Secrets of the Crown

Chapter 5

It wasn't long before two horses were at the entrance to the palace, where Sir Reed was waiting with them.

"Shall I help the little miss to ride on the horse?" Prince Luke was teasing me obviously, but I dismissed him by riding swiftly on the horse.

"You don't have to, Prince Luke. Let's just say, I grew up on the stable. Now, shall we?"

Prince Luke happily rode on his horse and took the lead. "Are we heading to the east forest?" I asked as we slowly moved along.

"Yes. Have you been there?" Prince Luke asks.

"Not yet, but my father told me stories about that place." I made sure my horse got past Prince Luke and Sir Reed's horses. "Let's race there."

I didn't wait for an answer. I kicked my horse, which galloped steadily.

I grew up with a handful of friends who I only hang out with on special occasions. Growing up, our horses at the mansion pretty much became my best friends. And racing in a dress isn't a big deal for me.

I glanced back at their faces, who had just started to get excited about the competition, and now it was getting more and more exciting.

"Come on! Don't make it easy on me just because I'm a lady!" I yelled.

"You will regret challenging a prince!" Prince Luke yelled back as he kicked his horse once more to get closer. Sir Reed, on the other hand, just takes it easy.

I was riding down a dirt road that was all overgrown with weeds. I was in the lead, but after a few minutes, I looked back and they were gone. They took a short cut off the dirt road and jumped over some tall bushes and some fallen tree branches.

I was so excited when I saw them do those tricks! I've never raced with anyone like them before. I had to really step up my game.

"Let me see how fast you can run," I said, patting the horse on the head. I gave him another kick and the horse took off even faster!

In front of us a tall bush blocked the way. I don't know if this horse could do the same tricks, but I had no choice. We went straight to the bushes and to my surprise it had jumped over them.

Now that I'm confident to know that my horse could do the same trick, I didn't hesitate to go away from the dirt path. Remembering my father's story, there is a river here that leads straight to the abandoned cottage, which I supposed our destination.

As I headed in a different direction, I caught a glimpse of the two men in a state of confusion. They both slowed down their horses. A few minutes later, I began to catch sight of the old building. Father was correct.

It was a rundown house by the river. When I saw it closer, I thought, "Is this where we're going?"

"Lady Maud!" I could hear Prince Luke calling me. "Are you foolish? You could have gotten lost!"

"But isn’t that where we’re headed?" I said in a perplexed tone of voice.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Who knows what's in that house?!"

"Well," I said, making my way down the horse. "Now that we're here, why don't we check?"

"That doesn't look safe, Miss," Sir Slyfield went down his horse to stop me.

"I think you two need to switch things up a bit. It's not like we're in the palace and there's no one else around. It's just us." I wanted them to see that I'm different, that I'm fun, and that I'm not like other girls out there.

"Let me look around first."

Sir Slyfield peered in through the dusty window, but I don't think he could see through it. He moved on to the rear of the hut, so I opened the hole-filled door.

All of a sudden, two young boys, carrying pots and pans, burst through the door, screaming and running to attack me.

Their eyes squinted in fear as they tried their best to swing their 'weapons' at me.

Sir Slyfield ran over to grab me and pull me back. I really don't think that's necessary because these kids weren't even landing a hit. He got rid of all the pans and pots, and the kids finally got up and opened their eyes.

But when they looked into Sir Slyfield's eyes, they both burst into tears. When I saw how scared they were, I ran over and gave them a hug in an attempt to comfort them.

"Don't cry, we're not here to hurt you," I said softly. "Where are your parents? What are you doing here?"

They both relaxed a bit. They looked at me and I gave them a smile.

"Are you lost?" I asked and they nodded, wiping tears from their eyes. "Prince Luke, we can't leave them here. Is there someplace where we could take them?"

The Prince turned to Sir Slyfield, and I'm not sure what he was trying to tell him, but judging by the way they looked at each other, they were in doubt.

"This could be a trick, Lady Maud," Prince Luke seriously said.

I furrowed my brows. It's crazy to think about it like that. These are kids, for goodness sake!

"If you don't want to take them, then I will!" I got up and held out my arms to the kids, but one of them fell back after stepping a foot forward.

He's got a bandage on his leg full of dried blood. "Does your leg hurt?" I said as I observed his foot.

It's not good. He needs to see a doctor. I glanced at Sir Slyfield to see if he could help.

"Please, miss, don't take us back to the capital," he pleaded. "There are bad guys coming after us."

I couldn't just ignore their pleas. They really looked terrified.

I asked him if we could clean his wound, and he said that the river nearby should do the trick. He only agreed to this after I told him that I wouldn't be taking them to the capital.

I found out that Dino and Jessie were orphans, and their parents probably owed money to whoever was after them. I don't know how much money is in question, but all that was left of theirs had been taken.

Luckily, the wound started to heal, and it looks like he had it for a month! I can't believe these kids have been living in the woods for so long.

While the Prince kept an eye on us, Sir Slyfield went around the grounds to see if there was any danger.

While the children were playing, I went over to see Prince Luke who was sitting on a rock.

"Thanks for staying," I said, leaning against a nearby tree. "I know this isn't the ideal date."

"It's not bad. If you hadn't come here, we wouldn't have been able to find these children."

I looked over at the kids playing in the river, and I couldn't help but feel sad for them.

"Don't worry about them. I asked Reed to help."

I looked at him and just smiled. He's nice when he pleases.

"Are we staying here until Sir Slyfield comes back?" I asked.

He scowled and said, "Call him Reed. He doesn't like being formal."

"He could've said that to me."

"He doesn't talk much."

I laughed. "Guess so. Well, can I call you by your name then?" I joked.

I was about to take back my joke but then he got up from the rock and stretched his arms. "That would be better," he smiled.

"This Prince Luke is so much better than that one I met at the palace," I smiled back.

Since it was getting dark, Luke and I started a fire. The children pulled out the dried meat they had been saving and offered it to us.

All of a sudden, the little one, Dino, asks us. "Are you married?"

Luke almost chocked on the dried meat he was eating. I almost laughed out loud, but managed to restrain myself. "Well, maybe someday. That's up to the prince. How about you two? Are you brothers?"

Both of them nodded.

"Is he really a prince?" Jessie was amazed.

"I am," Luke said proudly. "I live in the palace. Would you two like to see what the palace is?"

"Can we really?" Jessie asks.

"Of course not, you fool! Look at us. We're not wearing fancy clothes. They won't let us in!" said Dino.

"That's not a problem. You're my guest. And besides, we have clothes for you there."

I was surprised by Luke's proposal to the children. He had been doubting them just a while ago and now he was offering them to go to the palace.

Dino and Jessie looked at each other then jumped to Luke to give him a hug. "Thank you, Prince!"

Luke hugged them back without hesitation. "You have to thank the pretty lady over here. She found you after all."

The children hugged me as well. I mouthed thank you to Luke, which made him smile.

While we're waiting for Reed to get back, the kids have fallen asleep on our laps. I'm not sure what he did to help, so I asked Luke.

"He'll be here soon. He definitely beat up the people who were after these children," he said reassuringly.

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked, and he gave me a look. "Why are you so kind to me now when you were so cruel to me in the palace?"

"You put on a show at that ball and then asked me to marry you. Can you blame me?" he smiled a little. "But after today, I saw you're not what I think you are." Luke gazed upon Jessie who was sleeping on his lap. "You've been kind to them. You believed them even when I didn't."

I wouldn't want Luke to be nice to me. I'd rather him be stubborn. That way, I wouldn't have to think about how he feels.