Tea For Two

"Halt! Who goes there?! Do you have permission to ride on a horse in the city?" a guard exclaimed as they stared upwards through a blinding light that obscured their view of the young man on the horse.

"Hah. I can't believe... To think that soldiers can't even recognise their future King." the young man scoffed as he glared at the men clad in armour, stopping him from exiting the city's walls.

"Wha... that emblem... on the sword... P-pardon us! Your Highness! We humbly beg for your forgiveness!" the two guards immediately lowered their heads as they frantically bowed several times.

"Hmph. Its fine. Just move aside. I have things to do." William said as he tightened his grips on the reins of his horse, stabilising himself and the horse as he prepared to leave.

"Of course! Have a good day, Your Highness!" the men said as they swiftly moved aside, clearing a path for William to pass through. 

Upon opening a path, William kicked on the torso of the horse as he loosened the reins in his hand a little. The white steed whinnied as it started galloping past the men, running across the dirt path that led to Vogrant.

Fields of yellow and canopies of green filled his line of sight as the view of thatched roofs with bricked chimneys popped up in the distance.

It seems that I'm near. William thought as he felt the dry wind pelt against his cheeks, running through his ashen grey hair. His cape bellowed in the wind as his hood filled with air, pulling him back a little.

There was little point in putting on the hood especially when he was out to visit his father. However, it didn't hurt to be cautious. He didn't know what would happen after all. The years of dealing with riots and turf wars had honed his insight. It was always good to stay vigilant and sharp. Even if the village people seemed friendly and kind, who knows what darkness laid beneath.

Once the sound of children's laughter echoed in the air as well as villagers walking about with baskets of wood filled his sight, William slowed his horse down to a slow trot as he pulled on his hood.

Where is his father? The village population was small, but the plot of land for each family was huge. The time it took to pass one house... His eyes then fell onto the back of a young girl with reddish brown hair. It reminded him of his mother's red hair, so unknowingly, he called out to her.

"Hey, you... Erm... Excuse me..." William had called her and realised his words were far from polite and quickly rephrased his sentence. It would do him no good if he were to be chased out of the village immediately after entering after all.

"Me? How may I help you?" the girl turned to face William, surprised by the fact that he had called out to her. Her eyes swept his gallant figure who was still seated on the saddle of his white steed, landing on his hood as she cocked her head quizzically at the sight.

Sensing her thought, William got off his horse and bent down on one knee as he fluidly took her hand and kissed it. A light peck on the back of her hand as he smiled up towards her.

"Greetings lovely miss. I hail from the capital city. I just wanted to ask if you had seen anything particularly strange or different that happened today." William asked as he stood up with a smile, brushing the dirt off of his knee.

"Oh... my... Umm... If its it's something different... I saw a group of armored men walking towards Mikhail's house earlier. But... it seemed that they had left. Could there have been a problem?" the girl asked as she brought her hand to her mouth, covering it as her initial charmed expression changed to one of anxiousness and worry.

"Lovely miss, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I came here to inspect the occasion. Do tell, could you spare me your time and lead me to this... Mikhail's house?" William asked as he bowed lightly with a smile, earning the girl's flattered attention and giddy smile.

"O-of course! Hehe... It's my first time being treated this way! I feel so embarrassed and giddy... ... Oh, pardon my manners. I'm Catherine. Catherine Smith. May I ask for your name?" Catherine grinned coyly as she curtsied, giggling from her awkwardness at the gesture. 

"... It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm William... William Zacharias Von Enoch." William said as he smiled. It was the first time he had said his full name out loud. This girl he just met, she just made him feel at ease and comfortable to speak with. Her resemblance to his mother was non-existent and yet, he felt like he was spending time with his mother.

"Hehehe... what a mouthful. Well, why don't we have a drink first? My house is just nearby. Your horse can get some fresh water and food as well." Catherine replied with a giggle as she urged William to follow her.

Huh? Did she just... gloss over my name like it was nothing? William wondered in shock as he followed behind her with his horse after him. His anger rose but then he shook his head, thinking that it was better if she didn't think much of it. It'd be too much trouble dealing with the aftermath.

***

"You're not going to take off your hood?" Catherine asked as she laid down the crude crockery, pouring some hot tea into it.

"Ah, I prefer keeping it on. Umm... what... what tea is this?" William asked as he tried to shift the topic of conversation to something other than him.

"This? Oh, this is spice tea. We mix together some herbs and spices with the tea leaves before we dry them. After that, the infusion is set and tadaa, the tea you're drinking.... Ehem... well... that's what I heard anyways..." Catherine replied as she looked away a little embarrassed for her expression. 

"You seem to like tea a lot Miss Catherine." William replied after a long pause, his face calm and collected. He had been taught to control his emotions since young. Most noblemen would have to learn this in their etiquette classes, the same would be said of royalty. It would do more harm then good if the royalty were to offend someone from neighbouring countries and start a war.

"Well... I do like the taste... But I'm not an expert at it... Oh, how do you find the taste?" Catherine replied nervously as she twiddled with her fingers, staring expectantly at William.

William then stared at her wide blue eyes as he then turned to the shabby tea cup in his hand. The colour of the tea was of a golden brown. He took a quick whiff of the aroma before bringing it towards his lips.

I've heard of spiced tea before. Those people from the Agrestian Empire always boasted about their spiced tea. I've tasted it before but didn't like it, quite a shame for it to go to waste when it costs roughly the pay of a kingdom knight. I doubt these people from a small village would be able to do any better. William thought to himself as he took a sip of the tea.

Silence ensued as Catherine stared worriedly at William's face. His eyes seemed to waver and his hand trembled. She silently cursed at herself for serving a man who obviously looked like nobility one of her favourite tea.

