"Father, may I ask permission to go out?"
Her father looked at her appearance, wearing a casual dress that goes down over her knee, that is colored white with flower prints all over the skirt, She let her long hair flow in her back with only a hairpin that styled her hair, she wore white flat sandals, her hands are covered with a white glove and in her right hand was holding a blue hat,
"Where of to?" Edward asked suspiciously to her daughter, as he continued to do paperwork that needed to be finished
"Just somewhere" she tries to change the subject as she wants to stroll around the kingdom, looking for clues
"Specific, Ariana"
"In the modiste, I want to buy some new dresses" she honestly said, she noticed the suspicious look her father gave her, as she only let out an innocent smile,
"Permission granted, just don't cause a huge scene, people will talk," he told her as he continued to sign some papers that needed his signature,
"Thank you, Father" she curtsied at him, as she turned her back to him and went out, She wore the blue hat over her head, and she then went to see that the carriage was ready for her,
When she was about to enter the carriage, she was stopped by Semon, she shot him a confused look,
"You need to have at least one maid with you and 1 knight, Your safety is our top priority, my lady," he told her, as she let out a loud sigh and stared at the dozens of maids and knights who were waiting for her decision,
"The brunette and that guy" She randomly picked someone and went inside the carriage, She crossed her legs and arms as she waited for the maid to get in and closed the door, and it didn't take long for them to take off,
The whole ride was quiet, she took a look at the brown-headed maid, who was wearing a cloak with her, and maintained a poker face,
"Say, what's your name?" she casually asks her, as she then gently brushes her hair, and rests her face with her right hand that is rested by the window,
"Darcy, my lady"
She had her right brow raised, recognizing the voice, as she was one of those maids who gossiped about her yesterday
'She's the one who talked about my birth' she thought
"Darcy, may I ask a question?" She started, as she sat properly and faced the maid,
"What is it, my lady?"Darcy replied,
"As you've probably heard, it's my first time here in the capital, as I've been living in the Village whole my life, I've been curious, since none of my family members are willing to tell me anything, would you be a dear, and tell me anything about my birth?" She said, straight to the point as she handed the young maid an envelope, The maid then took it and took a peak of what was inside,
'Money'
She held her poker face, and looked straight to her lady, who let out an innocent smile,
Darcy, looked at her suspiciously, as she slowly put the envelope in her pocket, let out a fake cough, and faced the innocent young lady of Florence,
"When the Duchess was about to give birth to you, everyone was excited to meet you, you were a blessing in the Florence family, as you are the only girl born in the Florence since the second generation" Darcy started as she eyed the young Florence,
"Every influential family was ready for their heir to be engaged to a Florence, even the temple was involved, It was the female priests who delivered you, but at the exact time you were born, a prophecy had suddenly appeared" she added,
"What's written in the prophecy?"
"That you are cursed, and you needed to be killed, immediately"
Hearing the maid's words, she froze, couldn't believe what she had just heard,
"What's my curse? Why should I be dead?"
"That's…" Darcy paused, "Something I do not know, my lady" She finished her statement, and frowned,
"Everything about that case was sealed off, in exchange for your life, you need to live in the village, to protect everyone" she explained to her Lady, who only let out a loud sigh
"But do you know why I was suddenly brought back here? Surely it's not because they missed me"
"That's partially true, but mostly because they're pressured by the Emperor, that's what I've heard," Darcy told her everything she knew,
"I see," Ariana said, as she then looked outside of the window and saw that they were almost to their destination,
"Darcy, can I ask a favor?" She asked her maid who maintained her posture, and nodded her head, "I wanted to buy a book, written by Ria" she added, letting out a small smile,
"Which book of hers, my lady?"
"The first book, recently my copy of that book has been damaged, I was devastated and I figured, I can just buy a new one, would you please get me that copy?" She begged Darcy with her famous puppy eyes, that the young maid couldn't resist and accepted,
"Ok, don't go anywhere and wait for me to come back," Darcy told her, as she nodded vigorously, The carriage then stopped in front of the Rose Red Bookstore, Darcy stepped out of the carriage and went inside the store,
Leaving her in the carriage, and crossed her legs, waiting for her to come back,
'It seemed that the Emperor is so passionate about making me part of the Royal Family'
'But is it the case? Or is there something else?'
'Am I reading this wrong?'
"It seems that something is bothering you, Lady Aria"
Her thoughts were cut off when she heard a familiar voice, She then turned to look to the side and saw Prince Luke, wearing his usual black suit, his royal blue eyes looked at her intensely, he was standing by at the window outside her carriage
"If you do this, people will get the wrong idea about us, Your Highness" she teasingly said as she let out a small smile,
"Wrong idea?"
"Like you liking me, and me being your wife or anything?" She directly told him, as she then crossed her arms,
He then raised his right brow, and let out a smirk, "I assure you, my lady, I only saw your carriage and thought I'd just say 'Hi' We are acquainted with each other, are we not?" He said as he stared into her eyes,
"Brother!"
Both their heads turned to look and saw the crown Prince of the empire, Prince Leon, the same age as her eldest brother,
Going their way, riding in his majestic white horse, "Lady Florence" he greeted her, She then let out a smile "Your Highness, it's so great to see you here" she exclaimed, waving to the young Prince
"I could say the same to you, Lady Florence" he responded to the young girl,
"Are you going somewhere, brother?" Luke asks his brother,
"I'm here to fetch you, Apparently Father requested our presence back to the palace, did you do something?" Leon asked his little brother,
"Not that I'm aware of"
"Hmm, anyways let's go, Lady Florence, please excuse us, we need to go," Leon asked her who only nodded and smiled at them, "Sure, don't mind me!" I exclaimed and waved them goodbye,
"Lady Aria, see you soon," Luke told her as he went to his horse rode it, and galloped his way to the palace, She continued to wave them goodbye until they were out of her sight,
She then lowered her hand, and went to sit back down at her seat in the carriage, and just in time that Darcy went back with her books,
"Let's go to the modiste?" Darcy immediately asked her, as she then handed Ariana the book, who happily accepted it,
"Sure, let's go!"