𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝟏𝟎

   I woke up very early, the sun's rays were still rising and slowly starting to illuminate the village where Benjamin lived. When I left the room and went to the living room to leave the house, I noticed that Benjamin was not with his companions sleeping in the living room.

   Sir Peter had his bare foot on Sir Eliass's shoulder and meanwhile he had his arms stretched out. Sir Eliass, on the other hand, had every right to sleep on the floor as if moving would cost him his life.

   I left the house and went to the back of it to find Benjamin cutting wool, he had a big pile next to him, I believe it was enough wool to be used for a month and even so, he continued to cut more.

   He had the sleeves of his white tunic pulled up allowing me to clearly see his muscles and some veins standing out because of the force he was exerting. After all, he could cut half a log with just one blow. Her back was a little sweaty, which made the thin fabric of her tunic stick to her skin and become damp, allowing me to see the color of her skin beneath the fabric that was becoming transparent.

"Good morning, Sir Benjamin" I finally said, he looked at me quickly, he seemed scared. I was still a little far away from him so he hadn't noticed my presence.

"Good morning, your highness." He lowered his head, his breathing seemed to be rapid due to his physical exertion. I approached him calmly, and he took the opportunity to pause. "Did you wake up so early, did you have a bad night's sleep? My bed isn't as comfortable as yours so-"

"Nothing like that, I had a good night's sleep, maybe it was nerves that woke me up so early in the morning." I stopped next to him and looked at the few houses close to his, his village was simple, in the center of it there were many more houses and at the ends many fewer, as was the case with Benjamin's house which was at the end of the village.

"I packed some of my clothes inside my horse's bag for you to use. Maybe they're too big for you, but I think they're good enough to make you look like a man when necessary." I nodded and looked at the pile of chopped wood he had made. He watched me for some time in silence before finally speaking up and asking. "Is everything okay, Flora?"

   I looked at him, his damp hair somehow made him more attractive. I was an idiot, no matter how much I denied it in my mind, I couldn't take my eyes off him and often couldn't stop thinking about him. It was obvious that I still liked him and I've been lying to myself because I knew he would never look at me that way and because I knew I would have to marry a nobleman one day. Now that I stopped lying to myself and had a list of candidates to be my husband, everything felt more suffocating.

   I opened my mouth to respond, but a voice behind us interrupted me. "Flora!" As soon as I turned back I almost fell to the ground with a woman a little taller than me hugging me. I recognized her long dark, curly hair.

"Raissa?" I asked to confirm. She walked away and I was finally able to confirm that it was really her. She didn't look much like her brother, apart from the color of her hair and eyes, she looked a lot like their mother and he looked like their father.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a big smile on her lips, but then looked at her brother and asked again "What brings you here, your highness?"

"Come on, there's no need to use formalities." I hugged her once more and then finally replied "We're on a mission, we'll be out in a little while."

"Oh, so they're leaving, right?"

"Soon, yes" I looked at Benjamin who nodded.

"Raissa, do you have some simple clothes to lend to Flora?" Benjamin spoke in a low tone, it was true that even though I had worn a simple white dress, it still attracted attention because of its refined fabrication.