It's not like we haven't slept together

"And what do you have with my Kingdom?" The gruff man asked with a stern expression on his face.

"We are only voyaging across your village to the next." The prince replied in a confident voice.

"I see." The man gave us a once over once more. "This is a peaceful village. We don't condone violence."

"Yes, we know. And as the children of the Earth, we are not violent." The prince answered with a little bow to him. "Are we free to enter the village?"

"Yes, you are." The gruff man said before he entered the hut-like thing.

Neither the prince nor I spoke until we were far from the place the man was in.

"Why did you lie?" I furrow my brows at him.

"You won't understand." He replied with a small smile as he continued walking towards the village, while I ran after him, trying to understand the strange prince.

"Why are you acting so secretive about this?" I narrow my eyes at him. "This is part of the villages that made up your Kingdom. Why—"

"Shhh. I'm not the prince. Don't forget, I'm an offspring of the Earth."

"Cut that bullshit. You and I know who you are."

"And I will love to keep it a secret, Dynma. From now on, you are to refer to me as Zoban. I'm no prince."

"Zoban?" I furrow my brows at him. "Why did you choose the name?"

"It's my name," he shrugged. "This was the name my mother gave to me."

"Oh."

"So you see. I'm not lying when I said I'm no prince. I'm Zoban."

"Oh." I nodded when I finally understood what he was talking about. "What of me?" I frown at him.

"You what?" He equally furrowed his brows as he tried to grasp what I was asking him about.

"Won't I answer a new name?"

"You are not at risk here."

"At the risk of what?"

He only smiled as he shook his head a bit, "you will find out when the time reaches."

"Aren't you being too secretive?" I frown at the prince.

He only laughed but didn't say a word as he continued towards the village.

Unlike the capital, the houses in the village were few and in-between.

"We will spend the night here before we leave for the next village." The prince said as we weaved through the people.

"Why spend the night here when we can continue?"

"You would rather not spend a night on the plains."

"The plains?"

"You ask a lot of questions for a male." He frowned at me. "I don't think I can answer all your questions at once."

Some villagers didn't pay attention to us as we walked through the village.

However, a few of them stood by the side and watched.

"Why—"

"Shh."

He hushed me before I can ask the questions I intended to.

"What—"

"Not now."

I grumbled under my breath as I followed him. And I made no move to ask any questions. Even when I wanted to ask that, I had to shut my mouth, knowing he won't answer any of my questions.

The prince walked past the scanty Streets, and semi-rundown houses until we reached the market.

That was when I saw how bustling the place was.

It seemed as if all the people in the village were in the market.

Traders called out to those who passed by to patronize them while the female seamstresses stood in front of their stalls, with different fabrics on their arms, to entice the female buyers.

"Let's get some things that we might need on our journey." The prince brought out a small bag of money from the pocket of his coat and placed it in my palm. "Hold half of the money while I hold the rest."

********

After getting some necessary things, we started contemplating the place we will spend the night.

As there were only three inns in the village, we singled out the one which seemed much better than the others.

I glanced around the empty inn when the prince finally chose one.

Aside from the owner, there was no one else here.

And the emptiness made me wonder if we came to the right place.

People wandered past the inn, but none came in.

"If you want to see it busy, come back in the evening." The owner of the inn said when he noticed us.

"Good day, sir. Are there available rooms here?" The prince asked as he strode towards the man.

"Yes, there are." The man smiled like a person who has hit the jackpot. "How many rooms do you want?"

"One."

"Two."

The prince and I replied simultaneously.

"What?"

The man glanced at us. "what are you talking about?"

"We need a room." The prince said as he dropped two pallies on the table.

"What do we need a room for?"

"That's all I'm paying for." The Prince folded his arms.

"I'm not staying in the same room together with you."

"Why? It's not as if it will be the first time we are sleeping together. We slept together under—"

The old man coughed.

"Sorry about that." The prince apologized with an amused expression on his face.

Me?

My cheeks were too blood-red, for me to do anything other than glance around the place.

The prince was the only one who wasn't embarrassed.

He seemed gratified with what was happening, and that made me want to knock him on the head, but I didn't do that.

Instead, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"How many rooms do you want?" The old man asked.

"One."

"Two."

"One."

"Two."

The old man frowned. "how many rooms do you want?"

"One." The prince touched me on my shoulder, "trust me on this, Dynma."

"So?"

"Give us a room," I reluctantly said as I leaned on the table.

"A room?"

"Yes, give us a room."

"You heard him. Give us a room." The prince smirked. "he has finally agreed."

"Okay."

The old man looked disappointed that we were only booking a room.

"How many beds?"

"One." The old man smiled. "do you want to book two rooms, now?"

"No, leave it at one."