The Rightful Queen

Morning glories bloomed under the sunshine. Owls slept inside their tree trunks. Deers galloped in search of patches of gra.s.s. Rabbits peeked out of their holes and squirrels crawled the tree branches for nuts.

A small town resided on the gra.s.sland.

It was strategically located between the mountain ranges and a spa.r.s.e forest which led to an open sea, offering a variety of livelihood for the people in it.

The town of Celeste came to life a few hours before dawn.

Bakers kneaded their doughs to sell newly baked bread. Fishermen sailed off the docks to catch fresh fish. Farmers checked on their crops for harvest season.

In the St.i.tz Inn of the town, smoke puffed out its chimney.

Hana and Sister Aina cooked a spread of breakfast for their guests, filling the air with the aroma of garlic.

The stable boy fed the horses with lumps of hay.

The cleaners set up the tables and chairs.

Early risers walked down to the first floor and grabbed cups of slow brewed coffee.

Tylen sneezed, a blanket in his hand.

Who could be talking about him this early in the morning?

He shook off the thought and beat the blanket on the mattress, wiping off the dirt. Next, he held it tightly on one edge and pulled it hard a few times to shake off the dust. Then, he spread it on top of the mattress evenly. Lastly, he grabbed the pillow, fluffed it and placed it on the head of the bed.

A satisfied sigh left his lips, remembering the times he slept over at his best friend"s cabin in the woods. It was where someone had taught him how to make his own bed for the first time.

He turned around to the other bed next to him.

When Tylen woke up, Cleon already went out the door and left his bed with crumpled sheets and a missing pillow.

He found the pillow underneath the bed. How it got there would turn out to be a mystery for the rest of his life.

After a thorough inspection of his two masterpieces that will make Hayden a proud mama bird, the Prince left the room and headed downstairs.

The smell of aromatic food hit his nose. He detected different spices such as ginger, c.u.min, cloves and thyme. The indoor air felt warm with the heat coming from the kitchen. The floor"s l.u.s.ter shone beneath the yellow lights.
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His feet walked through the dining area and led him to the kitchen.

The closer he got, the louder Sister Aina"s voice became.

"Aiya, will you look at that, Hana? Cleon is on his b.u.m again. Raz sure doesn"t take it easy on him."

Finally reaching the doorway, Tylen inspected the kitchen. It had an L-shaped counter made of hardened clay. The shorter end had two ma.s.sive stoves while the longer one had a large sink and three smaller stoves.

Sister Aina sauteed a variety of vegetables on a small stove as she gazed out the open window of the kitchen.

Hana, who was a pet.i.te girl with black shoulder length hair underneath a blue bandana, managed one of the bigger stoves that had a big pot of soup on it. Her small hand held the large wooden ladle and stirred the soup slowly, keeping the bottom from burning.

At the innkeeper"s words, Hana glanced outside the wide window.

Tylen followed her movement. Outside was the stables where two pirates held a practice duel in front of it.

The Prince stood mesmerized by the fluidity of Raz"s movements. Each swing she made with her blades looked like a ch.o.r.eographed dance. Against her, Cleon clearly had the lower hand. His attacks were clunkier and hesitant as if he needed time to think about his next move.

In no time, Cleon landed on his b.u.t.t again. His voice was faint but the scowl on his face was enough for Tylen to know he cussed.

Raz smirked at the blue-haired pirate and beckoned him to get up. Cleon stuck a tongue out in response... but a few words from Raz"s lips and he was up on his feet again, sprinting for a strike on her side.

"Amazing," the Prince mumbled.

Hana jumped at the sound of his voice, spinning around to face him. Tylen instantly held his hands up as if in surrender. The girl had a hot ladle in her hand and he"d rather not be near it.

"Wah, the mountain is so good to us today! I found berries and leaves for a few medicinal elixirs you can use."

A cheery Maia walked into the half-opened backdoor with a sack held up proudly. Sister Aina placed down her spatula and washed her hands. As she did, Maia explained the uses and dosages of each elixir.

"Thank you, Maia," the innkeeper said, taking the sack in her hands and placing it in a cupboard furthest from the stove.

"Nyt?" Maia"s eyes shined at the sight of the Prince, "Good morning, how was your sleep?"

It was then that all pairs of eyes in the room were on him. Unknowingly, Tylen made eye contact with Hana who blushed and turned back to stirring her soup.

