The cart rode into the castle, and Jasmine felt her chance of escaping slip through her fingers. She watched the Prince's horse stand head high as if raising his snort and looking down at the servant that held the rope around the neck. The Prince had disappeared into the palace.
As Jasmine got down from the cart, she walked close to the horse, which neighed at her and moved backward.
"He doesn't allow to be touched exce-" Peter was saying when his eyes popped behind his tiny glasses as he watched Jasmine walk close to the horse, which didn't move back again and placed her hand on his body.
"How did you do it?" He asked as he walked close to her and saw the horse turn his head and glare, as if to warn him not to try it. The other servants continued to look on surprised.
"I don't know," Jasmine replied softly, moving her hand to brush the mane of the horse as she smiled. Watching the pretty girl's smile made Peter's heart flutter, and he quickly looked away. He can't believe he's getting enchanted by a maid who's been here for just a few weeks.
"How's he cleaned then if he doesn't allow other people to touch him?" Jasmine asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"The Prince does," He replied, and Jasmine cocked her brows upward, her lips twitching a little, hiding her smile.
"What a good boy," Jasmine muttered to herself.
"Of course."
"Did you say something?" She asked Peter as she thought she heard someone speak, but he shook his head.
Patting the horse for the last time, Jasmine turned and walked inside the castle before the Prince starts to look for her.
"You have to try to impress your father at all means," She heard sharp heels coming from the corridor she was walking in; it was the Queen of Queen Margareta. They were back from the tea party as well?
"I am," She heard another voice, and her eyes popped open; it was Prince Lucian. They were close, there was nowhere to hide, and she couldn't run back. She wasn't ready to face the man right now.
"You're not doing enough; he's already thinking of passing the throneship to Nikolai," The Queen frowned to herself as she walked with the guards behind them.
"You can't let him do that, mother," Lucian urged.
"I'm trying, hmph, but he's so fond of that Priscilla's son," She raised her nose up. She saw a maid standing just in front of them, her head bent so low towards the ground as she remained frozen. She turned her face away quickly, disgusted by the sight of the maid. But Lucian kept looking at her, that milky skin and hair color, he only knew of one maid-
"A source told me a Fae will unlock his powers a day after tomorrow, go tomorrow before your brother does. It's time to show you also care for the kingdom's well-being and have what it takes to rule than Nikolai,"
"How do I find this Fae?" Lucian asked.
"Sort that out."
"But the Kingdom is very large, mother, and the Faes have long been known to stay hidden."
"You're not thinking like you should. From what I have gathered, Nikolai has no source informing him of anything, yet he gets a whiff of every information and handles it. Do something yourself too," She said, annoyed to have to indirectly praise Nikolai's efforts.
As their voices and words fade further down the corridor, Jasmine finally raised her head up and released the breath she was holding, good gracious, hopefully she doesn't have a heart attack before escaping.
She breathed out and turned to go to the first Prince's room when she saw him right in front of her, and her heart skipped a beat that it caused an instant ache in her head.
"What are you doing here standing idle?" He was sounding indifferent as he looked down at her as her face looked more white out of fear.
"I...I was coming up to your room, Prince Nikolai," She replied, bowing her head and feeling the sharp pain at the back of her neck having bent her head too low to escape Prince Lucian.
Nikolai didn't say anything and just started to walk away, and she followed behind him, her steps falling four steps behind him.
"Where are you going to?" Jasmine heard the second prince's voice, and her head began to ache again.
"Since when has anything about me started to interest you?" Nikolai asked without looking at the person that came to walk beside him.
"Since I caught you sneaking out at night," Lucian replied.
The first prince sneaks out at night? Jasmine thought to herself as she looked up to stare at the backs of the two princes.
When Nikolai didn't comment on his words, Lucian continued, "Do you go out to sleep with those harlots? Has simple things interested you so much that you don't even desire the royal harlots to take to bed?"
"That question should be directed to you who has no interest in simple things yet sleeps around with every maid," Lucian's vein popped up in the middle of his forehead, but Nikolai was not finished.
"If I remember correctly, you tried to bed a maid some weeks ago,
but you got wounded instead of the pleasure you seek."
Jasmine sucked in her breath so loud that the people walking in front of her heard, and Lucian's veins popped out more. She was the maid he was talking about.
"We both know her head would have been hung outside the castle," He said between his teeth, and Nikolai just smiled.
"You should focus on getting the throneship, Lucian," He said.
"I don't have to run around like you to prove my capabilities of being a great King, I have guards to do the works for me," Lucian replied and fell a step backward.
"I'd like to have this maid attend to my needs while you're away," He added and clutched Jasmine's arm, who hadn't been aware of the pause in his steps.
Her eyes grew large, and she looked up in fear at the first Prince who kept on walking like he didn't hear his brother's words, but his voice rang out.
"She attends to only me," He simply said.
"A maid attends to every royal member, Nikolai," Lucian said, and this time, Nikolai stopped and turned to look at them.
His eye looked indifferent also, Jasmine thought as she looked into his grey soulless eye.
"Which part of she attends to only me did you not understand, Luc?"
Luc, what a name, Lucian felt disgusted, he freed Jasmine's arm and said instead.
"Come with me, you know the punishment if you don't," And he started to walk away.