Replace The Villain's Wife

14 : A Pinky Promise

"Can't believe you know the way to this place in just one visit."

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"Prince Kenn!" Here is it again, Kenn's teacher calls him from afar.

"You skipped a lesson again, didn't you?" I chuckles.

Kenn laughs. "Yeah."

"Well then, I think I can't avoid him for now. See you, sis!" Kenn walks away to his teacher who babbles him around making Kenn closes his ear.

I want to see Karl. I'm walking down the stair to look for him, I think he's in the garden now.

My eyebrows frown as I see a small hole at the last step of the stair. I try to avoid it, but it just keeps moving towards me, until..

Oof!

I open my eyes. This is? Oh wait, this is the flower field. This position is so embarrassing. I lay on the grass with a not so royalty-like pose. How could I fall like that?

I quickly stand up and pat my dress. Hope it doesn't too wrinkled.

"Can't believe you know the way to this place in just one visit."

This voice.

"Are you lost again, my lady?"  Eliot chuckles as he says that.

"Hi, Eli."

"Are you going somewhere?"

"No." I answer as I look around. Why do I have to end up in the forest again?

"Then, accompany me going somewhere, would you?"

I shake my head with no hesitation. He raises one eyebrow. Great, that doesn't help me a bit.

"Okay." I sigh. There's no way I could go to the castle this time.

"You have me though."

A whisper of Merlin's voice slips to my ear.

"I knew it!" I say it in my heart. And yup, Merlin chuckles after I said that.

I sigh and turn my head to see Eliot who's smiling now. He really likes to smile, huh.

"Where are we going?"

"To see the people."

Eliot climbs up to his horse and gives his hand to me. I think for a while.

The Brail's people. I'm going to see them?

I'm going to go to a stranger's kingdom. I can't reject him or else Eliot will be more curious. There's no turning back, right? I accept his hand and sit in front of him, while Eliot begins to walk the horse.

***

I open my mouth, not believing what I see.

Clean markets, cheerful people, green trees are everywhere around the houses. Everything's so perfect.

"Wow!"

"I know right." Eliot says as he looks at his people. 

"Why are the guards there?" I point at the guards behind us. There are some standing by at the edge of the forest.

"You don't know? It's to protect the people from going into the forest."

"Is it really that dangerous?" I want to dig more information.

"Well, I don't think so." Eliot's answer is unpredictable.

"Then why-"

"I know. My dad is the one who asked the guards to keep an eye on the forest and our people."

"Even Ezule Kingdom doesn't have guards to watch the forest." I unconsciously mumble.

Eliot chuckles. "How can you know that far?"

"The Ezule kingdom is on the other side of the forest. So, it's quite amusing for me to find you wandering in that dangerous forest." Eliot continues.

I nod as a sign of understanding.

"My father said we had a very quiet good relationship with Ezule. That was the past. If only I could find a way to bring peace to the both of us, maybe that forest won't be as scary as what people think."  I can feel a little frustration in his voice. But it makes me even more frustrated when I'm actually sitting here, not being able to help him and stay silent.

"And that field full of flowers can be enjoyed by many people." I try to comfort him as I chuckle.

"Well, I think I have to disagree for that." Eliot smiles as he looks at me.

"Where is your home?"

Eliot asks as he stops the horse and takes a glance at me. I immediately shake my head and regret it after I see Eliot raises his eyebrow.

"You're quite a mysterious girl, you know that?" His words make me feel like I'm being stabbed.

"I just hope that you are not the Ezule's spy." that hurts more than the previous one.

I shake my head.

"I'm not a spy." I answer.

More like, I'm the wife of the Ezule's prince?

Of course, I wouldn't say that!

"I just happened to meet you all the time." I roll my eyes.

I see Eliot laughs. I'll take that as he is not suspecting me over wrong speculation again.

"There's something I want to tell you." He says.

"This is not a very important thing though, but-,"

"Your Highness, the king needs you now." a guard from another way comes. Eliot nods, then look at me and say,

"We'll meet some other time, won't we?" He asks.

"I think so."

I don't know what part of me decided to say that to him. It felt like I just gave him a pinky-promise.

"Great! See you soon, Antania."

Eliot suddenly grabs my hand and kiss my palm. I widen my eyes. It's not that it's not normal, it's just that it's too awkward for him kiss me on the palm as a good-bye kiss.

"I can go home on my own."

Eliot gently puts me down and finally leaves. I look at the guards who are standing by the forest. How can I leave? I try to walk to a quieter place.

"Come on, I'll take you back."

Merlin suddenly stands in front of me. I almost bump my head.

"Merlin, stop being annoying. Why do you keep transporting me here?"

Merlin laughs joyfully.

"Because, it will take you one to two days to get here by walk. Other than that, you'll know later."

As always, Merlin with his favorite vocabulary, 'you'll know later'.

One more thing that shocked me, I didn't know this forest would be that large.