A Meeting in the Garden

Amelia paced back and forth under the wisteria tree in her garden, weighting over whether her idea to meet up with Laif to ask him what is his objective of getting close to the Princess as a Royal Knight was a good idea.

Her curiosity made her come over to meet him but at the thought that he might not tell her the truth, Amelia began to hesitate.

What if he was going to lie to her?

Her thoughts scattered away when she heard a rustle coming from the top of the tree across her. Amelia looked around and paused when she saw Laif standing on top of the tree branch. Her eyes widened and her mouth ajar.

Laif was the first to break up the silence. "Hi." His lips curled into a lopsided smile.

"Hi," she mouthed back. Amelia watched him as he looked around from the top of the tree and frowned. "What are you doing up there?"

"Trying to ensure that there are no guards around. You did warn me that I will get into a lot of trouble if the palace guards catch me prowling around the Princess's garden," he replied.

Laif scanned their surrounding for one last time before he jumped down to the ground without much difficulty. Then, he smoothed his uniform with his hand and looked at her. "It's good to see you here."

"I heard that you went over the Princess's quarters looking for me," Amelia asked.

"Yes. I went to the Princess's palace looking for you to brag how good I look in this uniform," Laif glanced at his outfit and looked up again "But then I realized that I've never got your name. How foolish of me."

"I heard how you passed the selection as the first-class Royal Knight," Amelia said. "Congratulation. The uniform looks really good on you."

"Thank you," he put a hand on his abdomen bowed slightly. Then, he suddenly paused as a thought came to his mind. "But how did you know that I have passed in first-class? I haven't seen you around among the Princess's entourage during the selection."

Amelia fidgeted when she heard his question. She peered at his face and wondered if he had seen her. During the selection day, the Training Chief had ensured that every one of the candidates had their head lowered so that they would not be able to see her.

"I heard the others were talking about the silver-haired man who gained the Commander's praise. From their conversation, I guessed that it was you." Amelia quickly answered. "You know how it is in the palace. The news traveled really fast here."

Laif winced. He of all people should know the palace life very well. After all, he had been living in the palace for years before he decided to leave that place.

"Good point," Laif said. The wind blew softly and Laif lifted his head to look around their surroundings. "But why are we meeting in the Princess's garden? I thought that this is a forbidden area for someone unauthorized like me."

Amelia smiled.

She had told him in her letter to meet her in the garden because it was the safest place for her as the garden was prohibited for anyone other than the members of the Royal Family. If anyone wanted to be in the garden, that person must obtain permission first.

She did not want others to see them together. But because this was her territory, Amelia knew the garden well. It was safe for them to meet here.

Previously, she was worried that Laif might not be able to sneak in, but since he had once sneaked into the garden once, Amelia was sure that with his skill, Laif would be able to sneak into the garden again.

However, when this thought came to her mind, Amelia soon had another doubt.

Commander Irvine had mentioned that Laif might be a spy. If he was indeed a spy, then, wouldn't it be dangerous for her to let him stay around?

Amelia did not doubt that it would be easy for Laif to sneak into the palace to kill her while she was sleeping.

"I didn't want to be found by anyone from the palace," Amelia answered.

Laif let out a low laugh. He was fascinated by her answer. "But we would get into a lot of trouble if any of those guards find us here." Then, he turned to her and gave her a look over. He noticed that she was dressed in plain clothes and a hooded cape.

The princess shifted uneasily at his scrutiny. "What is it?"

"I was wondering," Laif paused. His forehead wrinkled at the thought of how Amelia was going to react at his suggestion later on. "How do you feel about sneaking out of the palace?"

...

Until midnight.

That was what she had promised Rae; to give her until midnight so that she can go out for a little walk with this stranger. If she didn't make it back to her palace within the promised time, Rae needed to go to the commander and report of her as missing.

Going out of the palace with a man who she wasn't sure if she could trust made her anxious. Amelia wondered for a moment what had possessed her to agree with his idea to sneak out of the palace.

Laif was really good at convincing her to agree to his idea. He made it sounded like a good idea to escape the palace for a while. And she was tempted by the idea to escape the palace life for a breather.

But now, she wasn't so sure of her decision. She wondered if it was not too late to turn around and head back to the palace.

The princess tightened her grip on the small knife hidden between the sashes of her dress when she watched two suspicious men observing her from a distance. For a moment, she wondered where Laif was. He had told her to wait for him outside while he entered the building behind her for some business.

A sudden thought crossed her mind—what if he decided to leave her here in the marketplace and hired someone to murder her?