"L-Lord William? Are you okay?" Catherine stuttered a question as she kept her voice low. She didn't want him to grow anymore furious at her than he already was.

"This... this tea... who made it?" William asked as he brought his shaky hand down and placed the tea cup onto the saucer with a loud clink. His eyes twitched from the sound as he had never done such a thing before if he were to compare himself with the time when he was a child. It was the most basic of etiquette after all.

"The tea... Erm... the... Smith's made them... it... it's more like a minor job to them! Please don't punish them! It was my fault for serving you this tea! Don't... blame them..." Catherine cried out helplessly as she fell to the floor with her head bowed down.

"Huh... why are you grovelling on the ground? Please, stand up. Aren't you a Smith?" William asked confused as he helped Catherine up. His eyes trailing her now wet cheeks and flushed expression. 

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the tears off her face as he sat her down on the wooden chair she had been sitting on earlier, calming her down. Catherine felt her body grow rigid as she felt the colour draining from her face.

Is he going to treat me well before killing me? All I did was offer him some tea which was not quite to his liking! Even his horse.... I fed his horse and provided it some water! How could he be slighted by this one incident?! Catherine wondered in frustration as the tears continued to fall. As she was about to open her mouth to rebuke him, Wiliam cut her off with a sentence she didn't expect to hear.

"Miss Catherine, the tea was splendid. If anything, I would like to meet the Smith's who made them. I assume it isn't you from the way you stated it. Please, rest assure I'm not going to cause a commotion. You may come with me if you don't trust me." William said with a kind smile as he continued wiping off the tears falling from Catherine's eyes.

".... O...okay..." Catherine replied with a confused expression as she felt her heart flutter in her chest once more. This young man is so charming...

"Have you calmed down?" William asked as he moved away from the girl, removing his hand that had gently soothed her earlier back to his side. His hand that had held the handkerchief also moved away from her as his eyes found itself transfixed to her blue eyes. They reminded him of his father's clear eyes, even though her eyes were a darker shade in comparison to his.

"Ah... um... yes... pardon my behaviour, My Lord." Catherine replied as she felt the warmth from her back starting to dissipate as she looked at William who inched away from her. As her eyes fell on the handkerchief in his hand, her face flushed a bright red as she grabbed it from his palm. 

"I... I'll help you wash this! I'll return it to you after doing so!" Catherine replied with a crazed look in her eyes.

"Huh? It's fine. You don't have to..."

"No, My lord! I insist! There's no way I could let you hold on to a soiled handkerchief!"

".... Then... if you don't mind... Thank you." 

"... N-n-no problem." Catherine's ears began to grow red as well as she held firmly onto the wet handkerchief, her hands feeling the smooth silky texture of it. He really is nobility...

"Well, as much as I'd love to spend time here... I have work to do. You don't mind returning my handkerchief when I visit again to see the Smith's?" William asked as he cocked his head towards the side, staring at Catherine's flushed face.

"Huh? Ah! Of course. Yes... I won't mind... even if you took up my whole schedule for the day..." Catherine replied before muttering off at the final sentence.

"Pardon? I didn't catch that."

"N-nothing! Why don't I show you to Mikhail's house then? It's not that far from here. Since you said you were in the middle of a job... I'm sorry to take up so much of your time..."

"Its fine. I had a lovely time as well, Miss Catherine."

"... Please... call me Cathy..."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Well, then... Miss Cathy, lead the way."

Cathy's face lit up as she walked towards the ranch where she had tied William's horse to, grabbing its reins quickly as she hurried towards him.

"Oh, you brought Moonshine. Thank you." William said as he watched Cathy practically skip towards him.

"Moonshine?"

"Its my horse. I named him that because he reminded me of the moon that lights up the sky at night."

"Oh, what a lovely name."

"I suppose."

Catherine then slowly walked towards William as she handed the reins to him. William held it in his hand as he walked beside Cathy, earning him a hot gaze from his left where Cathy walked.

"Erm... his house... is just ahead..." Cathy whispered lowly as her hot gaze swept the left side of William's face.

"O-oh... I see. Thank you for your assistance... and the tea..." William replied as he nodded his head, hoping that the awkward atmosphere would go away before pulling the reins on his horse, walking swiftly to the house located near the river as he said his goodbyes with Cathy.

"Sigh... he's so dreamy... Especially since he even has a white horse... He's like a prince from one of those fairytales..." Cathy sighed as she watched William walk off towards Mikhail's house.

"What are you talking about?" a familiar voice called out from behind Cathy as she jumped.

"Wha- who?! ... Oh... Lucas... It's nothing." Cathy responded as she turned to find Lucas who was drenched in sweat carrying some firewood.

"Huh? Hey, wait up! Who was that?" Lucas asked as he chased after Cathy's retreating figure.

"Someone I've just met... which you can't compare to." Cathy whispered beneath her breath as she walked off, ignoring Lucas who wanted to check out who the person she was talking to and similarly wanted to chase after Cathy. Choosing the latter, Lucas followed after Cathy and bombarded her with questions. 

"Huh? What did you say? I didn't catch that. Where are you going?"

"Sigh... don't you have work to do?"

"I'm done for the day. Just bringing some firewood home. How about you?"

"I'm fine. I just had tea... Oh, speaking of tea... The gentleman from earlier enquired about it. You should expect a visit sometime soon." 

"Huh? O...kay? Why do you look so happy all of a sudden?"

"What? This... It's... Its been a good day. I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye, Lucas."

"Huh? Wai..." Lucas called out before Cathy entered her house, shutting the door in front of his face.

Lucas stared at the door hopefully for a few minutes before he sighed and walked off, heading towards his home.