Tylen coughed and smiled politely at Maia, "It was alright. Thank you."

Sister Aina wiped her hands together and grabbed a dry plate. She waved it towards the dining room, "Grab a table, lad. I"ll serve you some breakfast. You"d need to eat plenty with that journey ahead of you."

The Prince nodded, "I appreciate your kindness, Sister Aina."

"It"s nothing, dear."

Tylen headed back to the dining room, b.u.mping into a young lady.

"Oof, sorry," she mumbled, staring up at him. The hood on her head fell back. It revealed a pair of jade chestnut eyes above a small b.u.t.ton nose. Her black hair was pulled back into braid with few short strands that framed her sun kissed forehead.

"Mara, be careful" a rugged man approached the young lady, grabbing her arm. When his emerald eyes met Tylen"s, he bowed quickly and took Mara away from the Prince.

Tylen frowned at the peculiarity. The young lady"s companion was quite familiar but he couldn"t lay a finger on it.

Did he need to be worried about it?

"Nyt! What are you standing around for?" A voice interrupted from behind him.

He immediately looked at Sister Aina who had chosen a table. Her left hand carried a tray of food, resting it on her shoulder for additional support on the weight. One at a time, she placed the dishes onto the empty table.

Tylen took a seat and placed his hands, palms down, on the table. He silently watched her finish the setup. Each dish was fresh off the stove. Wisps of smoke evaporated into the air. Just the sight and smell of them made him drool.

When Tylen expected Sister Aina to place a fork  next to this plate, the Prince jumped on his seat and looked up at her with wide eyes.

Not only had she jabbed it on the table near his thumb but also she had bent over to match his eye level, her eyes burning a darker shade of brown.

"Now, listen to me, Nyt… if that is even your real name." Tylen felt the blood drain from his face as she hissed, "I know you"re not one of the pirates but if anything happens to them because of you, I swear I"ll stab both of your hands onto this table with forks and whack your head with my heated frying pan."

When he didn"t answer, the innkeeper continued with a little sinister smile, "I didn"t get to do that when Count Morno threatened—no, that"s not it—it was when he ATTEMPTED to burn this place so we"d be forced to sell him the land. I only stopped because my parents wouldn"t allow me to do so. But right now, they have retired and left this place to me… so mark my words, I won"t let an opportunity pa.s.s to use my pan."

The Prince gulped, his mouth all dried up. Sweat trickled down the back of his neck. Despite Sister Aina"s slim frame, he had no doubts about her words.

Her threat embedded in his heart.

He took a deep breath, calming his nerves. His intentions were pure. He had nothing to fear.

With a steady gaze, he met her fierce one and said, "You have my word, Sister Aina. I have nothing but good intentions."

"Good," she replied with a sweet smile, pulling out the fork. Tylen couldn"t help but wince at the crackling sound it made.

Sister Aina placed it on her tray and gave him a new one to use for his meal.

"Now, eat your drumsticks, vegetables and soup. Do you want coffee or lemon juice?" She asked, still smiling.

He blinked a few times. It seemed like the person who hissed at him was actually someone else and was not the same person in front of him. The chatter around him remained lively, indicating that her sudden shift in mannerism went by unnoticed.

"Coffee please" Tylen cleared his throat, "For some reason, lemon makes me drowsy."

"I"ll get to it then. Have a drink first."

Sister Aina served him a gla.s.s of water before she returned to the kitchen, saying, "Eat well."

The Prince drank the water, relieving his parched throat, and began to feast on the breakfast spread in front of him.

He began with the drumsticks. They were tender and juicy. Their skins crunched and crackled on each bite he made. The spices. .h.i.t his tongue and sang in his mouth. Even after he gulped them down, a hint of aftertaste lingered and he welcomed it completely if it meant he can savor it longer.

To his left, two people sat on a table near the opposite wall. Unlike his previous presumption, someone had actually noticed the exchange between him and the innkeeper.

"Mara, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing, Callahan," Mara replied, shaking her head and retreating his gaze on the Prince"s table. The bow Callahan made earlier caught her eye and since then, she had watched him.

Alas, she needed to drop the idea and focus on her own matters.

For a little fun, she jokingly mimicked the innkeeper"s jab on her food. Then, she took a bite off her fork and smiled at her companion, "Mm, these pancakes taste really good don"t you think?"