I am Reborn through Revenge

Gratitude

I needed to head back to the party. I didn't know how far they had gone with everything. Like I said before, It didn’t matter if I came late though. I just wanted to be there. The most important thing was just to make my presence noticed, I thought.

But before I could go, I had to dismiss myself from the girl, I thought. I went back inside the house. I opened the door slowly and I saw her already sitting on the bed. She raised her dress to her thigh, exposing a tantalizing, glamorous-looking skin.

She seemed engrossed at the sight of the wound that tore some part of her skin that she didn't even notice when I entered the room. She sat as though she wasn't expecting anyone anytime soon.

“Hey! Why are you sitting up? I thought it would be best if you lie down and allow your wound to heal," I asked. I struggled to pretend like I didn't see anything down there.

She quickly released her gown and covered her thigh. “I want to go now. I don’t want to miss this sir. I have sacrificed too much for this.” It appeared she wasn’t yielding.

Looking at this girl again, it seemed as if I had missed some important details about her look. She was too delicate for that type of job. She had an oval-shaped face, perfectly embellished with a pure pinkish lip. Her long black hair reminded me of my mother, she shared the same fluffy hair with her. She had been avoiding looking at me directly in the eyes but for the few times I had seen them, they both looked lustrous. She had eyes of a cat seen in a dark room— it glistered beautifully.

It was as though she might be forced into being a mistress than a palace maid she had dreamed of.

"You still want to go?"

“Yes. I need to go, sir.” She added in a hypnotic voice. Her voice was broken as though something was blocking her air passage.

I looked at her gown, though it was torn and dirty but something seemed noticeably wrong about it— it didn't seem like a gown a commoner would have. The silver lining I saw on the dress reminded me of some of the Princess' gowns. I was not quite familiar with female wear but I was very sure that it was not the same type of clothes worn by the maids in the palace. Even the most favored maid wouldn’t wear those.

“Okay. If you insist then. But you need to wait for the gentleman that came just now, I already sent him to bring you some new clothes. You need to change the one you are wearing. It's already torn to shreds."

She smiled. “That’s very kind of you sir. Thank you so much. You have done a lot for me,” She thanked me and bowed.

She raised her head and her eyes caught mine again.

Hush!

It glistened with blue luster. She quickly looked away when it was obvious my gaze on her was becoming uncomfortable. I wished she had kept it steady. I wanted to stare at them, maybe because I was curious or maybe because I had never seen a human eye as beautiful as hers— I wasn't sure. I had never seen an eye like that, not even in Livinas—I was sure of this one. If not for my ego, if not because I was a Prince, I would have made her look back at me. I would have simply asked her to look at me. But I've got a name to protect, a dignity to uphold, and prestige to maintain.

I quickly left the room before I started thinking of another stupid thing. I searched for Norman, I wanted to see him before leaving, and it didn't take me a long time before I found him.

He was sitting on a chair in his backyard relaxing. He was without a shirt. Thick black hairs grew evenly on his chest, spreading from his chest to his stomach. He had a toothpick on his mouth when I approached him.

"Thank you so much for what you have done for her. I won't forget this kind gesture."

Norman shut his eyes open and regarded me with a fatherly gaze.

"You don't need to mention that. I have missed you, Prince Anon," Norman said, his voice solid. His voice would always guarantee you that Norman doesn't say what he doesn't mean.

"I will be going now."

"With her?"

"Not quite. She will be leaving soon but not now. I sent my servant to get her something. Immediately he gets it here, she will leave," I said.

He put his hand on his chest and scratched at it. "Okay. I will still see you, right?" he asked.

"Definitely. That's for sure."

"Alright."

When I came outside Norman's house, I realized I had wasted a lot of time. The Sun was already settling. I left for the party as soon I could. I saw heavy security from the distance when I was approaching the dinner hall. There was also another open space for the commoners but the dinner Hall was for the special guests of honour. I got very close, I saw men of the military guarding the entrance to the hall. They were armed to the teeth. Some were standing in threes' and fours' with their swords and spears visibly seen. When I wanted to enter inside the hall, the two guards at the entrance crossed their spears across, leaving me shocked.

“What!?” I said with an angry voice. I narrowed my eyes and furrowed my face in a frown.

“Can we see your pass?” one guard on the right asked.

"A pass? Why would I need a pass? I am a Prince in this palace so why would I need permission from anyone to move any way I choose to move to?" this was exactly what my mind advised me to say but didn't. But still, I couldn’t believe what my ears just heard.

“Did you say pass?” I asked. I assumed he was trying to c***k a joke.

“Yes, Where is your invitation card?” the other guard asked with a rigid face, making the demand more concise.

