A quick knock on the door broke the silence in the room.
"Come in"…..Amia immediately replied as the door crept open. Yiro and Ghana came in one at a time with trays of berries, nuts and a mixture of Herbs wrapped in banana leaves. At the sight of them, a quick smile brightened her expression and immediately, she rose to observe the items brought for her.
"When did the minister's daughter get here?".....Her gaze moved quickly from the trays unto Yiro's perfectly fitted uniform. Her excitement suddenly faded into a concerned look of disdain as she observed how attractive Yiro looked in a uniform that was meant to belittle the appearance of the maids, making them shabby looking and unenticing to the male royals in the palace.
"why is your dress so tight?, it makes you look desperate for attention like some prostitute from the trenches in need of a rich nobleman to save her ".....She remarked, leaving Yiro in an uncomfortable position with no excuse whatsoever.
"it isn't yiro's fault your highness, the style just happens to compliment her body shape".....Ghana chipped in.
"Will you shut that trap of yours!".....Amia flared.
"I'm sorry princess".... "I'm sorry princess"...They both bowed in remorse.
" Are you now her mouthpiece Ghana!, Can she not speak for herself?"...
" My princess....if it suits you that I get a bigger dress then so be it. I will do that as soon as I take my leave".....
"Good. Now drop the trays and leave my sight, The both of you."....
"Yes miss"..... "Yes miss"....
As she watched them rush out, her attention went back to the trays of berries that quickly returned her excitement.
Yan and Jemima stopped in the middle of the green forest underneath a fig tree, in desperate attempt to catch their breath from all the running they had done. The villagers had totally lost them a while back, but they continued running to get as far away from the people who could suspect Jemima to be the missing princess.
" I must return..... to the palace... as quickly as I can".... Jemima panted.
She looked up at Yan as though expecting some kind of an answer or at least a reaction, but his face remained as unbothered as it always was. She took a deep breath and looked away from him with a disappointed look, wondering to herself why It even bothered her that a commoner wouldn't miss her if she left his presence, considering the fact that she was the daughter of the tyrant king the people so despised.
"Are you still up for the hunt?"..... Yan said in a rather subtle tone that confused her.
" what's with the low voice?"....
"Shhhh, Quit talking and Look over there "....
She turned to the grasses and immediately spotted an antelope behind the trees just a bit far from them.
"Get out your arrows quickly, now!__"....He continued whispering
"What are u talking about, do u really think I can kill that thing when I don't even know how to use an arrow yet?"....
He ignored her objections and fixed his gaze at the unsuspecting antelope.
"blur every other thing in sight and throw the arrow straight at that antelope"...
"But I__"....
"Whatever you do, don't miss!"...
" I can't do this__".....She hesitated in fear.
"Shoot the arrow now!".....He yelled, startling the antelope that immediately recognized the predators and took off. Without thinking, Jemima shot the arrow and completely missed the animal. Yan ran after it immediately, leaving Jemima shocked at what had just played out. she got up to chase after both Yan and the animal but stopped at the sight of him, strangling the antelope to death with the stems of some runners. She stood there speechless, watching him walk towards her with the dead animal dangling off his shoulders.
"Wild antelopes are scarce, I wasn't going to let this one escape in the name of training you".....He started as he got to her.
"What did I just witness".....She mumbled to herself, still a bit shaken up.
Yan noticed the paralyzed look on her face and laughed to himself. It amazed him how frozen she looked at the death of an animal the royals in the palace ate everyday.
" when do you plan to snap out of it?"....he interrupted her trance.
She quickly came back to her senses and turned to catch the dead animal lying at Yan's feet. she walked slowly towards it, convincing herself that it was fine to touch it. She leaned in slowly to touch it,
'It's still alive it may bite you"...Yan attempted to scare her.
She jumped in fright away from the antelope at the sound of that and Yan couldn't help but laugh so hard at her.
Soon evening began approaching, and the two left the forest, heading straight to the hut. As they made their way home unnoticed, Jemima couldn't help but wonder how much she would miss Yan's company. she reminisced on all the times they had spent together and a smile crept up her cheeks. Even though it was for a short while, she cherished each second she spent with Yan and Vernon, each second she spent living life ordinarily. she took a quick glance at Yan and immediately remembered all the times he was rude to her. Her heart fluttered as her mind replayed the time when he wrapped her cut in the dark cave brightened by the lit fire in the middle; She remembered being scared in her travel box and then being rescued by him.
All this thoughts took her mind off the road she was on and by the time she came back to reality, she was headed face first into a large basin filled with water and catfish right in front of a small street food vendor. Yan pulled her quickly and she went straight into his arms. she had never felt her heart beat so fast before. the feeling of her head on his chest sent goosebumps down her spine. So as not to be caught by the food seller who peeped out from the small window on the stall to see what was happening, he covered her head with his arm and quickly rushed her away. as soon as they got to a safe place, he began scolding her but none of his words made sounds to her. It was at that moment she saw Yan differently. It was at that moment she wondered if she had fallen in love with a commoner.
