The World Wanderer Chronicles

Ch. 13 (or the one where the humiliation goes further)

'Stop being so dramatic and get up.' Liliana felt a rather hard kick against her side. A fruity apple scent lingered in her nose. The demanding voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't recognize who it was. Her head felt like she was hit by a thousand bricks. Focusing her vision was impossible; the world spun around with no mercy, making it impossible to discern her surroundings. She closed her eyes again. After she failed to stand up, she settled on propping herself up on an elbow. Liliana ran her tongue over her dry lips, before attempting to talk.

'W-where... where am I?' she croaked.

'I have never heard a more cliché question. Don't worry, no one knows where we are. Luckily, the princes didn't even know, you were there in the first place. All thanks to me.' The arrogant tone in the voice triggered a long repressed memory. Impossible

'I-I didn't need help. Your help. Was perf-ctly fine. On my own,' she slurred the words quietly to the dirt beneath her. Dirt! Earth! She buried her hands into the ground and let out a soft groan.

'Ungrateful br—'

'Where are we?' she demanded to know; her voice broke at the end despite her effort to sound strong. She hated how weak she was, especially in Quenden's presence. With her eyes still closed, she slowly sat up.

'You ask all the wrong questions,' he pouted. She half expected him to stomp his foot like an insolent toddler.

'I asked one question. Twice,' she rubbed her temples, trying to get rid of the headache. He ignored her completely.

'Here are some questions you could have asked. Why did you rescue my pretentious ass?'

'You didn't rescue me. It's called an abduct-ab-duck. Ab-duc-tion.'

'How come you are here?' He ignored her and continued with his stupid monologue. 'What did you use to make me faint? That's a good one, for example.'

'Man- Mandre- Mandrake.'

'What? How?' He finally regarded her disruptions.

'Apple scent on gloves. Dry mouth. Drowsi- drow- drow-ness? Blurry.' Her brain lost part of itself in a murky veil. Despite all her efforts, she wasn't able to concentrate. Her words were slow and fell clumsily out of her lips.

'Never mind, stop being a know-it-all.'

'You seem to forget…who I am.'

'You are ruining the fun.'

'Oh, I'm sorry that me getting drugged,' she blinked in the musky air, 'and being abducted is ruining your fun.' The mist slowly left her brain and her sight. A meager figure stood before her. His polished shoe tapped impatiently on the ground. Her eyes slowly traveled up the midnight blue pants to the snuck suit jacket in a matching color. Just like the clothes, the man in them exuded an aura of elegance but also endless boredom. His dark hair and eyes, paired with a rather becoming face, could be described as generically handsome, though easily forgotten.

'Again, I rescued you. And I meant answering all the questions. You don't know everything.'

'I didn't say that I know everything, but I know you.' She stood up as elegantly as possible. She sighed silently with relief about her smart choice to leave the heavy skirt behind. The loose pants felt refreshingly light against her legs. When she stabilized herself, she took a few steps back. Not only to create some space between them, but also to lean her back against a tree. Her fingers traveled over the fabric to smooth out any wrinkles. Knowing it would annoy him even further, she took the time to slowly brush away an invincible dust corn from her shoulder. 'You're the king's favorite pet, and I know the king all too well to guess what he had planned for you.' She couldn't help but make a snarky comment.