Street Signs

Chapter 32

BRIELLE

Valor took a seat in front of me and talked to the crew about his order. He looked at me then, and at that moment there came a cheshire grin. That smirk of his brought out a sense of mischief, of innocent fun, and at that moment it released me. The funny thing was though, I had no idea that my hands were ever caged.

"You're still wearing the bracelet I gave you," he said.

I guess I had become dumb, in the sense that my words had ceased to flow because he had shown me a new path that I hadn't imagined for a second; it was a direction that I had never realized would happen. I was sitting right in front of him, and I didn't know why it felt like a dream to me. Perhaps because of the questions that were running inside my head, and that was why his presence was unexplainable to me.

In the latter part, I just found myself laughing about it. When I realized it was really happening, I just couldn't stop myself to chuckle. I had found now the craziest part of the world-- that those unexpected things should be expected because the least expected was sometimes the one that was actually going to happen.

"Uhm, yeah," I let out a soft chuckle. "It looks cute on me, I think."

"It really is," Valor smiled.

After sipping a little amount of my coffee, I went straight to the point and asked him how he was able to get out from Serinokuni, if the portal in the cave served as his way out. I lent my ears to him so I could not miss every word that would come out of his mouth as he explained things. However, I could not focus well because I was somehow disturbed by how he looked.

Valor was a prince and it was his responsibility to look formal always because that was one of the things that a royal person should do. He must not also get away from his place and leave his people for an errand that was not according to the will of the king and queen. He must be proper at all times because the people look up to him. But in his case, it seemed that it was just nothing with him. Who knew though, that in his smiles at this moment had a significant purpose? Who knew that this once in a blue moon casual day for him had actually something important to do to him?

"The door is still in the cave," Prince Valor said. "I just found out that it's placed there permanently, so in every time that I'd like to meet you, I'll just pass through it."

I creased my brow. "So, after all, you know that I am here?"

"Yeah," the prince said as he nodded his head confidently.

At that time, more questions were created in my mind. I was even more confused. Who was I for him to follow, and who was him to follow me? As far as I knew, we were not even friends. I found him as a notable person for me instead, because he had saved my life. But after that incident, I never expected a situation like this.

But wasn't it scary? Was he stalking me throughout? In the first place, how would he be able to know that I was here in the coffee shop? If ever he was stalking me most of the time, he must be really scary.

"Is that all the reason why you came here?" I asked, still folding my brow.

Prince Valor drew his face closer to me. "Secret..." he whispered.

I tsk-tsked, and just drink my coffee. For some time, I didn't talk, just feeling the warm coffee of the cup that became a warmth within, that rising sensation of wellness and serenity. I wandered my eyes all around the place just to distract myself from the prince for some time.

The coffee shop was in the town square, a marquee overlooked by the stone lions. Around the edges were food vendors, giving the middle of the town a sort of market atmosphere. Inside were once cloistered and close, so many tables and so little room, that was part of their charm. It was open-air, a sort of covered patio with tables a respectful distance apart. There the people could have their own seats, gain the feeling of being social, yet have the confidence that they could enjoy their own contemplations at leisure.

"Won't you force me to tell my agenda here?" Prince Valor asked, making me turn my head to him. "I will tell if you insist."

I put my mug down and looked at him directly in the eye. "Say it if you wanted to, and if not, I won't insist," I told him. "How is the queen, by the way? I wonder if she's still mad at me, and worst, still finding for me," I said in a playful manner, yet I know that it could be possible.

After I exited Serinokuni, I had no update about the people there anymore. Well, I didn't think so now because here was the prince. Nevertheless, even so, I did not witness the exact happenings there, I could tell that the queen was still looking for me.

The queen might have seen her son after I escaped, and might be wondering as well why I wasn't with the prince. If that was the case, she must be really mad right now not just at me, but also at Prince Valor. Especially when she knew that his son saved me, I didn't know what he could do to him.

On the other side, if the prince might have not shown up still after the incident, it might be the reason why he was here. With the strict governance in Serionokuni, even though he was the son of the king and queen, it would be not possible for him to escape since he had said that all eyes were on him unless he was wise enough to make another effective way. Perhaps right after I got out, he followed but did not show up to me so I could not notice. There were many possible things that he could have done, but what was it?

