Pariah

Chapter Eight

Damian stepped into the light of the cross-country fair on the promised day, but amidst the fairground bustle, he was again choked by Sir John's intrusive presence. Since he rejected Brianna's proposal, Sir John had been determined to shear him of the last iota of privacy as a sort of punishment, but he didn't imagine it would get as bad as the courtier chaperoning him at a fair in front of the whole world.
"Sir John, I'm here on an unofficial invite. Is it really necessary for you to follow me here?" he grumbled.
"Actually, Anthony was the only one ordered to come with you," the courtier chuckled. "I came here on my free will; volunteered."
"Well, why?" the prince angrily kicked his foot on the ground.
"Why else?" John crossed his arms. "Someone has to be here to make sure you meet the ladies you're meant to meet. And that someone is me."
"This is much worse than training with Maverick," the prince muttered in annoyance as they strolled on.
At a corner of the fairground not far from them, Autumn stood before a High Striker stand. There was a haughty young man beside her, only a few years younger, with servants fanning him from all sides. He was the son of a duke in Hyacinth; Elmer was his name. And His Grace had challenged Autumn at the High Striker game. Elmer, not any less haughty than usual, had taken his strike of the mallet first. His hit didn't ring the bell, but he struck up to the eighth level out of ten. He did his annoying victory laugh that grated on everyone's ears and praised himself as the unbeatable champion at the game. After going on with the seemingly endless praises for a quarter hour, he invited Autumn to take her shot; with a disdainful smile, of course.
Autumn shook the persistently irritating laughter she'd heard over the last quarter hour off her ears and sighed. She was here for more important things, not listening to a pompous little brat praise himself. But someone had to teach him a lesson; get all the pride off him for a second. She sighed again and picked up the mallet. She slammed it on the lever almost effortlessly, and to everyone's amazement, the bell the rang. She actually hit the bell!
Elmer's jaw dropped in disbelief. He warded off the hands fanning him and charged at Autumn. "That's impossible!" he blared. "How did you that?"
Autumn dropped the mallet and swiftly grabbed his wrist. She twisted it, and Elmer howled in pain.
"Stop! Please, stop!" he cried in defeat, beating the wall with his other hand. Then, Autumn let go of him. He dropped flat on the ground.
"Next time, pick on someone your own size," Autumn said coolly, looking down at him. The earlier haughty Elmer was now humbled, shivering on the ground with fear. The servants with the fans only barely stopped themselves from clapping their hearts out. They'd probably lose their jobs if they made the mistake.
Autumn turned around to leave now. As she did, one of the maidservants mustered the courage to ask for her name. The girl seemed... fascinated.
"Autumn," the wrestler replied with the usual faint smile before getting back on her way. The girl wanted to ask more questions, but something else had caught Autumn's attention. A leap away from her, she saw the ambassador she'd been trying hard to reach for days walking by. Like a miracle, she'd actually found him. She never believed in coincidence, but it seemed she was going to start now because this was a huge one.
She took off immediately and ran towards him, leaving the stunned crowd behind. "Ambassador!" she called, waving her hand in the air.
Damian looked up from the ground he'd been staring at, and as he recognised his caller, he waved back.
Anthony leaned his head close to the prince now, puzzled. "Who's that? And why is she calling you an ambassador?" he asked nodding in Autumn's direction in confusion.
But answering that was not the first thing on Damian's list at the moment. He tugged Anthony's arm and Sir John's and pleaded with them in a whisper, his gaze darting desperately between the two men, "Don't address me as a prince in front of her, I beg you. I'm just Damian to you, all right?"
"Your Majesty-" Sir John was going to say something.
Then, the prince cut in, annoyed, "Sir John, please!"
"Fine; Damian," the courtier huffed.
Autumn was just in front of them now, saying hello to the trio. They greeted back, roughly in unison.
"What a surprise to see you here, Autumn," Damian tittered.
"You too, Ambassador," the wrestler returned.
"It's Damian," the prince wanted her to drop the title.
"Right. Damian," Autumn nodded warmly. Then, she glanced at the two other men in his company. "Are these your friends?"
"Uh...yes," Damian said with a slow blink. "This is Sir John, and this is Anthony," he pointed to each of them.
"An honour to meet you both," Autumn held an arm across her chest. She dropped the arm now and steadied her gaze on the prince, "Damian, may I have a word with you in private?"
"Of course," Damian agreed almost immediately. He told John and Anthony that he would be back soon, then they left for the quieter side of the fairground.
John let out a sigh and said to the boy beside him, "Anthony, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Maybe if you could be specific, Sir John."
"You'll know the moment when you see it. I think our young prince is in love."
Anthony widened his eyes, "Damian? In love? With whom?"
John frowned at him. "You still haven't changed, Anthony; those silly questions of yours. How many girls have we met today?"
"But how can you be so certain?" Anthony arched his eyebrows in doubt.
Sir John crossed his arms in reply. "Are you asking the courtier for the past twenty years that question, little lad?"
"I suppose not. You are the adviser," Anthony shrugged. Then, he held a thoughtful hand to his chin. "But I'm still confused though. Damian has never mentioned her before. Who could she be?"
"I'm not sure either, but I think we'll find out soon," John smiled in anticipation.
Damian and Autumn were still on the road. They were far enough from all the bustle now so the wrestler went ahead to break the silence.
"I've been looking for you since that day, Damian."
This was enough to tell Damian to stop walking. " You were looking for me?" he sounded confused.
"I need your help," Autumn said clasping her hands together. " You must have heard this name before; Kendrick LeClark, the palace official who was accused of selling Amaden's military secrets to enemy forces fifteen years ago... I'm his daughter, Autumn LeClark."
Damian's eyes stuck open in shock. He was visibly shaken by the declaration. He, however, kept the shock in control and chose not to say a word.
Autumn, on the other hand, took in a deep breath and went on, "My father was executed that year, and I, banished to Pariahland. The story rang round the kingdom to be told like a fable. But what the people didn't know was that my father was innocent. And every day since then, I have nurtured a dream to come back to Amaden and prove to everyone that Kendrick LeClark did no such thing."
Autumn's face had grown red by the end of the story. Even Damian had to take a minute to digest what he just heard.
"And you're certain your father was innocent?" he asked her.
"I am," Autumn nodded. "Now, after a long time, I realise that to prove my father's innocence, I can only find evidence in Amaden where it all happened..." She lowered her head now. "But unfortunately, I can't step anywhere near the kingdom because I'm a pariah."
"So you want me to help you search for evidence," Damian deduced.
"Precisely," Autumn confirmed. " Will you help me?"
"I'll try my best," Damian assured her. "I don't have many friends outside the palace gates anyway so this is the least I can do for you."
"Thank you," Autumn said softly, her eyes glinting with gratitude.