262: [Bonus chapter]A Gift

[Bonus chapter]A Gift

When they stepped out of the building, the sun was quite low in the sky, surprising  Oriana.0

'What?! How much time did we spend inside?' 

She wondered how time passed so quickly that she didn't even realize it. 

Their carriage was waiting for them by the entrance. 

After she and the prince were seated inside, Oriana thought they would be returning to the royal palace, but she noticed minutes later that their carriage was heading in the opposite direction, towards the outskirts of the city. She didn't dare ask Arlan anything and waited to see where he planned to go next. 

The houses and buildings of Nefer soon thinned, until they left the city proper. They passed the river and the carriage seemed to pass through a slope, as if climbing up a rather steep hill. 

When Oriana glanced outside the window, she saw a vast green land. Oriana still didn't get where they were going. However, she did not have to stay curious for long. The carriage stopped and Arlan stepped out of it. Oriana hurriedly followed him. 

Imbert descended from his horse, but he remained behind with the coachman, watching the two going ahead. Oriana turned to look at Imbert who looked back at her with an impassive gaze. 

After a while, Oriana and Arlan stopped at the end of that grassland. Shockingly, below them was a valley. 

Seeing the prince remain silent, his gaze tilted up, Oriana followed his line of sight to capture the breathtaking colors painting the sky.

As the sun began its slow descent below the horizon, the sky had transformed into a canvas of hues and shades, of pinks, oranges and lavenders that gradually deepened into reds and indigos.

To say it was beautiful was an understatement.

Oriana, who was standing a few steps behind, understood what the Crown Prince had come here for. He came to this spot to watch that beautiful sunset. 

'Traveling to this hill to see this view is totally worth it.'

Just then, Arlan looked over his shoulder. "Didn't I tell you to stay by my side?"

Oriana got back to her senses and hurried to stand next to him. He said nothing and continued to watch the sunset. Oriana did the same. 

On top of the hill, the world was peaceful, with only the sounds of small animals and insects creating nature's symphony in the background. A refreshing breeze calmed their senses, and both the man and the woman standing side by side felt like only they existed in the world. 

Arlan turned his face to look at Oriana. Under the fading light of the sun, her beauty shone. Even though she was wrapped in clothes head to toe, leaving only her face visible, her beauty was more than enough to steal his breath away.

Oriana happened to catch him looking at her, but Arlan didn't evade her gaze. His gaze was unusually calm, making her unable to see what he was thinking, but she found herself unable to pull her gaze away from him as well. 

Enveloped by a rare bout of comfortable silence, the pair of fated mates continued to stare into each other's eyes without any real meaning or without needing to speak. 

As the sky darkened, Oriana remembered something. They were alone, away from prying eyes. It was the best time to tell him her secret. 

She didn't avert her gaze from him as she spoke, "Your Highness, I have something to tell you."

Arlan didn't respond, his gaze still fixed on her face. 

"I tried to tell you before in the restaurant but—"

A deep roar of thunder interrupted her, and the initially pleasant breeze began to stir, as if a storm was about to arrive. She was shocked by the sudden change in weather. Wasn't everything so calm and serene just now? 

"We should leave," she heard Arlan say and watched him leave. She followed him once again, frustration causing a crease to form in between her brows. 'I missed the chance again. When would I be able to tell him?'

Unsure if rainfall would follow the earlier thunder, they hurried to the carriage and their group set back towards the city proper.

Inside the carriage, Oriana wondered how to continue the interrupted conversation earlier. Keeping her head lowered, she gathered her courage once more. 

"Y-Your Highness, I…"

"This is for you," he interrupted her. 

Oriana lifted her gaze and found the man holding a box in his hand. She moved her gaze from that box to his face, feeling she had heard something wrong. His gaze was steady with a hint of anticipation and didn't look like he had misspoken.

"For you," he repeated, still offering that box to her. 

"For me?" she mumbled in disbelief. 

"Do you want me to keep holding it for you?" he frowned, seeing her hesitant. 

"No, but…"

She found his expression turning colder by the second, and by now, she had understood him well.  Arlan was not a patient person and his words had to be obeyed immediately. 

With trembling hands, she hesitantly got that box from him. It was light, and for some reason, the box looked familiar. "Thank you, Your Highness."

He continued to stare at her and she wondered if she needed to say something more. Was a mere thanks not enough?

His gaze darkened. "Aren't you going to see what it is?"

He bought a gift for her and she was not even bothering to check it. Worse, she was not showing any happiness or gratitude on her face. A simple 'thank you' in return, that's it?

"I…" 

She closed her mouth as she quietly opened that box. 

"Dear spirits…"

Under the light coming from the lamp inside the carriage, her eyes took in the beautiful piece of deep blue scarf. Her slender fingers touched the soft fabric. She recalled it was one of the scarves in that fancy shop they visited, the same scarf she eyed before leaving because back then, she thought that its color was really beautiful.

As beautiful as Arlan's ocean blue eyes.

Seeing her admiring the scarf, Arlan could see she genuinely liked it and felt happy inside.

She shyly glanced up at the prince who had already resumed his usual expression. "Thank you, Your Highness."

She wanted to say this was an expensive thing and she didn't deserve to get it, but she said none of those. She knew that since he had given it to her, then he would have liked to see her accept it. She knew him this much, at least by now.

"I like it," she said. "I really like it."

"Next time, when you get your neck sprained, use this scarf instead of that thick cloth."

Oriana's smile suddenly cracked at the mention of her neck sprain. Sudden embarrassment took over her, and she lowered her face to not let him see her blush. 

'Next time? There won't be next time ever,' she promised to herself. 

Arlan silently observed her adorable expression before opting to look out of the window, hiding a subtle smirk on his lips.

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