The Scarlet Phoenix and the Prince of Winter

Chapter Twenty One

The sight of the Crown Prince standing tall in the shadows at the exit in the middle f the night waiting for someone was enough for me to feel a little bit less colder than usual. He even waved at me when he saw me running discreetly towards him.

"Did anyone saw you?" he asked me in a whisper and it made me feel like we really have a secret affair that we have to keep from the rest of the world. That thought alone excited me. "Did your court servant friends know where you were going?"

"I told them that I was going to meet my brother who was here in the vicinity," I said. "And it almost put me in danger since Jang, my best friend, wanted to join me. So I asked Madame Morris her help and she asked Jang to do something in the kitchen."

"That's good," he replied, nodding. He looked handsome on his black long sleeve top under a dark-colored coat. He was wearing the common attire of a man, and that worked on him somehow. Plus, he combed his hair sideways just like how the regular guys do it, unlike his usual princely hairdo that makes him stand-out. He then completes the get-up by wearing a half-mask to hide his nose and mouth.

With his height, he both looked handsome and dashing even without his full face being exposed. He is truly a fine specimen and that's what I love about him. He can wear anything and he can look different but he is still as handsome as ever.

"What are we going to do, Prince Kao?" I asked him when I realize that I still don't know why we were here of all places. His note was vague and even Madame Morris (who I suspect know why the Crown Prince was here too) did not say a word about this night trip. "Are we going somewhere?"

He nodded again. "We are going to Kajos."

"What? Right now?"

"Yes. And we have to go there fast before the people inside the castle find out that I am out again."

"B-But... But Kajos is far from here, Prince Kao!" It was true. It takes a couple of hours just to get to that town, and even if we go there on the fastest snow carriage we still arrive there late in the night. "We can't get back here immediately!"

"I know. That's why we have to hurry." And as he said that I heard the sound of wheels on snow and a private snow carriage emerged in front of us. I saw that the person driving it in front was wearing the uniform of a Royal Guard, so I guess he is one of the Crown Prince's trusted men too. "Come on, let's hop in."

I did. We got inside the warm carriage and even saw that there was a table there with food. My mouth watered the instant I saw that there was a bowl of hot porridge in there, something that a lowly woman like me could not afford.

"I requested food because I haven't eaten yet," he explained when he saw me glancing at the food. "Come on, you can join me eat them."

"Really? But that would be disrespectful on my part. I should not eat with you, Prince Kao."

"Oh come on," he groaned at what I said, but I instantly know that he was faking it. "I'm not the Crown Prince right now. I am back as Travor."

I laughed nervously at that. "You still want to portray that role? I did not know that you enjoy role-playing this much."

"You would, when pretending to be someone else is freer than being yourself."

"Of course," I agreed. "It would be very interesting to you since no one knows who you are other than me."

I suddenly felt the snow carriage start moving and it made me nervous for some reason. I know that we are safe, but I also have a bad feeling about this trip. The Crown Prince went out again without guards to accompany him so it is always scary when I think about it.

What if something happens and he gets hurt? I would not only be blamed for that, but I will also get exposed that I was the girl he was with, the first time he went out. My life would turn upside if that happens and I think I would rather die than be ridiculed by everyone for being with the Crown Prince.

I know that I'll be hated by everyone once they discover that I am seeing him (but not romantically, of course.) That would make my life a living hell. And that if his father, King Luander, would not decide to execute me. And I doubt that he would just sit around and watch me live. I am quite sure that he will kill me if he discovers the connection between me and his only son.

"Listen, Rainha. I know you're wondering why we are going to Kajos, so I'm going to tell you now the reason why."

"Okay..."

I wished I could be more energetic with my response, but I'm just shocked that I was this close with him again. I thought that after the rumor about him having a girlfriend erupted in the public, he would not dare talk to me anymore. I thought that he would be careful too by just staying away from me. But I guess I was wrong. I have underestimated him.

"Remember when I told you that I sent some men to search for your Aunt? And that they went to Kajos just in case she was there?"

"Yeah. I remember. What about it?"

"The men that went there had told me a piece of very important news. They found a suspicious snow carriage that arrived there just days after our Aunt was missing. This snow carriage was private, so no one really knows who owns it. But what made it suspicious was that it stopped at your Aunt's old house."

