I immediately backed away, seeing how close we were when I turned around. I looked up at him and questioned him, "Do you have to teach me from behind?"
"Well, do you want me to teach you like this?" He bent forward with a grin on his face, while holding both of my forearms. I shook his arms off, then pushed him away.
"You're not funny," I turned my back on him as I tried to shoot an arrow again. This time, I followed Prince Egon's instructions.
*thump*
"I hit it again!" It was a little higher compared to my previous shot. I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I unconsciously looked at Egon. Then, I realized it almost immediately so my smile faded and I looked away.
I kept practicing and practicing. There were some missed shots, a few strikes; but I didn't get to hit the center of the target. It's too early for me to give up and it looks like I have improved.
Before heading inside, I turned to Prince Egon who was leaning on the tree, "Teach me next time how to throw a dagger properly."
"Wait."
I waited for him to come over, "What is it?"
"We'll visit the town outside Furstenberg Palace, tomorrow. Let's head out in the morning."
I nodded at him as we walked towards the cabin, "That's fine with me, inform Uncle and Big Brothers. What's it like inside the Furstenberg Palace?"
"It's nothing compared to your palace. You wouldn't want to live there," he seriously said.
As soon as we entered the living room, Uncle offered us a cup of hot cocoa each, "How's your practice, Princess?"
"It was fun! I hit the target a few times, not the center, but I did it!" I accepted the hot cocoa but Egon didn't stop walking. "Well, two cups of hot cocoa for the princess, yaaay! Thank you, Uncle!"
...
Early morning. I took a hot bath which was very satisfying due to the cold weather. Afterwards, I wore a white long-sleeved cross collar top and a white pants-like on the inside; then, a light blue short-sleeved cross collar one-piece garment that reaches the ground with slits on each side and a fabric belt sewn on the waist part for me to tie it. I fixed my hair into a single braid with a light blue 8-inches long fabric tied on the end of my braid. I also brought a simple black cloak for me to wear outside and a plain white veil to cover the lower part of my face, later.
I went downstairs and saw Prince Egon with Uncle waiting for me in the living room. I couldn't see what the prince was wearing because he already had his cloak on him. But, I could hardly guess that it's all black. While Uncle praised me, "You look beautiful, Princess. Despite wearing simple clothings."
"Thank you, Uncle," I gave a small curtsy at them. "Where's Big Brother and Han-ryu?"
"Your Big Brother-- I mean Launcelot is outside preparing the horses. Han-ryu, on the other hand, insisted on leaving first so he could scope the whole town." We lost our carriage so we have to ride horses, instead.
Prince Egon rode his black Arabian horse while I borrowed his black Appaloosa horse with its colorful spotted coat pattern of black and white. I didn't forget to bring my bow and arrows with me. Uncle Jovian rode in front of us while Big Brother Launcelot rode at the back, with Egon and I in the middle.
Upon arriving at the town, I suggested we get near the palace; I just wanted to see what it looked like. It would be the second palace that I'd get to see in person, after I suddenly appeared in this world. As we got nearer to the palace, we've noticed that the people were kneeling on the ground. They were also blocking the way to the palace.
The people turned to the sound of horses' hooves and to us who were all wearing black cloaks. Apparently, the cause of all these kneelings noticed us, too. It was an extravagant carriage with guards surrounding it, followed by male and female servants. Suddenly, a proud male servant who was standing alone beside the carriage shouted, "The four of you, over there! Show your respects!" We didn't move a muscle, why should we? "This is the Crown Prince's carriage. Are you not from around here?"
The window of the carriage opened, revealing the Crown Prince inside. He's like an older version of 4th Prince Henri, a 28-years old version of him. I was still discreetly observing the Crown Prince when Egon moved his horse forward and blocked my line of sight. Then, he removed his hood.
*gasps* Some people exclaimed, "It's the 2nd Prince!"
The Crown Prince whispered something to his male servant, then, the male servant shouted, "Make way for the Crown Prince!" The people immediately stood at the sides of the street. The carriage stopped near Egon and the Crown Prince talked to him in a voice only we could hear.
"When did you arrive? You should come with me, I'm on my way to the palace," he sounded friendly, I think. Are they really rivals?
I can only see the back of Egon's head so I couldn't see his reaction; he didn't answer, though. The Crown Prince talked to him again, "Who's with you?"
"You're not allowed to know, my apologies 'Crown Prince'," Egon coldly responded and sarcastically emphasized the word 'Crown Prince'.
I also couldn't see the Crown Prince so I didn't know how he reacted to what Egon said. Then, the Crown Prince suddenly ordered to his servants, "Let's move."
Egon started moving away from the direction of the palace. I was looking at them, so when Egon moved, I saw the Crown Prince looking at me; it didn't bother me because only my blue eyes and some strands of my dark red hair could be seen. Then, I unhurriedly followed Prince Egon. Not knowing that the Crown Prince ordered his servant to discover my identity.