"Your highness?"
Fuck. Not already, I'd barely even started collecting from the list.
"Uh, no, my apologies. I think you have the wrong person." I replied to the keeper, pulling my cloak a bit further to cover my face. I glance down at the gold and burgundy tulips, double checking that I'd grabbed the right colours. I looked up from my flowers and noticed that the owner still had a suspicion of me, I better hurry up.
"Just these, please." I placed my collection of tulips on the front counter and scooted them closer to the worker. They raised an eyebrow, I shot them a confused look, still trying to hide my face in my clearly oversized cloak. I slowly slid a collection of golden coins up to them. As they checked through the flowers, I, myself, decided to check my list. I scrunched it up and stuffed it back into my pocket, I'll just do it another time I thought. The ballroom dance was supposed to happen in about a week from now, that was plenty of time to gather everything, right?
"Here, this should be everything, have a nice day!" I propped my head up and took the flowers, slightly in surprise by the sudden action. I gave the keeper a small wave and exited the store, bells jingling as I left to notify the worker.
Down the well known gravel path, through the village square, it was a boring path. Nothing much ever happened around the village, which only made the dance sound more exciting, even with how tacky it sounded. I chuckled to myself quietly under my breath at my own comment, edging closer towards the castle entrance. I paced over the small draw-bridge and through the large, yet grand gates. I slid my cloak off my head, brushing back my dark brunette hair. Positioning my cloak along my shoulders to better fit, I was greeted warmly by the pair of guards which stood in front of the gates.
"Hey Clint, hey Tasha." I smiled at the two, who both smiled back at me. Clint gave a small wave, creating eye-contact for a few seconds. I waved back at Clint, walking through the gates and into the castle hall, walking forward towards the garden. I dropped my bouquet of flowers off by the back door, taking the door knob and turning it, revealing the garden in all its glory. Flowers of all colours bloomed out of the bushes and trees, even small daisy's in the grass. The smell of ripe fruit drifting through the gentle gusts of wind, with such a strong scent you could almost taste it. I watched as the petals drifted around, following the path of pebbles and rocks. Small glints in the path were brought up by the sunlit path, revealing small quartz shards and crystals between the rest of the gravel. I found my way through the thick vegetation, breaking out the other side to the cobblestone wall in which I liked to relax on. I found it comforting.
I propped myself up atop the stone wall, slightly scraping my palms at I swung my leg around it. I looked over the small creak at the meadow across it, there was a paddock of horses. I noticed a small wood and brick building in the middle of the paddock, I hadn't noticed that before. I felt my attention drawn to the little shack, by the first glimpse it looked like a few small houses all mashed together. After staring for awhile, I came to the conclusion that it was a horse stable, it must be where they kept the horses in the mean time. Apart from the horses they'd ride into war or battle, some of them would return after weeks or months, years even. Others wouldn't return at all, serving our village and protecting us. That's what we were told at least, but sometimes I wondered to myself if that's was really true.
A figure emerged from the stable looking building, that's what I assumed at least. I ruffled with my hair, fluffing it a little and leaned a little closer forward to get a better look at the stranger. I couldn't see much from my spot, they were so far away. Maybe this once I could jump the fence? My eyes travelled down to the small creak, which was streaming rapidly through the rocks at a fast speed. For how fast it was moving it was rather quiet I thought to myself. I was so lost in my thoughts of the creek, I didn't even notice that the figure had disappeared. My eyes found their way back up, disappointed that I could no longer see any human presence, I slumped my shoulders. Breathing out a small, yet heavy sigh. I felt a wave of disappointment flush over me, was I really that upset about the missing stranger?
I clearly must be, I thought to myself, whilst also searching for the stranger in case they hadn't left. Only to be disappointed once again. I felt myself go off track again, admiring some of the horses. The ponies too, they were so small compared to some of the large stallions. I liked the spotted ones the most, they looked the most appealing in my mind. I admired their patches and different spots, they were all different from each other. Each telling a story of their own. I smiled as I watched the horses eat the meadow grass a frolic around almost happily. I hadn't seen them working in such a long time. We hadn't made enemies with any of the surrounding kingdoms, so it almost seemed all peaceful around here. That was excluding the occasional break ins that some of the villagers sometimes made. They'd break into the paddocks, frolicking with the horses and obsessing over the keepers. I found that they all seemed to have one thing in common, they were all somewhat attracted towards the chiefs son.
There it was, the strange figure again.
