Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 60

“I have excellent hearing,” she lied to him, “so if I leave here and hear you tell the prince that you’re innocent or some sh*t like that, I’ll tighten the ropes until your bones break. Got it?”

He swallowed hard and nodded vigorously. Lara’s uncle and prince Yashiro watched as Astoria left them, walking back into the house. They were both left stunned and speechless that she was capable of doing such a thing for a princess or even speaking the way she did.

She found Lara in the kitchen, trying to remove the little bit of flesh that was on the chicken bone in her hand. She stood by the wall and leaned on it, her arms crossed and a motherly smile on her face. The little fox had not noticed that she was standing there, watching her. That was until she looked up and saw the princess’ sweet smile. Lara placed the bone down and blushed profusely.

‘Princess Nexi must think I’m some kind of wild beast because of the way I licked and sucked that bone,’ Lara thought, internally facepalming.

Astoria sat down on the chair across from Lara and placed her chin on her hand. She saw that the little fox was done eating and looked much livelier than before. She let out a sigh of relief that she could save Lara and her grandmother. That she was able to protect them. She was able to subdue Lara’s uncle, and he would be arrested and serve time in the dungeon for his crimes.

“Little fox,” Astoria gently called her, causing Lara’s ears to perk up, “Since you are done eating, how about you go wash your hands, and you and I have a little chat?”

Lara stared at the princess, noticing that parts of her hand were brown because of the dirt from the garden. She stared at Astoria’s cobalt eyes and nodded. Lara took her plate, walked to the trash can next to the kitchen sink, and threw what was left of her meal. Her tiny hands gently placed the plate in the sink, making sure she did not break it because if she did, she would be in for a beating.

Since Lara was tiny, she would struggle to wash her hands in the sink or even wash the dishes, so her uncle had bought her a small chair she could step on. This helped increase her height a little and enabled her to do her daily chores of washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen sink area easily.

Lara washed her hands and dried them on her clothes. She sat back down, placing her tiny hands on her lap. She stared at the table instead of at Astoria. She could feel the beautiful woman staring at her and examining her.

“About your uncle…” Astoria began, placing her hands on the table.

She noticed that these three simple words made Lara flinch, causing the little fox to tightly clasp her hands together under the table.

“I know everything, little fox,” Astoria gently cooed, “You do not have to be afraid anymore.”

Lara’s eyes darted from the table to Astoria’s. Her eyes widened with shock, and her eyebrows were raised. The little fox trembled, afraid of what was to come tonight. If Astoria knew everything, that means that her uncle would find out and then beat her up or, worse, hurt her grandmother because he would think that she was the one that told the princess the truth.

“Lara,” Astoria said, “It is all over. Your uncle won’t hurt you or your grandmother anymore. The prince and I will make sure of it, so you don’t have to fear him anymore.”

“R-really?” Lara asked, tears welling up in her tiny eyes.

Astoria gently smiled and nodded. “He will be taken to the dungeon to pay for his crimes.”

Upon hearing that, the tears which were welling up in Lara’s eyes, which she was trying to hold back, immediately poured out. They ran down her cheeks as she loudly began to cry. Her tears did not stop. It was as if all the emotions she had bottled up since her parent’s death were opened. As if someone had hit her tear ducts with a sledgehammer and caused all her tears to be released from her body.

Astoria immediately stood up and walked to Lara’s side. She crouched down and embraced the little fox who placed her arms on Lara’s chest. The little fox buried her face in the princess’ chest and cried her eyes out. She shook with every sob that escaped her tiny body. Astoria gently pats her back in a comforting manner.

“There, there,” she cooed, comforting Lara, who was now hiccuping as she cried, “Cry all you want. Let it all out. I’m here, and I promise to help you and your grandmother.”

Astoria crouched in the kitchen with Lara in her arms. She continued to pat the fox’s back as Lara continued to cry.

‘Glad it’s finally over,’ Astoria thought as she began to rub Lara’s back.

When Lara was silent, Astoria stared down at her to find that she had cried herself to sleep. She smiled at the scene and walked to the grandmother’s room. Earlier,  she noticed another bed in the room and concluded that Lara and her grandmother shared the same room.

She walked up the stairs to the second floor. Quietly opening the door to not wake Lara’s grandmother up, she stepped inside and walked to the empty bed. She gently placed Lara on the bed and covered her with the blanket. She removed the hat and scarf Lara had worn and put it aside. Bright white unkempt hair splayed out around the little fox as her head rested on a purple pillow.

Astoria found a chair in the corner of the room, took it, and placed it next to Lara’s bed. She sat on it and watched Lara sleep, her chest rising and falling with each breath she took and exhaled. She held Lara’s hand and smiled, glad that the little fox’s anxiety and fears were now washed away.

She heard the door open, and there stood prince Yashiro. He signaled for her to follow him, and she nodded. She let go of Lara’s hand, brushing some loose strands of the little fox’s hair away from her tiny face. She stood up and followed the fox prince.

They sat in the kitchen across from each other. Prince Yashiro leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. She quietly sat there and watched him examine her with narrow eyes. He kept furrowing his brow and pressing his lips together as if not knowing where to begin with what he wanted to say.

“I have called my men to come and take Lara’s uncle to the dungeon,” he began, “They will be here soon. For now, I have locked him in one of the rooms.”

“That is great news,” she stated, nodding her head.

“And about Lara and her grandmother,” he continued, “Her grandmother will be taken to the hospital and will remain there until her oral surgery is complete and she has completely healed. As for Lara, she will be staying with us until we find her a good home.”

“R-really?” she asked, her eyes widened from shock as the fox prince shook his head ‘yes’ at her.

He watched as she leaned back and looked up, staring at the white ceiling above them. She was happy that Lara’s grandmother would be taken to the hospital, but if they found a home for Lara to stay, would the little fox live separately from her grandmother? Was that not too cruel and wrong?

Surely, Lara was not going to love this idea of separation. As if knowing what she was thinking, prince Yashiro tapped his finger on the desk to get her attention. She leaned forward and looked up at him. He knew that she was not keen on separating Lara from the only family member she had left.

“Once Lara’s grandmother is completely healed,” he explained, “Lara will stay with her. I will find them a new home in which they can live together.”

“Oh. That is a relief, but what about this house? What do you plan on doing with it?” she asked him.

“It will be no more,” he simply stated, crossing his arms.

‘I see,’ she thought.

Prince Yashiro cleared his throat and sighed.

“I do have one question for you, though,” he told her.

“For me? What question?” she replied, raising an eyebrow.

She noticed that he suddenly narrowed his eyes at her and had a sour expression on his face. She looked at him, her head tilted. She was confused as to why he suddenly looked angry.

“You,” he began, running his hands through his hair which he did not style for the festival, but he still looked good, ” I saw you hug Lara’s uncle. Why did you embrace that foul creature like that?”