When In Rome, Do As The Romans

Chapter 13

"Why are you following me?" the prince asked annoyed.

"I want to know when you plan on getting rid of that troublesome woman." she replied angrily.

"I thought I'd made it clear, Katalina stays. You, however, were never wanted here in the first place."

"Neffarius one of these days I'm going to take these statements personally." she said, wagging a finger in his face.

"Good, shall we arrange a date then?"

He pushed past her and walked up to a fruit stand. Katalina had been craving grapes and strawberries. Neffarius decided that he should go in case there was anything extra he thought she'd like. He would offer her only the finest of delicacies. After paying, the merchant put various fruits of different kinds inside of the basket and Neffarius took off in search of other goods to get her. Odessa, in an attempt to grab his attention, tried to reach into the basket for a strawberry. Neffarius slapped her hand away and held the basket closer to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, wretched woman?" he asked.

"My love, I only wished to steal a single strawberry." she whined.

"These are for Katalina and the child. I will not have you reaching in and covering the fruits with your filth." he scowled.

She scoffed.

"You've gotten her so many and you can't even give me a single strawberry?"

"One that had not been meant for you in the first place. You should be so lucky that I'd not have you head home."

"But Neffarius-"

"No. You will walk silently while I find things for my darling Katalina." he demanded.

Odessa frowned and walked silently beside him as he continued his shopping. After finding the foods she'd wanted, he made his way over to the jewel merchants. He browsed the stalls quietly until he'd found a beautiful ring with a purple gem surrounded by swirls of diamonds. He smiled, this would match Katalina's bow perfectly. Even though she told him thousands of times that she didn't need anything, he continued to buy her gifts.

"You're buying her more gifts? What about me, I'm your fiancé Neffarius, have you forgotten?" Odessa whined.

He sighed and looked around for something to keep her quiet. He picked up a gold necklace and took it back to the merchant.

"Ah, Prince Neffarius, out shopping again?" said the merchant.

"Yes." he said with a smile. "Just looking for gifts for my love, Ka-"

"Me, I'm his fiancé." Odessa interrupted, sweeping her raven hair out of her face.

The prince grimaced.

"Not you, wretched woman. You get this necklace to keep quiet and the rest goes to Katalina, the real reason I'm here."

The merchant shook his head and took the money from the prince.

"Always a pleasure, my prince." the merchant bowed.

"I'll be seeing you then." Neffarius responded and began walking back to his horse.

He climbed onto Midna's back and helped Odessa up as well. Setting the basket securely between his arms, he secured the reigns, and signaled for Midna to go. When they arrived back at the palace, Neffarius had one of his servants take Midna back to her stable and set off to find Katalina. When he'd found her, she was in the kitchen talking to Hernessa. He placed the basket of fruits on the counter and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her in a warm embrace.