The Cursed Prince

Rowena, dressed in her stolen maid outfit, quickly moved down the corridors of the castle. The chilly air swept into the very stone walls and seemed so hollow as she hurried up to head back to the kitchen. 

She only carried a small bag that contained the pouch of seeds, the journal and she brought as much money as she could get in a bulging purse. It was quite heavy and something that she obtained from the allowance provided to them when they went to Almere. 

When Rowena arrived at the kitchen, she hid behind a post when several young men came in delivering crates filled with vegetables. When they were done and left the kitchen, she rushed out of the exit and smiled.

The vegetable vendor was still talking with one of the people from the castle.

Rowena swiftly and quietly headed towards the old man's cart. She hid among the other carts probably meant for other locations to get herself a ride. After the exchange of the goods and the payment, the old vendor finally left.

She barely held her breath until they were outside of the castle's walls.

Rowena didn't know if she could ever find Julian again, but she'd try.

***

The blue sky was so beautiful when Rowena stared up and realized that she had finally made her escape from the royal palace. Even though it was too early to say, she let momentary relief wash over her face and she smiled weakly.

"I'm actually leaving after so long."

She enjoyed the refreshing cool morning air and thought about the place where she had her first taste of freedom away from the stifling life of a princess.

"Almere."

It was the village, no, the small town that she'd visited and met Julian there. Since he ran away and escaped from the palace, and he had a good head on his shoulders, Rowena doubted that the man would head there.

However, Julian promised to help her before he left. So, maybe he thought she would try to find him where she first saw him?

"We never really managed to talk about communication, how can I find him…?" Rowena massaged her forehead. 

How was she going to reconnect with him? After she thought about it carefully, she realized she had no other option but to head to Almere and hope he was around the area.

"Ah, surely he wouldn't stick around there… would he even remember his promise?"

It was a fool's attempt to return back to where he was captured, but Rowena still wanted to try.

"I would at least have an initial destination," she said.

When the vegetable vendor's cart paused over at one of the nearby cities to the palace, Rowena got off before she could be seen. There was no doubt that the people of the castle might interrogate the poor old man if they figured out when she disappeared. 

Rowena didn't want to drag anybody to her mess and decision. She immediately discarded her maid's clothes and bought ordinary travel clothes while she kept a low profile.

After Rowena changed, she then made the choice and decision to travel to Almere… but in a different method.

"No carriages for myself."

Rowena couldn't spend too much money. If she hired a nice carriage available for the nobility, it would gather attention. Although it was fast, convenient and she'd arrive at her destination quickly, it was not something she'd choose.

She wished to avoid the eyes of many people, the best option to hide was to blend in among the others. A lone girl who traveled alone no doubt attracted the eyes and so she found herself in the marketplace where a multitude of people gathered.

She covered her head with a scarf, pretending that she was sick and didn't want to get other people to catch her illness. It worked well to hide her beauty.

Rowena kept her items close on her person, and tried to portray herself as someone who fit well among the crowd. It was a little hard since the crowd often bumped against each other and she was not used to it at all, but she survived.

Luckily for her, she found a group of travelers and joined them.

***

Before Rowena knew it, she arrived in Almere.

When she arrived at the town, she tried to gather information and eavesdrop on the local gossip. Rowena picked a humble tavern and ordered herself a simple meal to eat and listened in to the conversation among the townsmen. 

"Have you heard about the gold-coin magician? I still can't believe that a lot of people were tricked during the harvest festival," someone laughed. "Luckily, only the fools got conned out of their coin." 

"What did you expect? Such a big influx of people came around this time around. You'll never know what kind of crowds arrive for the festivities."

Their conversation suddenly became more hushed. It had a serious turn to it as they exchanged discreet looks and cleared their throats. Rowena kept her expression blank as she idly spun her spoon around her meat stew.

"But the thing that really made my skin crawl was about the sudden deaths. We get conmen, thieves every year… but murderers?"

"If you know what's better for you. Shut up."

"Come on," the two men argued as they ordered drinks. "It's hard to distinguish the truth. From what I heard, there were some issues with some villagers desecrating the goddess' ceremony. Was that true?"

"My cousin would never do something like that."

"Wait, your cousin got—"

The second man's expression hardened. "The reason for people dying… is crazy. My cousin only attended the festival but never returned. When I asked around to understand, there were some people looking for a girl but then suddenly started killing a portion of those who answered."

"What?!"

"The mayor announced something about him having people blend in to hunt specific targets."

"What?"

"They called those who were killed as murderers to hide the truth, but actually innocent people died. It wasn't anybody's fault."

True to King Draco's words, a lot of the people actually ended up being seized by his men and killed for being eyewitnesses. When Rowena returned back to the palace, several knights were first ordered to kill the people in Almere. That was why she was able to free Julian.

It was something that nearly made her drop the glass of water she received in the tavern.

"Huh?"

"Miss?"

Rowena shakily placed a couple of copper coins on the counter. She stood up, left the now-cold meat stew, and only grabbed for a single loaf of bread before she rushed out of the tavern. Her emotions filled her chest painfully.

She kept running and ended up in the park of the town.

It was the same place where she and Lady Liz attempted to have a picnic until the mayor's son disturbed them. She dropped behind a tree and stayed silent for a long time, the weight of their deaths was like a punch to her gut.

Rowena bit her lip so hard it bled.

"I made Lady Liz resign… but what if that wasn't enough to protect her? What about Jarvis and the rest?" A wave of panic churned inside of her chest. Rowena breathed shallowly for a couple of moments and blinked away her tears.

The resolve and determination that filled Rowena's heart quickly broke.

"Is it not too late to go back?" 

There was no doubt that King Draco would be furious, but if it meant that she could protect them, it was fine—a figure suddenly blocked the sun away from her and spoke.

"Whoaa, are you going to eat that bread?"