The Brooding Prince

Chapter 2

The newfound realization kept playing in my head and agonizing me for the rest of the way to the stables, making me continually stumble on hidden rocks.

Prince Alexander.

I've never met the prince myself, but I heard quite a handful of gossip about him and his questionable actions. And to say that his reputation preceded him was quite the understatement of the century.

He is widely known and viewed unfavourably for his actions, and anyone who knew him or knew of him made sure to stay as far away as physically possible.

So to find him in a secluded garden with a mysterious woman in such a compromising position shouldn't have been surprising or abnormal, but my still frantic heart and shaking hands begged to differ. I could still hear his heavy breathing, almost as if it's been right next to my ear.

I shivered.

When I was younger, I blushed at the mere glance of my strangers kissing, which still scarred me to this day.

I was not used to situations like this. I'm an innocent young girl who becomes alarmed when a male even glances at her for god's sake!

I walked around the last corner, still holding the heavy baskets, when the wooden stables finally appeared.

The building stretched over a large field of grass and mud, standing very close to a mysterious and humid forest, and at this time at night with the stars shining and the wind blowing slightly, it seemed almost magical. It took everything in me to keep walking to the entrance.

I made my way through the open double doors, the smell of hay and horse manure immediately assaulting my nose. I scrunched my face in repulsion and kept walking past the horse stalls.

As I got closer to the hay room, where they stored the hay, I could hear a clatter of voices coming from inside. There seemed to be a crowd of stablemen in there.

Oh god.

I could feel the anxiety building up inside of me.

When I enter the room, I will most likely find a bunch of hungry and loud stablemen. That means that when I enter, their attention will be on me.

And I hated attention.

I could feel sweat breaking out on my forehead again. What an awful day.

I put one basket on the floor and used my now free hand to open the door, very very slowly.

As soon as the slit was big enough to fit my head in, I slightly tilted my head, so that only my eyes could be visible.

Good, they still have no idea I'm here. I could just leave the baskets next to the door and someone will most likely notice them sooner or later.

As soon as I was about to execute the idea, I felt something slightly graze the right side of my waist.

I gasped and turned around to swat the insect, but instead my hand smacked another hand.

"Ouch." I heard a light chuckle from above me which made me look up in suprise.

I gasped again. "Oliver!" I dropped the other basket and put my hand on my chest. "I'm so sorry."

Oliver Nutter's face broke out into another grin and he put both of his hands behind his back, which I realized were a bit dirty from the day's labor. "No, I apologize. I shouldn't have startled you."

I smiled back up at him. "Oh no, it's alright. I'm used to being startled." Then I mentally palmed my face at the contradictory statement.

"Um. I'm actually glad I ran into you." I said.