"Why are you smiling?" Gonzalo spoke in a very high and unfriendly tone. "Can you not see you have stained my purity?" He grunted, looking at his stained regalia.
"Oh, I'm sorry, my bad," Ashina simply said, giving a cheerful grin. She turned and took in the view of the countryside in admiration. "The flowers here are beautiful and natural." Her voice was light and teasing.
Gonzalo gritted his teeth, but a high growl escaped anyway. "You swain!" Gonzalo held her wrist tight, his face deepened in a frown.
"Let go of me!" Ashina pulled out her wrist, pushing him away. She stared at him, in an attempt to read his mind. "This is not the way to treat..."
"You should be on your knees begging and kissing my feet for mercy," Gonzalo said.
"What for? Because I mistakenly stained your robe?" She looked around, expecting the random passersby to interfere and put him in his place. "So, I stained your cloth, and I said I was sorry. Okay fine, I'll buy you another one."
"You think I wear cheap wears, made by the local farmers?" Gonzalo straightened. "Kneel before my feet and plead for forgiveness of sin."
Ashina turned around helplessly, signaling every passerby to interfere. Everyone paid her dust. She rather noticed how they all bowed to greet him, some even trembling as they did so. One more close look at the arrogant man before her and she discovered he was royalty!
She looked at the other side, and discovered his guards were on alert, obviously waiting for orders. She raised her gaze slowly, obviously unsure if she had made a mistake.
"From my observations, I see you are a prince." Ashina folded her arms across her chest. "Prince, I am very sorry, if you wouldn't mind, excuse me." She turned to walk out.
"You dare to insult royalty?"
Ashina turned to face him. Her gaze narrowed, unable to believe a prince could be this feisty, frustrating, gusty, arrogant and grumpy. "You're insulting yourself, Prince. This is not how royalty behaves. You rather behave like a frustrated poor, local farmer."
Gonzalo Hemming, alpha Prince of the Poldark pack, watched the commoner walk away, happily flipping her arms. She seemed to be having a good time. Who was she? All his life he had been feared and dreaded by everyone, including the legal authorities. He was the law himself, his words were final. Who was she to trample on his ego and insult royalty?
"Follow her! I need every information about that swain." He spat disdainfully. "As fast as tonight. Now leave!" He walked hurriedly back to the palace after instructing his guards.
***
As Ashina walked past a small market, fading images of a young female child flashed across her head. The place felt familiar, although she knew she had never been there.
"Grab your books! Scrabble books! Buy a copy!" The tiny voice yelled, waving some scrabble books to sample them. "Beautiful one, please buy a scrabble book." She beaconed on Ashina.
"Let me see." Ashina reached for the scrabble book. Suddenly she had a Deja Vu
"Fifty bucks."
Ashina sighed. "I'm out of cash, will you follow me home?" She said. "Please?"
"My name is Chuchin," the bookseller introduced herself, a genuine smile in her voice. "Are you new around here?"
"Yes, Chuchin." Ashina smiled back. "Call me Ashina, I love your name by the way." Her brown eyes sparkled with laughter.
"I saw you earlier, with the prince." Chuchin looked around, then whispered. "Why did you talk to him like that? You shouldn't have, even though I'm happy someone finally stood up to him, but I fear for your life."
"My life?" Ashina asked in surprise. "Why?" She hated any conversation that involved the prince.
"Please go to the palace and make peace with him." Chuchin looked around again. "Do it before nightfall."
Ashina scoffed. "Hell no, I won't! Chuchin, I live over there," she said and pointed to a building, quite a distance from the market. "Will you follow me home? I Ieft some cash at home."
Chuchin nodded. "Okay, let's go."
The moment Ashina and Chuchin stepped into her house, Chuchin closed the door, then held Ashina's hands, looking into her eyes.
Ashina couldn't understand why tears built in Chuchin's eyes. She looked at her in confusion. "Are you about to cry?"
"Please go to him, beg him, kiss his feet, ask for mercy." Chuchin almost choked on her words. She was speaking as someone in a haste to leave. "Prince Gonzalo is not like his father, he is a ruthless ruler. He doesn't care about anyone except himself and his throne."
"Slow down." Ashina placed her hands on Chuchin's shoulders, then settled her gently into a chair. "Relax!"
"He doesn't value anybody's life. To him, everyone is a slave."
"Shhh!" Ashina placed a finger on Chuchin's lips. "That's enough. Nothing will happen, if he moves crazily, I will arrest him."