The Sultan's son

14. A day off

The next day she had a very long sleep, waking up at noon. She showed up directly at the table at lunchtime, and was greeted by all the staff members who wanted to know how she was doing and showed their sympathy.

She had just finished lunch and was about to return to the cabin when Quarin approached as well.

"How are you today?"

She did not have time to answer: "Well enough" that he gently grabbed her chin and turned her face to her right to get a better look at her bruise.

“Ugly bruise. But it will fade. I'll give you an ointment that will help reduce the swelling."

"Thanks," she replied softly, utterly confused by his thoughtful attitude.

"Another thing. The dress you wore yesterday is irreparably torn now. It is an unlucky dress, don't you think? Throw it away. You will take the dress I offered you the first day you were here."

"It is not necessary..."

"Enough. You will take it, and that's final. I'll have it delivered to your room. If it doesn't fit, we'll have it fixed by our tailor."

He was a bit bossy but kind. His caring attitude was throwing her off. She was so used to being afraid of him!

"O..Ok." She also didn't want to see that dress again, it brought distressing memories to her mind. She would accept the dress as a gift, though she didn't think there would be an opportunity to wear it, but you never know ... On a ship like that, she could also be required to dress elegantly.

As they talked, Charmant, who was not far away, glanced at them with narrowed eyes.

'What the heck? Is she jealous?’ she thought for a moment. 'What am I thinking? Jealous of me? Of course not. Maybe she feels neglected.'

After a few moments, the blonde girl approached the Prince and stroked his shoulder with her hand, while she spoke to him, looking into his eyes: “Quarin, you promised me we'd go to the beach. When are we taking the motorboat?" and then, turning to her: “Regina, thank goodness you're okay. But don't get in trouble next time, my boyfriend won't always be there to save you." and smiled at him seductively.

“Well, she's not entirely wrong. Your parents will want you back home in one piece. Let's go, Charmant,” and they left arm in arm, while Charmant turned to her one last time, greeting "Bye-bye!" with a mischievous smirk.

Regina spent all the afternoon in her cabin relaxing. Sure, she could have gone to the beach, after all the ship was still anchored in the harbor, and they probably would have allowed her to use the pool if she had asked, but she didn't want to go out alone, nor ask anyone. She loved reading, especially romance novels, and it had been a while since she had done that. So, she opened her favorite reading app and immersed herself in a novel that featured vampires. Throughout the story, vampires coexisted peacefully with humans and had volunteers who offered themselves as a source of nourishment.

'Why do none of these vampires ever think of collecting menstrual blood? A few volunteers with a menstrual cup would be enough, et voilà! A sustainable and non-cruel diet!' considered.

After a short time, she heard a knock.

It was Bernard, with a garment bag, and Joridey peered out behind him, smiling warmly. The boy hugged her immediately. “Regina, how glad I am that you are well! They told me there were two madmen who wanted to rob you!"

"Er, oh yeah darling, but it's all over now!" they had probably changed the story for Joridey, because it was too harsh for a child.

"How are you miss?" Bernard said, going to arrange the dress inside the wardrobe. Regina didn't mind, after all, it was she who felt like a guest.

"Fine, thank you, sir."

"I am pleased to hear that. You will probably have understood that I brought the red dress back to you, it was fine, right? "

“Even too much, Bernard, it's a luxury I could never have afforded. Thank you." she smiled.

“I will pass on the thanks to the Prince. It is his gift. But I'm glad you like it."

“Did Quarin give you a gift? Will you show me?" Joridey was curious.

"If you want, but I don't think a woman's dress could interest you!" Regina answered, giving him a pat.

“But I want to see it! Can you try it on?"

Bernard went on: “Let's not overdo it, young man.I think it's time to let the young lady rest now, come on, let's go back to your father, I'll give you your favorite snack, okay? "

"But I want to stay here a little longer with Regina ..." the child complained.

“Why not, Bernard? Leave him here, he doesn't bother me. In fact, I'd be happy for his company! We'll go up together at dinner time, okay?"

The child jumped on the spot, begging Bernard to let him stay. Eventually, the butler gave in.

“Okay, but just for a little while. The young lady has to rest. Half an hour, an hour at the most, and then come back up, ok?"

"Deal!"

Bernard left the cabin, and Regina, after the child's insistence, went to change her clothes.

"Beautiful! I love red! Did Quarin give it to you to console you for the attack?"

"I think so. He was very kind."

"And he's very skilled, right? He beat up those thugs quite well! Did you know he's a martial arts champion?"

"Oh yes, I've seen it. He knocked them out immediately!"

"I'm good at fighting too, you know? But they don't want to let me participate in competitions! It bothers me because Quarin at my age had already won many medals!"

"Well, I'm sure you are very talented!"

"Sure! Do you want to see some moves?" And he launched into a simulated combat exhibition.

"Very impressive! I want to be as skilled as you when I grow up!" She winked at him.

“Hahaha! You can learn too, I'll teach you how to do it if you want! We have a gym for training, can I take you there?"

She remembered that she was not allowed to enter the area where the royals lived. Quarin had been polite in the last few hours, but she knew she could ruin everything if she made him angry.

“I'm not sure if I can, and in any case, unfortunately, I wouldn't have time to train consistently since I have to work… But as soon as I get back to my house, I'll join the gym. So I can defend myself on my own!" she said with a caress.

He hugged her. "This dress is so soft!"

"It can be the flab too, boy," she teased herself.

They heard a knock on the door. The child ran to open it, and found his brother in front of him.

"Joridey, Father is waiting for you upstairs, you were supposed to join him an hour ago!"

"What? Has so much time passed already? It felt like ten minutes… I was showing Regina my Muay Thai moves!"

His brother smiled and ruffles his hair. "You're getting better and better, but you shouldn't brag to girls"

Then he fixed his gaze on her, assessing her from head to toe. She was wearing his gift, so he probably wanted to see how it looked on her. He stared at her intently for several seconds, she began to feel uncomfortable under that examination, she thought that maybe the dress didn't suit her. "It's beautiful, thank you. It fits me too long but it's not the dress's fault, I'm a runt ... "

The length is not an issue. In fact, it adds to the elegance. It suits you..." He was silent for a moment. "There is no need for the tailor to fix it, it's evident that it's the right size." He cleared his throat. “Here is the ointment I promised you. It's much better than the one the doctor used, this one is for professional wrestlers. It will make the swelling go away in a few hours."

"Thanks, I'll give it back to you as soon as possible."

“No, keep it. I have a good supply. Well Joridey, let's go. "

"I want to give you a gift too, Regina!" said the child.

"Honey, I don't need anything, just your friendship!"

"Then you already have it!" he laughed.

Quarin pushed him lightly towards the door. “Come on, heartthrob. When you grow up you will realize that being friends with a woman is quite challenging!" And they left.

She had a lot of male friends… well, they were actually her brother's friends, but she treated them like brothers, she had never looked at them in a different light.

'He's filling his head with wrong concepts, poor little guy!' she thought.