Beneath The Mask Is His Queen

Chapter Four

There was no way he was actually going to go through with this plan. No way for him to do something so difficult. He should've backed out at the start.

But then, he changed into new clothes.

(Villager clothing. Shows low class status, no one will see realize that it's him.)

He was given the list of villages.

(The applicable ones of course.)

He was given a horse.

Now, accompanied by Joshua, he's off to visit each village.

And he's determined to find Riley.

...

"First village..." Joshua said, slowing down his horse. "Are you ready to start the search?"

"Yeah," Lucas said, then gulped. "I am."

"Wait, before we start, I need to ask you something." Lucas nodded at him, keeping the horse in place. "If Riley isn't some high-class villager, and instead, is a poor villager, perhaps covered in rags or whatever, would you still like her?"

Lucas stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious? I had no idea what kind of person she was but I liked the girl I was able to talk to, the girl who's perfect as Queen, the girl..who saw right through my act. I don't care if she's rich or poor, it doesn't make a difference to me."

Joshua nodded in satisfaction.

...

"Hi, I was dropping by, just visiting some old friends of mine in this village, and I was wondering, does this belong to you or do you know who it may belong to?" Lucas asked, smiling politely at the brunette girl.

She took the handkerchief and held it in her hand. The girl inspected it, then frowned. "No, sorry. It doesn't seem familiar to me, and none of my friends are named Riley so no, I don't know who it belongs to either. I'm sorry."

He nodded, masking his disappointment by keeping his smile on his face. "It's alright."

"Does it belong to someone you know?"

Lucas shrugged. "Sorta. I just want rightful owner, you know?"

She smiled at him. "Well, I hope you find Riley and have it returned." The girl stared at him for a few more seconds before she narrowed her eyes. "You know you look familiar...like the prince- we, the King I mean."

Lucas hesitated, then gave a shaky laugh. "It's my eyes, isn't it? We share the same eye colour, and my hair is a similar color to his, so people frequently mistake me for him."

The girl stared at him in suspicion and then finally, she nodded. "Yeah, that must be it. I mean, the King's super busy, am I right? He's still looking for a Queen after all." She took his hand and placed the handkerchief in it. "Well, good luck stranger. I hope this Riley girl appreciates what you're doing for her."

Lucas' eyes drifted towards the handkerchief clutched in his hand. "Yeah, I hope she does too."

- the masked girl -

Knock.

Knock knock knock knock knock.

Riley's eyes opened, only to be met with a ray of sunlight blinding her.

"Ugh," she groaned and lifted herself off of her bed.

Knock. Knock. Knock knock.

More knocks were heard at the door.

Riley yawned, rubbing her eyes in attempt to wake herself up from her nap.

"YO MATTHEWS? WHERE ARE YA?" A voice screamed loudly from behind the door. Riley did a double take. That voice sounded familiar. "RILES I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE."