The next morning Arya, Aston and Cedric discussed how they would spend the day over breakfast.
"So we can spend the day in the town have a look around and then go horse riding." Cedric said as they came to a conclusion.
" Yesh, ish going to be sho mush fun." Aston excitedly said with a mouth full of food.
"Aston don't talk with your mouth full. That's disgusting." Arya reprimanded him.
Aston quickly swallowed his food. Then said "sorry mum."
Arya laughed internally. They continued to talk. Arya was so happy. It had been a while since Arya had had a meal with others. Sometimes she would she ate with but most of the time she ate alone. It was nice to spend time with Aston and even though she didn't want to admit it she enjoyed time with Cedric aswell. She wished she could always be with them like this.
After breakfast the three of them prepared for the day. They would all wear commoner clothing as they went into the town they didn't want anyone thinking they were noble or anything. Arya made sure to also wear the necklace Aston had made for her.
Cedrics knights' would secretly watch the three of them as they explored the town. Looking out incase anything happened. They would also wear commoner clothing as well and discretely watch them from afar.
Cedric, Arya and Aston used the unmarked carriage to into the town which wasn't to far from Arya's estate. Upon arrival to the town centre Aston wasted no time as he quickly jumped out of the carriage and excited began to jump around.
"Aston don't wander off too far." Cedric warned him.
"Okay," Aston said slowing down a little.
"He's ever the restless one isn't he?" Arya commented.
"Yes, he is." Cedric let out an exhausted sigh as they caught up with Aston. Aston then took them by surprise as he held onto both their hands and pulled them forward.
"If I can't run off, then can we move faster?" He said as he moved them faster.
"Aston!"Cedric and Arya yelled. The family started with seeing some stores in the town center going from shop to shop seeing what each one had to offer. There was also a lot of construction going on in the town new store buildings being built.
"I notice some new shops have opened around town." Cedric pointed out as they passed by a building contsruction site. The last time he came here with Aston a lot of buildings weren't there yet and now after just 2 months some new stores ahd opened and some buildings were popping up.
"Yes, the town is continuing to grow. New entreprenuers are coming often that are interested in opening stores here. Not only from people who are having trouble conducting business elsewhere due to something beyond their control, but also some well known companies in the kingdom want to open up here in this town." Arya told him as a spark of interest lit up in her eyes.
Cedric was taken aback by how Arya was always so passionate when it came to talking about her town. He knew it meant a lot to her.
"I'm glad it's going well." Cedric commented, happy for her.
But it's thanks to your support...." Arya drifted off as realized she was thanking him. She became flustered as she looked away from him.
Cedric knew she meant to thank him and didn't make any further comments. He was familier with how she acted when she was around him. Just smiled in his heart.
It's not that Arya necessarily hated Cedric, she did, many years ago. However, now, she was conflicted she still wanted to hate him. This town was started 6 years ago by Arya but had some funding and support from Cedric. Together, they have managed this town both as a way to secretly spend time with Aston and as a way for Arya to fulfill her passions in business.
After having a look in the town center the three then decided to check out the market square which was close to the centre. The market square consisted of multiple vending stalls selling all kinds of things, fruits, vegtables, jewellery etc. As they went from stall to stall checking what each of them was selling. When they came across those that were selling cooked street food. Soon the smeel of cooking meat and baked goods filled their nostrils.
Aston began to cry out "Mum ,dad can I have some of those? It smells so good and I'm hungry."He was pointing towards a stall selling cooked meat on a stick.
Arya considered Astons request it was in the afternoon now and they hadn't had lunch yet. She looked at Cedric whom was looking at the meat aswell. "It does look good he said.
"Alright," Arya gave in. "Yes!" Cedric and Aston both celebrated which made Arya laugh. Arya was happy that despite Cedric and Aston being the emperor and prince, they didn't mind having 'commoner food'. ;
They ended up buying all kinds of different street foods, there was park with a playground nearby where they could sit and eat and so thats where they went to take a break.
After they finished eating they continued their break as Aston asked to play on the play on the playground where there were other kids playing.
"Astons getting on well with the other kids isn't he?" Arya said to him as she proudly looked at him. Aston looked like any other kid on that playground no one could have guessed he was the Crown prince.
"He sure is." Cedric responded. Cedric wanted Aston to have experiences like this to interact with the world outside the castle He believed not only would it help with him having respect for the subjects of the emepire when he one day became emperor but he also wanted him to socialize with others his age.
He knew it was lonely in the castle sometimes, it certanly was for him when he was growing up. Aside from his duties as Crown Prince, Cedric wanted Aston to live life any other boy his age in the kingdom once in a while.
They seemed like any other commoner normal family in the town that was spending time together. This is what Cedric wanted to protect. It's what motivated him to want to work hard to put an end to the continental wars. He wanted to focus on his family. He wanted to spend more time with Aston. If Arya could forgive him one day for what he did to her, he wanted her to come back to the castle.
Inorder to do all this he had to make the situation with Sadem and Zare was dealt with as smoothly as possible. Which is why he had to figure out this whole rebel situation. It was late in the afternoon the three of them left the town to end their day with horse riding.