Kitanna
Chapter 223: PRICE OF KINDNESS

Chapter 223: PRICE OF KINDNESS

[MUSIC RECOMMENDATION: MIRROR ~ DaNTE]

Axilla didn’t really understand what was going on. What did Cortez mean by the crown princess was gone?

"She ran away, Adric," Cortez finally clarified.

Axilla exhaled deeply. For a moment there, she thought of the worst. It finally dawned on her the reason the crown princess asked her to get those flowers, like the strange man she met at the market had said. It was not a flower for a bride. The crown princess was already planning her escape, and she had used her, Axilla. Deep down, Axilla felt relieved that the girl was alive, but at the same time, she felt hurt for being used.

She stood there with her eyes on the ground; she couldn’t bear to look at the crown prince or even Cortez. She felt very bad and ashamed of her actions. The wedding that everyone had prepared for was going to be canceled; after all, there was no wedding without the bride.

"She won’t go far as long as Avon is concerned; that’s not a problem. Continue with the wedding rites," Adric ordered his servants before walking to where Axilla and Cortez stood.

Axilla raised her face. He was going to have a wedding without the crown princess? She didn’t have any right to say anything, so she just kept quiet.

Adric was the first to break the silence, "I should keep the flowers; thank you, Axilla, for the wedding gift." The crown prince grinned as if his bride had not just disappeared on their wedding day.

Axilla finally said in a small voice, "I’m sorry. I didn’t know; she said she—" Axilla’s voice broke at the end; she had only wanted to help the princess cheer up on her wedding day. She didn’t mean to help her escape.

Adric shook his head, "There’s nothing to be sorry for, except you want to replace her." The man joked, but it didn’t sound like a joke to Axilla, who raised her face to look at the crown prince, shock written over her innocent face.

"You want me to kill you?" Cortez, who hadn’t said anything since, finally spoke, his words directed to Adric.

Adric shuddered as if he was scared, "I was only joking, you should be arrested for always threatening the crown prince. And I already have my bride." He remarked.

Cortez dipped his hand inside his trouser pocket and said, "I would have loved to stay back, but the wedding is pretty much over. I promised Axilla she would visit her people. So we are leaving."

"Morado! That’s great, I’ll get a carriage ready for you." The crown prince replied, then he looked at Axilla, "Don’t worry yourself about the crown princess; she’s fine."

Before noon, Axilla and Cortez were ready to leave Avon. Just like the crown prince had said, the celebration still continued in the palace like nothing happened or the bride was not just missing from the wedding. This didn’t stop Axilla from feeling bad. As she sat inside the carriage, she looked outside the window, then she sighed tiredly. Her life was just filled with bad lucks, she thought to herself.

"Look at that; you will sink the ground," Cortez remarked. It meant that with Axilla’s constant sighing, the ground would sink inside.

Axilla finally moved her eyes from the window and looked at Cortez, "I’m sorry; I didn’t know she was going to escape. I thought she wanted to finally accept her fate."

Cortez reclined on the carriage cushion, "Why are you sorry; you didn’t do anything wrong." He replied.

Axilla shook her head, "I always cause trouble for you, every time." And this was because everywhere she went, she attracted mishaps as if her life was intertwined with misfortunes. She didn’t want to rub it off on Cortez.

"You did nothing wrong, and don’t apologize for being a good person. You only went to get the flower because you thought the bride would be happy, and that’s very thoughtful. I love that my woman is a kind person," Cortez said matter-of-factly. He noticed Axilla was still feeling down despite his attempt of trying to comfort her.

"If it makes you feel better, the crown princess never left the palace. She was hiding in her closet; Adric just chose to play along," Cortez revealed.

Axilla’s eyes widened as she stared at Cortez in shock, "What? How did-?"

Cortez moved up one of his legs on the other, "How he knows? He pointed it for me when we entered the room. Adric can be twisted like that; call it his way of making her feel comfortable." Cortez paused for a moment, then he continued by saying,

"Even if the crown princess tries to escape, it won’t be possible for her. Once Adric sets his eyes on something, he doesn’t let go." He completed.

Axilla didn’t know if she should feel happy or confused. She decided to choose the latter, as long as the crown princess didn’t run away because of her. She finally relaxed.

"I was even the one worried you tried to run away from me because of last night. You stepped out of the palace without telling me," Cortez said when he saw that the girl now looked relaxed.

Axilla pressed her lips, "I was going to tell you, but I didn’t know where you went to. It was just the market I went to," she brought her two legs together, resting her hand on her lap.

Cortez nodded; he was very much aware. He saw when Axilla left the palace, and he had someone follow her behind. "Anything caught your eyes at the market?" He asked looking at the girl closely.

Axilla hummed, "The people there are not quite friendly," she pouted when she remembered how she was tagged a liar.

"People can be like that to strangers, unkind for no reason. It’s normal, especially when the stranger is unusually beautiful," he commented, causing Axilla to blush.

Axilla raised her feet up and down when she heard Cortez call her beautiful. As she was basking in the nice comment, she remembered something. "Did you learn about flowers, or is it something you picked up from traveling on the road?" She asked curiously.

"I just know it; why?" Cortez asked.

Axilla shook her head, "Just that I met this nosy stranger who knew about flowers very well, but he kept asking personal questions." Axilla remembered the man who tried to get close to her for no reason, but something about the man seemed very familiar.

"You should be careful; this is why I prefer you don’t go out alone. He might be a con man looking to nab young girls," Cortez replied, "Any man apart from me telling you about flowers should not be trusted, okay?"

Axilla smiled before she nodded. Cortez could really be petty with the way he wanted to be the only person in her mind. The carriage went quiet as both of them relaxed, looking outside the window. The day had really started dramatically, but Axilla was glad there wasn’t any much damage. For a passing second, the image of the strange man she saw at the market flashed in her mind, and she tried to pin where she knew the man. He looked very familiar, like someone she had known all her life.

With staring at the trees outside, Axilla finally forgot about everything, including the man she saw at the market.