635: A Vacation

A Vacation

"Ariel…"0

Damien wanted to shout her name when he saw her. But all he did was scream inside his head.

Even so, he had thought that Ariel would look in his direction because he was unable to hide his heartbeat. He wished that Ariel would turn around.

But she looked so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't notice a thing. She just turned her back and walked in the opposite direction of where Damien was standing.

Damien's expression turned all sad as he watched her walking away.

"Is she that happy that she didn't even hear my drumming heartbeat? I was standing so close to her…" he thought to himself.

"I didn't even get to see her face," Damien clenched his fist and kept on staring at Ariel's back for a while.

And when Ariel got away from his view, he disappeared from there with a devastated heart.

---

After finishing the lunch and having some more talks about the Kingdoms, Kenneth thanked Theodore and Adeline and headed towards the back gate of the Palace.

Theodore and Adeline also walked out of the dining room to attend to the court matters.

Theodore's eyes fell on the faint lingering ash-grey aura outside the room. A subtle smile appeared on his lips.

And he thought to himself, "After all this time… And yet, you didn't even think that a proper greeting was in order. That ungrateful brat!"

---

"Ary! Where are you going?" Zach put his arm around Ariel's shoulder and started to walk alongside her.

Though he was just fourteen years old, he grew up pretty quickly. He was the tallest among all the cousins, and also the leanest.

"Zach, good thing you found me. I have something to tell you all. Walk with me." Ariel held Zach's hand that was hanging down her shoulder and then led him towards the twin's quarter.

Zach tilted his head closer to Ariel and teased her, "Are you going to announce your wedding with Kenneth?"

Ariel elbowed Zach on the stomach and scolded him, "If you ask that question again then I will make sure to mess up your cute little face so bad that no one will agree to marry you."

Zach pouted and pressed his palm on his cheek. "Alright, alright! Don't get so mad. I don't want to get scars on my handsome face."

Ariel couldn't deny that her sweet cousin was really good-looking.

"So, what is it then? Is it something important?" Zach asked as they entered the twin's quarter.

Ariel threw his hand off her shoulder and walked ahead. "Be patient for a second, Zach. I don't want to repeat the same thing to the twins as well. Let's find them first."

Ariel found Ramon fighting with a huge black wolf in the backyard. Zach also came and stood by her side.

He shook his head and mumbled, "These two! Don't they ever get tired of training? What exactly are they preparing themselves for? It's not like a war is around the corner or something."

Ariel grabbed Zach by his ear and pulled him.

"Aah! What are you doing?" Zach shrieked.

Ariel then gently patted his cheek and lectured him, "It's always better to be prepared, you idiot. They aren't working too hard. You're the one who always slacks off."

Zach rested his hand on Ariel's shoulder again and complained, "Why do you sound like my father? You shouldn't treat your youngest cousin so strictly, you know."

The twins finally stopped fighting.

Niylah ran off to the changing area while Ramon grabbed a towel and walked toward Ariel and Zach.

He was wearing a pair of loose trousers and his upper body was bare. His ripped body and his disheveled tight curls were drenched in sweat.

He rubbed the towel against his hair and asked, "Hey! We didn't make you two wait for long, did we?"

"No, we just came here," Ariel grabbed a shirt that was on a chair nearby and threw it at Ramon. "Why do you have to take off your shirt when fighting? There aren't any girls around for you to show off, you know?"

Ramon laughed and buttoned up his shirt. "It just gets in the way. Niylah has the habit of biting my shirt and throwing me around."

A few frown lines appeared on his forehead when he further said, "I don't want her to treat me like some weak human when sparring. I want her to come for the kill rather than just tossing me."

"Hey, stop talking behind my back!" Niylah smacked Ramon on his head and walked inside.

Now that Niylah was wearing a gown and had tied her hair into a bun, she looked like the most harmless lady in the Palace.

"Aren't you all coming in?" she asked as she headed towards the living room.

"So, you were here to say something?" Ramon lay down on the sofa and asked Ariel.

The others also settled down.

Ariel glanced at her cousins. She sighed and looked down as though someone had died.

"Ary, did something bad happen?" Ramon got up and asked in a concerned voice. "Don't tell me you have agreed to marry that–"

Ariel threw a cushion right on Ramon's face and screamed, "What's up with you all? Do I look so desperate to get married? Stop asking me that already! I'm not getting married. Ever. Especially not to that hybrid!"

Niylah shifted closer to Ariel and asked, "Then what's wrong?"

Ariel sighed again and shook her head, "No, nothing's wrong. Um… we've been invited to Brenalia. And Her Majesty and His Royal Highness have ordered us to go there as representatives of Wyverndale."

"What? Representatives? Is something happening there?" Zach frowned and asked.

Ariel clicked her tongue and replied, "It was an informal invitation from Kenneth. So we can consider it a vacation."

"A vacation? Then start by saying that!" Ramon hit Ariel back with the cushion and shouted. "Sweet heaven! You made it sound like we were going to attend a funeral or something."

Zach excitedly looked at Ariel and asked, "Are you also coming? When are we leaving? And for how many days? Will we be going together with Kenneth?"

Ariel gave a nod and replied, "Yes, I will also be coming with you all. We are leaving with Kenneth first thing in the morning tomorrow. And I don't know how many days we will be there but make sure that you only pack the essentials. I don't want to stay there for long."

Among the four, Zach was the most enthusiastic. "We're leaving tomorrow morning?"

Zach instantly got up from the sofa and said, "I will ask my maids to pack my luggage. See you tomorrow! I have so many things to do." After saying that, he immediately ran off to his quarter.

Ramon lay back down on the sofa and asked, "Is it a must that we go? Can't I bail?"

Ramon wasn't that fond of Kenneth so he wasn't that keen on going to his Kingdom.

Ariel rested her head on the sofa and mumbled, "I have to go anyhow. And I am taking Niylah with me. So you better come. You don't want to be all alone here while we enjoy, do you?"

Ramon hadn't stayed apart from Niylah ever since they were born.

And he definitely didn't want his naïve twin sister to travel with that sly hybrid. Zach and Ariel would also be there but he could guess that Zach would most probably cling to Ariel throughout the travel. And Niylah would get stuck with Kenneth. He didn't trust Kenneth at all.

So he agreed very reluctantly, "Okay, I will also come with you all."

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