The three princes waited for her to reply and yet, they received nothing which made one of them call out his name.
"Hans? Hey, Hans~"- Prince Alexander
Catina seemed to come to her senses and told the princes that she had a pleasant day with the empress. They all felt relieved that their faces expressed with glee while the two hunters were dumbfounded with the situation. Head Benjamin couldn't help but wonder the closeness of the four towards each other and blurted out what was on his mind.
"Since when did you four become so close?"
Sheryl coughed so hard with how shameless and bold their Head can be. She quickly reached out to him and politely warned him in whisper not to cause trouble as Dir. Melvis commanded. The three princes look at the Head in confusion, however, prince Alexander soon snickered from his idea and it made Head Benjamin shiver while a huge boulder of irritation suddenly fell on top of his head.
Prince Alexander hugged Catina from behind then leaned his head beside his and smiled mischievously towards the Head. The two other princes at first couldn't read what he was thinking but when they finally understood his intention they quickly joined him. Sheryl ignored the five of them and continued gobbling the food while the empress enjoyed the scene that was happening right in front of her. Prince Alexander spoke with sarcasm.
"You were wondering about our closeness? Well, who knows, in just a blink of an eye we're as close as the land and sea. And to think that we're this close in just a short time. I wonder how others are doing right now? Even my uncle is starting to catch up to us unlike others."
Prince Alexander couldn't help but giggle wickedly while his shoulder shrugged, then his hands moved along with it and his head mockingly shook from side to side. The three sighed in unison which Head Benjamin couldn't help but feel furious with how they behaved in front of him. He wanted to quarrel with them however Catina held his shoulder and shook his head. The Head stared at him then his tongue flickered as he avoided his gaze.
Catina felt dejected towards his action but she completely understands him since he couldn't remember her at all. But then, suddenly a hand came through between her and the princes. She didn't expect Head Benjamin to pull her closer to him and the three princes were caught off guard. They smiled at him as if they knew what he was thinking and saw that coming.
The empress soon ended their teasing session then offered the hunters for a walk in their garden. Unexpectedly, prince Nikolai held Catina's hand while prince Alexander held her arm on the other side. Prince William offered to guide them through the garden and Empress Jasmine was pleased and gladly accepted his offer. The two hunters followed them from behind although Head Benjamin wasn't pleased with their position.
Their job was to guard Catina, even though he finds it troublesome, he wouldn't want to leave her in the vampire's den. The thought of her wandering recklessly in their territory made him annoyed and nervous which he couldn't understand himself why. And Emma kept pestering him to protect Catina no matter what. The image of his pair ordering him sternly kept replaying inside his mind, "You better protect Hans, no matter what!"
When they arrived at the garden, they all began to awe with how well they took care of the garden. Every little thing in it was so detailed and well kept, as if they were living in a paradise. Prince William, in spite of his serious look, cheerfully toured the hunters in their garden. The royal guards and other workers followed them silently but the empress dismissed them because she wanted it to make the guests as comfortable as they could be.
They all heeded to her command and excused themselves politely then left the royal and hunters while strolling around the oasis of branches and flowers. Prince William proudly discussed how their people worked day and night to make this place comfortable and pleasing in the eyes. The hunters feel his sincerity which made them see the vampires in a different light.
Prince William halted and so they were, he turned and smiled then went near to a statue of a woman dressed in white. He spoke to them with happiness in his words and face.
"This is my favorite place of all. I mean, our favorite place."
"Why is that, Your Highness?"- Catina
"Glad you ask, Hans. This place is a reminder of when our father proposed to our mother."- Prince William
"Yeah! I remember father reenact that scene with mother."- Prince Alexander
"It was fun. Mother was so happy at that time."- Prince Nikolai
Empress Jasmine felt a slight embarrassment as she coughed to get their attention and said, "Yes, I was and still am. And I think we still have yet to show them one of our favorite places, as well. The 'fairy pond'."
