Away

Chapter 2

As it turned out, the King had an urgent affair to return to in Capella, the capital of Starland, and the royals would only stay with them for two nights. This came as a relief to Naira, who was increasingly worried about providing them with the proper hospitality, although the king and queen did seem kinder than Naira had expected. She hadn't known what she was expecting, really, but the image in her mind were of men and women who saw themselves better simply by the virtue of their birth. That somehow because they were born into a station that was higher than others, they automatically deserve respect and admiration. It was not that a few hours of interaction with the king and his family suddenly changed Naira's mind of the kind of people they were, but for the first time in her life Naira could at least begin to understand why her uncle made such an effort to be a noble and selfless servant to the King. There seemed to be a mutual respect between the two men, her uncle and the king, and as she watched their interactions at the dinner table, it seemed more as if they were two old friends as opposed to a monarch and his subject.

"This duck is really very good." The queen said, reaching out for a second serving. Only the King and Queen and their grandsons had been seated at the dining table first, but they insisted that Uncle Thomas and his niece and nephew join them too. After much insistence, Naira set out two extra plates for her uncle and Henry. She felt that at least one person should be standing by the table, making sure everyone was getting served properly. Besides, it was not like she would be able to eat comfortably in front of them.

"It used to be my Jessamine's recipe." Her uncle replied. "And now Naira has mastered it as well." It was true, Naira had learned most of her housekeeping skills, especially cooking extravagant dishes, from her aunt. She briefly wondered if royal women, like Camilla, had ever cooked a meal with their own hands. After serving the king a second time, Naira walked towards the opposite end of the table. Noticing that Prince Neal's plate was almost empty, she hesitantly took a spoonful from the bowl and leaned forward to ask if he would like some more.

"No..no, I'm fine." Will held up his hands. He was sitting right next to his cousin, his plate still full. Naira had seen him playing with the food, with the same bored expression as earlier.

"I was not asking you." The words were out of her mouth before Naira realized. Will raised his eyebrows, while Neal pursed his lips to suppress a very visible smile. She could feel her eyes going wide, as the heat rose to her cheeks for the second time in the evening. She slowly looked around to see the faces of everyone else at the table. Her brother was oblivious to his surroundings, playing with his spoon. The king and her uncle seemed engrossed in a conversation about their plans for the next day. If the queen heard Naira's curt reply, she gave no indication of it. Naira turned back around.

"I..I was offering Prince Neal because he was finished." She sounded pathetic to her own ears.

"Yes..." Neal extended his plate. "Please place some for me, Miss Naira. Will, not everything is about you." He added with a wink. Naira served with shaky hands and went back to where she was standing earlier, besides her uncle's chair. This was the second time Prince Neal had made light of her blunder and laughed it off. He really was being extremely kind. His cousin on the other hand, was a different story. Something about him was annoying Naira, and she couldn't understand why. She looked up to see Will's eyes lingering on her for just a few moments, before going back to talking with his cousin. It was the same look as earlier, when she fell on him, a mixture of amusement and surprise. As if he had never seen a girl quite like her. Which simply couldn't be true. He was the prince of Starland, and this was not the first trip in which he accompanied his grandparents. She knew from her uncle that Neal and Will travelled to not only every city in Starland with the King and Queen, but also to far away lands, such as Rome and Paris. Huge parties and balls were thrown to welcome their presence. Surely, both brothers had seen various types of girls throughout their lives.