Chapter 8 Sneaking Out

• Ayden who was so startled that he had seen someone, just right after he turned to the part that leads next after the tunnel had stopped on his tracks. The person was squatting with his or her back faced to his own direction, dressed in a combination of weird clothing. It made it difficult to differentiate which gender was wearing the cloth.
• He wondered in his mind what the person could be doing there at that particular time, and had not taken his time to observe when his slightly shaken voice demanded, "Who are you?!"
• But he ended up getting a blow across the face while he had let his guards down, for his sudden fear of getting caught.
• Ayden sat down on a sturdy rock he had found around, as he nursed the pain the sneaky person he did not seen had caused him. But he had been hit by someone for the first time in his life, without a reasonable reason to give for such actions.
• What a life it sure was.
• The day was going smoothly and perfectly planned, he was not going to let a spontaneous action from someone random, ruin his day and stop him from going to wherever he wanted to go. First, he would sneak around the pub where Zachary normally frequented to be sure he was certainly there. He could not risk getting caught by his snitch of a brother again.
• Azalea who had ran a fast distance with the herbs tightly held in her arms, was already sure that no one was after her, before she slowed down on her walking. The hot run had spiked her blood and made her shot of breath, as she tried to breath when she stopped on her tracks.
• She was slightly sorry that she had hit the person who had startled her earlier, but she couldn't just decipher what could have caused such outburst from the person, which made her act rashly to her defense.
• That was not even the major thoughts going on in her mind, as she needed to hurry into the market to get down to business. The whole long minutes that she had ran for, felt like they temporarily cleared her mind from her gnawing thoughts. It felt so exhilarating to run frenetically in a long time.
• Ayden had gone into the city and made sure he didn't stand out as he walked elegantly, which was not going to do him any good by attracting any kind of attention to himself. He was just in time to join a small crowd of people who had gathered around, to watch a dance show by some group of young lads like himself. They danced so beautifully and energetically that he was thrilled, by the way they moved their bodies and legs, rhythmically to the sound of the instrument they played.
• He soon began to feel so uneasy by the many eyes that seemed to be on him, which was mostly from young females who had gathered to watch the dance too. Why were they looking at him?
• 'What if someone recognizes you or had recognized you?' he pondered.
• That had him wondering if anyone could actually recognize him. He had hardly attended any public royal matters or the city hosted ball parties, where the royal family were often invited too. People around could only have heard about the last, illegitimate prince, but they had never gotten to see him anyways.
• Trying to take the absolute precaution, he decided to find his way to a gentle place where he could eat like every normal person.
• Somewhere without extremities, or fear that someone might have poisoned the food he was about to eat. A middle aged woman had served him food where he sat in a corner, with different kinds of delicacies he had always wanted to eat, but the palace would say it is 'Inappropriate' for the royal family's feeding.
• 'Keeping money handy is really nice,' he grinned and without hesitation took a spoonful of food into his mouth.
• His eyes so much brighten in delight as he chewed on the food effortlessly. Though it did not taste as aromatic and tasty as the ones at the palace, but he just loved the entire feeling he enjoyed alone, without having no one to look at him with their snare faces.
• *****
• Azalea had moved around to those who sold medicinal herbs but they had many of them, and couldn't afford to buy the herbs that were not in demand. Not many people had families that were bedridden with sickness, and needed it urgently for any use whatsoever.
• The turn of things was starting to look ugly with Azalea already frustrated, by her inability to get a buyer and it was getting late already. Just when she wanted to throw the herbs to the ground and crush it in frustration, she remembered from the book her mother had given her that the herb had two major functions. The second function was the ability for it to cure a high fever within few hours.
• The part she had remembered brought so much relief to her heart, that she dashed back to the buyers to tell them a different purpose of the herbs with a sugar-coated conviction. It was that hard of an offer to reject because of the high level of temperature, and the high rate of which people's body burned up easily in heat.
• Glad that she was able to sell most of the medical herbs, Azalea was able to buy most of the things she has wanted to.
• ******
• The skies thundered loudly with a flash of brilliance, that told lightening across the already darkening sky. A heavy wind began to blow fiercely as the people in the market, scampered around for their safety together with that of their goods. Azalea who had achieved her aim in the market for the day, began to pack up for the day as the clouds that was pregnant with water, could unleash its contents anytime soon.
