Chapitre 15: Hunting skills
Unexpectedly, they were at an amusement park with kids running up and down which shocked Tessa. Were they pranking her?
Understanding her confusion, the maid smiled at her cute reaction and said, "Follow me, my lady." Then led her away.
Tessa wanted to ask questions but she swallowed them in hopes to ask them later. For now, it would be better to observe things and pile up her questions.
Walking her away, they went to the back of the amusement park and walked a little further before getting to a forest.
"Yes we are hunting," the maid said and gestured for her to move forward.
So that was the reason they didn't bring cars? They could still manage to bring the carriages in but not the cars.
"Tessa," Veronica called, walking up to her to greet her with a big smile on her face.
Tessa smiled back, almost forgetting she hadn't seen Veronica since they left the castle. Walking up to her, Tessa's eyes widened when she saw Elias gloriously sitting on a horse a few distance away from them.
What the hell was he doing here?
Veronica stopped and traced Tessa's line of focus only to smile when she saw what Tessa's gaze was fixated on. She was just as surprised as Tessa when she saw Elias on the hunting ground, it had been years since he stepped out of the castle.
"You must be shocked too, but we owe you all the gratitude." Finally walking up to her, Veronica held Tessa's hand and started patting it affectionately.
Confused, Tessa asked, "Me?" Pondering what Veronica meant by her statement. What has she done to be given gratitude for?
"Don't be shy, he told us everything and how you managed to convince him to be a better king." Veronica relayed, bringing more confusion to Tessa's face. Why would she convince someone like him to be a better king? What would it benefit her if he started protecting the people from her heist?
If anything, she wants him isolated forever so she would be able to continue her job.
"I think there is a misunderstanding here, your son is mentally unstable." Removing her hands from Veronica's hold, Tessa said and started laughing which made Veronica frown.
"I am sure we all heard him correctly and I am not mistaken. Didn't you say he should grace his people with his presence, and uphold his rules?" Veronica inquired.
Parting her mouth, she stated, "We haven't even seen each other since we had breakfast together, how could I…" Suddenly remembering something, she gasped and directed her gaze to Elias, inwardly questioning him.
Could he have taken what she said before leaving the dining room seriously? She just said it to spite him, it was not advice. Don't tell her, he acted upon that little insult.
Tapping her forehead repeatedly, she scolded herself for spitting him that way and bit her lips.
"What are you doing, Tessa?" Worried, Veronica held her hand and stopped her from hurting herself further.
"I think I need to…" Close to completing her sentence, Elias appeared before her with his horse and stretched out his hands for her to receive.
"I don't have the strength to ride a horse, you can take one of your consorts." Giving an excuse, she feigned sickness and dropped her hands on her waist to fool him.
"You can rest on me while we ride, come on."
He encouraged, smiling, that crept Tessa out. What was that insincere and scary smile? He needed lessons on how to improve his social skills, he would traumatize people with that smile.
"I am afraid I will throw up and ruin your clothes," not backing down, she said and turned her back to leave so he wouldn't have the chance to talk again.
Thinking she had escaped, she victoriously smiled only to be swept off her feet. It took some seconds for her to fathom what had just happened.
Pissed, she turned to face Elias on the horse and glared hard at him which didn't even intimidate him one bit.
"Put me down, now that I am asking gently." She commanded, an underlying threat behind her words.
"You were the one who advised me, why do you look the most uncomfortable with my presence?" Teasing her, he asked and drew her closer to him, his hands grabbing her waist.
"Ahh, I never advised you, and your presence makes me angry." She said, struggling against his hold.
Smirking, he brought his mouth closer to her ears and whispered, "Too late, I want to see you angry for as much as I can. Bear with it," then kicked the horse to sprint away.
"I fucking hate you," she said as the horse galloped into the bush, hesitatingly leaning into his embrace to avoid falling.
She was sure he didn't mistake her words for advice and did it to intentionally annoy her. Such a petty man but since he wanted to be petty, she would be petty too. We would know who was good at playing the petty game at the end of it all.
It was his time now, she was going to let him enjoy himself today. Wait, she was going to escape soon, why was playing a game with him important?
Shaking her head, she told herself to snap out of it and focus on the bigger picture.
Two days later, she is unable to make any progress toward her escape. And this man looked like he was ready to torment her, how much longer could she last?
"Hold this," giving her his quiver to hold, he said and picked one arrow out of it.
"I am not your…" shutting her up, he dropped his finger on her mouth and shushed her.
"I will make you search for that deer if you let it escape," he silently muttered and pointed at the deer he was about to hit.
Giving up, she kept mute and tightly held onto the quiver, praying inwardly that he missed the target.
"Eeeaaaah!!" The deer cried when the arrow pierced through its neck and fell weakly to the ground.
"Show off," she uttered and rolled her eyes. Anyone can easily do that, why make it seem like a big deal?
"Or you are jealous because you possess no hunting skills?" He taunted.
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone