A month later….
Rob was having a meeting in the courtyard with Ambassadors from other countries. Fortunately, he was treated and became well. He had to continue the responsibility of protecting the kingdom and other external affairs that concerned the kingdom.
He easily settled the matter and the men left for their various countries. He sighed a sigh of relief, finally, he could have some rest. He checked his watch, it was almost noon. He rubbed his stomach, he wasn’t really hungry. Maybe he would skip lunch then.
“Rob! Rob!” Eleanor called from afar, running earnestly towards him. He sighed to himself,
“why can’t she just leave me alone?” he asked the universe. She’s been on his neck the past few days just because of their engagement.
The month was actually packed with events. First of all, a proper burial for his parents, then his engagement. He also had to host a royal engagement too. He wasn’t going to make it.
“Rob look at all the designs for our engagement!” she flipped the pages of the design book. His eyes widened when he saw what he was going to wear. He would look like a goofball in that. But how could he tell her?
“aren’t they wonderful?!” she exclaimed. He simply nodded in affirmation. He collected the design book and started flipping through them. He saw a particular dress that would look absolutely stunning on Arianna. He really loved the dress,
“what about this one? It’s really beautiful.” he pointed to the dress. Eleanor looked at it and dismissed it,
“I don’t like it. It’s not too royal” she flipped through and showed him a dress that looked like it was made of gold. He gulped, it looked very clumsy.
“This is my favorite. I’m going to wear this one.” she smiled at the dress. It was very extravagant. Rob gave a ‘creeped out’ smile, he was a goner. She would dry the whole kingdom in five minutes.
“it would look amazing on you.” he gave an unnoticed eye roll. He imagined Arianna in his choice, she would look amazing in it. Get the difference.
“I’m going to look at the designs for the jewelry!” she gave him a peck on the cheek and ran inside like a child. She would have been a nice girl only if she didn’t have OCD for spending extravagantly.
Rob picked up the book and flipped to his choice. His hands traced the image of the dress, thinking of how it would define her features so well. He also imagined what he would see when the dress is taken off.
He mentally slapped himself. He was going to be engaged and here he is thinking of another woman’s nudity. But he couldn’t help it, it was the woman he loved after all. Nights he’s spent dreaming of her, loving her. The two of them sharing his bed, and turning it into paradise.
He dropped the book and decided it was time for a swim. He headed for the swimming pool and entered the shower room. Not long, he came out in red trunks. He dived in, after a while he resurfaced. His golden locks wet, his blue orbs reflected sadness.
He remembered when Arianna swam here,
Flashback…
“hit me like a ray of sun, burning through my darkest night, you’re the only one that I want, think I’m addicted to your light.” she sang and swam around in the pool. Little did she know, her angelic voice had attracted the prince who just watched her with his trademark smile. He was enchanted by her voice, although he didn’t utter a word. He didn’t want her to know he was watching.
“feels like I’ve been awakened, every rule I had you breaking, it’s the risk that I’m taking, I’m never gonna shut you out.” she continued, her eyes closed. She was finally at perfect peace. Rob sat down on one of the chairs near the pool and enjoyed the concert. Her voice echoed in his ears, making him at peace.
He starred at her with all interest. Not only was her voice enchanting, but she was also extremely beautiful. He had never felt this way about his maids before, he smiled to himself. As mama would say, he has a crush.
He chuckled lightly, looking at Arianna as she danced her way through the water. The scene was capturing and maybe it had just captured his heart.
“maybe.” he thought out loud. By the time he opened his eyes, he met Arianna’s stare at him. She quickly exited the swimming pool and packed her things,
“wait!!!” he cried out to her and she stopped.
“Please, stay.” her body heated up and blood rushed to her cheeks. He stood up and walked over to her,
“Why are you avoiding me?” he asked concerned. This the question she didn’t want to hear. She looked down at her feet, images of what she saw flashing in her mind. Her breath rate increased,
“Arianna? What’s wrong?” he asked more concerned this time. She couldn’t answer him, instead, she ran away, inside the castle and into her room.
Flashback over….
He immersed himself into the water, remembering everything like it happened yesterday. He never knew what was wrong with her. And he never knew why she had poured acid into his tea. She wasn’t like this. He wanted to know why, he needed to know.
He exited the pool, dried himself, and got dressed. He went about asking his servants what they knew about Arianna. He came to Adrian,
“um, Adrian?”
“yes, your majesty.” Adrian turned to meet a rather shy Rob. He cocked his brow,
“I want to ask you some questions. It’s about Arianna.” Adrian was surprised. What could Rob be up to?
“okay your majesty.” he waited for the questions. Rob took a deep breath and began,
“what was Arianna like most of the time?” Adrian smiled,
“always cheerful and ready to help out. Not to mention extremely kind and funny. She was everything in one body.” every word that came out of his mouth pierced Rob like a dagger. He proceeded,
“did Arianna, perhaps, have any enemies? I mean, anyone she didn’t like?” Rob awaited his answer,
“No. Not at all. She liked everyone in the castle. Although not everyone likes her back. Because of her tomboyish behavior, she had a lot of haters. But she treated them with love and respect.” Rob was getting rather curious now,
“okay. Um, did she, in some way detest anything I did?” Rob was really eager to hear this one. Adrian tried to hide his smirk but proved inevitable.
“No, you were her hero. She always supported you in everything you did.” Rob was stunned. Then why did she try to kill him? It didn’t make sense anymore.
“is that all your majesty?” he asked,
“yes. Thank you,” he replied and walked away. Adrian shook his head, maybe he’d finally realized he had made a mistake.
Rob tried to put two and two together but it was giving five. Something was missing that he didn’t know about. He went to his room, he really wanted to see Arianna again. But he needed a plan to sneak out. He thought really hard and made a plan to sneak out tomorrow.
That’s if he can get past Eleanor.
He was going to make Eleanor his trustee to the kingdom tomorrow since they will soon be married. So there was a lot of preparation. He sighed, sometimes he wished he was just a normal boy.
Rob woke up the next morning. He didn’t want to wake up because he was having a good dream. A very good dream. He gave a stupid grin and lazily got off his bed. He went to his bathroom and came out shortly with a towel around his waist.
He went to his mirror and gave a charming smirk. He chuckled lightly to himself, he put some gel in his hands and rubbed it on his hair,
“looking smooth Rob,” he smirked. He blinked and saw Arianna in one side of his mirror. She gave him a warm smile, he turned back and saw no one. He turned to his mirror and saw his reflection and no one else. He sighed,
“maybe I am going nuts.” he got dressed and put on his favorite watch. A memory of his parents. He smiled at it and walked out the door. Ready to roll.
He took long, slow strides, his hands in his pockets. He was chilling today. It was a chill Rob day. He arrived at his throne room. It was filled with his maids, guards, and villagers. Everyone became silent as he walked in calmly. He sat down on his throne and everyone immediately followed suit.