~ Twenty-Two - Season I ~

On my way to the kitchen, I accidentally bumped into James.

Just the last person that I wanted to see.

“James!” I exclaimed as I stopped on my tracks.

“Robert,” he greeted as he looked at me, baffled. “Why are you running in the hallway? You know how I feel about that.”

“My apologies. I just needed to get to the stables as quickly as possible,” I replied.

“Stables? Are you headed somewhere?” he asked.

I froze for a second.

‘Great! I just gave him even more reason to question me,’ I thought to myself, scolding myself for my carelessness. ‘Think of an explanation and quick! It has to be acceptable!’

“I’m quite late for my time with Lady today. I’ve decided to take upon the responsibility to give her a bath, and everything else that she would need for today,” I reasoned.

“Didn’t you assign that to some of the servants? Why the sudden interest in taking care of Lady?” he asked.

I did my best to calm my nerves. I couldn’t show him that I was panicking deep inside. If he found out that I had been frolicking in the Mortal Realm, he would make sure that I never stepped foot outside the castle.

“I realised that Lady is my horse and as such, she is my responsibility. As the future king, I should learn to take care of the ones under my wing, am I correct?” I replied, hoping that my excuse would work.

He looked at me for a bit without uttering a single word. Then, he nodded.

“You’re quite right about that. I’m glad that you’re finally understanding what it means to have someone or something under your care,” he replied.

I nodded whilst my body was able to relax after being in such a rush.

“Anyways, now that you’re here, did Gonzalo deliver my message to you?” he asked.

“Yes, he told me when I woke up this morning,” I said as I put my hands behind me.

“Very good,” he answered as he walked towards the other side, behind me. “So, do you have any space in your time table for a simple fishing trip?” he asked, which made me turn to him.

“I’m still sorting through my schedule at the moment. But, if I find some time this afternoon, I will let you know immediately,” I said.

“I understand,” he replied before briefly putting a hand on my shoulder. He continued, “I know what it feels like when there’s so much to do. It tends to be exhausting at times. And like what your mother always says: we all need time to rest.”

Throughout this entire conversation, it felt as if I didn’t know who James was. He was extremely calm, collected, and even spoke to me like a father. And that was exactly what I had been asking for my whole life.

Has he finally realised that now? Was he finally changing for the better?

“Well, I will not keep you from your activities any longer. If you need me, I will be in my study. Or the library, maybe. Your mother and sister have been there the whole day. And I do fancy a read myself,” said James.

I nodded, giving a faint smile.

“Have a good day, Robert,” he walked away, smiling before he turned around. His sudden grin left me in shock. It had been a long time since he last gave me a smile or left a conversation with me calmly. Most of the time, our conversations would result in him, scowling and snarling at me.

Now, it would seem that he was in a better mood, better than any day that I encountered him so far. I shrugged off my thoughts and quickly headed to the stables. I didn’t want to keep Laura waiting for me.

~*~*~*~

As I arrived at the stables, I gave Lady a bucket of water whilst I brushed her fur. Suddenly, Mallory walked up to me.

“Hello, Robert,” she greeted.

I sighed at the very sight of her.

“Is that how you greet me now? With a sigh?” she asked, clearly irritated.

“Mallory, please, I don’t have time for this,” I said as I raised a brow at her. I went to the wall and grabbed the saddle, checking its condition as I returned to Lady.

“What a nice day to you as well,” she replied sarcastically.

“What do you want, Mallory?” I asked, dropping the saddle on the ground.

“I just came here to see you. Is that a crime?” she asked.

“No, you didn’t come here just to see me,” I interrupted.

She stared at me in silence before she sighed.

“Well, I can see there’s no point in lying to you,” she said after a shrug. She crossed her arms and asked, “Where are you headed?”

“Why must you know of my whereabouts?” I asked as I grabbed the saddle, carefully putting it on Lady after.

“Because we’re a couple, Robert. Don’t you remember?” she asked as she followed my every move.

