บท 27: Solaria, Here I Am!

Zenia no longer bothered with it and went to sleep. Vaughn did the same since he was certain that nothing bad would happen to them. In the inn, they slept in the rooms next to each other. Outside, they were sleeping in separate sleeping bags next to each other. Vaughn felt that it was the best night of his life, though he needed to sleep on an uncomfortable bed.

He looked at Zenia, who was already fast asleep, and studied her profile. He knew that Zenia was looking at him closely when he was drawing the map. He tried his best to remain calm and focused so she wouldn't suspect anything. It was torture!

Now, he could look at her more. He just needed to focus on Zenia's facial features and try to erase the unsightly markings that she made on her face.

He could clearly see her willowy eyebrows and luscious lips. He gently touched her face and felt the fair and satin-smooth skin. He touched her hair and he felt its softness. He caught a whiff of light fragrance, which resembled a bouquet of flowers, coming from her body. She looked like an angel when she was sleeping, but he still preferred the lively little devil.

He decided to give her the life that she deserved and never let her go. Although he said he would agree to the divorce, he could only disappoint her when she insisted. He should try his best to make her fall in love with him to avoid bringing her any disappointment. It was a long shot, but he did not want to give up on her.

Her cage? He was thinking of replacing it and putting her in a place with beautiful scenery and let a fine breed of horse accompany her when she wanted to explore. He was also thinking of giving her a room with different weapons to play with. A ticket to travel the world would not be bad too. He was glad that he had learned all of it at an earlier time. Restraining Zenia would only make her resent him.

She was no different from a wild stallion that should be free to roam around, without any barricade restricting her move. Confining her may only inflict more harm than good. He thought that waiting for the proper time to spend time with her was the best course of action – he was wrong.

Looking at her, he should've made his move before she bloomed into an enchanting flower. He suddenly became thankful to his brothers-in-law for intercepting those marriage proposals and love letters for Zenia through the years. He should give them proper compensation someday. He really regretted that he did not make his move at an earlier time.

He smiled, closed his eyes, and went to sleep. When she heard his even breathing, Zenia opened her eyes.

'What's up with this guy?' Vaughn's light touch on her face woke her up earlier, but she chose not to budge.

She would like to know what he would do. She did not feel any ill intent from him, so she just let him do those things. She did not expect that he would caress her face. She knew that he had been studying her for a long time. She could not complain because she did the same a while back.

She went back to sleep… smiling.

* * * * *

Vaughn and Zenia were awakened by the noise of fighting men. It was already daybreak and Zenia could see that the sun was about to rise. She no longer paid attention to the fighting men, and just sat there looking at the beautiful scenery being unfolded before her eyes.

The night sky was painted with glorious colors of purple, blue, orange, and yellow. She had never seen such a beautiful sky before. Probably, it was because she had never slept in the open before. She slept on the tree, but that was within the confines of their residence.

Vaughn looked at her and saw a faint smile on her lips. She looked so peaceful and content.

'She wants sceneries like this?' He took mental note of the new thing that he learned about Zenia.

"What happened here?" The man with a frank personality interrupted the fighting men.

"He took my kabadooshishakakub, and he doesn't want to admit it." The man with orange, curly hair uttered angrily as he pointed at the man with an auburn hair.

"What the heck are you talking about? I don't even know that kadadoo thingy, and here you are accusing me." The man with an auburn hair retorted with the same amount of anger in his voice.

"It's an important kabadooshishakakub, and you don't even know what it's called?"

The man with the frank personality, the designated leader of the caravan, looked at the man with orange hair. 'You are the only one who knows that kabukabu that you mentioned.'

The bickering went on, and Zenia's ears could not take it anymore. Vaughn knew that his wife was getting annoyed with the word war.

Zenia noticed that there was something underneath a pile of clothes. It seemed to be a caboodle, a popular makeup case in Ishelon and it usually contained a complete makeup set. Her mother bought one for her but she stocked it somewhere since she wouldn't be using it.

"Is that a caboodle?" Zenia interrupted the bickering parties and pointed at the pile of clothes.

The man with an orange hair ran to the pile of clothes and found what he had been searching for.

"My kabadooshishakakub!" The man hugged the case as if it was a rare treasure.

The man turned to Zenia and smiled. "Thank you so much, sister. You don't know how important it is to me."

"It's nothing," Zenia said politely.

"Now that it's settled can we go now?" The man with the auburn hair turned and walked away.

The leader sighed and motioned his men to move out. He went to Vaughn and Zenia.

"Sir we are going to walk soon. Make sure to take care of your wife, and not let her slip."

"Thank you for the reminder. We will be careful."

Zenia was lost for words. 'This guys acting is getting better and better.'

Some women came to them and shared some of their food. They were concerned about the baby in Zenia's tummy. Zenia could only thank them while smiling. They ate their breakfast, and Zenia felt that her stomach would burst soon.

After resting for a while, the caravan resumed their journey. On the next turn that the man had mentioned, they all got down from their carriages and horses. The man in the elegant carriage also got down. He wore a veil to conceal his face. Vaughn recognized the ring on his left index finger. He was certain the man was the Left Minister.

They walked for almost two hours and everyone was exhausted, except Vaughn, Zenia, and the Left Minister's men. Vaughn still did not say anything to Zenia. A burly man carried the Left Minister all the way to the top.

"Who is that man? He seemed to be someone important. The guard from last time could be his." Zenia casually told Vaughn her opinion.

He chose not to answer and treated it as something said in passing. Vaughn felt that the guards' vigilance increased when they heard Zenia. They only returned to their usual disposition when they did not hear any reply from Vaughn. Zenia also remained quiet for the rest of the trip.

After two hours, they finally reached the top. Zenia couldn't believe what she was seeing. Solaria could be the most beautiful place that she had ever seen.

Solaria had the most beautiful sky and panoramic landscape. She liked the lush green grass, and flowers in variant colors, shapes, and sizes. The air is clean and fresh. The place was indeed good for a pregnant woman.

"Solaria, here I am," Zenia uttered softly.

Vaughn saw her smile and felt warm inside. He knew what he needed to do next.