Indecent Folks

I opened my eyes and stared at the recessed ceiling of my bedroom. The scent of lavender filled my nose as the sunlight passed through the open window. My eyes landed on the waving curtain, and I saw that the sky was way clearer today. Yawning, I stood and walked up to the window. The wind was oddly comforting, and for once, I felt untroubled. Last night was the nicest sleep I ever had in a while that even the thought of Julian's death no longer urges me to curl into a ball and cry. I feel like we have finally set each other free, so I'm hoping that life has something more to offer because it would be a shame if it turns meaningless now that I'm free.

I took a deep breath and spent my morning like usual. The guards in the hallways greeted me while I buttoned the cuff of my dress' sleeves. In Grace's bedroom, the handmaids just got out, so I knocked on the open door and walked in. Unlike his brother, who seems to have hoarded half the kingdom's riches, Grace wanted her room to be simple.

She looked so serious as she wrote something on a piece of paper while wearing a pair of spectacles. She's too young for that, but it looked pretty on her. "Stop gawking," she warned.

I smiled and leaned against the edge of the table, crossing my arms.

"You are the only person here. Do you rather me stare at your wall?"

She signed the paper and leaned against her chair to meet my gaze. "Can I ask you for a favour?"

"Look at you. One second, you seem like a wolf ready to sever my head; the next, you turn into a nice and pretty lavender."

A smile made its way into her lips. "Am I not always pretty?"

I rolled my eyes and snatched the paper from her hand. "What is it?" I asked, reading the letter.

"Prince Gerald scheduled a tour today. Remember that initiative that I offered him last month? He's interested."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Well, he also said that he wants to meet the famous kingmage born and raised in Peraven."

"Is he forgetting that a Peraven court convicted me for murder?" I asked.

She smiled and rested her cheek on the back of her fingers. "But the Kingdom of Peraven has already granted you amnesty, hadn't they?"

"Pure luck,” I mumbled. "But why would you skip this? I thought this tour is important to convince the crown prince? And this should be Adam's job as the Minister of Trade, or at least Ford's."

"Adam is in a ship bound to Escola, the rest of the Royal family aren't good at interkingdom relations, and Ford will be busy." She looked away and cleared her throat, so I stared at her until she notices my gaze. "What?" she asked. "There's something you're not telling me."

"Of course. Should I tell you even the things that bore you?"

"You know that even if I don't stay in the palace that much, I do hear some rumours, right."

She bit her lower lip. "Like what?"

"Are you dating Ford?"

Her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as she shook her head. "That's ab-" she trailed. "Absurd."

"You looked really in pain when you said that."

She rolled her eyes and sat properly as her forearms rested on the armrest. "Look, we're not dating, but we're...we're getting to know each other."

A smile made its way onto my lips. "And you're getting to know each other today, is that it?"

She pouted and looked away, her cheeks reddish like a tomato. I stood and slapped the letter on my palm. "Alright, then. Enjoy your day and tell me about it tonight." I walked up to the door but turned to face her when I remembered asking. "Is the crown prince alone?"

"That's what Ford told me, so I'd rather send you other than anyone else for security, Miss Jones, the kingmage from Peraven," she teased.

**

I stayed in one of the cabins in the western gate to wait for Prince Gerald's envoy. Silas, an officer from the Ministry of Trade informed me of today's itinerary while we played chess. An hour later, the envoy arrived at the gate and went under inspection before entering.

We watched four wagons and a royal carriage surrounded by eight knights in their horses cross the main road and stop in front of the cabins.

I stood behind Silas, who will welcome the crown prince first. Then, the guards from the first wagon hopped off, and one of them opened the door of the royal carriage.

My jaw dropped when I saw who got out first as he greeted Silas. Rougan's eyes landed on me, and I blinked in confusion. Indeed, a lot had happened in a year. He's now the Minister of Trade in Peraven. He stepped aside, so I watched the crown prince get off the carriage with a slight smile on his face. He had a little chat with Silas before they both turned to me. I took a step closer and bowed my head.

"As per Your Royal Highness' request, I formally introduce you to Adeline Jones, our Minister of Defence and Security. She will be in charge of today's tour."

I smiled at the crown prince as I hid my arms behind me. His eyes landed on the sword hanging by my hip. "It's nice to meet you, Your Highness," I said.

Prince Gerald gently bowed his head as well. "The honour is mine, Minister Jones. You brought down a tyrannical king and helped a long-lost crown princess ascend her throne. You made history."

I laid my hands towards the open carriage provided by the kingdom. "In case the news didn't reach Your Highness, I don't take full credit for the coup. Shall we?"

