Eirene ( Fantasy series book 1)

Chapter Ten - Prince Camus

Chapter Ten – Prince Camus

"Looks like you are stuck with me," Prince Camus said haughtily, with his arms folded.

I glared at him, feeling irritated.

When I came into the dining hall for breakfast this morning, Alex was on his way out. He was rushing off to join in some discussion which apparently would be taking up two whole days.

He being nice had requested for his brother, dear Camus to accompany me for the next two days.

"I will try and join you guys whenever I could," he had promised.

Esther, on the other hand, was busy preparing for her final year project. Similarly, she promised to join us whenever she could.

So it was down to the two of us. And I was really not glad. I would rather stay crop up in the room. But as I had completed my report, there was nothing much I could do in the room either.

"Come on, it will be fun," Camus stood up and grabbed me by my hand.

We walked hand in hand towards the back of the Castle. My hand fitted nicely into his and he held me tightly. I almost tripped a few times and his firm grip steadied me.

We stopped at the royal stables and he let my hand go when he spoke with the groomer.

"Are we going riding?" I asked Camus timidly.

"Do you ride?" He asked me in return.

I shook my head.

He paused, deep in thoughts for a few seconds before he led me into the stable.

"It will be faster to ride to the lake," he said. "I will have to give you riding lessons some day. But for now, you can ride with me."

The horses seemed to recognise Camus when he entered as they inched forward to be patted. He addressed each and every horse by their names, patted them, and occasionally stopped to feed some.

Finally, he stopped in front of one horse.

"This is Lightning," As he spoke, the horse nuzzled against his neck and he ruffled its mane.

"That one over there is Missy and she belongs to Esther, while the other one right at the end is Alex's Hermes," he pointed out.

I looked to where he pointed. All of them looked the same to me.

"Come," he took the horse and led him out. I followed behind.

Since I had never been on a horse, I stood aside looking at what Camus was doing. He adjusted the bridle and laid the saddle. And through the entire time, he spoke softly to the horse. Then with a light lift, he mounted the horse.

And he offered his hand.

I accepted his hand and found myself being pulled upwards unto the horse sitting behind Camus.

"Hold tight," he took both my hands and placed them around his waist. "Since it's your first time riding, I will go slower. I don't want you to have aches all over when you wake up tomorrow!"

He handled Lightning beautifully and we went slowly across the meadows.

We rode for about an hour when I finally saw the lake he mentioned earlier. He dismounted easily before carrying me down (yes, he literally carried me down). We tied Lightning to a tree before Camus took my hand once again and led me to a boat slip where 'Miss Sunshine' was tied up.

"Erm, where are we going now?" I asked him.

"I thought it was obvious," he chuckled. "We are going boating."

I had never been on such a small boat as well, so I tried to help by mimicking him.

Sensing my ignorance with boats, he laughed. "I think, why don't you stand aside while I get her out into the water?"

I was a little hurt by his suggestion, but nevertheless, went to stand at the side.

He must have earned his tan through all these outdoor activities for he did it all easily.

He rowed us out into the middle of lake before he stopped to take a short break. Unlike the first time I had met him, Camus was totally absorbed in the nature with a serene look.

He laughed when he caught me peeking at him. "I always love nature. They make me feel so peaceful and at home."

"Thanks for bringing me here."

He opened his eyes and looked at him. Next to the waters, his eyes were in a similar crystal shade of blue. "Nature makes me a better man."

We sat in the boat for some time, listening to the chirping of the birds and sounds of the insects. Despite being the afternoon, the sun was not too warm for our comfort.

"Would you like to try rowing?" he asked suddenly. He handed the oars to be and shifted to sit behind me. Taking my arms, he guided me the motion of rowing the boat. This was the second time he sat so close to me. I could feel his heartbeat against mine.

It was so tiring and I gave up after a few tries. He took over and led us back to shore. I started humming 'Row, row, row your boat' softly, as the waters hit against the bottom of the boat.

His ears picked my soft voice. "Could you sing it?"

I started singing lightly. It took a couple rounds of 'Row your boat' before we reached shore.

I helped him tied up the boat and we walked back to Lightning hand in hand. It seemed so natural holding hands that I did not feel embarrassed at all.

It was almost five when we returned Lightning back to the stables.

He escorted me back to my room and before he turned to go, his face came close to mine and he whispered in my ear. "You have a nice singing voice." Taken aback, I was not prepared for what he did next. He kissed me lightly on my cheek. I was so surprised that I blushed.

"Thanks for the company today. I'll see you at dinner," With that, he gave me a bow and left.