Chapter 9: Scorn

"Well, you are finally awake. How are you feeling now?" Crown Prince Lail asked as soon as he caught her gaze.

With pain filled violet orbs, the girl just fainted without any warning. Crown Prince Lail had never found himself in such a situation before, and unconsciously, his body reacted faster than his mind, as he swiftly bent, gathered her in his arms, and rushed towards the imperial medical wing.

It was only after the Lead Physician informed him that she was alright and only a little bit exhausted that he was able to relax.

"I am fine. Thank you." As her slightly chilly voice entered his ears, his eyes roamed doubtfully over her veiled face, taking in her cold eyes.

He could not figure out the reason as to why she was looking at him with such a cold expression. After all, he has never met the girl before today. But feeling that it was probably not appropriate to ask her such a question, he remained quiet.

At this moment a girl in a red dress with a blue belt hurriedly entered the infirmary room.

"Cousin, are you alright?" Princess Nari asked worriedly as she stood next to her bed.

Her cousin was the only relative she had in this foreign empire. Her only net of safety and source of security. Although her cousin was naturally cold and viewed everything with indifference, she had never suffered any harm under her presence. Seeing her falling the moment they entered the imperial palace had scared her.

"What if something happened to her cousin? How was she going to survive in this place all by herself?" Was the first question that came to her mind.

Thankfully, her cousin was okay and she was only exhausted, otherwise she would not know what to do.

She frowned as she thought of this. The longer she stayed in this empire, the more she became aware of her powerlessness and insignificance. Here, there were no royal subjects that she could order about as she wished. Here, there were no parents to indulge her.

She neither had friends nor knew anyone of importance within the empire to whom she could run to for protection in the case of an accident.

Her frown deepened further as she began to worry about her uncertain future.

"I am fine. How are you. Did anything happen to you?" Princess Qamari probed, gazing directly at Princess Nari to see if she experienced the same phenomenon as she did upon bumping into the blue-robed man.

"No. I am fine, but we are late for the evening banquet and should hurry over."

Unfortunately, aside from being slightly dazed, due to the shock of witnessing her sudden fall, there was no other change on Princess Naris face, as she replied.

"It is fine. You ladies can take your time in getting there. Just be sure to not wonder around and have the servants guide you over since this is your first time entering the palace." Prince Noore who had entered the medical hall right behind Princess Nari, interjected at this time.

The two Princesses looked towards the source of the voice at the same time. Within their sight, was the man in the flower garden garbed in white robes. His soft blue eyes and ash-blonde hair gave him the impression of being laid-back and easy to approach. Coupled with his gentle smile, the gentlemanly charm oozing off this person was enough to captivate any woman.

Princess Nari blushed, shyly lowering her head as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

But Princess Qamari only felt apprehension upon meeting his gaze. They were not deep or dark, but dull and hazy, shrouding the man in mystery, as his demeanor and murky eyes portrayed different characters. The most dangerous people were those whom one cannot see through. This man was one such person.

The Crown Prince snorted upon seeing Prince Noore making the decision for the princesses arrival to the banquet held in their honor.

"You can take your time if you do not mind gaining the displeasure of the empire's high ranking ministers and their family." He stated before unconcernedly flicking his sleeves and walking out of the medical all.

"Princess Nari, we might be guests but we must not impose on the hosts when unnecessary. Since I am perfectly fine now, we should not keep everyone waiting." Princess Qamari stated to Princess Nari, indirectly excusing the uninvited guest.

"If you ladies do not mind, I will be more than happy to escort you to the banquet hall." Prince Noore offered.

"Thank you for your offer, but we shall not take you up on it. The hall should not be too far from here and even if it is, we will seek out maids to guide us there. Men and women should maintain propriety at all times. I hope you do not take offense, lord." Finally losing her cool, Qamari directly rejected the man without leaving any room for objections.

Not interested in sticking around any longer, Prince Noore nodded with a gloomy expression before walking out the door.

"Cousin, were you not a little too harsh? In the end, the man just wanted to help us. Seeing that he is in the imperial palace, he must be an important figure. It would be more wise for us to befriend rather than offend such people. This is not our Jinn Kingdom after all." Princess Nari berated, upset with her cousin's attitude. Being cold and indifferent was acceptable when they were at home, however in a foreign empire, they needed all the connections that they could make.

"Moreover, you fainted upon entering the imperial, do not tell me that upon seeing the magnificence of the Amayan empire, you were scared into a faint? Oh, look at me. How could I have forgotten that you were nothing more than an insignificant desert girl before the arrangement of your marriage with the Amayan Prince? But never forget cousin, that you are here today only because of me. If it was not for the 'golden bird' that my Royal Father offered in the form of a dowry to the Amayan Empire to get me married to their Crown Prince and got you included in the exchange by luck, than you would never be here today. You would be nothing without me. Keep that in mind." Ranted Princess Nari before storming out.

Princess Qamari was shocked by the sudden outburst of Princess Nari, not expecting her to speak to her in such a demeaning way. Although the two princesses relationship was not one of the best as they grew up from childhood to youth together, they never clashed against one another in such a dramatic way, even with their different temperaments.

As an older cousin, seeing Princess Nari's reaction to white robed man, she felt it was her responsibility to protect her from harm's way, but her good intentions were clearly not appreciated.

After sighing sadly for a while, Princess Qamari cooled her expression before walking out the room in search of Princess Nari.

Soon after, Princesses Nari and Qamari entered the banquet under the lead of a serving maid.