บท 22: The Wine Glass
"Is the food to your liking Miss Rocas?" The captain asked in his usual polite voice.
"Yes. The food tasted heavenly. I haven't eaten such delicious food before." She said delightfully while patting her belly as if to emphasize that she was full.
Marx poured wine into Amaya's glass. She watched mesmerized as the red liquid flowed from the bottle into the transparent glass.
"It is amazing! The liquid seemed to float in the air." She said in an excited voice.
"That's made of glass and yes, it's transparent," Marx explained patiently. He loved the expression on her face.
Amaya flicked the glass with her fingernails. A pleasant sound appeared. She picked up the spoon and tapped the glass. She smiled when she heard a high-pitched tone. She tapped the glass again but this time she applied too much force. The wine glass broke into pieces and the red liquid spilled on the table. Amaya quickly stood up.
"I am sorry." She was flustered as she looked at Marx apprehensively. She wanted to cry of embarrassment.
"It is no problem at all." Marx comforted her.
A steward came quickly and tidied the mess. The people in the room pretended as if nothing happened.
Marx poured Amaya another glass. This time he raised his glass towards her. The rest of the men in the dining room raised their glasses to toast.
"To the successful rescue mission. Cheers!"
A man sitting opposite Marx wearing a spectacle cleared his throat.
"We sent out the data that we gathered earlier including the photos of the eruption and the Usturian government is sending their appreciation Mr. President."
"Good." Was his brief reply.
He stood and held Amaya by her hand.
"I'll send you back so you can rest."
"Can we look at the stars Marx?" Amaya looked at him expectantly.
"The volcano spewed out tons of ashes into the atmosphere. It is not safe for us."
Amaya was silent. She followed Marx obediently. Marx led her into his sleeping quarters. His cabin was much bigger than Amaya and it has a couch where Amaya sat down comfortably.
"You can stay here for a while." He sat beside her on the couch.
Amaya was thinking hard.
"Marx, can I own an island or a jungle in Lireya or maybe in Usturia? Daddy said that with the treasures I will be very rich. I am worried about my friends. I want to give them a home and I don't want them to live in the zoo."
Marx was speechless. 'Does this girl think that buying a piece of land is just buying a bag?'
"How old are you Amaya? You need to be an adult to buy properties."
"Oh, I'll be eighteen in a month's time. My birthday is on the 15th of October."
"That's only two weeks from now."
"Really? That meant I might have made a mistake in setting the dates in my calendar. It was off by two weeks." Amaya scratched her head.
"That's just two weeks. Don't worry too much."
"So that means I can own a property when I turned eighteen?" She asked again.
"Yes, as you will be of legal age and can sign documents."
"But I don't know how. Can you help me, Marx?" she asked him, her eyes clear and bright.
"Your father is the crown prince of Lireya. That shouldn't be a problem."
"But I want it to be mine." She insisted. "Can you help me please?"
"Do trust me that much?" Marx regarded her carefully.
"Well, you found me and save me. I trust you like I trust my Daddy."
Marx frowned. He doesn't want Amaya to treat him like a father. He needed to do something about the father figure image that she is making of him.
"Aya, I will help you and you can trust me. But I am not like your father. You can treat me like Kyra would treat Khalil." Marx made an analogy. Amaya looked at him blankly. Marx sighed.
"By the way, Aya is a pet name that your Daddy has given you. You should only allow people who are close to you to use that name. People from your family and your close friends later on. For the others, they can call you Amaya or Miss Rocas. Do you understand?" He said patiently. He was a man of few words but this little girl in front of him is making him do crazy things.
"Okay. I will listen to you Marx." She grinned at him.
"We will arrive in Usturia tomorrow evening. The animals will be moved to a zoo first then we will ship them to Lireya."
Amaya yawned. "I'm sleepy."
Marx led her to the cabin next to his. Amaya lay down on the bed.
"This is so soft." She giggled as she hid underneath the quilt.
"Go to sleep now," Marx said before closing the door.
Back in his room, he called Karl.
"Karl, inform the monarchy of Lireya that Amaya Rocas was rescued and she will arrive in Usturia tomorrow. I can escort her back to Lireya in a week's time." He forwarded a photo he took of Amaya.
"Also, look for a property in Lireya, probably an island or a huge estate with a lot of trees. I'd like to buy it."
Usturia is a highly urbanized city and the price of land was very expensive.
"Boss?" Karl was surprised at his request of Marx.
"Is there a problem?"
"None Boss. I'll be on it." He opened the message that Marx sent him. He whistled when he saw a photo of a beautiful woman wearing animal skin like a warrior princess.
"By the way Boss, your father has arranged a press conference tomorrow when you arrive at the port. Skylar's share price has considerably dropped because your plane went missing. Tomorrow's press conference should reverse the effect." Karl informed him.
"Free up my schedule in the next two weeks. I'll make a trip to Lireya to bring their princess back and to properly thank her for saving my life."
"She is very beautiful Marx. A rare treasure." Karl said on the other line.
"She is just a child," Marx said but his lips curled up a bit.
"Have a stylist prepare a gown for her and shoes that are flat-heeled," Marx added before ending the call.
He decided to introduce Amaya during the press conference.
At the King's court in Lireya, a man in royal uniform approached Prince Ibarra and handed him the phone. After listening for a while, the phone in Prince Ibarra's hand slipped and crashed into the floor.
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