Voyage (Book 1 of The Pirate, The Professor And The Princess)

Just Ligh Now, The Chapter Three

Ligh turned her nose up in the air as she walked down the stone steps of the entrance grounds. Because she was not looking where she was going, she tripped on her dress a couple times, and then pretended she hadn't.

She was sure everyone had noticed.

No one laughed. Yet.

She knew they all were going to laugh at her for days once she took her first step outside the castle grounds. Because in that dreaded moment, she would no longer be regarded as the 'Princess, to be Queen.' She would be the 'Princess, was to be Queen, but is now in exile.'

Generations yet to come would laugh at her for centuries, would look at her handful of paintings hung on the walls of the castle and remember her as the fool who got herself exiled on the day of her coronation.

All of this because of them.

Those two people, untouchable and unattainable, clad in their heavy glittering gold and standing at the top of the stairs. They watched her leave without saying goodbye. As if she was going to say goodbye.

As Ligh descended the steps that were leading her to a different world outside, and a whole other stage in her life, she did not look back. Not even once. She did not look at her parents, the castle that had been her home, the servants and guardsmen that were always at her command no matter how much they disliked her. She was leaving the royal power behind.

And she was slowly and slowly filling up with anger.

No one was accompanying her, not even a servant. Apparently, her parents found them too important to send one away just like that. Furthermore, she wasn't taking any jewels or costly dresses along, save for the ones clinging to her flesh.

It was difficult and she did not want to accept this change, because this life of royalty was the life she had learned to love and it was unsettling now to leave it all behind. She did not even know properly what the world outside looked like.

When she looked up and ran her gaze over the citizens who had gathered there in the grounds to see her off, she realized just how many people there were. Even though her parents had tried to keep the news of her exile confidential and secret, they had done a bad job at it. The citizens of Gontas had somehow gotten to know it, and some of them looked like they couldn't be much happier.

Will they even accept me as the Queen when I come back to rule?

To hide the little trickle of discomfort from showing on her face, Ligh held up her right hand high in the air, expecting an applause regarding the courage and commitment she was showcasing. The crowd remained awfully silent, exchanging glances as if they did not understand this gesture at all.

Ligh was just going to roll her eyes at the people when she heard someone shout.

"Give it up for our princess, everybody!" It was a male voice, a little throaty but very loud indeed. A few people clapped their hands. "Come back soon."

She smiled, trying to search around for the person who had initiated the move, but the voice had seemed to come from somewhere among the crowd. God bless the soul who said that. He at least saved her from total embarrassment. "I will," she exclaimed back with equal intensity and vigor. "I will come back soon. And I will rule."

It seemed like a promise, to herself, to her parents, to the castle, to the citizens, to the sky to every living creature in the kingdom. It seemed like a promise.

Once she had basked enough in the attention and the small applause that was slowly growing, she stepped down the last step of the staircase onto the gravel path.