I gasped. "Her old house? You mean their ancestral house?"

"That'll be it. My men asked the people there and they were told that the house where the snow carriage was parked was the old house where your father and aunt grew up. That's suspicious, isn't it? It is as if they were waiting there for someone to turn up."

"Y-Yeah... That's really suspicious. I have heard of that house from my Aunt. No one lives there anymore. It's been abandoned for some reason. I think there's only an old family friend who cleans and maintains the house. But no one actually lived there for the last few years."

"Why do you think they abandoned it?"

I shrugged. "I don't really know. All I know is that they already moved out from there even before my father met my mother. So I don't think this has something to do about her."

"Well, you could be right. But I am still wondering why an unknown snow carriage stopped there."

"That's really shady," I said. "Maybe they were thinking that someone would show up there?"

"Could be. Now the reason why we have to go there personally is that I wanted you to identify certain things there. Maybe we can find a lead to your Aunt Milca by going there and checking the house."

"Right," I said even though I did not believe that we could really find something in there that will lead us to my Aunt. The reason why I was pessimistic about this is because no one in our family had been there on that house for years, so I don't think a clue would be lying there just waiting for us to get uncovered. That sounds ridiculous. But I am not complaining because it made me and the Crown Prince reunite. If this was the only way for me to be close to him again then so be it.

We talked more about my Aunt, mostly about the stories she told me about the house in Kajos that we were going to. Kajos is a mountain region which was near the border of the kingdom, so it is a lot colder there than Aurville. People there make a living by making winter clothes from animals and plant fibers as it is a place where you can run a ranch of snow buffalos and ice sheep where you get the raw materials for making thick clothes.

But as much as I wanted to talk to the Crown Prince about it all the way to Kajos, I felt sleepy and I just realized that I am in a dream. In this dream, I was caught by people, and put me in jail. When I asked them what was the reason they imprisoned me, all they would say is that I was dangerous.

But why I was dangerous? I do not know. Maybe they found out that it was me who was Prince Kao was going out with and they find it dangerous that a lowly court servant like me would become the next Queen of Aure. This dream was so funny that it forced me to wake up, and then I shouted when I realized that I was sleeping while my head was leaning on the Crown Prince's neck!

"I'm so sorry, Prince Kao! I did not meat to be comfortable with you! Please forgive my rudeness---!"

He chuckled at my reaction. "That's okay. I fell asleep too."

"But I should have not leaned on your shoulders," I said in a tone that sounded like I was forcing myself not to sound proud about what I just did. "I'm sorry that I acted like that."

"But you were asleep. You really could not control what you're doing when you are asleep, right?"

"Right." But even if he said that, my heart would not calm down anymore. I wanted to squeal that I just made something that a girl would do with her boyfriend, but of course how can I do that when the Crown Prince was here!? That's something that I would never do even if I like him so much!

Meanwhile, it took us another three hours before we finally arrived at Kajos. I was thinking of what Jang would say when she realizes that I was nowhere to be found when Prince Kao pulled me out of the snow carriage. It was very cold here due to the fact that this was much a higher place than the castle or in Aurville. Kajos was situated on a plateau which explains the colder temperature making it a lesser favorite destination by the people of Aure.

The two of us walked to the town which was now empty and dark. The snow was falling here so it was also hard to walk as my feet sank into the snow. It gave me chills every time I took a step and my knees sink into the powdered snow. This felt like punishment and I think I wanted to cry.

And this is where something magical happened. Just before I wanted to take another step, I felt two huge hands on my hips and they pulled me out of the thick snow. Then I suddenly felt that I was being lifted and then I realized that I was on Prince Kao's back. He carried me!

"Oh no, oh no..." I mumbled, trembling. "Prince Kao, put me down! This is not right!"

"You were about to cry from the cold," he said to me while he started to walk too on the snow. "Let me just carry you so we can reach your ancestral house faster."

"A-Alright... But you might get tired... I don't want you to exert too much effort for me, Prince Kao."

"You should get used to me doing things like this then," he replied and I swear I was the luckiest woman in Aure after he said that. "Because I think we will be together longer than we both have thought."