The Bloodshed Crown

Chapter 16: Unfold

"Queen Alexandria made you do that?" He asks as he gets the two empty pales.

"Yes! She is giving me a lot of workloads," she replied as she scrubbed the dirt away from the horse's foot.

"Then I should help you," He said as he fetched more water.

Ayla poured the remaining two buckets of water to rinse the dirt, and she finished one horse.

She was so happy about her achievement, but suddenly she felt the water on her face, which flowed down her dress. She remained calm at first, but as soon as Ayla looked at Carlyle, he was so happy looking at her in that state.

"How dare you!" she said as she chased after him and wanted revenge, but she slipped because of the wet ground and was dumped into the mud.

Carlyle was laughing so hard at her, but she would never give up unless she avenged herself from him.

She acted as if she hurt her back from the hard fall for him to help her, and she was right. He stopped laughing, and he offered his hand.

Ayla took it but instead of getting up. She pulled him to the ground and quickly rolled over, causing him to land his face on the mud pool.

"That's what you get for laughing at me," she said as she laughed at him.

They had some fun with each other while they cleaned the horses one by one. At last, they finished and rested for how many minutes.

"You should wear this," Carlyle said as he gave her his leather jacket.

"Where will I u-- You! You waited for hours to give me this. You're a pervert," She said, but he just smiled.

"I did not see anything, I promise! The dress turned loose, and it's showing," He said as he turned around.

"Why give it now?" she asked as she wore his jacket.

"Because I heard you have some dishes to wash and need that to avoid gossip. And also, take a bath," He said, making her smile.

"Will do," she replied as she returned to the castle.

Everyone was looking at her covered in mud and talking behind her back.

"Ayla! Where have you been, and why are you covered with mud?" Hannah asked as she quickly covered her with her coat.

"Someone made fun of me," she said as they walked towards her room.

"I will help you take a bath. I am the Queen's lady. After all, I always fix her hair and her clothes. Not to mention that I also assist her when she bathes," Hannah told her.

"Queen's lady?" Ayla asked.

"Yeah! I was always with Erytheia when she was a child. Her mother appointed me as the Queen's lady as soon as she saw us playing together." she replied

"Then why do you need to serve me? I am not your Queen," She told her

"You are not my queen, but you are my first friend here in court," she said as they went into Ayla's room.

They prepared the water, and Ayla took a bath. She undressed and dipped her body into the warm water.

Hannah started with her hair and needed about five times to change the water to wash it away.

"You had a fun day," Hannah said as she enjoyed Ayla's company.

"Carlyle threw me a bucket full of water, and I was exposed in a mud pool," She said as she scrubbed her knees.

Hannah took her hair again, but now that her back was exposed, she saw a crescent moon birthmark on her back right shoulder.

"You have a unique birthmark over on your shoulder," Hannah said as she held it to ensure that Ayla did not just paint it.

"Oh! My father told me to hide it, and I can't keep my promise," She said as she immediately covered the birthmark with her left hand.

"Why must you hide it when your birthmark is unique," Hannah said

"I just feel like it is a curse to me," She replied, but Hannah had another motive in mind to prove her speculations.

Hannah took Ayla's left hand, which revealed Ayla's three moles on her wrist with many scratches.

In her mind, "It is clear now! Why she looks familiar? She is Erytheia; she has her mother's eyes and her father's good soul."

Ayla took her hand back and went straight to the kitchen after she took a bath. Looking at the dishes pile up made her give up, but she shouldn't do that.

After the heavy workload, she drops herself on the bed without eating all day. All she needs is rest.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Someone barged into her room with an evil aura. She opened the windows inviting the rays of the sun inside her chamber.

"Goodness gracious! Wake up!!" the Queen shouted as she stood on her side.

She was a bit unpresentable because her hair was messy, and her position in the bed was a disgrace.

"What do you need me to do, your grace?" she said as she slowly woke up.

"Open your eyes and dress as a nice noble lady," she stated

Ayla slapped her cheeks to wake her up and stood up like the Queen requested.

"I need you to convince my son Prince Louis to go and meet his future bride." She said as she turned to me.

"Why must I do the job?" she asked, but the Queen's face was unpredictable.

"I am your queen, and you should do the job I am giving you WITHOUT QUESTIONS," She said as she pointed the way out.

"As you wish, your highness," Ayla said and bowed to her. She quickly dressed and fixed her hair before she went out.

She looked around the castle for Louis but could not find him anywhere.

"Have you seen prince Louis?" she asked the maids, but they also didn't know where he was.

"where did he go?" she asked herself.

"If you're looking for Louis, then the castle is not the place you should be looking for," Carlyle said as he appeared in front of her.

"Then where should I look?" She asked.

"Go North, and you can see him by the field; he loves the view of the ocean," Carlyle advised, and she took the advice because she trusted him.

She went to the fields to look for him, and he saw a dressed young boy. She went after her, and another memory flashed into her mind.

"Alex! Wait for me!" The girl shouted.

"Keep up. You're taller than me, but you can't even run," The little boy said as he ran away from her.

"I-- I can--" she fainted.

"Theia?! Are you okay?" The royal boy asked as he was in shock because he didn't know what to do.

"I will go and get you a physici--"

"Caught you!" The girl said as she clung to his neck, causing him to fall to her side.

"You cheated!" He said, and they were laughing at each other.

"Lady Ayla? Lady Ayla! Are you okay?" Prince Louis said as he held her hand.

"Y--Yes, I am okay. I am just a bit dizzy," she said as she held her head.

"Oh! I have something to tell you. You are requested to the throne room," she told him without telling him why.

"My mother dresses me up into an extravagant outfit without telling me why," He shared.

In her mind, "How should I tell him that he's engaged?"