The Sultan's son

16. The plan

That same night the ship sailed back to Sardinia. Colleagues confirmed to Regina that the Canarian stage was postponed. She had waited with trepidation for the prince and Charmant to get off the ship, but she would have to wait longer. The good thing was that it no longer seemed like Quarin was constantly having eyes on her. It seemed he had relaxed, but she didn't quite trust him.

Therefore, if she happened to run into the royal couple, she tried to disappear immediately without attracting attention, asking Iris to assign her another job. But she couldn't avoid them every time. One day Iris assigned her the task of cleaning the pool area, a zone she tried to avoid as much as possible because it was often frequented by the Prince and his beautiful companion. 'Well, maybe this time I'll be lucky and I won't find them there,' she thought, hopeful, heading up to the pool.

And there they were, Quarin and Charmant, enjoying the pool, lying down and wearing sunglasses. Joridey was there too, swimming in the water, and continually calling their attention to his feats. 'Ugh... I'll tell Iris that I'll clean when no one is around.' Pretending to pass by by chance, she walked past them. However, Joridey noticed her, "Hey hi! Regina, come and take a dip?"

She couldn't completely ignore him and reluctantly stopped. "No dear, I have to clean, but you go ahead and have fun!"

“Wait, I'll show you how I dive! I learned to dive headfirst!"

"Let her work, Joridey," Quarin interjected, annoyed.

“One dip only! Come on, Quarin!" the child complained.

She looked at the Prince as if asking for permission. He snorted, but in the end, nodded.

After witnessing a few dives of the child, and complimenting him, she saw Quarin getting restless, so before being sent away she apologized and left.

Joridey got out of the pool and walked over to his brother. "Listen, Quarin, I want to give Regina a gift too."

“Joridey, do you know that she gets paid very well to work here? And she's taking free cooking lessons. It is like a gift. You don't have to give her anything. Don't get attached to her, okay?"

“But you gave her a dress! I want to give her something too!"

Charmant perked up. "What? Is that true, Quarin?"

"Yes, I had a suit delivered to her, hers was ruined during the assault."

“And was it urgent? She will have other clothes, right? Why was it necessary?"

"She is an employee of my Father, I felt responsible. Why do you care? I didn't take it from your closet!"

"You are too good, sooner or later someone will take advantage of you."

Joridey, wanting to get back on track, jumped into their conversation. “Anyway, what gift could I give her? Can I give her the DS3 Bony Spirits video game?"

“I don't think it's suitable for a girl. Listen, forget it! " he answered.

"So what? Is a Kirito sword okay? So we could do sword challenges!"

"No, those are games for boys your age, and only boys."

"Then what? Give me a suggestion!"

His brother was annoyed."I do not know! If you really want to give a girl a gift, ask a girl, right? For example, Charmant!"

Charmant sat up and took off her glasses, looking at him as if he had grown another head. "What? Me? Are you kidding me?"

"Not at all. Come on, help Joridey out, I'll go get you a cocktail, and I'll get one too."

She playfully slapped him with a towel. “You're escaping, huh? You will pay for this!" but he slipped away, laughing.

Joriday came back to the point: "So, Charmant, what do girls like you usually enjoy?"

“Don't know, Joridey, Regina and I are two different people, we may not like the same things. I could suggest a perfume, but it's very personal, you need to know which brand she likes… but why do you care so much about giving her a gift? In a few days, you won't see her again!"

"Exactly, I'd like her to remember me..."

Charmant, perplexed, looked at the boy. He was so determined! A feeling of anger towards that girl welled up in her chest. That nobody! What did she have to fascinate young and old men? She had noticed that one of the waiters was totally smitten with her, and Joridey adored her ... but what seriously worried her was that Quarin too often looked at her, and no longer with hatred like at the beginning. If he wanted her gone, why hadn't he done it yet?

Unless… it took a little push from her… Got it! She would have managed to get rid of her! After all, that was what Quarin wanted, right?

With a sly smile, she said to the boy: “Well, dear, do you know what always pleases girls? Jewelry! After all, if she already has an elegant dress, what's better than pairing it with a beautiful necklace?"

Joridey thought about it. "Okay, but where do I find a necklace?"

“Oh well. I don't know. Of course, now we are on the open sea and you can't go to a jewelry store. Maybe if you find one around ... have you ever seen one here?"

The child's eyes lit up. "Now that I think about it, I've seen a necklace! But won't it belong to someone?"

"Well, if you've never seen it on anyone, maybe it belongs to the family, so it's yours too, right?"

"Sounds fair to me... Thanks, Charmant!"

"Don't mention it, smart boy! But remember, it has to be a secret, don't tell anyone, so no one can spoil the surprise for Regina, okay?" She whispered. The boy, happy, nodded and ran away.

When Quarin returned with the cocktails, she had a satisfied expression, looking like a cat who had just lapped an entire bowl of cream.