A Tale From Lanoria: The Princess of Barough

Chapter 9: The Fragrant Orchard

Over the next couple weeks, the bickering continued. Killian, Celsy, and Tyir seemed to find any fault they could with Donovan. Oriana just wanted to get to know him. So, she decided to take him out to the orchard one morning by herself. Oriana could see it was a nice, calm day outside and was itching to feel the sun on her skin.

After breakfast, the princess came to Donovan's room and knocked on the door. It was not, but a second later, he answered it. Looking at Donovan, she asked, "Will you please come with me on a walk, Donovan?" Her smile was so wide, it was practically hurting her cheeks.

Donovan looked towards her and nodded. "Sure, I think a nice walk would be good for you, Ori." It always made Oriana smile to hear him say her nickname. No one had ever given her one before. It was a small sign of affection. But from someone like Donovan, it was huge. At least that was how Oriana felt.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Let's take a walk through the peach orchard right outside the castle." Once he agreed, Oriana was already moving out the door before Donovan was even ready to go.

"I swear." He let out a slow breath through his nose before following the princess. Oddly enough, she grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows on the way. There were some that decorated the halls, easy enough to grab in an emergency. She said nothing as to why she grabbed it. 

As they walked out the door, Oriana began to speak. "Study, novice, acolyte, apprentice, intermediate, adept, scholar, expert, archmage, master, grand mage, and grand master. Mage ranks from lowest to highest."

Looking at her in mild surprise, Donovan replied, "Oh, have you been studying up on mages?"

"Yes! After your display in the throne room, I thought I would read more on it. I knew the basic overview of the ranks. However, I wanted to get more details." Oriana said.

Donovan chuckled a bit before saying, "Trying to learn more about your courtmage, huh? You wouldn't be the first girl to have a crush on me."

Oriana's cheeks turned a bit red at his reply, and she let out a little huff. "It's not that! I thought, as your friend, I would get to know you better! I was hoping you might be impressed."

"I am impressed, Ori. Trust me, your actions have been nothing short of eye-opening. I haven't met someone as kind as you in a long time. Not to mention having the brains and beauty to go with it." A big smile spread across Oriana's face as she enjoyed the compliments he was giving her. It was rare to hear such things from him.

"That is the nicest thing I've heard you say!"

Donovan winked at her playfully before saying, "Don't get used to it, Princess."

The two of them walked in comfortable silence out of the castle and down a stone path through the princess's personal garden. Fragrant rose bushes lined the walkway on either side in various red hues. The path was long but comfortable, as little breaks from the sunshine dotted the path due to Cyprus trees. As they neared the end of the path, the area opened up more into a wide, flat field with hundreds of trees on either side. They had arrived at the peach orchard, where the leaves had changed from pink to green. Her favorite and personal trees from the courtyard had been relocated out there. With his height, Donovan could easily grab them, snacking on the sweet fruit. The peach had a lovely, bright white top that blended from golden to pink.

Before Donovan could grab any more of them, Oriana quickly grabbed his hand and tugged him to a special patch. There were six sitting by themselves, carefully tended to. "These are the better ones over here!" she explained. "They were in the courtyard originally, where you fought, but we had them relocated out here to make room."