They both got back safely to the hut by nightfall to meet Vernon sitting outside on the bench, anxiously waiting for their return.
"Where have you guys been...The....The guards came looking for the princess".....He seemed worried. Jemima let out a sigh and went ahead of the both of them into the hut. From a quick worried glance at her, Yan knew she didn't want to go back to the palace but, there was no place for her in the village either. Even though he despised her family and everything that made her her, he could feel a small prick of pity for her in his heart that made him rethink his feelings for her. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all, he thought to himself. Still in his head, he sighted Yiro coming towards them from afar off, his mood immediately changed as he rushed up to meet her.
Unlike her bubbly self, she looked down like she was worried about something.
"Hey you!"…he yelled from afar as he got closer to her.
she immediately looked up to her best friend running towards her, and for some reason she found herself feeling a lot better than she did on that long walk from the palace into the village.
"Yan, I didn't expect you to be back so soon, how was the market?"…..she started, hiding her worries behind a dim smile. He immediately noticed her awkward greeting and stopped to look closely at her.
"Yiro are you okay?, you don't look so good. Is anything bothering you?"….
"I'm fine don't worry "…..she gave a quick yet faint reply.
"Yiro I know something is bothering you and you better tell me now or I'm leaving and never speaking to you again"…..
His words sent Yiro into a sudden and uncontrollable chuckle.
"You know that's not even possible right "….
"Yeah I know"....he chuckled too
"Let's go under the oak tree, I'm tired from the long walk. I promise I'll tell you there. But before I go I wanna say hi to the old man"...
"No!"...he startled her with his sudden and loud hesitation to the idea of her paying a visit to vernon at the hut.
"Why not"…..she asked.
"Uhhh, um….well….look he's tired and needs some sleep let's just go and not wake him"….
"Well I'll just say hi quickly and leave"…..
"No!"…..he yelled again, blocking her with his body from moving further towards the hut.
"Why do you keep yelling Yan, I can hear you!"...she scolded him immediately.
"I'm so sorry it's just that I'm really curious about what's bothering you and I also don't want anyone to wake the man up so let's go now to the oak tree and talk there "....he rushed his words, pushing her in the opposite direction towards the oak tree just a bit further from where they were standing.
"Well then fine"…..Yiro finally gave in.
Yan had instantly remembered the princess and by all means didn't want his best friend to know that he had been hiding her while the whole kingdom stood still searching for her. He knew Yiro would be upset knowing that he hid such a secret from her but he didn't want to implicate her in any way by allowing her gain access to that information. The princess was going the next day so there was no need to tell Yiro, he thought to himself as he followed closely behind her towards the tree.
"Why does that darn princess want you to change the size of your uniform again, doesn't she know the festivals are coming up and the tailors would be too busy preparing to mend a mere maiden's uniform, No offense Yiro"...he sounded pissed.
"That's exactly what I thought too but she insisted my clothes were showing off too much of my curves and that I mend them immediately."...she sighed.
"Even if you do get a tailor, I'm sure it would be crazy expensive now. What do you plan to do?"...
"I did get a tailor but he charged me 20 silver coins just to adjust the sides of my dress. It's official....I'm getting flogged tomorrow "…..Yiro bowed her head in disappointment as though she was about to cry. Yan placed his hand into his vest and brought out an old sac of coins covered in dirt and what seemed like dry blood. He handed it over to her with a worried look on his face.
"She won't leave you alone that's for sure , take this and go mend your dress. "…..he comforted her.
she looked up to see the sac of coins he was handing out to her and her heart immediately melted.
"Yan you don't really mean this right ?"…..
"I do, now take this and stop worrying about your dress, you are the ugliest when you frown"...
Without finishing his sentence she jumped onto him in a tight hug with so much joy and relief.
"Thanks Yan you're the absolute best."...
Yan scoffed at her but smiled at the sight of her now brightened countenance. The thought of seeing Yiro sad about something that related to the palace made him even more sad and uneasy. He always knew to himself that if he was king, Yiro would never have to feel sad about anything ever and he planned to make those thoughts a reality. Wether or not it was because of her friendship to him or because of the deep feelings he had for her buried within him.
Jemima searched the streets with her eyes hoping to see where Yan had taken off to.
"He's with Yiro"…..Vernon came and sat beside her.
"Who is Yiro to him?"…she asked in curiosity.
"The two of them have been friends for a very long time"…..he started, chuckling as he spoke.
"Yan is best friends with a woman?"...
"you may say that, but the twinkle in his eyes each time he talks about her makes me feel like there is more to this relationship than meets the eye"….
"Oh"...She seemed down at the sound of this.
why was she suddenly jealous over Yan's relationship with Yiro, she thought to herself. She didn't want to accept that what she felt for Yan was much more than gratitude for saving her life, but then why did Yan's sudden change at the sight of Yiro bug her so much? . All of a sudden, returning back to the palace and her life before meeting Yan was all she wanted.