Mirabella's gaze flickered now and then to the little girl sitting near the hearthside of the kitchen, with a plate of fruits resting on her knees. The girl quietly ate, carefully placing each piece into her mouth to avoid soiling her hands or dress. Her prim and proper dining habit made Mirabella question her origin and upbringing.
She suspected that Sindbad was a fibster.
"Do you know the way back to your place?" Mirabella asked, turning the meat over the crackling fire. Glancing at the girl out of the corner of her eye, she hoped to get a nod in response, but the little girl's unblinking eyes were fixed on the pan.
The sizzling smoke arises from the meat and wafts in the air, curling like tendrils before it enters Kael's nostrils. He licked his pouty lips, coating them with a sheen of glossy saliva. Mirabella couldn't help but laugh at the little foodie. Once she was satisfied with the browning of the meat, she served it on a plate.
Kael looked down at the plate stretched towards him. On the clean white plate, four pieces of perfectly browned meat had been cut into small portions and placed alongside a small amount of rice. The rice was a shade browner than what he was used to at the castle, but it did nothing to dull his appetite.
He accepted the dish with great enthusiasm and proceeded to shove a piece of meat into his mouth. His previous elegance and grace vanished into thin air. The meat's flavor was so rich and delicious that his eyes opened wide with surprise. The crispy edges of the meat made a delightful, crunchy sound before the smoother portion slid down his throat effortlessly.
"Mmmmm…" Kael moaned softly.
At the sound, Mirabella, focused on stirring the next batch of meat, suddenly snapped her head in the girl's direction. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, wondering if she had misheard. Looking at the little girl eating heartily, she quickly dismissed her doubts.
"I must have heard wrong. How could such a young girl lie?" she nodded to herself.
After the little girl finished the food on her plate, Mirabella decided to take her to the port to search for her uncle. Kael, still unsatisfied with a single serving, had no choice but to follow the woman. He kept his nose wide, trying to catch a whiff of 'Hall of Void' from her, but all he could smell was the enticing aroma of meat, which set off a storm of saliva in his mouth, threatening to overflow from the corners.
Should I keep the dress for another day? He pondered in silence.
Arriving at the port, Mirabella looked around in the hopes of spotting the rude man she had spoken to earlier. However, there was no sign of him as far as her eyes could see. She was afraid that he might leave the capital without realizing his niece was missing.
In contrast, the 'missing niece' was less troubled by such concerns. Kael's eyes wandered casually around the bustling activities of the port, observing the workers going about their tasks. His body went still like a statue when his gaze fell upon a familiar figure standing a short distance away from them.
Near one of the largest ships stood his sister, Naeris, surrounded by a small group of women from the royal circle. If his sister and the other women spotted him in this state, the image of the noble and proud prince of Noctara that he had painstakingly crafted would crumble to ashes and be carried away by the wind.
He turned in a swift motion and ran in the opposite direction from where he came, pushing through the throngs of people at the port. The abrupt noise from the crowd caught the attention of the women near the ship, their gazes shifting in that direction.
"What an unruly little girl!" Standing next to Naeris, a woman made a contemptuous remark.
"You can't expect sophistication from common folk, Lorelei," Ruby, the Wingstone general's daughter, replied with an airy tone, shielding herself with a fan from the glaring sun.
Naeris dismissed their remarks. Her eyes followed the small figure as it scuttled through the bustling crowd before slipping from her sight. She couldn't get rid of the feeling that the girl seemed very familiar.
Startled by the child's sudden disappearance, Mirabella attempted to push her way through the crowd to reach the little girl, but her own tiny feet were not as nimble as the young girl. By the time she forced through the crowd, she had already vanished from her sight.
She now regrets leaving Pipo at home. Despite not having been the one to bring the girl to her house, she felt a twinge of guilt as she anxiously glanced around the place.
"But you are the one who brought her to the port and lost her amidst the crowd," her brain chided her.
She started to worry and at the same time Gideon, who was working in the port, was surprised to see his little egg on the dock. He moved toward her, guiding her away from the noisy crowd.
"What are you doing here, little egg?" Lifting the back of his palm, he placed it on her forehead to check the temperature. He let out a sigh of relief after making sure her fever had subsided. He has been concerned about her health.
"Gideon…" Mirabella called him in a feeble voice, tears threatening to spill out from her eyes.
Gideon was taken aback and inquired in panic, "What happened?" his voice raising an octave in the process.
"The child…child was gone," she stammered as a drop of tears escaped from her eyes.
Gideon felt his world crumble down as a storm of waves washed over his head. The earth shrunk, lightning crashed into the sky, seas roared violently and his Primrose's bib flew away in the night wind. His gaze fell on Mirabella's flat stomach and froze in disbelief.
His grandchild!
His beard trembled, "Who? Which bastard took it away?" he yelled, and his eyes bulged in anger.
"I don't know," Mirabella said, biting her lower lip in helplessness. She continued, "One moment she was next to me but not the second after, she ran away "
So, my grandchild was a girl. Gideon's thoughts stumbled. Wait, something is not adding up. Run away? He blinked.
"Little egg, how old is my granddaughter?" he asked with a perplexed expression on his face.
Mirabella's tears abruptly stopped at the question, trying to interpret his words. Granddaughter?
Dear god! Mirabella was rendered speechless by his wild imagination. She let out a sigh and began to explain from the beginning.
No wonder my little egg hates Sindbad! Gideon mused, a grin breaking through his lips after hearing the story.
"Don't worry. If the little girl came here on her own, she definitely knows the way back too. You should go and rest lest catching fever again from all the sweating," he urged her to return to the house.
With no other choice but to leave, Mirabella nodded and turned to head back to the house, glancing once more over the port for the last time. Far away from the port, behind one of the mud houses, Kael slumped down the wall and placed his palm over his chest feeling the rapidly pounding heart inside.
"Whew... I almost caught by my sister", he muttered, removing the messily braided wig from his head and ruffled his natural black hair which was drenched in sweat. He looked down at the dress and noticed that the hem had been splattered with mud during his escape from his sister. His lips pursed in disdain. Lowering his head to swat off the dried mud, he sensed a shadow loomed above his small frame.
A pair of black shoes entered his vision. There are some tiny, sparkling pearls embedded in them. His eyes trailed upward to see the figure donned in a beige dress before it settled on his sister's grim face.
His throat had suddenly gone dry.
Looking at her brother's ridiculous appearance, Naeris observed that he was sitting on the ground with his legs spread wide while wearing a gown.
His legs were missing one shoe, his hair was in a mess resembling a bird nest, and he held an absurd-looking wig on his hand. The crisscross design of the gown, which was sewn from the waist to the bottom, didn't escape her notice.
"Crown Prince Orion assigned you a new tutor at my request. You will begin your disciplinary education from tomorrow," she informed his brother, with no room for denial.
Kael's shoulders slumped in defeat. But his little brain has already devised a plan to get out of his sister's clutches.
He grinned to himself, knowing he had a very capable uncle at his side.
"Shift"
Under his sister's command, he obediently rose from the ground and shifted to his raven form. A short while later, one could see a huge raven flying across the sky while carrying a smaller one by the scruff in its talons.