"My mother..." the prince uttered, "well, she's fine. Nothing has changed about her. And yes, unfortunately, she is still mad at you. This is one of the reasons why I came here, 'cause I want to tell you that she's still looking for you."

After uttering those words, a new idea came up in my mind. Now I didn't think so he followed right after me because if that was the case, he would not know that his mother was still looking for me. But thinking of the queen, I could think of the shadow somehow related in this matter; it could be possible that the shadow that had been following me and those stares... was one of the men.

"Have you talked to her again?" I asked Prince Valor.

"Yeah, and she's also mad at me for not appearing to her with you. She just knew that I've saved you. And now she's doing everything to find you. She's not even listening to my dad to just forget about you because unlike her, my dad has an idea that you are not really one of us nor one of our enemies, the Baspiritus. Maybe he knows that you are a human but just can't tell it."

If the queen could not even lend her ears to the kind, then I must be in trouble now, because she wouldn't listen to anyone. The worst thing was that, if the men could not find me, she could also get out of her world to look for me. Knowing that she had magic, it would not be hard for her to catch me.

"I won't bear to stay in this situation," I told the prince. "I have a father and a little brother with me, and I won't let them be part of this trouble." I fixed my posture and appeared firm in front of him. "Take me back to Serinokuni and let me face the punishment."

I had not said a sudden decision because I knew this would happen. I entered a world that was out of human knowledge, and I had to take the consequences as I lived. Running away and escaping through their hands would just make me tired because, at the very end of the day, they would still catch me; compared to their strength and number, I was just a weak one.

Although leaving and facing the Nokunis again would give heartache to my family, it would be much better than letting them also run away in trouble. Daddy Sy and Akie were innocent of my careless actions and they didn't deserve to receive any of the consequences.

Prince Valor held my hands and said, "No." His strong affirmation could be told by the way he looked at me. "I won't allow you to go back to Serinokuni. I am here, I won't let you be found by the men and even by my mother."

Hearing those words from the prince, I could feel safer now, but more guilty at the same time. I had been saved by him many times, and putting him in trouble again would not make me sleep. I just could not let someone receive the consequences of the action I had made. My ego was speaking to me, saying that I should be braver now in facing the things that were meant to happen.

I released my hands from being imprisoned by the prince's said and take my mug to finish my coffee because I was still too stunned to speak. Nevertheless, I did not take my gaze away from the prince because I was watching his reaction and trying to read what was in his mind.

Prince Valor's face looked calm at those moments, but he could not hide the worries inside him. He must be really concerned about me, but nothing was his fault, so what was happening was supposedly out of his business even though he was the son of the king and queen in his place. He could be part of punishing me for violating their norms, but he could not save me from the wrong thing that I had done.

"You should finish drinking your coffee now, it's not getting hotter," I told him.

"I don't drink coffee, so it's just alright."

"You don't drink coffee?" I chuckled. "Then why did you order one?"

"Nothing, I just feel like asking for a mug since it's free."

"And who told you it's free?"

The prince creased his brow. "No one. It's supposedly free, right?"

"Of course not!" I laughed. "People won't serve you for free."

"How is it like that? In Serinokuni, everything is free. We don't serve each other to be paid."

"Well, your world is different from ours. But no worries, I'll pay for your coffee."

"Isn't it that much?"

"Nah, not really."

Prince Valor's face turned red as he had seen me take out the wallet from my bag. In that kind of reaction, he didn't fail to give me giggles. He was really embarrassed for having done what was not normal in the human world. Though his identity was still a question to me, I could tell that in his world there was a good kind of service.

In the human world, money was everything. People would do things for money even though how much difficulty they might get. There was nothing such as free when a human sacrificed himself for serving other people. Good services could also be seen in the human world and paying as well getting paid was not unfair because the people would receive what they had offered.

After some time of not talking, Prince Valor opened his mouth again as he touched my hands. "Brielle," he said my name, "I am serious, not even kidding. Let me protect you."