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

Taken Away, The Chapter Seven

"Seriously, what was that?" Jevelyn demanded the moment they were safely back in the carriage. Ligh looked like she had no idea what was being talked about. She just sulked and worked Jevelyn up even more.

Jevelyn hadn't said anything to her on the way, just thrown occasional glares at Ligh as a promise to deal with her once they were within safe boundaries. From the carriage, Jevelyn had to send a guard to get them their meals, since Ligh had made it near impossible for them to have a quiet lunch without the threat of being under the radar.

"I told you not to go and just announce to the world that you are the Princess," Jevelyn said. "Yet that's what you do the moment you are out of my supervision."

"He was provoking me," Ligh argued. "He thought I was a thief."

Jevelyn raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Did he really call you a thief? All with your clothes and jewellery and-and attitude?"

Ligh frowned slightly, then stared at the roof of the carriage, as if the answer was written there somewhere. "I guess..."

"No?" Jevelyn guessed. "You just assumed, since that's the thing you do best. And speaking about this distrust of your identity, I'm thankful for that because anyone having even the slightest idea of who we are is a threat to you," Jevelyn pointed her finger at Ligh, then at herself. "To me, to both of us." She did this so visually because less than one day had been spent with Ligh and Jevelyn already felt like she was dealing with a kid.

Ligh hummed and looked away.

"Do you understand?" Jevelyn emphasized, and got a slight, reluctant nod in response. "Good."

There was a knock on the glass window and Jevelyn parted the curtains to see the guard with the trays of food balanced on both his hands. "Thank you," she said, taking them in and handing one to Ligh. The food probably wasn't what Ligh ate back in the castle, but it was the best Jevelyn could find, so she appreciated it when Lugh took it hurriedly and began eating.

No Thank-you was to be heard.

That was what Jevelyn was planning to teach Ligh in the time yet to come: mannerism.

They ate in silence.

It was already dark when they reached the end of the first day of the journey and stopped on the gates of a motel. Jevelyn wasn't particularly fond of traveling at nights, and out of all the others, this motel looked the most presentable and decent one.

Sometimes a book is indeed judged by its cover without any remorse by the perpetrator for doing so.

"There are quite a lot of motels here," Ligh commented, looking around the busy street. "And tourists. Is this a tourist destination?"

Jevelyn nodded. "Rufel." With that, she led Ligh inside the gates.

The lobby was warm and quaint, and Jevelyn wanted to get the rooms as soon as possible so that the two of them could be given their separate space after what felt like years of being together.

So, while Jevelyn was checking in, Ligh watched the fish pond and made kissy faces at all the kinds of aquatic creatures swimming inside. Just so she would not witness how Ligh-the Princess, the Future Queen of Gontas-was behaving among the citizens, Jevelyn turned away to focus on the procedure of booking the rooms.

"Two rooms, please," she said to the man at the check-in counter. "Luxury class."

The man nodded while his eyes scanned a list. "Yes, they are available. I'll show you the rooms in a minute. Please submit the advance payment right now." Jevelyn brought out her money pouch and read the amount of money that was written on the paper. The man walked towards the hooks onto the back wall where the keys were hung, and searched around.

Jevelyn felt a tap on her shoulder.

She turned, expecting to see Ligh there, but she came face-to-face with a stranger.

No. Not a stranger. It took just a split second for her brain to recognize the still childish face and place its name.

"Miss Russie?" Jevelyn blurted out. "What are you doing here?"

Cladia Russie, the jolly young gal with her mischievously grinning face and twinkling eyes, was still beaming wildly at seeing Jevelyn, but there was a hint of spite somewhere in there. "I'm happy to see you too, Professor."

The way she said it made Jevelyn frown, then wonder if her absence had had a negative impact on her students. If they had forgotten all that they had learned. But then, maybe it was just this girl Cladia who had a rebellious streak in her somewhere.

"Well, it's a pleasurable surprise too," Jevelyn murmured, then continued searching inside her purse and counting the coins as she placed them on the counter. The man was still searching for the keys.

"My parents got the letter," Claida said, stepping forward and closer to Jevelyn's side. So she was looking forward to having a conversation.

"I was expecting them to," Jevelyn replied indifferently.

"They weren't happy," was what followed.

"I...wasn't expecting them to be." Jevelyn chose her words carefully, then began tapping her fingernails on the table, staring at the man impatiently. The keys seemed to have dropped down into hell.

Russie exhaled a breath. "Professor, you-"

"Why are you here, Miss Russie?" Jevelyn asked calmly, turning to face her fully. "What are you doing in this motel?"

"I'm with someone," Cladia replied, shrugging with a sly look on her face. "Since you already seem to have destroyed my chances at a nice life with a prestigious and complete education, by telling on me, I thought...'why not just step out of these bloody boundaries and expectations and live my own life the way I want it'?" She smiled smugly. "Hence, here I am, Professor." Then she turned on her heels and swaggered away.

Jevelyn pursed her lips. So I take it here ends the apprenticeship.

"I apologize, Miss, I seemed to be searching for the wrong keys," the man muttered profusely, scurrying forward and keeping two keys on the table. He attempted to laugh it off, but Jevelyn glared at him.

She snatched the keys off the table and then turned towards the fish pond. "Ligh." She stopped.

She looked around the small lobby.

And Ligh wasn't there.