Now I knew they were serious. Someone might have told them to do this. But the problem was, who did? They wouldn't have the gut to block me from entering inside the hall unless someone was backing them up, I mumbled in between thoughts. Who might have told them to harass me? Was it the Queen? Or was it Nigtwinder? I couldn’t see the possibility of any of them doing this. So, who could have such power to order a palace guard to stop me? Or were they just paid to do it? I just couldn’t figure it out.

“No one told me that I would need a pass to be here. If there was any permit, I would have gotten it before coming here. So please, let me in,” I pleaded. I tried not to sound violent or harsh, keeping my voice as blitheful as possible.

“I’m afraid, you can’t go in here without it.” The first guard reiterated.

I got mad. I thought about forcing my way in. I also didn’t want to cause a scene. So what should I do? I really wanted to be at that party. I needed to carry myself proudly in the face of everyone in there. But I was now being denied the privilege?

“Can I offer the both of you something?" I asked. "I have golds.”

They both looked at themselves and looked back at me. Since I didn't want to harass myself or let them harass me, I thought negotiating with them would be the best. But they remained unfazed judging from their facial expressions.

“What do you have to say?” I asked, hoping to get positive feedback. They didn’t even utter a word. They looked like they were deaf. Their silence was golden. I started to sense something. I didn't know what it was. I guessed the plan was premeditated.

Who could do this? I began to ask myself questions.

“Prince Anon!" Someone called me. "Long time no see. What are you doing outside the party hall? Are you bored or something?”

I turned to see who called me by my name. Surprisingly, It was Prince Young. He was stylishly dressed. His amber eyes look drunk. He crossed his hands on the hip of a pretty young woman I had never seen before. She wore different kinds of gold necklaces. Her hand was filled with golden bracelets too. She was a little bit taller than the Prince. She might be one of the visitors that came around for the Queen's party, though I wasn’t sure.

“Hey, Young! I didn’t think I would see you here. Where are you coming from?”

The Prince was looking good, I trust his dress sense. He had always dressed to either impress girls or to intimidate them. His blue boots matched perfectly with his pencil mouth sky blue trousers. His head was supported by a wide brown hat that fitted in properly on his head and gave him a cowboy look.

“As you can see, I’m taking this precious jewel round the palace for sightseeing. She enjoys my company.” He smiled and she looked at him and smiled too.

Prince Young looked younger, cute, and more handsome than Nightwinder though they both shared the same inverted face, which makes it difficult for people to spot the difference between him and his brother. Unlike him, his brother was more cautious. But young smiled a lot; his smile was always loud and contagious. He was the lady’s man. So I wasn’t a bit surprised to see him with a lady. He was just doing his thing.

“I can see that.” I giggled. I was glad to see him there because my ticket to the party was already guaranteed, I guess. There was no way they would stop me if I enter with Young. He was a crazy type of man so everyone usually avoids his problem.

“Let us go in then,” he said and crossed her hands on the lady’s shoulders.

While I was about to pass the guards, I whistled so they could see me and I winked at them.

'Idiots!' I said and laughed, I was sure they saw me. We crossed the second door and we got in the dinner hall.

The Prince whistled for a female servant in the hall to come. The servant was sharing glasses of wine with the guests.

“See you later,” Prince Young said, his expression warmth. I knew he had had enough of drinks because he seemed overtly happy.

I looked around the gigantic hall, I couldn’t count how many people were there. Ladies. Men. Nobles. My ears were greeted by the sound of nice folk music. Everywhere was buzzing with laughter and excitement. There were many tables in the hall, most of them covered in a pure white cloak and seated round by strangers. On each table were what seemed to me like a group of royal families that came from different kingdoms. Nobody noticed my entrance at first. It was as if I was not there when I came in.

I decided to stroll further. As I was walking, I noticed that some young girls stared at me. Most of them seated around the table with what seemed to be their parents.

I could see different women wearing different colors of long gowns. The beauty of their dresses was hard to go unnoticed, it looked outlandish. By the left side, I saw some of the guests dancing to the music playing. Everyone was having fun. I couldn’t find anyone I knew. I needed someone I knew to see me, especially the Queen. I skimmed everywhere but yet I couldn’t still see anyone. I needed to shift, I thought. The eyes were becoming unbearable for me. I never knew I was not a public kind person. Though I had never been in a position or place to have it tested out but somehow, today's event did let me know that as a fact. I kept my head high and decided to move around, maybe I would just find the Queen somewhere. After all, she was the chief host. So, she should be there, I assumed.

“Anon.” I heard a disrespectful familiar voice call me from behind.

Who would call me by my first name like that?