I got on the carriage first and realized that Rougan trailed close, sitting beside me in the carriage as the crown prince settled himself in front of us. The cold wind blew, so I tucked hair behind my ears and pointed my thumb behind me. "We're heading to the lavender fields," I informed them as the coachmen behind me signalled the horses and the eight knights followed the carriage.

I took a deep breath and focused my gaze to my left so I don't have to look at Rougan. But, unfortunately, his left thigh gently rubbed against mine, so I crossed my legs to keep our space and clasped my hands atop my knees. Prince Gerald was in awe as he looked around. As far as I know, the only place in Peraven with lavender fields was in Eastplains. "This place is amazing," he whispered. "Can we stop for a while?" We just began the tour, but I smiled anyway. "No problem, Your Highness." The coachmen stopped the carriage, so the crown prince got off and walked along the trail in the field. He laid his hands to touch the flowers as he ambled in the direction of the windmill from a distance.

"He lost his wife two years ago, just six months before they got married," Rougan whispered beside me, prompting me to shoot a look at him, but our faces were too close, so I looked back to the crown prince. "They were supposed to be travelling that time. Seeing beautiful places like this," he added.

"What caused her death?"

"She's among the million deaths in the world due to the red plague."

The prince walked back to the carriage with a smile on his face, but his eyes were teary. "Shall we?"

We continued travelling until we reached the edge of Serfith, where we saw the entirety of the region. "This is the first cluster from the north," I explained. "Where the common people usually reside."

"You segregate your people?" the crown prince asked in surprise.

I quickly shook my head and looked around. "It's a cultural concept. We can't just shuffle people around. They will stay wherever they want, and they wanted to stay here, so we planned to improve the place instead. It's only been a year since Her Majesty ascended her throne, but we were able to outsource labour to provide better housing, and soon we'll build more schools, more clinics. Inns are abundant now, though, so if Your Royal Highness agrees to the five-year Peraven-Ireth Open Trade, the merchants can afford a nice shelter here."

"Sounds good. What's happening there?" He pointed at a huge tent where we saw Irethians having a party.

"We might want to skip that street. That's a wedding party," I said.

"I think we should pay a visit and might get a nice dance?" he suggested.

A smile made its way onto my lips as we headed to the lawn where they held the celebration. The guests quickly turned to us and bowed as a sign of respect. We got off the carriage, and I walked to the guests first. "We have a visitor. Prince Gerald of Peraven."

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"Good day, Your Highness!" the guests started greeting him.

"I hope we're not interrupting much?" He got suddenly shy when he realized how many people attended the party. The groom and bride walked up to us and bowed to the crown prince.

"Thank you for gracing our humble party."

He laid his hand on the bride. "Care for a dance, then?"

We all clapped and watched the crown prince and the bride walk up to the centre of the tent. Some guests joined them as the musicians began playing their violins. Someone laid his hand in front of me, and my mouth gently hung open at the sight of Rougan's smiling face. "Truce?" he asked.

I glanced at his hand before turning to him. "Truce." He reached for my arm, sliding his hand towards mine while he led me to the crowd. We glanced at the crown prince, who looked at us with a smile on his face. Rougan raised our hands while he pulled me closer. Then his eyes landed on my lips, so I took a deep breath as we began dancing. My heart raced when his lips almost touch mine, and even his cold hands couldn't quench the warmth in my chest. My hands resting on his shoulder trembled, but I tried to keep calm. He gently licked his lower lip while I couldn't take my eyes off of them. "Have I told you that being your ally doesn't require me to be your lover?" he asked. "Before, yes," I whispered.

"You must have thought that I was into you just because you hexed me?" "You're into me?" I asked.

He shifted his gaze into my eyes with a hint of surprise. "Every single day since we met."

I clenched my jaw, unable to believe it. "Stop lying."

"I wish I am; that this was just an effect of the hex. But you've gone for a year, yet you never left my mind. You don't know how many witches I've paid to stop this heart from racing every time I think of us. I denied the feeling too much, and it made me lose you." He took a step backwards and swung me around, snapping me back to reality. We swayed a few times before the music stopped and our dance ended. He kissed the back of my hand before turning to the crown prince, chatting with the wedded couple.

When the crown prince bid his goodbyes, we went back to the carriage, and the way my knees trembled caused me to panic. Just like that, my body yearned for his touch again.

"Miss Jones?" The crown prince called me, so I turned to him, only to realize that we already settled ourselves in the carriage. "Are you okay?" he asked.

I forced a smile and nodded. "Is Your Royal Highness in the mood for horse riding?"