The next one month passed in a blur, with Ara spending her time to sweep and mop the main deck, the captain's cabin, the women's cabin and the place the remaining sailors slept.
Fade now stayed in the sailors room because he didn't want her to stay with Anike and Dami, so he left her with his sister in his cabin.
From time to time, he'd go to his cabin to check up on them. He also found that his eyes followed her when she was on deck.
She talked to everyone but him.
She laughed with Tomi, joked with Olu and Kola, played with Sewa, cleaned with Dami and Anike, worked with Saheed and Bayo and even steered a little with Lanre.
But when it came to him, she passed by quickly after muttering "Your Highness" and bowing her head.
At first, Fade shrugged it off and told himself that he didn't care. But as time wore on, he wished that at times she would direct that bright smile towards him.
He tried talking to her several times but all she gave were one word answers with her eyes lowered to the ground.
Eventually he gave up, and began to behave the same way she was behaving.
Tomi, his first mate noticed this and questioned him about it, but he shrugged and acted like there nothing else to the matter.
Then one night, he decided to stand on the deck and do a little bit of stargazing.
The day had been hectic as usual, considering how he had woken up at dawn to steer the ship, and then he had to teach Sewa a little of the Yoruba alphabets and numbers. Afterwards, he was about to go rest when Tomi required his assistance for a number of things, and that's how the day passed by.
He'd eaten as fast as he could, before going off to bed. However, he couldn't sleep. After tossing and turning on the hammock and nearly getting rolled up in it, he gave up on trying to sleep. He stepped out for some fresh air and to watch the night sky as it twinkled with billions of stars.
"Your Highness? Is everything alright?"
A voice said to the side, and without looking Fade nodded and continued looking at the midnight sky.
"Your Highness?"
The person called again and with his patience wearing thin, Fade whipped his head to the side to say something to the person, when he saw that it was Ara standing there.
She stood about one and a half feet away from him, her hands fiddling with each other.
Her cheeks were beginning to fill out, causing her face to look rounder and fuller. Although, she remained small in stature compared to Fade's height, her body had also begin to fill out due to the food she ate and the lesser amount of work she did.
She stepped forward a bit, averting her eyes as she spoke. "Are you alright, Your Highness?"
Fade looked back up, his tone curt. "Yes."
She shifted from one foot to another. "I–um–I–"
"What do you want?" He asked, cringing when his voice came out harsher than intended.
She gulped and r. "Prince Fade, I would like to disembark at the next port as planned."
"Alright." His tone came out brusque as he and stepped away from the railing and brushed past her.
"Why're you so harsh to me?" She cried out, before covering her mouth as she gasped in surprise at her action.
She was mortified. How could she have been so careless as to speak to the Prince like that?
YOU ARE READING
Awaiting Her Beau
Spiritual"Do you have anything to say?" He shook his head, but never shifted his gaze from her face. "Well then, what do you want?" She snapped, tired of his incessant staring. He shook his head again, still remaining speechless. She sighed. "Is there someth...
