She Belongs To The Devil

At the front of the line, Kenneth's Royal Guards took their position in the horses. The carriages were lined up in the middle. And Wyverndale's guards were riding the horses at the back.

Wyverndale was going to send a squad of 12 Royal Guards along with the Princes and Princesses. The squad consisted of three Royal Guards belonging to each of the Princes and Princesses.

Adeline didn't want to send four whole squads of the Royal Guards along with the kids and give the vibe of some invasion to the Royals of Brenalia and Romania.

The personal maids and servants who were supposed to travel with their respective Princes and Princesses sat together in one of the carriages.

And when everyone and everything was ready, they finally started their long journey.

Inside Ariel's carriage, Zach sat on the same side as her while Kenneth sat opposite to Ariel.

When the carriages were about to get out of the Palace barrier, Ariel was clasping her hands together and praying that everyone would be safe.

Seeing her taking in deep breaths and fidgeting her legs, Zach slid close to her and calmingly patted her knee.

And he tried to distract her by making small talk, "You know, my mother told me that the Golden Street used to have very few houses when our parents were younger. And she told me how they used to dress up as commoners and sneak out of the Palace at night so that they could taste street foods."

Ariel giggled and nodded, "Yeah. My mom told me that your mother was the first one to convince her to break the rules. And my mom got scolded by our grandpa."

Zach looked at Ariel with twinkling eyes and suggested, "You know what? We should also do the same when we get back home. I always wanted to disguise myself as a commoner and freely roam around the market without the guards following us."

Ariel laughed and agreed. "Sounds like a plan. We should make sure to buy some clothes while we visit the local market of Brenalia. We can pose like foreigners."

Kenneth chuckled and gave Ariel some advice, "I think when you are disguising, it is better to look unnoticeable than gather even more attention to yourself."

Zach clicked his fingers and agreed, "Yes, I think he is right."

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While chatting with them, Ariel didn't even realize that they had already crossed the Golden Street and were now on the path to Aberdeen.

Kenneth looked out of the window and said, "I always get intrigued by these vast fields full of crops. Our Kingdom is too small so this kind of scenery is absent."

Ariel also looked out of the window. She could see how the crops formed waves as a soft breeze hit them. She could smell the fresh air, the plants, and also some dust from the road.

She took a deep breath in and kept on appreciating the beautiful scenery with a little smile on her lips.

Zach shifted to the other end and looked out of the window. After a while, he shouted while pointing out, "Ary, look. The farmers look like little mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?" Ariel laughed at looked at the other side. She laughed again and said, "Yes, they indeed look like mushrooms."

Ariel loved looking at the varieties of trees, crops, people, birds, farm animals, and other normal things. Those normal things were very new to her and she enjoyed every minute.

After about an hour or so, Ariel glanced at Zach. He had fallen asleep while resting his head on the window. She glanced at Kenneth. He was still looking out of the window and he looked like he was also enjoying himself.

She then softly said to him, "Kenneth, I'm sorry that I lashed out at you yesterday. I am glad that you invited us."

Kenneth smirked and replied enthusiastically, "Wait until you see the vast ocean. You might even beat me for not inviting you earlier."

Ariel could see the excitement in his eyes as he said that. So she asked him, "You like the ocean?"

Kenneth turned to look at her and nodded. "I like the ocean. It's unruly, unpredictable, and full of secrets." He smiled at Ariel and added, "Just like you."

Ariel laughed and gently kicked Kenneth's leg. "Why did you have to say that and ruin it? You're such an arse."

Kenneth shrugged and said, "I've already made my intentions clear to you. I am going to keep on pursuing you and win your heart one day."

"Ugh! Shut up!" Ariel rolled her eyes and said while looking out of the window, "And I've also made my intentions clear to you. I don't want to get married, be a Queen of some another Kingdom, have children, blah blah… I simply wish to live a carefree life. I don't want any responsibilities or people holding me back."

Kenneth also looked out of the window and said, "I would never hold you back, Ariel. I would love to build a family together with you but if you don't want that then I would never force you. I can be very patient. You know we both have eternity on our side."

Ariel glanced at his serious face and said in a sad tone, "You say that now. But people change. There will come a time when you will no longer want to do anything with me. I can also be patient. I will wait until you also get bored of me and leave me."

Kenneth met her eyes and asked, "You are saying this because of that old friend of yours, aren't you?"

Ariel avoided his gaze and didn't say a word.

Kenneth leaned a little closer to Ariel and reassured her, "I don't know why he did that to you. I don't know why he hurt you so much that you haven't recovered yet. But trust me when I say this, I will never do what he did. All I ask is a chance to prove you wrong. I will never get bored of you or cut you off from my life. I know eternity is a long time but I want you by my side till eternity."

Ariel's throat was getting sore by the second. She took a deep breath in and gulped.

He was not wrong. She was afraid to let him in her life because she feared that he would also carve his way into her heart only to abandon her in the end.

However, he had been proving that he was serious about her. No matter how much she hurt him and beat him, he never backed out of her life. He never stopped coming back to her. And he never showed anger or hatred towards her for trying to push him away.

He was a good friend and she couldn't deny it.

She gave some thought to what Kenneth had just asked her.

After a while, she looked into his crystal red eyes and said, "Treat me well on this trip. And I will think about giving you a chance. But make one wrong move and I will beat you to a pulp."

Kenneth kept on staring at Ariel with a dumbfounded look on his face. He had not expected her to agree to his request because all she had been doing until now was denying him.

"What?" Ariel narrowed her eyes at him and asked, "You lost your interest now that I told you that I would give you a chance?"

"No!" Suddenly, a bright smile appeared on Kenneth's face. His heart was overflowing with such great emotions that he couldn't explain how happy he was.

And he said confidently, "I will win you over, Ariel. Please put your trust in me."