The Guarded Princess

X

Before long, the dish was finished and Lucy set the fork back down as she drank the soup that Masrur had prepared not long after the first dish. Setting the bowl back down, her eyes gazed at the dishes before her with a nostalgic warmth reflected in her eyes.

"Thank you, Masrur," she said. "For going out of your way to do something like this."

"It's nothing," he answered her. As long as I can erase that sorrowful expression from your face, I'm willing to do anything, he took her hand. "After all, I'm yours."

She set her eyes on his and smiled. She liked the sincere and sure look in his eyes. She held his hand back as the last tear rolled down her face. He smiled and just by that look of his, she immediately knew that he was going to follow her even after death. She was glad to have him by her side and looked forward to the following days with him.

"Shall we prepare to go back to the castle?" he suggested. "Carriage or foot?"

Lucy chuckled. "You already know the answer."

He smiled and took her up in his arms. "Then before we return back to the castle, let's have one last look at the market square."

"Mn!" she nodded her head.

The two made their way slowly to the market square in which many of the merchants had already begun packing up for the day. The sun was beginning to make its way downhill, painting a rosy hue against their faces and laying down a blanket of orange. Lucy looked around and took in her surroundings, wishing to paint the scenery into her mind before she returned. Masrur continued to hold onto her and looked up at her. He smiled. He was glad that he had decided to take her out of the castle. Seeing that enthusiastic face of hers was more than he could've wished for.

"Today was a good day, wasn't it?" he looked ahead.

Lucy smiled softly, her long blonde hair dangling beside her, sweeping past Masrur's arm. "Yeah," she looked ahead in the direction of the sunset. "Today was a good day!"

Sindria's Castle~

Kouen had just finished his work and was walking around the castle. He knew that Sinbad had assigned her a guard but he had expected for them to be in the greenhouse. Even Kouha and Kougyoku didn't know where she was and had suggested that she might be outside the castle. Though Ja'far had told him to calm down, he just couldn't.

"If Lucy-nee doesn't come back within the next ten minutes, I'm busting out of the castle!" Kouha cried.

"Indeed!" Kougyoku agreed.

Kouen remained silent and continued walking towards the castle's entrance gates, a worried look settled on his face. He knew that Lucy was safe since he didn't notice anything wrong with the Phoenix bangle but he couldn't help but be worried. He just couldn't bear having Lucy far away from him for he feared that she would once again disappear. She had promised him that she wouldn't leave but years of separation left him in fear of being separated from her once again.

As he approached the castle gates, he immediately sensed the nearing presence of Lucy. He looked up and even from the distance, he saw her unmistakable long golden hair and rukh. He heaved a sigh of relief, glad that she was back. Kouha and Kougyoku also seemed to revert back to their natural selves as they noticed her return.

"Lucy-nee!"

"Lucy-neesama!"

Lucy noticed them and waved. "Kouha, Kougyoku," she smiled.

The two siblings ran up to her in jubilation but upon seeing the tall and firmly built Masrur, they stopped in their tracks and stared at him with dead-panned eyes. The look in their eyes was blank as if they had just caught someone red-handed. Moreover, they didn't feel anything towards Masrur previously but now, they hated him. The way he grabbed onto Lucy's waist with his hand as she sat on his shoulder was distasteful enough but the fact that Lucy didn't seem to mind it just added oil to the fire.