"Arianna, are you sure about this?" Hera asked in a whisper as they crouched behind the bush, looking left and right.
"Of course! Stop asking me" Arianna replied in a husky whisper.
"For the first time, I pleaded with someone not to report me to my mother, but the dump man still went ahead to paint me black. So, he needs to pay".
Hera sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to change her best friend's mind.
Arianna looked left and right again, and when she confirmed there was no one watching, she stood up and tip-toed out of the bush.
Gideon's little house was right in front of her and his tables of fruits were well arranged, drawing her attention. Well, that was exactly what she was heading for.
He was actually a fruit seller and she figured it must've taken him a lot of effort to arrange those, but hell, she didn't care. He was a wicked man and needed to be taught a lesson.
She got to where the table was and with a little effort, she pushed it down, making the fruits roll over on the floor.
Gideon came out of the house immediately and his eyes dilated in shock when he found his table of fruits rolling on the floor.
"What?" He flinched.
"Princess Arianna?! Princess Arianna?!"
Arianna giggled and without much hesitation, picked two apples from the floor and ran back to the bush.
"Here. Let's go" she gave one of the apples to
Hera and they started running away immediately.
"Hey! Stop right there!! How dare you?!" Gideon called out and ran after them, but they were way faster than him. So, he couldn't catch up with them.
Arianna and Hera laughed as they ran heavily and only stopped when they were sure Gideon wasn't after them anymore.
"Oh my God! You're such a badass, Arianna!" Hera laughed so hard as they both fell on the floor, resting their back against the wall.
"Well, yes. That man is so mean. The very day I'd gotten to know he'd beaten up his wife and chased her out of the house over a minor argument, that was the moment my hatred from him increased. Big fat fool" Arianna snapped and took a huge bite from her apple
And so did Hera.
"Whatever, Arianna. Your father warned you to stop causing trouble around. How were you able to leave the palace alone, anyway? I thought he's assigned some guards to you?" Hera asked.
"Well, I offered them drinks. But unknown to them, the drinks were drugged" she paused and giggled. "They're fast asleep in my room at the moment".
"What the...Are you kidding me, Arianna?"
They both busted into hearty laughter.
"Sometimes, I wonder if you're truly a princess".
"Oh, please! To hell with royalty. It's boring" she rolled her eyes.
"Do you know what my plans are?" She paused and took another huge bite from her apple.
"In a short time from now, I'll run away from home. I'll go far to a place where I can live the kind of life I want - as a free lady. I'll make sure father doesn't get to know of my location so he doesn't bother me with his boring queries" she rolled her eyes.
"Huh? Are you kidding me? What about your mother?" Hera nudged her.
"Oh... That's true. Mother would never agree to go with me" she placed her hand on her jaw in thought.
"Anyway, I'll definitely think of something" she concluded and continued eating her apple.
Ahhh! If she had known, she'd have taken more than two.
"By the way, Arianna. I overheard my father discussing it with one of the King's cabinet this morning" Hera said after a few seconds.
"They said...Master Aldo's cabinet is looking for a bride for him. They had actually requested for one from your father, but your father turned them down, saying he couldn't marry any of his daughters off to someone like Aldo"
"Hold on" Arianna clicked her tongue. "Aldo is that cruel Master, right? Who's lost 2 wives?"
"Yes, yes. Exactly".
"Huh? So, he's looking for another wife?"
"Well, Personally, Aldo wouldn't want a wife. But having an heir is important to the community. So, he needs to. He isn't even making any efforts about it as his cabinets have been the ones doing the search".
"Oh..."
Arianna turned back to eat her apples.
"What happened to his late wives, anyway?" She asked.
"Well, I don't know. Nobody does and I guess it's a mystery. But Aldo is really cute. Just that...he's very mean. I heard his people are extremely scared of him. And I heard he's never lost a battle. He's a very powerful man". Hera enthused.
"Oh! Whatever. Why did father turn down his request, anyway? He should've married Hannah to him. That witch deserves to be with a devil"
"What? You're unbelievable, Arianna" Hera nudged her and they bursted into laughter.
"Well, despite how Popular and powerful Aldo was, people are still scared to marry their daughters out to him. I heard before his previous wives died, he was very mean to them and never showed love to them - not even for once. That man is really scary, you know? Most people nickname him - the handsome devil" Hera paused and giggled.
"Anyway, I hope for the..."
"There they are! Get down!" They suddenly heard a voice and turned to see Gideon running towards them with some boys.
"What?? Arianna!" Hera exclaimed and they sprang on their feet immediately and started running away.
"Make sure you get them! I need those brats alive!" Gideon roared in anger as the boys ran ahead of him.
Oh! He really couldn't wait to lay his hands on them - especially the princess.
Arianna and Hera actually found it amusing as they kept running away from the boys.
They ran into the marketplace, accidentally ruining people's goods as they bumped into them.
"Oh! Good heavens!
"What Is happening?"
Some of the market women flinched as their goods came crashing to the floor.
"Sorry..!"
"I'm so sorry..!
"Excuse me...!"
The two ladies apologized and giggled as they ran away.
They bumped into a paint man and different colors of paint got poured on their faces - especially Arianna.
Hers was from her hair to her legs.
"Oh my God! Arianna, you look like a clown!" Hera laughed so hard at her.
"They're coming. Come on!" Arianna urged and they continued running.
Finally, they stopped running when they ran into a carriage.
The rest of the people around were actually standing aside with their heads bowed, but Arianna and Hera were too overwhelmed and by the time they could notice, they were already standing in front of the Royal carriage.
"Oh-oh" Hera shook her head and took some steps back when she realized it was the King!
The King was sitting on one of the horses and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw his daughter, looking like a local tout.
And unfortunately, it was too late for Arianna to run away.