There's a girl I like

"Whatever you want father."

"Stay away from the prince."

She nodded without hesitation, "Yes father."

Just then it struck her, the handkerchief. He was the little boy that had helped her when she got lost at the market. It had to be him, they both had lipid blue eyes and the guard that had taken him away had called him Lucien.

You have to stay away from him, she repeated to herself mentally.

But promises were a little hard to keep...

____________

Draven hung Lucien's good arm around his shoulder as the climbed down the carriage.

"We're traveling like princesses now?" Soren joked as he came around.

"Carriage is not just for women Soren," Lucien laughed.

"A real man rides a horse's back with a strong whip in one hand and the rein in another, I tell ya. Ask your father, if you don't believe me."

"The king travels in a carriage," Draven chipped in amid laughter.

Soren tried to say something but decided against it, so he just shrugged and led the way into the small building.

Lucien looked around, his eyes wide in shock. Soren overdid it, as usual. The room was dimly lit, except for the podium where half-naked women danced seductively. They were greeted by two scarcely dressed women, who wore bright smiles and too much blush on their cheeks.

"Welcome my lords," they said in unison, bowing their heads dramatically. "Follow me," the blonde woman gestured.

Lucien glared at Soren as he knew only he would do this, who shrugged nonchalantly while flashing a boyish grin. Draven laughed heartily, "Typical Soren move," he muttered.

The women led them to soft cushioned chairs, close to the podium and motioned for them to sit down, then they left to get drinks.

Lucien sighed, he was grateful that the music was not loud but rather the soft music from the harp, "It wouldn't kill you, if there were fewer women and more men," Lucien said.

"This is a private party, Lucien, just for us," Soren replied his eyes glued to the dancers on the podium.

The women returned with kegs of wine and silver cups. The blonde woman filled their cups before putting the keg down beside the table and turning to leave.

"Could you bring some meat?" Draven said. She nodded and disappeared into one of the rooms. Draven picked up a glass, "A toast!" Soren and Lucien raised their cups.

"To Lucien for making it back home in one piece!"

"Cheers!" they chorused and jammed their cups together before emptying their cups.

Draven had noticed that Lucien seemed bothered during the party and so on their ride home he asked, "Are you okay, Lucien?"

"Yes sure," Lucien nodded, he had been lost in his thought and Draven's throaty voice jolted him back to reality.

Soren had passed out on his chair, he had drunk too much alcohol and danced with almost all the dancers in there before he passed out.

"It's just that, I had a talk with my father this morning," Lucien started, "he told me that there was a mole in the army that sabotaged us."

"What? How come?"

"I don't know."

"So who was the traitor?" Draven asked, still shaken by the information.

"Ansell."

"Who is that?"

Just then, the carriage galloped and Lucien held onto Draven's shoulder.

"He was one of my foot soldiers. He had told me that he heard the Valorians were hiding in the mountain. He claimed he had gotten the information from a trusted source. I had to take his word for it, I needed a win and that would have assured us victory."

"That skunk!" Draven exclaimed. "So where is he now?"

"The king's men are still searching for him."

"If he's found, you can finally prove that the death of your men was not your fault. And probably get your position back before they give it to someone else!"

Lucien sighed and leaned back on the chair, "If I get hold of that scum, I will rip him apart, limb to limb, and feed his carcass to the vultures." Lucien could feel the anger form in his mind like a dark cloud.

"We will find him, and he will be punished," Draven assured him. He knew Lucien was carrying the weight of his squad's death on his shoulder, finding this Ansell man would relieve him greatly. In the meantime, he needed to distract Lucien.

"There is this girl I like, " Draven said.

Lucien's face lit up almost immediately and he sat up, "Who is she?"

"I don't actually know her name, but she's a nurse at the infirmary. She is really kind and beautiful," Draven said staring out of the window dreamily.

"Wow! I could have sworn that you wanted to become a priest," Lucien shouted excitedly. He had never seen Draven with a woman before, much less hear him talk about one.

"Very funny man!" Draven chuckled.

"And you don't know her name?"

"No. We haven't really spoken before. We just wave at each other, whenever we bump into each other," Draven looked down at his boots, his ears seemed to turn a shade of red but Lucien wasn't sure.

"You have got to talk to her and find out her name. Is she married?" Lucien asked with boyish enthusiasm.

"No, she's not."

"That's great then. The next step is to talk to her!"

"Yes, I will. A lot of these soldiers keep flocking around her and I need to make a move before any of them does."

"That's my man!" Lucien laughed. "I also met someone," Lucien added casually. "She's a nurse too. She treated me for a while before Augustus literally yanked her away from my side."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But I am certain she would be avoiding me for a long time."

Draven looked at his friend's sour expression and laughed.

"You think it's funny?" Lucien smiled. It was typical of his friends to laugh at him when he was complaining about something serious.

"There's a very simple solution to that!"

"What's that?" Lucien asked, staring at his friend with hopeful eyes.

"You are the prince. Make her your personal nurse!"

Lucien looked at Draven in awe, why did he not think of that?