Chương 31: The stares

Jade woke up earlier compared to the previous day as she wanted to keep her friend company.

She had worn a dark green gown that had silver embroidery and she had tied her hair into a high ponytail that exposed her beautiful neck and a part of her shoulders. Her look was simple but alluring and Jade was oblivious to all that. Just when she opened the door, the young female servant who had helped her the previous day appeared. "Milady, I'm sorry for not attending to you earlier...I thought that you were not awake." The maid said apologetically.

"It's okay Jazmine...you can go on with your work." Jade said while smiling at the young girl. She was not used to a kind of life where there were servants who were ready to do her bidding hence she had prepared herself without requiring assistance from anybody.

With a bow, the maid walked inside the room only to find that it was tidied up. She quickly turned around to look at Jade but she was not there. "I will have to change my schedule before the king gets me killed." The maid said to herself and walked out of the room.

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The first thing that jade did was to go to her friend Lydia who was still recovering and with nobody looking for her, she spent half of her day keeping her friend company as she was still weak which made it difficult for her to walk around. Though she wanted to stay with Lydia, Jade also wanted to know more about the side of her life which she never knew of hence she walked out of Lydia's room in search of the king who would explain to her what the book meant.

On her way, Jade met the the butler who bowed at her.

"Good afternoon milady." Jade acknowledged his greetings with a small nod as she had started to get accustomed to the way people were greeting each other in the palace.

"Is the king busy?" Her question surprised Albert who hesitated to answer. "Uh,,he is in the training field at the moment." Just when he had finished talking, Celine who had seen Jade from a distance made her presence known by clearing her throat.

Albert who had already answered Jade greeted the princess and walked away leaving the two women in the corridor. "It is such a boring day with everyone busy." Celine said to Jade with a sigh.and quickly added. "Maybe we should also go and watch how the training is going."

Jade who had nothing to do walked with Celine who kept on telling her how the trainings happened until they reached at the open field where the activity was taking place.

Many people watched at the sidelines while the fortunate ones had a place secluded for them so that they could watch without any hindrance and as they walked towards the seats that were empty, the men who were present couldn't help but stare at the beautiful woman whom they had never seen before. There was something exotic with the way she tied her hair and her complexion matched well with the strikingly beautiful green gown that she had worn. "Why are people looking at us like that?" Jade whispered to Celine who was looking at the two men who were fighting in the middle of the field. "They are looking at you Jade. I don't know if it's because of how beautiful you look or because you are new here." Celine who had turned to look at Jade said with a small laugh. "I think it's because they have never seen me before." Jade who has never had too many admirers said as they took seats at a slightly raised platform.

Though Jade ignored the glances she got from both men and women, the same could not be told about Alvin who had seen her arriving in the company of his cousin. Seeing the way most men were gawking at her made his blood boil and he fell as if he would gauge their eyes out for admiring what was exclusively his.

"Oh my goodness, Alvin and Levin are the ones fighting." Celine exclaimed, and Jade who was not paying attention finally turned to look at the two men who had their swords in position. When their eyes met, Jade could feel a chill running down her spine with the look that the king gave her. His predatory eyes looked at her for a while before he turned to face his cousin.As their swords clashed against each other, Jade's focus was on how skilled the king was as he swiftly evaded Levin's attacks. Both men's upper bodies were bare in which the king had tout muscles and his skin was flowless apart from a black inking of an eagle that was on the right side of his chest.

When the fight ended, every person who was seated stood up while clapping their hands as the king and Levin disappeared out of sight so that they could freshen up. "Have they been training since morning?" Jade who had not seen Alvin since she woke up asked Celine. "Yes, during all the trainings the men chosen train for months from morning until the sun sets but since they need to move faster, I think they will rest for a while before they continue." Celine replied and not long after, Alvin showed up in front of the two women who had not dispersed to take their lunch.

Both Celine and Jade stood up so that they could greet the king who had now worn his shirt. "Celine, I will need to steal her from you for a while." His words made Jade's palms to sweat as she did not like the idea of talking to the king alone as he was always intimidating and unpredictable at the same time.

"Okay ..,see you around Jade." With those words, Celine left Jade with her intimidating cousin. "How may I be of help to you?" Jade who was trying to be as polite as she possibly could asked but Alvin did not answer her as he took her hand in his and gently tugged her so that she could walk and Jade followed him without any complaints.

They kept on taking left and right turns untill they reached into a room that was opened and with no one inside, they entered it and Alvin was quick to lock the door after he let go of Jade's hand.