The Journey

Audrey was amazed by every little thing she saw. Back at home, she barely went outside of their mansion, and she was always accompanied by a chaperon. She had never been free to do whatever she wanted to.  She stared at her husband who had a faraway look on his face. He seemed to be carried away by whatever was looking at. The more she stared at him, the more she was convinced about the things she had heard about him.

The ride was slow and every time she demanded for something, Damien always gets it for her without allowing her to step out of the carriage. He was like her personal maid. It brought a smile to her face.

Soon, the carriage stopped, making them all get out of the carriage. 

"We're camping here tonight."

Audrey looked around; they had long left the city and were in some place full of bushes. There was hardly anywhere to sit, not to talk about sleeping. He must be joking, if he thought it was ideal for them to sleep her. But just then everyone started moving. The men prepared to make camp, while the women started preparing something for food.

Audrey stood there, not taking a step at all. There was no way she would sleep in this debris. 

"Come on. Let's go prepare our tent." 

Damien walked off without waiting for her. Unlike Alexandra whose tent was prepared by some of the workers, Damien had never been the type to shift his responsibility towards others. He moved further into the bushes, but still could see the others tents.

He had always valued his privacy above every other thing. 

He had dropped down the things he needed to use in preparing the tent when he noticed that Audrey wasn't beside him 

He cursed. 

What was so hard in following instructions? He had always been on his own and it had been easy to do things without thinking of the other person. He turned back towards the main camp. The place was filled with other already completing their tent. He had to look around before he saw Audrey. 

She was with her brother and his concubine. Damien hand formed a fist. Had she not heard when he restricted her from going close to his brother? Was this what it means to be a married man? He could felt a storm of headache forming at his temple.

Mia was speaking when he got there, "…I was totally not expecting it.

His brother's eyes were on his wife. 

Damien broke into the group and pulled her up. 

Audrey frowned, "I was having a conversation with the crown prince."

Damien didn't bother with pleasantries, "If you don't follow me right now, you'll be sleeping outside the tent."

Audrey gasped. What was with him and always issuing out threats whenever they were together? They both hadn't expected the crown prince to butt into their conversation, "You're welcome to sleep in my tent if the crown prince kicks you out."

Damien could feel his blood boiling. Now, his brother didn't bother hiding his flirtatious nature.  Was it because they weren't in the palace? He had always been subtle there. 

Audrey shared a glance between the brothers. She didn't like the look on her husband's face. "Thank you, your highness, but I'd decline. Good night, Mia."

Damien held her hand in fear that she would stray off again. 

"Don't I have the right to communicate with others because I'm married to you?"

Damien paused, and took deep breaths. It had been long he felt this strange emotion that was now budding in him. He was angry and yet irritated.  He never asked her not to communicate with others; he only needed her to stay the fuck away from his brother. 

Was that so hard?

He stared at his wife who was looking at him with a strange expression. Again, he cursed. But this time in his mind. 

"Just forget it. Can we make our tent now?"

Audrey scowled and then pointed at the floor. "You expect me to make a tent?" She frowned at the things on the floor. "I don't even know what goes where. This is not what I am trained to do."

Damien smiled; and here she was. The lady he had met that found it difficult to move her own luggage, yet wants to look her best every time. She wasn't equipped to do the tiniest house chores, but that has to change soon.

"Well, no one was born to do them. You've to learn. I'll teach you."

Audrey couldn't believe it. 

First, he had made her pack an unbelievable small luggage, now he wanted her to make a tent. She was meant to be a princess.

Princesses weren't meant to make their own tents. She wanted to leave but a glance from her husband made her froze on the spot. 

Maybe this was the reason he was called a beast. 

She held the edge of the tent, "What am I supposed to do?"

She hadn't expected it to be fun folding up a tent, but Damien had been so patient with her, putting her through the necessary steps while assisting her. It was an experience she never knew she was going to enjoy it. 

"We can finally go in and you can receive your punishment for disobeying me."

Audrey face turned shades of pink; she remembered the warning he had given her in the carriage. For some unknown reason, she anticipated the punishment. 

The rumbling of her stomach interrupted them. Damien looked inside the carriage, "Stay in here while I get you something to eat." 

As he stepped back into the camp, the others went silent whenever they saw him. 

"This war would be disastrous. I heard the prince is yet to receive his magic power even though he's married. Do you think he doesn't have a power?"

The others didn't respond to him.  They had seen the prince behind him, but the speaker hadn't. They had all been speaking about the prince before they suddenly kept quiet. 

"Do you think he might not be a royal blood?" the speaker continued, ignoring the silence. It took someone bold enough to clear his throat, and push his head towards the prince's direction. 

Damien had moved on. It was part of the things he had heard about himself. Ever since his younger brother had discovered little of his magic before him, he had become the topic. He felt his hand inch, but he folded it beside him. There was no way he was going to let their words get to him. 

The gods gifted people in accordance to need, and he believed when its right, he was going to receive his magic power from the gods. Unlike some that were trying so hard to receive food. The crowd parted for him when they saw him. Hearing what those guys had to say about him had made him lost his appetite, so he collected food just enough for Audrey.

He made sure to ignore everyone on his way back. He wasn't going to let their insults or words get to him again. When he got to their tent, Audrey already lay down as if she was about to sleep. He dropped the food in front of her and she jumped up immediately. 

She wanted to tease him like before but he lay down immediately he dropped the food. She wondered if he wasn't hungry, too. He hadn't eaten anything since morning. "Are you not eating?"

Damien grumbled, "I'm fine. I don't think I am hngry."

Audrey could hardly believe it, "Yet, you need to force yourself to eat. .When next would such delicacy be prepared for us."

Damien forced himself upright, "But I didn't pick any for myself."

"We'll share?"

He smiled; he had observed her from the first day. He knew her stubborn exterior was just that; stubbornness. She was pretty nice. 

They ate together; each waiting for the other party to finish their food. It was fun. Damien stared at this wife. He had always been lonely, but having someone to eat with wasn't bad.

"I hope you are fine." She asked out of concern. He looked stranger than usual. When he didn't reply, he patted her back, "Don't worry, I get you."