• Without any further warnings the rain pounded down, each drop a small stone, piercing cold and soaking everyone caught inside it within seconds. Any hope of them making it home through the rain unscathed was crumbled. Azalea just allowed the rain which had barged on her, seep through her clothes and body as she walked slowly home in the rain. The rain was the first one that year, and it carried with it, lot of dirt, trash, hot breeze and mixed feelings from people.
• The young prince who was taken unaware by the sudden rain pour on his way back home, was so shocked that he picked to his heels, and ran back to the route to the palace as fast as he could. He could not risk getting trapped in the rain on a spot and being unable to return, causing him more troubles than he had ever bargained for.
• As he ran fast but tiredly, his face was drenched by rain and his feet wobbly, by the sticky effect the mud the rain had caused to the ground. The intensity of the rain hindered his sight that he could barely see the palace, but was sure he was approaching his hiding grace.
• Quickly, he made his way to the open tunnel and entered inside hastily, to avoid further beating from the rain. Stressed and tired from running, he sat on the floor inside the tunnel and leaned his back on the wall to rest tiredly. His shivering state of body had balanced fairly, because of the oozing heat down the tunnel.
• The beginning of the day had started nice for him, but the ending had ended so fast and unexpected. Though he felt so fatigued from running through the rain, but surprisingly he loved the feeling of being the the rain for the first time. It was exhilarating to him. Slowly, he crawled his way out of the tunnel and came out of it, replacing the lid smoothly and exactly the same way he had met it.
• By the time he had gotten to the garden, his paints and canvas had been blown away by the strong wind. There was no servant in sight, but his mind was not at rest that he could see no one.
• 'What if they had found out that he was missing from the palace?' his mind suddenly scared, but he waded the negative thoughts that would be horrific if it turned out true. He was never letting anyone find out about the garden tunnel.
• He could not take the risk of being seen by any servants or his step siblings, also going through the short roads around the hallways to his chambers could get him caught. The best thing he could think of as the possible way out, was something he had never done in his life.
• Azalea walked on, cold and drenched in the rain, even if was a situation she would have never liked to be in. She still felt good because the rain would mean the end of the drought, and that she could get everything she wanted at that particular time. The past week had been rough, because of lack of sufficient food for their survival.
• For the fact that the rain had started, probably meant she would not be able to sell the herbs she had sold earlier anymore. But it didn't matter, as the ones she had sold before would now do well.
• As soon as she saw her house up close at a distance, she suddenly got the will to run so fast and enter into the house. And she did.
• *****
• Ayden groaned harder and harder, as he tried to climb the already slippery stoned walls. He pondered painfully on why he was trying to get himself killed, rather than getting caught for sneaking out of the palace. But nevertheless, he was going to make it up into his room through his room window.
• He was still half way up groaning and at the same time shivering, due to the rain that wouldn't stop battering him downward as they fell.
• After his frantic efforts to get inside through the window, he hissed so angrily as he made some unnecessary efforts, to dust the water out of his drenched clothes.
• "No one has heard from the young prince all day, I have been told to call him for dinner," Ayden could hear the nearing voices right towards his door, as he ran quickly into his bathroom and pulled off his clothes as fast he could.
• "Young prince," the voice called right from the door, as he quickly settled himself into the cold bath he had ran. He shivered more as the water he was trying to boil on the coal stand would not heat up fast, as he needed a close back up.
• Tying a bath cloth around himself he quickly got out of the bathroom, and opened the door abruptly, pretending to be angry at whosever had come to disturb his bath. He came face to face with the taken aback maid, who was staring at the hot and well toned body of the young prince she had come to call. Her mouth was gape and suddenly stiffened at the body she was staring at, dripping droplets of water from every part across his body.
• "The Alpha. prin..ce.. has ask...ed me to call you for.... dinner," her voice shaken as she struggled to regain herself.
• "I will be there, after I'm done running a hot bath," he said and shut the door immediately. He soon began to contort his body in the merciless and gushing cold, that was seeping through the tiny pores of his skin.
• Quickly, he prepared a warm bath and ran it over himself immediately. He could be almost sure that there was no way, he was escaping catching a cold or a fever.
• "This is getting terrible," he murmured as he shivered uncontrollably.