"We..have always accepted guests into our humble abode." the women said. "To.. ease their difficulties they faced outside."
"We have no evil intentions, we really just wanted to help people. We had recieved guests that had quite a reputation, good or bad. I just never expected the prince to escape from home himself. However, we wanted to do what we do best, make people feel at home and ease their worries." the man continued with a gentle smile.
"I appreciate your concern for others, really. You..helped me a lot today. Thank you, I'll be taking my leave tomorrow though." Carlos replied genuinely.
The couple were shocked by the gentlesness of the young prince, who was well known to be an exact replica of the strict and cold king that would kill anyone with no hesitation if they had lied to him, or gotten on his nerves.
They were glad that it wasn't the case, if it was, the future of the kingdom might be tough without a caring ruler who didn't take any considerations about their citizens.
"You'll be a great ruler." the old man remarked without thinking it through. He had completely forgotten that the prince ran away from the castle for a reason. The issue for his rebellion might've been something minor, or something huge.
The moment the old man said that, he felt the atmosphere had completely changed. The air became heavy and prickly, the man slowly looked at the prince to see that his face had completely changed to a nasty look.
Carlos plain and gentle expression had changed to a cold one, his eyes gleamed with fustration, he bit his lip as hard as he could. "Right." he coldly replied, not letting his emotions affect his words.
"I didn't mean anything by that-" the old man said but was stopped by his wife gripping him on the shoulders, she whispered some words and he kept quiet after that.
"Ah, then we'll get back to sleep. Make yourself comfortable." the woman said in a hurry before dragging her husband by the hand and taking him back to the bedroom.
"A great ruler..? That runs away from his responsibilities?" Carlos questioned to himself, leaning back on the couch. "Impossible." he whispered before going back to practice.
The next day, the couple awoke and came out of their room in the early morning to see no trace left of the prince. They sighed and went back to their normal routine. The women saw a note on the counter that was left behind by Carlos.
The note was rather short as it only wrote, 'thank you.' However, the women still smiled and folded the notw and kept it inside the drawer.
Carlos had already reached the border of the city by the shortest route he knew based on the map. If he walked out of the border, he'd still be in the kingdom but not in it's core where it's traits are apparent. He had heard that the outside of the city was rather different than the inner part of the kingdom.
Though, Carlos didn't mind. As long as he can stray far enough from the control of his father, he was fine. Suddenly a thought occured in his mind, what would happen to his mother than? What if she gets hurt again?
Carlos furrowed his eyebrows and looked behind him. "Should.. I return?" he mumured before shaking off that thought, this was his only chance to be so free, he knew he was selfish for leaving his mother behind but he brushed off that thought and left the city border with guilt.
The moment Carlos walked out of the border, the temperature of the air increased drastically, it was no longer freezing or snowing. He breathed in the warm air and ran through the field of grass, admiring the flowers. "I'm finally..free." he said, looking at the birds soaring through the sky.
Catching the sight of a stable, Carlos smiled and rushed over to the stable where many people stood with their horses.
"Heave ho!" a man said, riding his horse with incredible speed.
"I won't let you win this one!" another man said.
Crowds around them starting cheering in unison as they voted and betted their money on who would win.
Carlos immediately remembered about his bright hair than was hidden under his hood, he pulled it over his head and looked down on the ground and walked over to someone who was watching over the horses.
"Hey kiddo, watcha lookin fo? Your papa?" the man said, brushing the hair of the horse.
"I'm here to rent a horse." Carlos said, looking around the dirty stable filled with horses, making sure to avoid deep eye contact. His eyes weren't that obvious that could make him identify as a royalty, as he had the power to control the shine his eyes give off. However, his hair was a huge problem.
"Eh? A young kiddo knows how to ride a horse? Nevermind that, you have money?" the man asked, taking a bucket of water and splashing it on the ground.
"I do have money on me, I need the horse for a week or so.." Carlos unsurely replied, taking his pouch of coins and shaking it to indicate that he did indeed have enough money to pay for the rental of the horse.
"Maght as well buy the horse kiddo! We don't do rentals for that lon'" the man replied, his accent becoming more apparent and harder to understand for Carlos.
"I'll buy than." Carlos replied, nodding his head.
The man smiled and let Carlos choose a horse that was suitable, they walked around together, whenever he stopped, the man would explain about the horse that stood behind the fence.
Reaching out his hand, Carloa gently patted the head of a pitch black horse. "How about him?" he asked.
"Quite the troubl'e maker, he a fast one though." the man said, also touching the hair of the horse.
"What's the fastest horse you have?" Carlos asked, still making sure he was not looking the owner straight in the eyes. He wasn't sure how well he was controlling his eyes shine but he couldn't take the risk.
"Euphoria is a speedy horse wih a huge tank of stamina." the owner replied, pointing to a horse with a ice white coat that shined brightly. "Most people don't buy him though, expensive and obvious to spot." the man replied in disappointment.
Carlos thought for a while, if the horse was bright, wouldn't it be a good blend for his hair color so it wouldn't look unnatural if his hair shine was seen under his hood.
"I'll take him than." Carlos replied, walking over to the horse and looking at it's skin.
"5 gold coins." the man raised his hand showing 5 fingers.
"Alright." Carlos replied before regretfully handing over 5 gold coins for a horse to speed up his travels.