her hands.

“Well then, go ahead,” I answered as I tidied up everything that was used to prepare Lady.

She took a deep breath before continuing, “There’s no other way of saying this but you see,” she stopped briefly to control her stutter. “I like you, Robert.”