The three princes stride whereas showing them the way. Deep inside Catina, she felt glad seeing her nephews happy and despite their appearance she still sees a child in them. No matter how mature a person looks, their age still projects with how they think and act. One cannot deprive a child from their childhood, she thought.
The moment they arrived in the said another favorite place, they were flabbergasted once again. However, in Catina's case, she felt that the place was somewhat familiar to her and the nostalgias couldn't get rid of the unknown happiness and relief inside her.
She slowly forged forward and went near the pond which has a huge oak tree beside it. It is indeed a place like fairies would likely to stay. The greenery of the place made her forget the people around her. An image in her mind plays a role as she gets closer and closer to the pond. Children playing and having picnics gathered like a ghost that cannot be seen by others.
Blonde, black, rose-gold ombre, and two silver headed kids enjoying each other's company. The older silver headed boy chased the black headed little boy, the blonde headed girl played with the rose-gold headed little girl, and the little silver headed boy joyfully sat beside the ombre headed girl while feeling slightly flustered. They all had a youthful experience with each other and a tear escaped in Catina's eyes.
The other's watched her reach the pond and remained silent despite the confusion in their faces. The moment Catina leaned to the pond, a reflection of her brother reflected, then soon her real image appeared beside it with a smile on her face. She couldn't understand what was going on inside her mind and what she was doing but what she knows is that this place is important to her.
She wiped the tears in her eyes then another reflection appeared in the pond, it was Grand Duke Arthur's along with empress Jasmine and emperor Charles' painful expression. She felt a sting of pain and guilt upon seeing their face but it ended when a hand held her hand. She turned and saw prince Nikolai with surprise and puzzlement in his eyes the same as when they first met.
He bit his lips then opened to utter a name, "Auntie…"
The surprised expression on their faces couldn't be ignored and Catina was taken aback as well. She quickly retrieved her hand and pressed it tightly while she stared at the ground to avoid them from seeing her perplexed expression. Empress Jasmine immediately but gently pulled the third prince away from her and said.
"Nikolai! What are you saying? That's Hans you're talking to, not your aunt."
"What's with you, Nikky? Auntie is dead. Please, don't bring that up now. Not when the guests are here."
For the first time, Prince Alexander gave a serious look in his face. Whenever he feels sad or hurt, he gives an authoritative tone and look. Prince Nikolai quickly apologized to them and Prince William added an explanation.
"I-i— (Sigh) I'm sorry."
"My apologies towards my little brother's behavior. It must've surprised you. This is the first time this happened, so we would like you to ignore this act just this time. We will sure to reprimand him after."- Prince William
"No need. I'm not hurt or anything. I was just surprised but it wasn't anything serious so, no need to punish him."- Catina
"What are you saying? What if he hurt you?"- Sheryl
"I'm fine! Really! Please, let's just… leave here."
They all respected her request and went to leave the place. Prince Nikolai wanted to apologize to her but didn't want to scare her even more. He dropped in disappointment because of his actions but then was surprised when Catina appeared beside him. Catina apologized and so did he, the once heavy atmosphere began to lighten again.
For some reason, Catina didn't want to leave the place yet and asked if there are other places they haven't shown them. Prince Alexander took the role of his brother and immediately went to show the other places. However, in an unexpected occurrence, Catina was left alone in the garden that felt like a maze.
She strolls around to see if there are other people around but she finds no one. As she continued strolling, she couldn't help but be angry at herself while reminiscing when she was distracted by the butterflies flying around. Then a group of butterflies surrounded a single pink rosebud in a circle, she went near it and the next thing she knew was that they were gone.
The trees and field of flowers made her forget her annoyance as she continued to silently praise them in her eyes. Another pink rosebud appeared and beside it was a full bloomed white rose, she went near it and sat while admiring the two. When she was about to reach it, a voice echoed in her ears.
"Are you interested in roses, sir. Baron?"
She followed the voice and knew who that person was the moment he spoke. Grand Duke Arthur stared at him with a smile on his face. The two met each other's eyes while the leaves and petals danced gently with the wind.
...