Halfway through the forest, 2nd Prince Egon got ahead of Prince Theo while the prince's attention was on Princess Laurana who's not so far from them but still managed to maintain a decent amount of distance between them and her.
"Hiyah!"
"Hiyah!" As I heard the shouts getting closer, I looked back and saw this devilishly handsome man grinning at me. I was in a dazed for a moment because it was the first time I saw this serious person, smile; and d*mn, he sure is sexy grinning like that, matching his drop dead gorgeous looks and while riding a horse.
"Hiyah!" His shout made me come back to my senses as I resumed my two-point position earlier where I lifted my weight off the saddle and unto the stir-ups and looked up front.
"Hiyah!" As expected, 2nd Prince Egon caught up to me but he did not passed by me, instead, he chose to matched my pace.
"Not bad, Princess. You actually know how to ride a horse that fast." And now, he's back to his old self.
"You're not so bad yourself, Prince Egon." As soon as I said that I tried to outrun him but he caught up to me, again. After that, I tried to outrun him over and over again but he keep catching up to me, smirking on my side.
"Yah! Stop-- Whoa! Not you Andy! Whoa!" My horse, Andy suddenly speed up when he heard me and thought I was commanding him, but I was referring to Prince Egon. I was taking a rest on my saddle, riding with just a little speed and wasn't holding on tight on the reins at the moment; so I kind of lost my balance there due to being shocked then I regained my balance when my horse stopped.
"Careful, Princess. You're a little tough, are you? I thought you're going to fall off your horse but you didn't. Don't worry, I'll catch you if you did fall." I clicked my tongue again and squeeze Andy with my calves to make him move again or else, all the princes might reach us.
"I can handle myself, Prince. I was talking to you, as I was saying, go pass by me and stop teasing me, already." I was sulking on my saddle because he kept on teasing me, letting me outrun him then catching up to me, a little later.
Seeing her sulking, 2nd Prince Egon thought, 'This little tiger, sure is different. I didn't expect her to be so competitive and in a horseback riding, on top of that. She wasn't trying to get my attention, she just wanted to win. Adorable. She just keeps on getting interesting.'
"I like teasing you. And this is the first time that its just the two of us." What he said, made me looked at him. He was serious. Then, he clicked his tongue since the hills were coming into our sights.
"I was just enjoying it." He said that, right after he took off.
Well, if I looked at it in another light, it was kind of sweet of him to stay by my side. I kind of enjoyed it, too, if I was being really honest.
"Hiyah!" I rode as fast as I can towards the hills.
...
When I arrived on top of the hills, he was already sitting on the big blanket laid next to a tree. I asked the uncles in the kitchen if they could bring the baskets here. But, they probably went back to the palace.
I tied my horse next to a tree where there's a big bucket of water, brought by the stablemen and walked towards 2nd Prince Egon.
"Have you seen the uncles from the kitchen?"
"Yes, I already ordered them to go back to the palace." I nodded.
"*Ehem* Prince Egon, about earlier.. I actually--"
"What are you talking about?" He said that with a poker face. But, I know that he knows what I was talking about.
"You're annoying!" I smacked him on the back of his head.
"Whaaat? What is it?" He laughed a little then tried to hide it by returning to his serious face.
"Nothing! Don't talk to me! And stop eating! Wait for them to arrive." He was already rummaging inside the baskets and started eating the foods, I and the kitchen staffs prepared earlier. I sat next to the baskets, on the opposite side of where he was so there's two baskets between us.
"You know, you're the only person who has the guts to smack me on the head. Except for those I have encountered in the battlefield."
'All of the ladies I met tend to act weak, thinking men would want to protect them; but this lady here is different, I keep seeing her bravery and strengths, except that one time she cried in front of the emperor,' he thought.
"You kind of deserved it, and don't complain, it didn't even hurt you." I said that with an annoyed look on my face.
Another thing I love in this world was the cold weather here in Alexandrovanov, so we don't sweat much. The ride just made me thirsty and hungry, so I drank some orange juice and started eating a sandwich.
"You told me to wait for them. Are you that hungry, you can't wait for them any longer?" With my mouth full, I just nodded multiple times. He never stopped looking at me while I was eating.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"It's just the way you're eating right now. I never saw a princess eat like that, without maintaining elegance." He chuckled in amusement.
"No one's here beside us, this is like eating with a close friend, I don't have to care about my apperance. Besides, you all should know what you're getting yourself into, before even thinking of marrying me."
...
Prince Theo arrived, before I could finish my sandwich. He jumped off his horse, then ran towards us.
"You've improved, Laurana! Did you train during these last few months?" I cheerfully nodded at him since I still have food in my mouth. He sat beside me, not giving any attention to the prince in front of us. He drank water then ate directly at the sandwich that I'm holding while I was looking at the field full of grass. I immediately noticed him and gulped down the food inside my mouth.
"Hmm, that's delicious, did you asked the palace kitchen to make this?"
I punched him on his right arm, "Theo!! That's my sandwich!"
"Oh! I was just used to us, sharing each other's foods since I could ever remember." He just scratched his head, then, got the remaining sandwich in my hand and gulped it down. He was about to reach for the orange juice I poured for myself when Prince Egon reached for it first and drink all of it. I was dumbfounded because of these two.
Before I got crazy because of those two, someone normal came, it was Prince Jihan who was wearing a burgundy coat, same as me.. He sat right behind me with his back on me.
"Here." I offered him water to drink.
"Thank you, Princess." I leaned my back to his' then closed my eyes. He didn't say a word and just let me. The two princes also didn't make a noise. After a few minutes, I opened my eyes and saw the two princes leaning on their hand with their eyes closed, they looked peaceful especially 2nd Prince Egon.
"Thank you for lending me your back, Prince Jihan." I whispered to him and gave him a sandwich. When I turned around, I saw two pairs of eyes looking at me. Who complained at the same time.
"You told me to wait--"
"Why didn't you offer--"
I glared at them, not a serious one, though. "Because he's normal, unlike the both of you who stole my food!"
"Pfffft!!" It was Prince Jung laughing and Prince Leo chuckling at the situation they've arrived at. Noticing someone's already on one of my sides, Prince Jung ran to my other side and sat there. Prince Leo followed after and sat beside 2nd Prince Egon.
"You two, have a drink first." I offered them water and orange juice which they gladly accepted.
"Did you made this juice?" I nodded at Prince Jung's question.
"Hiyah!" "Hiyah!" "Wait for us!!" That was 4th Prince Henri speeding up his horse as soon as he saw us.
"Are those foods and juices?!!" He shouted as he got near us. Then, dashed towards us as soon as he got off his horse.
"No one told me there's food waiting for us, here!! If I have known, I should have sped up from the very beginning!" He sat down on both sides of Prince Leo and Prince Jung who were sitting opposite to each other and looked excitedly at the baskets in front of him. While Prince Romeo sat in front of Prince Theo and beside 2nd Prince Egon.
"We haven't eaten everything, yet. I stopped Prince Theo and your brother from eating; and told them to wait for all of you. I hope y'all enjoy the foods!"