I turned to her with a blank stare.

“Mallory, what did I tell you about this matter? Can’t you comprehend something that is very simple? Do I have to repeat myself over and over again?” I asked, irritated that we were back to this conversation again.

“Why does it matter if our relationship is real or not? You would always remind me of that. Can’t we just pretend for the time being that everything we have right now is real?” she complained.

“Mallory, I only agreed to this relationship so that you won’t bother me all the time,” I replied as I walked closer to her, making her step back. I continued, “I didn’t promise you that I will pretend that everything is real between the two of us. It’s already a pain to lie to you. I cannot do that to myself.”

“You’re being unfair to me, Robert!” she stomped her foot. “You said you’re doing this for me! Why can’t you, at least, play the part for me?”

“What did I say when I agreed to what you wanted? Would you be so kind as to remember and to tell me again?” I crossed my arms as I raised a brow.

Her eyes moved from side to side. She was in a panic as she tried to recall everything I told her, perhaps. At the same time, perhaps she was trying to find another loophole from the deal we agreed upon.

“I don’t care about what you said. This relationship is real to me and you have to honour that!” she demanded.

I sighed and turned back to Lady. I locked the saddle in place without anything else to say to Mallory. This constant bickering with her was exhausting.

‘And I thought I was going to have a bit of peace if I agreed to have a relationship with her,’ I thought to myself.

“Robert.” She suddenly put her arms around my waist, locking the embrace with her hands.

“Don’t ever do that again, Mallory,” I said as I removed her from me. I turned to her, still holding onto one of her hands.

“Why? Why can’t I hold you? Why can’t I touch you?” she asked after she shook off my hand. “Why can’t I have the privilege to feel that even once in my life, you truly love me?”

“Because I don’t and I never will,” I said as I leaned in towards her. After putting apples inside the saddlebag, I mounted Lady and went on my way.

~*~*~*~

After a while, I finally arrived at the bakery. At the bench, Grandpa Ben happily smoked his pipe as he sat comfortably with his legs crossed. I hopped off of Lady and pulled her to the side.

“Good morning, Grandpa Ben,” I smiled as I approached him.

Slowly, he looked up as he came to his senses.

“Oh, good morning, my dear boy,” he greeted back cheerfully. He stood up and pulled me for a tight hug. “How have you been?”

“I’m doing quite well, Grandpa Ben. How about you?” I asked.

“Well, as you can see, I finally found myself some time to enjoy a smoke,” he replied as he happily showed off what seemed to be an antique pipe. “Do you want to give it a try?” he asked as he moved it closer to me.

“Thank you for the offer, Grandpa Ben. But I don’t smoke,” I politely refused. “Also, I tasted the pie when I returned home.”

“And?” he raised a brow as he smirked, eagerly waiting for an answer.

“Well, you weren’t lying when you said people got obsessed with the pies. It was a delight,” I replied, filled with pride.

“I told you, you will be coming back for more once you tasted Laura’s special apple pies,” Grandpa Ben chuckled. “However, I don’t think you’re here for the apple pies, Robert,” he smirked once again.

I scratched my nape as I smiled shyly.

“Well, you caught me there, Grandpa Ben. Is Laura currently working?” I asked after a nervous chuckle.

“Yes, she’s currently helping in making the muffins. One of the workers is resting for two days so Laura took responsibility over the muffins,” Grandpa Ben replied.

“I can wait for her. I’m not in a rush,” I smiled.

“No, don’t be silly. Sit here and I will go get her for you,” he said as he led me to the bench, making me sit. After I made myself comfortable, he went inside the bakery.

I haven’t figured out what I should tell Laura. I didn’t know what sort of approach I should take. Should I take her word and simply act as if nothing had happened? Or should I apologise, now that I was here? Mother did say that the best thing to apologise was to do it in person.

Moments later, Laura came out of the bakery.

“Robert,” she smiled as she approached me, wiping her hands on her apron.