The Queen's Relic

Chapter 4: A Glimpse of the New Life

I gaped in awe as I took in the entire scenery. Lucian brought me to the town's capital, and I am astonished to say that they have a huge statue at the center of the town surrounded by fountains of water. It was a domineering man who once ruled over all the wolves in history.

Other than the statue, I caught a glimpse of a bizarre thing; something that Atraxia lacks. A group of people sat on a floating table with meals.

"Wanna try their food? It's a perfect timing. It's lunch." Lucian said.

He must have caught my eyes. I turned to him and looked back at the table.

"Is that okay?" I asked, hesitant about the idea.

That looks expensive and I think that it's wrong of me to ask about such things. Although, I admit that that is very interesting.

"Of course, come!"

He walked towards the tiny building beside the water and I followed quietly, as I continued my excitement. He talked to the counter and almost immediately, a few people came out from the back and escorted us to the table.

We sat at the table and the waiter explained to us the function of the table and told us to limit our movement for safety purposes. Now that I've sat on the table, I have just realized that the chances of flipping on this thing getting soaked are very high. Meals came and I wasted no time in tasting every bit of them.

After eating, we left the place and Lucian took me to walk in the streets. The capital is booming with business and full of music and art. It is admittedly more advanced than my previous pack, and wider and bigger. Beautiful and slender women performed on the stage in front of many people. A street musician sat on the corner of a street, playing with his flute. There is even a gambling house located behind the clothing store.

Lucian turned and I watched as he went inside a pastry store. He went out with a bag in his hand.

"Here." He handed me the bag.

I accepted the bag; a small amount of hesitation ringing in my head. I opened the bag and I squealed. He laughed at which I caught myself, embarrassed about my outburst.

"Can I have this?!" I asked, excitement laced in my voice.

He nodded and patted my head. It was a cake, a whole cake on that note. I wasn't able to buy one because of time constraints, and it was painfully regretting. Now, I feel very happy and giddy with excitement about having to eat this cake once I get home.

I hummed happily as we walked the streets, a pleasant feeling washing over me.

The streets of the capital look stunning to a first timer like me. However, I caught a glimpse of those that lurked in the dark. Maybe, despite its booming economy, many are still unfortunate. I flinched as I felt a droplet fall on my skin, and then rain poured. I covered my head and looked around for shelter. I tried running towards a nearby store, but Lucian held me tight. I glanced at him only to find him holding an umbrella.

"It's okay." He said. "Come here."

He pulled me closer. My shoulder bumped against his chest. He looked at me and smiled.

"Let's continue our tour."

He held my hand and we walked around town in the rain. I glanced around and found that only the two of us were leisurely walking in the rain.

"Prince," I said.

"Lucian." He cut off. I looked at him confused.

"Call me by my name." He looked at me for a moment before turning his attention back to the street.

I was silent. It didn't matter to me if he was of nobility or not, because I am merely acting with courtesy due to my previous experience, but after hearing him say that, for some reason, it made me happy. I decided to say no more and focused on our walk.

Lucian led us to the outskirts of town. What I saw made me freeze. In the outskirts, there live people who looked like they can barely eat three times a day; the poor.

"They're good people," Lucian informed.

"Young man, young man." An elderly woman beckoned Lucian.

She was smiling. Her gray hair was tied in a bun and she was holding a pot.

"Can you bring this over inside?" She was pointing to a huge clay jar beside her.

Lucian excused himself and went to the woman. He exchanged words with her before lifting the jar with ease. I watched as she guided him inside.

The rain has stopped. I closed the umbrella and looked around. Their houses were almost in shambles. I walked towards the center where I saw a child playing with a ball. They were kicking it and stealing it from each other's feet. They were laughing as the ball hit a puddle, splashing on their faces.

The ball got kicked in the wrong direction and it landed in front of me. I picked it up and slowly approached the kids. They were looking at me. I lowered myself.

"Here's your ball." I smiled.

A boy came forward and he stared at me. I find the situation awkward, so I approached the boy and handed back the ball, and walked away.

