Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 30

Once everyone had left the dining room, Yashiro and Astoria were the only ones left. She just stared at him, unsure of what to say.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Am I excessively handsome?” he teasingly asked her.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Hmm, maybe,” she sarcastically said, pretending to scan him, “Maybe just a little.”

He laughed at her comment.

“That kinda hurts, but at least you think I’m a little handsome.”

She shrugged again, and they walked out of the room.

“Listen,” he said as he walked her to their room, “I have a meeting to get to, so I’ll see you later, princess.”

He bowed and began to walk away.

“Wait!” she exclaimed, grabbing his arm.

He froze at her touch. It was the first time she had ever taken the initiative to touch him. Although the action probably meant nothing to her, it meant something to him. She stared at her hand and immediately let go of him.

She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

“Um, w-well I,” she stammered.

He just stared at her, amused at her nervousness and curious as to why she stopped him.

“You what?” he asked her, urging her to finish her sentence.

“What meeting do you have to get to? What do y’all have to discuss?”

His gray eyes stared at her beautiful face. He could not answer that question because the matter was highly confidential. It would raise concern if it were to get out to the public, although the public knows very little about the matter.

“I’m sorry, princess,” he replied, “but I can’t discuss the agenda of the meeting. It’s highly confidential.”

“Oh,” was all she could say as disappointment washed over her.

She hoped to join him in the meeting since she was bored, but mainly because she wanted to know the matters of this kingdom so that she knew what she was marrying into. Well, what Nexi was marrying into. Still, she knew it would be impossible since she was not part of this kingdom yet and had no business getting involved in the kingdom’s matters and affairs.

“Listen,” the black-haired fox said, walking towards her.

She instantly froze as he stood in front of her and began playing with her hair.

“Nexi, I know you must be bummed that we can’t spend time together right now-”

“What? T-that’s not-”

He silenced her by placing his finger on her lips. Her eyes widened at the sudden motion. Blood raced up her neck, warming her cheeks.

“You don’t have to deny it,” he continued, smiling his killer smile.

She moved his finger away from her lips and backed a few steps away from him. He laughed at her action and began to walk away from her.

“Anyway, don’t worry,” he said, “you can have me all to yourself tonight in our bedroom.”

With that, he gave her a wink and a mischievous smile. He disappeared, leaving her standing speechless in the hallway.

“What the hell? T-tonight? This guy is nuts,” she mumbled to herself, softly slapping her cheeks and telling herself to get ahold of herself.

Unsure of what to do with herself, she decided to find Ai. She headed for the Art room, asking the maidservants for directions along the way. When she arrived at the Art room, she found the fox dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. The fox’s cheeks were covered with paint marks, and her t-shirt had paint stains all over it. Seeing Astoria standing by the door, the fox’s face instantly lit up.

“Nexi!” she exclaimed, “Don’t just stand there. Come on in.”

Astoria walked into the room and was quickly hit with the smell of paint. She stood beside Ai and almost gasped at her painting. The gray-eyed fox had painted a picture depicting a sorrowful and tragic love story between two men. One man had his heart in his hand and offered it to the other man. His eyes had tears. The background of the painting had black flames which surrounded both men.

“Wow,” she breathed out, staring keenly at the picture in awe and wonder.

“You like it? I call it the Painting Of Two Hearts. It depicts the love story between two men, and their love is shunned by the community. The black flames represent the community,” the fox spoke proudly.

“You’re really talented, Ai. If I had money and was one of the tourists who will be in this kingdom tomorrow, I would buy this painting.”

The fox blushed and stared at her painting.

“You don’t think it’s weird that it’s, you know, two men?” she questioned Astoria.

“Not at all. Love is love, and one cannot choose who their heart beats for,” she told the fox who looked delighted at her answer.

Ai was overjoyed and placed her paintbrush on the small table next to the easel.

“Hey,” she said, a bright smile on her face, “wanna go into the city? I’m sure you must be bored since my brother can’t spend time with you right now. He is a busy man.”

A smile of delight lit up Astoria’s eager face, and she agreed.

When they had reached the city, it was buzzing with a variety of creatures and tourists. Some owners were decorating their stalls with colourful decorations as they prepared their stalls for tomorrow’s festival.

“Wow,” she gasped, astonished by the beautiful and colourful decorations and the bustle of the city.

“Pretty impressive, huh?” Ai asked proudly.

She nodded and watched as little foxes headed towards a sweet shop, trotting forward as fast as their short legs could carry them. She found them very adorable, with their tiny ears and short tails. There were foxes of various colours she never knew existed. As she observed the little foxes running towards that shop, one little fox carrying a small pink basket full of rose flowers unexpectedly crashed into her.

The little fox fell, causing the roses in her small basket to fall to the ground. She quickly hurried to her side and helped her stand up while Ai grabbed the flowers and put them back in the basket lying across the other side of the ground. Astoria dusted the dirt off of the little fox’s clothes. What was once the little fox’s white t-shirt was now stained with dirt marks. Her pants were also covered in dirt smudges.

“Are you okay, little one?” she asked, holding the fox’s tiny hand.

The fox was wearing a red bandana around her neck. When she nodded, the bandana tilted a bit, allowing her to notice the fox had bruises on her neck. Her policewoman senses instantly kicked in, and she became concerned about the little fox. She was an adorable fox with large light brown eyes and white hair, making her pretty face stand out.

“I’m o-okay. Sorry about that,” the fox immediately bowed and took her basket, which Ai had given back to her.

“Are you selling these roses?” Ai asked the little fox.

“T-these?” the fox stammered, staring at the roses, “Not today, but tomorrow. My granny and I plan to sell them to tourists so that we can make money for her oral surgery.”

“Oral surgery?” Astoria asked, a hint of worry in her voice.

“Oh!” the little fox exclaimed, realising what she had just disclosed, “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone this.”

Astoria smiled and stooped down so that she could be at the same height as the fox.

“What’s your name, little fox?” she inquired.

The fox looked at her, her light brown eyes scanning the kind, strange woman in front of her.

“Granny said I shouldn’t talk to strangers, ma’am, let alone tell them my name,” the little fox uttered.

Astoria chuckled at her firm statement.

“Well, aren’t you a cute and smart little fox,” she said warmly.