“What a reckless girl,” Shian scolded the absent Anna as she wrinkled her nose. “And so clumsy, too. She is as graceful as an elephant.” Silence was her only reply and she cast a curious look at Eastwei. He had closed his eyes and returned to his meditation. Her gaze dropped to the bench where there was still no room for her. “Would you like some company, Dadan?”
“There is no need to waste your time in entertaining me,” he replied.
She laughed. “I would never see it as wasting my time. Anything to do with you is worth the effort.” He didn’t respond to the flattery and her eagerness was slightly dampened. She rallied her spirits and sidled up to the side of the bench closest to his head. “Dadan, the festival of the harvest is nearing for the mortals. Would you not wish to go with me to see their quaint customs?”
“I have seen the festival.”
Her expression fell a little. “But you have not seen it with me. You would surely enjoy it more for that matter alone.”
“I would rather remain here.”
Shian tightened her hands into fists but managed to control her outward irritation. She smiled and nodded. “Very well. Then I bid you good day.” He inclined his head as he had done with Anna.
Shian grasped her hands together in front of her and left him. Her steps were quicker than she intended but she was glad to be away before her temper got the better of her. She rounded a corner of a building further down the path that followed the brook and nearly crashed into another walker.
“My goodness, Lady Shian,” Prince Yushir mused as he caught her arms to keep them both steady. “What brings you so swiftly in this direction?”
She plastered a smile on her face and shook her head. “No reason, Your Highness. I was merely lost in thought, that’s all.”
“What thoughts could bother such a beauty?” he teased.
“Just some matters of the palaces,” she lied as she shrugged out of his grip. “If you’ll excuse me.” She swept past him and soon disappeared down the road.
“Palace matters indeed,” he mused as he watched her leave and took a few steps backward to stare down the path she had come. He glimpsed the reclining figure of Dadan on the bench. “Or perhaps other matters.”
“Your Highness!” The call came from Yushir’s left and he turned to face the oncoming threat. That of Lord Pampir. The pompous man was nearly out of breath when he reached the prince. “I have an urgent matter to discuss with you.”
Yushir lifted an eyebrow but nodded. “Very well.”
Pampir looked about them and pursed his lips. “Perhaps in some place more private.”
Yushir gestured to a gazebo situated in a corner of the corner over a nearby bridge. Pampir nodded and together the pair moved over to the quiet and secluded spot. The nobleman plopped himself down on one of the stools while Yushir calmly took a seat opposite him.
Pampir leaned toward him and lowered his voice to a whisper. “The matter concerns that woman.”
Yushir lifted an eyebrow. “Are you referring to Lady Roberts?”
The other man scoffed. “Lady? She is no more a lady than I.”
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The corners of the prince’s lips twitched upward. “Would you like your title changed?”
“Certainly not!” Pampir snapped as he leaned away. “And I would prefer that you not take this matter lightly!”
“You would have to tell me the matter so I may know how to take it,” Yushir pointed out.
He lifted his chin. “Then you shall. I have it on good authority that the-that Lady Roberts attempted to start a fight with Lady Shian and Lady Bidao the other day.”
Yushir lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? This is the first I have heard of the matter.”
Pampir bobbed his head. “And yet I tell you it is true. The young prince told me himself that the woman was involved in an altercation with the two ladies.”
“What exactly did he say?” Yushir inquired.
The lord cleared his throat. “The young prince informed me that the ladies had been speaking with one of the children when Lady Roberts came over and swept the child away.”
Yushir lifted an eyebrow. “Lady Shian and Lady Bidao were speaking with a child? That is rather unlike them, is it not? I know for a fact that Lady Bidao herself is not fond of children.”
Pampir sputtered a little. “Y-yes, well, perhaps that is not how the story unfolded but Lady Roberts still argued with the two ladies, and that is unacceptable!”
A sly smile slipped onto Yushir’s lips. “Would you like to be the one to step into the middle of such an argument?”
The color drained from the lord’s face. “W-well, I-I, that is-”
“Perhaps we should let them manage their own affairs unless words should come to blows,” Yushir suggested as he stood.
Pampir grabbed the prince’s sleeve. “A moment, Your Highness. I have another concern about the woman.”
Yushir reluctantly resumed his seat. “Oh?”
“What shall we do if she discovers the vault and makes off with some of His Majesty’s valuables?” Pampir asked him.
The prince chuckled. “We will have no worries about that, Lord Pampir. She has never been able to conjure even the slightest bit of her magic, much less perform a transportation spell. You yourself witnessed her fight against the black beast without using any magic. Does that not prove my point to you?”
Pampir wrinkled his nose. “Not in the least. Does it not strike you as odd that she has not shown her powers after such a time and under your tutelage, no less? Even a child would have shown some promise by now.”
Yushir stood again and this time he stepped out of reach of his companion. “Perhaps it is because she has begun her education so late. I myself cannot recall anyone beginning their magic training at such an advanced age, can you?”
The lord shook his head. “No, I cannot.”
“Then we are in unchartered territory and should grant her some leeway,” the prince insisted as he walked down the path.
Pampir stood and bowed his head. “As you say, Your Highness.”
Am I not a little worried myself? Yushir wondered as he left behind the worried man and strolled through the city. Surely she must have some abilities granted by the fruit. No other but one has been such an exception.