"Lady."

I turned back when I heard the boy spoke.

"You came. You finally came!"

I was taken aback by the sudden excitement, confusion traveling in my system. I crouched down so we are eye level.

"Boy, what do you mean? I'm not from here." I asked.

"I waited for y--"

"Hey, throw us the ball!" His words were cut off from the call of his peers. He turned and run away, leaving me unanswered.

I must say, that was a creepy encounter. The boy even stared at me for a while. I shivered at the thought. I stood up, and noticed that it was also dusk. I turned and found Lucian standing from where I was seconds ago. I walked back to him. He smiled.

"You've dirtied yourself," he said.

To my surprise, he grabbed my hand and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.

"I'm fine. I can clean this up." I said.

I tried to pull my hand away from his grasp, but he only held me tighter. I watched in horror as I watched him wipe his neatly cleaned and neatly folded handkerchief in my muddy hand. The Prince is cleaning my hand. I am internally screaming.

I was about to complain but when I looked up, I saw him looking serene again.

"So how did it go with the elderly woman?" I asked.

He finished wiping both of my hands. He slid the dirty handkerchief back into his pocket.

"She was a tease." He started walking and I followed him to the side.

"How so?" I asked.

He hummed a response and laughed. His response made me curious about his exchange with that woman. We walked back to the cliff. The capital is above this town.

"She didn't make you do anything funny, did she?" I asked.

"Nothing of the sort." He replied. "Come, hurry."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me hastily.

"What?" I complained, but still tried my best to walk as fast.

We stopped at the top of the cliff, and my eyes landed on the horizon. The sun was setting, and colors of orange and red shone on the horizon. I was stunned and mesmerized.

"This is my first time seeing a sunset from this height," I muttered.

Usually, I stayed within the halls of the palace. I either follow Kira around or do chores. The only time I can get out is during the morning, because the Luna likes freshly baked breads. When I get the chance to see the sunset, I could barely see from behind all the buildings in town, plus my room is on the basement of the palace.

"Then take your time to engrave it in your memory." Lucian replied. I smiled and waited for the sun to finally disappear; its color becoming dull.

"Lucian, when I start serving you, can I get a few minutes to visit this place every day?" I turned to him and asked.

"Of course, as many as you want and as long as you wish," he replied.

"Thank you." I smiled.

We started walking back to the capital. And I am happy to say that it was a sight to behold. Lights on the streets and the stores made the night even more mesmerizing than it was this morning.

I spotted a few people going back to the back alley and entering the gambling house. The festivals I saw became livelier and food stalls were opened and aligned in the aisle.

We headed directly back to the palace. Lucian entered and the guards bowed. I dropped my head low as I passed by the guard.

"Lucian, do you still want me to serve you dinner?" I asked.

I wasn't able to serve him lunch nor see his quarters today because he took me outside. So I am anxious if he needs me to serve him at least some chores.

He hummed a response. I raised my brows in expectancy. He looked at me straight in the eyes, and I maintained eye contact with him. It lasted for a few seconds before he chuckled to himself. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused about his actions.

"I don't mind you serving me tonight," he said.

He cupped my cheek. I stiffened under his touch, and my heart throbbed. He ran his fingers down to my chin and held my face up.

I looked at him in the eyes. The moonlight is finally out, seeing that his face is illuminated by the light. And then it hit. I remember what happened in the library. I instantly felt hot. Panic entered my system and my eyes inadvertently looked away from him.

"If you don't ask me for anything else, I'll head to my quarter," I muttered.

"Aira," he called.

I felt my heart throbbing at the sound of my name leaving his lips. He leaned closer and I instantly panicked. My heart beat quickening with every second. He placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, and took a step back, finally letting me go.

"That's it for today. Rest early. You start early tomorrow." He smiled and walked away.

I stood frozen in my spot, as my mind tried to process everything. What just happened? How did it come to this? I mentally screamed. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I felt like I was out of breath all of a sudden. I walked back to my quarter; lost in thought, with my body feeling hot.