Isadora tried to cut back her gaze from the man who had coerced her into the carriage. There was something unusual about him, the more she peeked at him, the more uneasy she felt toward herself.
She tried glancing at him for just one last time, just one last time like she had stated earlier, but with this one last time again, the man's gaze dismounted on her and she was automatically awestricken.
What was in this man's eyes? She could see a tiny golden flame lingering in his eye like that of a fire about to consume an ocean. She soon looked sideways. She could still feel the man's gaze on her but she kept gawking at the blank carriage's curtain.
Where was she going to be taken to? How far was where she was going to? Who was the stranger? Did he hold some position wherever he stays? Has he married already?! Of course, he would be, he was as rusty as her father. She couldn't believe her world could turn around of a sudden.
When she couldn't keep tight-lipped any longer, she peeled off her eyes from the curtain to scowl at the man. Still, his eyes were looking at her in amusement, but then she said, "Who is his lordship?" She wanted to know a handful of information about the man to who she was presumed to get married.
The man gradually dusted off the imperceptible stain that was on his long-tailed coat, as if that was what she instructed him to do. Then he voiced, "His lordship is the commander of Venesia. He is a loving man with lots of mistresses," he paused "and he could be ungracious sometimes, but I would want you to tell him not what I stated." He added. He looked like he was disturbed by saying whatever he just uttered and this made Isadora more interested.
"And what do you mean by ungracious? Does his lordship..."
"No...do not be in a hurry. For he is nothing out of your odds, perhaps it could be an irony."
Isabella gulped, her eyes trying to keep the man's gaze. "If ... If he is a ruler, does it mean he is a Duke? Or an Earl or anything related?"
"He is none. He is best referred to as a commander, greater than an emperor."
"What?!" Isadora interjected.
"And...his name?" She questioned. Her buttocks were already at the edge of the seat, she wasn't aware she was so enthusiastic to know everything about him. Knowing everything about him was just the first step to annihilating him before eloping but as she waited for an answer, the carriage yanked forward and she was shoved to the front, but the man who was sitting before her, held her arms before she sat down back, embarrassed.
"He has none. Very few of the denizens in Venesia know him."
How could that be possible? She knew the person she was getting married to might be a ruler or anything related, but she wasn't expecting him to be greater than an emperor! How was that possible? Her father wasn't even up to an emperor and she had the guts to even call him a Lord? A mere princess calling someone a Lord was very belittling.
Thereon a while, after thinking of what he just said, a thought jotted into her head. He had said, the man she was getting married to was a 'Man who has lots of mistresses!' Does that mean he doesn't have a wife? Why? Why would a man as old as that refuse to have a wife?
"His Lordship...does he have a wife? Children..."
The man retorted, "He has no wife and no children. He never would marry."
"What do you mean? Am I not soon to be his wife?"
"His wife?" The man's eyes widened and he burst out into a peal of huge laughter, "Are... aren't you going to be one of his mistresses?"
"What do you mean?"
"I do not understand the reason her highness thinks she is soon to be bride or a wife. There is no agreement of marriage between my lord and your father."
The words struck her so hard. Did he truly mean what he was saying?
She couldn't tell why something hard started to whack her chest with great impetus. She had no idea why she was feeling such away. Shouldn't she be pleased that she wasn't getting married? That she could go back to Oswald when the time comes? But why did she feel betrayed?
She now understood the reason. She was feeling that way because she...her father had fed her bunches of lies to digest.
She remained still and silent.
After about five hours, the carriage pulled to a halt.
The man saw the troubled state of the princess when the carriage ceased and enlightened her, "The journey is three days and we are to rest in this town."
Isadora nodded and stood up. When she got to the curtain, she grabbed it, pushing it to a particular side, and got out of the carriage while the man took another side.
They found a haven in an old woman's house who served them food. After a while, they went on with the night journey.
She found it hard to understand how the coachman was able to see even when it was midnight.
There were just two carriages and she wondered who were in the second carriage that was before them because they just halted and never joined them in the old woman's house.
After overthinking of where Oswald might be, she fell asleep.
The next morning, they continued the journey, they paused for a while, continued, take shelter in a known place, and kept on with their journey. This occurred frequently and she started to wonder how many people they knew in each of the towns they took haven in.
The third day wasn't comparable. Isadora had gone bored of the journey already, still, the man seemed to be unfazed, she wondered how many ladies the man had also brought to Venesia through this journey. Or did the mistresses live nearby?
"Edward, he has mistresses but no children? Doesn't he want children?" she questioned.
Edward couldn't answer her any longer. Isadora say still as she waited until they get to Venesia. She was informed that they were in the town closest to Venesia.
After some minutes of anticipating his answer, a heavy wind blew the curtain and it flew up, then down.
The carriage suddenly began to shake vigorously as if they were disturbed by the storm while they were in a ship.
"What's wrong?"
"It's the beasts, stay in here, I will be back."
The beasts? Isadora had heard King Griffin boast about how he fought some mythical creatures but she thought it was one of his interesting stories. The beasts turned out to be real? What do the beasts have to do with the wind?
By now, the carriage was at a total halt and she could hear the howls of the so-called beast. She wasn't someone to jump outside the carriage and feed her curiosity. She wasn't going to be a damsel in distress. She just sat down carefully. There was no need to show what she could do yet.