ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 31

After she finished eating, Nina looked at the small dress that was kept in front of her on the floor. She could not decide if she should wear the dress he gave or not.

In her custom, not anyone can give a dress to a woman in her society, especially to a princess who is the next heir to the throne. A dress that helps one cover their body and also protect their dignity must come from the parents or the one they were going to marry.

‘Marriage… Do I have to marry him, if I accept this dress he offered to me?’ Nina lifted her head once to look in the direction where Peter was sitting.

Until Nina gazed at him, Peter was also quietly staring at her. But the second her eyes were about to meet his eyes, he stood up and started walking towards Robert. 

He behaved as if he did not care whether she wanted to wear the dress he gave her or not. As he was walking in the opposite direction, he could not see her face. 

Still, he felt his heart thumping faster than normal against his chest. He expected that she would wear the dress he gave her even though it was his sister’s dress.

When Nina noticed where Peter was going, she at once shouted, “Stop!”

The sudden noise made Elly, who almost dozed off, jump up in horror and stand in a protective stance. She then analyzed the situation around the cage and calmed down.

“What happened? Is something wrong?” Elly asked Nina.

Meanwhile, Peter stopped moving but he did not have the courage to turn around to look at Nina. He thought that she was going to refuse to wear the dress he left on the floor. So, he racked his brain and tried to think of a way to confront her refusal and make her wear the dress.

But then Nina ran towards Peter and held his hand. He looked surprised and noticed the tiny hand that held his wrist tightly.

“I… I…” Peter struggled to get a word out of his mouth and his throat became dry.

“You cannot touch him yet,” Nina pointed at Robert.

“Ah, what?” Peter blinked his eyes as he did not know what Nina was talking about or who she was referring to.

“You cannot touch him yet,” Nina repeated her wordings and informed him.

“Why?” Peter asked her while his eyes still gazing at her hand which was holding his arm.

“If I say you cannot then you cannot! It is an order,” Nina said and let go of his hand.

Then she stood in between Peter and Robert in a protective stance with her hands spread on both sides. Peter felt a little sad as she moved away from him.

At first, Peter did not realize that he was walking towards Robert. As it had become a habit for him to go to Robert whenever he faced any issue or if he was flustered, likewise he unintentionally went near Robert this time as well.

‘I did do it again… Robert, wake up and save me from this awkward situation… Come on, dammit...’ Peter thought and clenched his fist.

He then looked at her stance and his heart almost skipped a beat. The way she was standing looked like a brave little soldier ready to attack any moment. A small smile spread across Peter’s face and his eyes glowed immediately.

Elly turned her head to look at Peter first and then at Nina. She could not decide once again whose side she should take as the situation turned complicated. 

She blinked her beautiful round eyes and moved it to one side after another and then finally it landed where Robert was! As the cowa leaves slowly got pushed away and out came Robert with his five eyes and new energy.

“So, what did I miss?” Roberts asked in a husky voice and stood up from the ground.

After hearing someone talking behind them, Nina turned around to look at Robert, She then instantly jumped on Peter and held on to him tightly.

“He...He… He has... five eyes...” Nina shuttered while hugging Peter as close as possible. 

“Yes! He does, doesn’t he?” Peter said with a chuckle and blinked at Robert.

As he saw them sticking so close to each other, Robert moved near Elly and mumbled, “Seems like I did miss a lot of things… happenings...”

Meanwhile, Peter was still trying to figure out where he should place his hand. He could not make a decision on whether he should hold her so that she would fall or just to let her fall!

As the second option seemed terrible, he moved his hands around her body but before he could hug her, Nina climbed down from him. She then peeked at Robert with fearful eyes while standing behind Peter.

Robert waved his hands at her and was about to thank her but then he heard a shriek from Nina. So, he brought his hands down and shrugged his shoulders.

“I did try…” He whispered to Elly.

Then he rubbed his hands on his face which made his eyes disappear and he looked like everyone else. Then Elly signaled using her eyes to apologize to Nina for his rudeness towards her.

But Robert did not understand her and so he asked her, “What?”

“Apologies,” Elly uttered in between her teeth.

“Apologize? To you? Why?” Robert asked her.

“Not me… To the princess… She is the princess of Asran,” Elly whispered to him.

Robert immediately went on his knees and crossed his hands across his chest. He then said,  

“I am so sorry, Princess Nina. My intention was not to frighten you.”

After saying that he came near Peter and Nina but that only frightened Nina even more. So, she hugged Peter tightly and hid her face in his chest. 

Peter found it funny for a brave girl to get afraid of his five-eyed friend. So, he patted her head and tried to soothe her. She lifted her head slightly and looked at Peter in between her long hair locks. 

“It’s ok! He is not scary and a good friend of mine,” Peter told her.

After hearing him, Nian once again extended her neck and looked at Robert. Right then all she saw was two eyes on Robert’s face and he blinked his eyes innocently.

Nina finally climbed down from Peter and bent her knees slightly to greet him. She then looked at Robert with an apologizing way and said,

“I am the one, who should be apologizing to you! I overreacted and I have no words to say that could change or justify what I had done just now. My father had always said that we should treat everyone equally and not behave in any crude way that would hurt others. Please forgive me as I had judged you based on the number of eyes in your face.”

Nina gave a lengthy explanation and then stood still with her head bent down. She looked like an innocent child who made a mistake for the first time in her life and didn’t know what she should do next.

But at the same time, she showed stubbornness as she expected Robert to forgive her. Robert smiled and patted her back. He then said,

“Get up and stand straight my junior sister. In our clan whatever naughtiness our sisters do, they do not have to apologize to anyone. Also, we brothers always take good care of them, so they never have to bend their heads to anyone. Also, as you have saved us, we will always be indebted to you, Princess Nina.”

Robert hit his chest twice and informed her. Nina instantly stood up straight and smiled at Robert. Even though the smile was still a little difficult to see as it hid behind her lengthy hair, they could at least feel that she was not rigid anymore. 

Peter’s eyes twinkled at her reaction and thought that if only she tied her hair then it would look much better. Also, it could even remove most of the gloominess that surrounded her. 

At that moment, Robert said, “Now, let us formally introduce ourselves first. I am Robert, The Great...” 

Before he could finish, Peter suddenly coughed a lot to stop him from speaking any longer. Robert immediately ran towards his backpack and took a pouch that had water.

Instead of taking the water pouch, Peter said, “I am Peter, son of Sussan and this is my sister Elly.”