A Kingdom of Tales

Chapter 9

I toss and turn all night. It's not that the bed is uncomfortable; it's actually far from that. I suppose I'm somewhat excited for the future. I never imagined I'd be on a cruise headed to Edessa, getting closer to the man who placed the bounty on my head.

Emperor Wariu is said to be a formidable man, and so is his eldest daughter. Though Yuri is the heir apparent, her father hadn't named her Kotaishi as it was a title for a male heir. Whispers of the Emperor's dislike for his elder daughter had reached even the farthest parts of Telmor. He is said to dote on his younger daughter, as she is the Imperial Court's sweetheart.

Miles lets out a groan of pain from the floor.

"Miles." I whisper. I don't want to wake him, but I can't stand seeing him in this much pain.

"Yeah." He manages to moan out.

"Get on the bed."

"No. It's not proper."

"Proper my ass, get on the bed." I order.

When he decides to ignore me and go back to sleep, I get out of bed and start dragging him to bed.

"Fine. Fine." He rubs a hand over his face and gets up without complaints. I guide him to the bed and cover him with the blanket.

The sun had started rising, and I wanted to get started on my morning routine. Obviously, there was no space for a morning run on the cruise, so I'd have to make do with some bodyweight exercises.

I start with some stretches, then proceed to some pushups. On my 75th pushup, I hear Miles mumbling.

"What are you doing?"

"Just some training. Go back to sleep." He groans and hugs the pillow closer.

After I finish my pushups, I do some situps and planks. Maintaining the amount of muscle I built with Bastian hasn't been easy, but I won't let his efforts go to waste.

Miles wakes again when he hears the creaking of the door that I'm doing pull ups on. "Gods above, Jasmine. Even I didn't train before sunrise in Avenlea."

"That's why you're always out of breath from running." I say with a smile.

"I'll let you know that my lack of vigor is due to my disabled powers." He smiles back.

"Yeah. Yeah, excuses."

"Let's get some breakfast." He says.

"Give me a few minutes to shower first."

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I'd never imagined having breakfast on a ship. The food is immaculate, too. Better even than the sandwiches Miles bribed me with. I smile at the memory.

The dining area is larger than any room I rented in the last two years. People sit to my right and left.

I flinch when someone slams a plate full of food on our table. He's a boy who seems to be our age. I scowl at his weird entrance.

"Sorry. That was louder than I thought it would be." He rubs his neck.

"It's alright." Miles assures him. I narrow my eyes at Miles. It's not alright. He turns to bring a chair.

Why is this boy bringing a chair to our table? "Can I sit with you guys?" He asks.

"No." I say this at the same time Miles speaks. "Yes."

I whirl my head in Miles' direction. What's he doing? We shouldn't interact with people lest they doubt our 'engagement'. He winks at me and then greets the boy.

"Hello. What's your name? I'm James." He says with a warm smile. "This is my fiancee, Melody. Don't mind her scowl; deep inside, she's nice."

I scowl harder at his last sentence. I'm going to kill him in his sleep. No. That's not right. I'll kill him while he's awake, so I can see the fear in his eyes. I smile wickedly at the thought.

"Hello. I'm Sage. I'm sorry to intrude on you like this, but between you and me, I'm running from a friend."

This peaks my interest. Who is he running from? I voice my question out loud.

"See the girl standing with the man at the bar?" He points discreetly to the bar on the other side of the room. There are only three people at the bar. The two people he pointed to and another guy who seems to be laughing.

We nod at him to continue. "She's hitting on this guy for a dare from our other friend. Frankly, I couldn't stand watching, so I had to find somewhere else to sit."

"You love her?" The words are out of my mouth before I can think them over.

"Yes." His honesty is surprising, if not refreshing.

I take another sip of my black coffee, thinking of a plan. Then I get up and start walking to the girl. I can see the question brewing in Miles' eyes, but all I do is wink at him before I reach the girl.

"Hello." I greet the girl. I sandwiched myself between the man and the girl. The man mumbles a few words angrily before taking his drink and leaving.

"Hi." She says shyly. Of course she's shy; why else would they give her a dare like this? It seems I saved her the embarrassment of this conversation.

"I'm Melody. What's your name?"

"Marilla." She tucks a hair behind her ear. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the friend who gave her the dare start walking towards us.

I don't want to reveal Sage's feelings, so I stick to a different approach. Jealousy.

"You see the boy sitting at the table there?" I point to Sage, who looks very nervous.

"You mean Sage?" She asks.

"That's his name, then. What a lovely name." I marvel.

"You like him?" She looks hurt.

"Yes. Would you help me ask him out? I'm quite shy around handsome boys." I give a nervous chuckle that sounds fake even to my own ears.

I watch as a spark of jealousy ignites in her eyes. So she does like him, then. This will be easier than I thought.

I offer her my arm, and we head back to the table.

"So your name is Sage, then." I murmur almost seductively when we reach the table.

"What are you-"

I give him a wink and a smile, hoping he gets the message. "Your friend Marilla, here, said she would help introduce me to you."

I shove Marilla towards him gently. "No. I never said that." She says.

"Will you go on a date with me, Sage?" I bat my eyelashes.

"I- Well..."

"No, he won't." She says loudly. Everyone near us turns at the sound of her voice.

Miles seems to be dying of laughter. To be fair, it is quite funny. Both of them clearly like each other, but they're both too shy to say anything.

"Why ever not?" I ask.

She looks like she's about to cry, so I decide to put her out of her misery. "Well, if you like him, then I suppose I can't ask him out."

"That's not what I..." She starts saying then decides against it. "Yes, I do like him!"

"Then I guess my work here is done." I say with a grin.

Sage's eyes widen. He obviously can't believe his ears. I take this as a sign to sit back in my chair and continue enjoying my now cold breakfast.

"Marilla, I like you too. I have for years."

Miles stands and grabs my hand, pulling me away from the couple. "How did you know that would work?" He asks in astonishment.

"I didn't." I grin.