Separate Crowns of One Heart

Thırty-Twø

As promised, I'm forced to spend the next day with the Prince. Thank Gods, he strings Mila and Yuunis into whatever he has planned. Mila insists I put on makeup and put on one of the less fancy but pretty dresses. When we're both dressed, we meet the Males outside in the afternoon sun.

Yuunis and the Prince push off of the carriage, cutting their conversation short. The Prince smiles at me as he opens the door for us. Mila and I climb in and take the window seats. The Prince sits next to me and Yuunis sits beside Mila.

I turn to Kenyon, taking in the short-sleeved white kamis and white pants. "Where are we going that we had to leave behind our crowns? Does the Queen know?"

"We are going somewhere fun. Do you know anything about fun?" I narrow my eyes at him. This is why I said I only needed sleep before I came to my senses about how I felt about him. "And the Queen does not need to know everything."

I pull aside the curtain, letting in the sun so I can have a chance at guessing where we're going. After a few minutes, I still have no idea so I give up and lean back in my seat. I look at Mila. "Do you know where we're going?"

She shakes her head. "Your prince is more secretive than I thought."

"You're telling me," I grumble.

The Prince looks at me. "Don't start. I want this day to be as nice as possible."

He's right. I can tolerate him for a few more hours before he leaves. "Yes, Your Highness." He bumps his knee against mine and when I look at him, he smiles handsomely. Gods...

The carriage stops after some time and we're met with the smell of salty fried dange as we climb out. I look around in confusion to see that we are standing at the edge of a village. People walk all around us, bustling in one direction. Children run, screaming with excitement towards... colorful attractions?

"Is this a carnival?" I turn to the Prince for confirmation. He nods with a grin and I let out an excited laugh. This is not what I was expecting at all. "Oh, wow!" I grab Mila's hand. "Come on then. What are we waiting for?" Pushing through the crowds, I run ahead to find the attraction with the shortest line, pulling Mila along with me.

"There!" Mila points to an empty booth with holes in the back of it and bottles set up for ring tossing. We go there and the booth tender grins at us, their face painted with fun colors.

"Good day, lovely ladies!" He gestures very animatedly at the booth. "Would you like a chance to prove your physical strength?"

"Yes!" Doing a little dance, he drops three balls into my hands and hands Mila the rings.

"Come on, Cy!" The Prince's voice comes behind me as he and Yuunis join us. "I need that giant cheetah." I reel my hand back and aim for the first hole. It comes a little short. "Cyrah!" The Prince groans. "Think of training. I know you can do this!"

I know I can do this too. I try for the second hole, making sure to throw just a bit harder than before. This one goes in with just a little bounce on the edge of the hole. "Wooh!" Taking a deep breath to brace myself, I let the last ball go and it flies smoothly throw the hole.

"Yes!" Surprising me, the Prince grabs me up in a hug and spins with me. "I knew you could do it!" He puts me back down, grinning like mad as we watch Mila take her turn with the ring toss.

"You got this, Mila!" I cheer her on and it's clear she needs no encouragement as she easily gets her rings around the bottle. She claps happily as we go to choose our prizes. I glance back at Kenyon. "Which one do you want, Princess?"

He throws his head back in laughter. "That's cute."

"I know." I choose the stuffed cheetah he mentioned earlier and hand it to him.