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

Long Ride, The Chapter Four

Jevelyn had always wanted at least one of her students to be a royal by birth. It just gave a sense of pride and accomplishment. Too bad she had never gotten one. Now she was glad she hadn't.

Royals were a pain in the head, all with their egotistical demands and overconfident attitudes. Unsurprisingly, Ligh was far worse.

"I've never travelled in such a small carriage before," she said twenty minutes into the journey, shifting her legs and stepping on Jevelyn's toe. "That's why it is a little uncomfortable." She stepped on Jevelyn's toe again. Jevelyn scowled.

"I would actually like a light lunch only," she announced somewhere around eleven a.m. "Nothing too much." She thought for a second. "And yes, the dessert should have strawberries. Ice-cream's nice. Cake's okay too, though I would prefer ice-cream since it's hot outside and I'm sweating." She flicked something off her eyebrow.

Jevelyn listened to all this with a blank expression, and only replied once she was sure Ligh had done speaking her orders around. "Who said we're going to stop for lunch?"

At this, Ligh's eyes widened. She was quick to speak up her objection. "Wait, you're not keeping me starving. You're not, under an circumstances, making me go to sleep with an empty stomach."

Jevelyn pressed her lips into a thin line, unimpressed. "No one's going to sleep right now, and certainly not with an empty stomach."

Ligh heaved a heavy sigh of relief. It annoyed Jevelyn to no extent.

Though she could not predict anything about the time she was going to spend with the princess, this certainly was going to be a long ride.

Somehwere around afternoon, Jevelyn decided to take a break from the monotonous journey and walk outside. So the carriage came to a stop on the outskirts of Gontas, near a trade centre. Jevelyn was the first one to step out. She took a deep breath in, thankful for the fresh air and for the opportunity to get out of that closed space she had shared with Ligh for the past couple hours.

Ligh climbed out after her. "Aah. Air."

Jevelyn could immediately sense the gaze of onlookers at them. Usually this didn't bother her-the feeling of someone looking at her was common in her profession. But this time she was with Ligh. And Ligh wore glittering gems and bracelets on her arms, and earrings and necklaces. There was even a diamond blue tiara on her head she hadn't bothered to take off.

All in all, Jevelyn realized that she had to stop this flaunting of royal power as soon as possible. Because Ligh didn't seem to worry. So Jevelyn quickly turned and parted the curtains of the carriage to rummage inside for some cloth. She came out with a shawl, and then draped it over Ligh's shoulders.

Ligh cocked her head to the side, and then tried to shurg it off her shoulders. Jevelyn stopped her.

"Don't. Keep this on, and cover your identity. Oh, and," her eyes fell on the tiara dangling from Ligh's crown. "Give this to me."

Ligh had trouble following her movements, but her hand went up to her head and her eyes widened at feeling the absence of her tiara. "Hey," she protested. "Give it back to me." She reached for it, but Jevelyn just tossed the tiara inside the carriage.

"What are you doing?" Ligh demanded.

Jevelyn raised her eyebrows. "Saving you from thugs?" She asked. "I think I'm doing you a favor, Ligh. Now, come on." She kept a hand lightly on Ligh's back and directed her away from the gaze of the commoners flocking the market.

Over her shoulder, Jevelyn nodded at the carriage gaurdman to stay by close to the vehicle. He stood straight to attention and nodded back in acknowledgment. Jevelyn and Ligh entered the marketplace, where thankfully they could blend in with the citizens. No one looked their way.

"Are you hungry?" She directed the question towards Ligh.

"I'm starving," she replied immediately, and Jevelyn watched her eyes run around the place wildly, as if this was the first time she'd ever been in such a crowded marketplace with so many people. Maybe it was true, after all.

"We'll search for a place to eat, come on," Jevelyn said, but Ligh didn't move.

"No actually," she said. "I want to buy dresses for myself first. I can't spend my whole life in this dress." She gestured towards her royal blue designer gown, and Jevelyn could see the reason. No one could spend even a day in this attire, certainly not when they were in the public area.

"Fine," she sighed. "You can go find something you like, and I'll find a place to eat," she dug into her handbag and took out a small pouch which was filled with coins. "Since you don't seem to have any..."

Ligh grabbed it and watched it like it was a treasure she had found. "Thank you."

"I'll need you to repay that, by the way," Jevelyn muttered, then decided to show a little more leniency. "But tell me where you are going."

"Yeah, I'm just in the shop around the corner," Ligh said, already opening the pouch and looking in. She pointed towards the opposite side of the street. Jevelyn looked at it and nodded.

"Okay," she said. "But stay where I can see you."

Ligh widened her eyes comically, then whispered, "Yes, Mother." Then she disappeared inside the crowd.

Jevelyn tried to follow her movements, but lost track of her within two seconds. She sighed and went to search for a place to eat anyway.