The Hidden Secret

Chapter 5

"How may I help you two?" He asked, leaning over the table a little. His bright eyes sparkled as he looked at Cordelia.

"Yes, we shall see your red ruby collection." She said averting her eyes away from his gaze. Zen pushed himself off the table and walked over to one of the shelf drawers which were pushed up against the wall. He hummed a soft tune as he shuffled through the drawer. Cordelia couldn't help but stare at his back as he rummaged through the items. There was something about him that drew her to him.

"Ah ha!" He exclaimed as he pulled out a tray filled with red ruby stones. "Here you go Miss." He said as he laid the tray in front of her. "These can be customized a little, as in if you wish to write something on it." Then he opened the big box that he had carried into the room earlier. "And these, pardon the unorganized and undignified way of showing things, are the collections that arrived earlier." Cordelia and Tessa stood speechless as their eyes swept across the beautiful ruby stones. "Although, I must warn you. These," He pointed to the new stones. "are much more costly than the others. Even though we can't customize them, they are worth a lot more."

"Then you can put it aside." Tessa said, nervously. She tried to tug at Cordelia who was still staring at the new collection with wide eyes, the same way a lion would look at its prey.

"If you say so, Miss." Zen chuckled a little but stopped when he saw Cordelia shake her head.

"Do not be ridiculous, Tessa. These are beautiful."

"Even so, they are costly and we need not buy something that expensive." Tessa whispered. "Do not waste your money on me, Princess." Cordelia narrowed her eyes at Tessa for a brief second before relaxing her face.

"We'll take this one." She lifted one of them and handed it to Zen. "No further questions." Tessa's widened at Cordelia while Zen stood still for a second.

"This is worth almost a hundred and fifty gold coins, Miss." He said in a soft voice.

"Uh, D-Dalia-"

"Thank you, Mr. Zen." She said as she handed him the sack filled with money. Zen's face was blank as he took the money. He stared at it for a couple of seconds before shaking his head, as if snapping himself out of the mood. He smiled brightly at the two ladies.

"It was nice doing business with you, Miss." Tessa stood silently.

"Thank you for all the help, Mr. Zen. We shall go on now." Cordelia said, linking her hands with Tessa. "I hope to see you around." She said as she dragged Tessa outside the shop with the expensive ruby in her hands.

"Visit soon, Miss!" Zen called out as they left the shop.

"Princess, with all due respect, are you alright? A ruby that expensive does not belong to me. I shall not accept this!" Tessa said as they walked back to the castle.

"We already talked about this, Tessa. You are my friend. You shall have what I give you. It would be for the best if you accept it without any more arguments." Cordelia hissed in an annoyed tone which made Tessa to keep her mouth shut.

"Miss Dalia! Miss Tessa!" Came a voice, halting Cordelia in her place and turn around. Zen was running towards them.

"Is something the matter?" Cordelia asked when he caught up to them.

"My aunt sent me away, saying that I had helped her enough. So, I thought that since the two of you are still new in the Kingdom, I could walk you around. If that is alright with you." He said with a polite smile. Cordelia immediately relaxed her face and smiled easily at him which made Tessa wonder what she had been up to. Cordelia was already engaged to Prince Cooper. She knew for a fact that Cordelia was aware of how her marriage was an important matter. Surely she wouldn't do something reckless to destroy the relation she had with the Prince.

"Is that so? Well, it would be nice to have someone show us around, but I hope that we aren't being much of a bother to you, Mr. Zen." Cordelia said.

"Oh, no! And please miss, call me Zen. I do not want you to be so formal with me." He said.

"Very well then. If that's what you would prefer, I shall call you Zen." She smiled. "Lead the way then." The three of them walked around the marketplace with only Zen and Cordelia chatting along the way. Tessa took this as her chance to closely inspect Zen. He was a shabby fellow. His hair was unkept and disheveled. His clothes were a little worn out and had torn, the same could be said about his shoes. It was no doubt that this commoner was poor, which surprised her considering that his shop was doing well.

The way he spoke to Cordelia shocked her. Of course he didn't know that he was talking to the Princess, but even so, a young man of his rank would notice Cordelia to be from a wealthy family and would talk to her with a certain respect. If he noticed the difference in their rank, he didn't act like it. He treated her the way one would treat their best friend whom they've known since the day they were born. Tessa was certainly about this. In a way, it was almost as if she was jealous of his nonchalance.

Just as they crossed the corner, Tessa noticed something. She noticed guards at a distance. Palace guards who had been around her and the Princess. With panic washing over her, she subtly nudged the Princess and whispered that they ought to get out of there. She then turned her attention to Zen and smiled as politely as she could. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zen, but we ought to leave. We are expected at home soon and we shall leave at this instant. Thank you for all your help."

The two turned around and walked away from the crowd as fast as they could, hoping that they didn't look undignified while doing so.