Sneaking out again

Jomei had just finish having breakfast that morning when he decided to step outside. He sniffed in the air for the twelfth time that morning and wore his boots before grabbing his hat. His mother, Lady Leia, saw him leaving and she asked;

"Where are you going?"

"I'll be back by 2," Jomei replied instead and placed a hand on the door but Lady Leia spoke again;

"That is not what I asked, and besides, you lie about that every time."

Jomei gritted his teeth and then put on a wide smile before turning to look at her. His smile slowly dropped when he saw his mother standing with her arms crossed and wearing a serious face.

"Gosh! Mom! I am not a kid anymore," he let her know, hoping she would understand that he could go anywhere he wants and take decisions on his own.

"Jomei," Lady Leia called and dropped her hands to her side before taking few steps towards him. With a straight face, she told him, "You are not a kid but you still haven't learned to grow up."

"Mom…"

"You go out every day and return when things get boring for you. You eat three square meals that I prepare each day and yet, you can't put anything on the table. Tell me, how can you live on your own if you don't have anything you are doing?"

Jomei felt guilt tormenting him inside and he dropped his hand holding the hat, to hold it down with his other hand before lowering his head. His morning was about to get ruined, but he won't let that happen. He was going to meet Granny in the morning as usual to ask about the princess. The only thing he could do now to escape is to let his mother see what she wants to believe and that is by showing that he was embarrassed of his actions.

"You are a perfect suitor for any lady out there and soon, you will get married, but you are still lacking in some areas."

"Marriage?" Jomei asked while looking at her with pulled brows and he silently scoffed. "Who said I am?"

Lady Leia hit him on the arm and Jomei gave a squealing sound that was soon to fade while he rubbed on the part that stung a little.

"Either you like it or not, your father will soon sit you down and talk about it with you. We are looking into respectable families to ask for their daughter's hand in marriage but the ones we've asked so far are bringing up one excuse or the other." She made a little disappointing sound and said, "I guess our image is already tainted as you are always seen with those women out there." She glared at him from head to toe and turned to leave to continue what she was doing.

Jomei huffed out an unbelieving sigh as he watched his mother go inside. Her words were horrifying for him and he refuse to accept it. He said after her, his voice rising a bit for her to hear him clearly;

"How can you and father just talk about marriage with another family without talking me into it first? What if the girl is someone I don't like? Will you be the one to marry her or will father take her as second wife? Ah! seriously," he said with clenched teeth. "I am man enough to decide who I take as my wife and I can search for one so don't bother speaking to those families."

After saying that, he opened the door and went outside, feeling the heat of the words burning inside him and he blew air to himself with the hat he was holding. 

"Seriously?" he said to himself and huffed again.

As soon as he stepped down from the porch, an escort came up to him before two others joined and Jomei asked in an uninterested voice, still fuming, "What do you want? As you see, I am not in the mood right now."

He made to leave but one of them pulled him back and said, "Oh dear, why are you in such a hurry?"

Jomei yanked his hand off from her and placed it on his waist before saying to her, "Well you see, because of you, my morning is about to get really ruined."

The woman that held him muttered something under her breath while giving him a boring look while the other two women whispered to themselves before letting out a small laugh. 

The laugh was quick to die and one of them asked him, "That good-looking man that was here yesterday, is he your brother?"

"How can he be his brother when I've never seen him before?" asked the first woman.

"Then, could he be his step brother who has decided to visit?"

"Step-brother?" the first woman gave a scoff. "Better watch what you say."

Jomei watched them argue back and forth while he had no idea what they were talking about.

"Someone came here yesterday?" he asked and they went quiet immediately to pay attention to him.

"Yes, he was this tall and had his hairs curled to the back and his eyes are sharp," one described.

"Yes, they looked scary, but cute anyway," another one chipped in with a blush on her cheek.

"His nose is straight and a little pointy and he has thin lips," the woman continued describing. "He looks really perfect and alluring. No man in this kingdom hold a torch to him."

Jomei raised his brows immediately and asked them, "Did he mention his name?"

The women expressed disappointment and one of them said, "We couldn't get his name because that your friend who works in the palace came and dismissed us. But," she said and leaned closer, "do you not know who he is?"

Pushing them out of his way, Jomei quickly made his way back to the house and the women looked disappointed, mumbling among themselves as they watched him.

Jomei pushed the door open and he halted when he got inside. He inhaled the air again and his eyes caught the movement of Lady Leia coming out of a room.

On seeing him, she asked, "Are you back already? So soon?"

"Mother," Jomei called her and hurried to her side. He held her hand and asked, "Did he come by yesterday?"

"Who?" 

"You know who," Jomei said impatiently and Lady Leia hit him on the arm. "Argh! Mother!" he whined as he rubbed his arm.

"He is your Uncle. Why do you keep referring to him as 'he'?"

"That's because I don't know how to refer to him. Is he my uncle or my cousin? Because uncle Vincent treats him like a son and brother."

"You this young fool," Lady Leia muttered and shook her head. "He is your uncle because he is older than you," 

"I've heard you, but why didn't you tell me he came by? I was going to ask him to let me visit the palace since you told me he will be staying there for now." As soon as he said that, he blinked and pulled his brows as he repeated in his head, "he will be staying in the palace for now." 

Reality struck in and he suddenly remembered the day they last met where he was asking him the names of few people in the palace. He raised his brows as he looked at his mother again and said, "Don't tell me…is he the new tutor for the princess?" He gasped in shock at the same time and shone his eyes wide before covering his mouth with his hands.

"What is it Jomei? Have you done something bad?" Lady Leia asked him but he shook his head immediately and the next second, he was dashing out of the door.

*

"Princess Isabel, are you sneaking out again?" Beth's worried voice, together with the little frown mixed with the fear of keeping secrets that could get exposed anytime, on her face, made Isabel turn to her and hold her hands. It was not long that Genevieve left to take the lessons in her place and now that she was supposed to keep watch and inform the princess if she sights anyone heading towards their place, the princess was about to put her in a fix.

Isabel raised her brows and talked to her convincingly, "I won't take long, okay? I'll be back before you know it. No one is going to know."

"Then take me along with you. Isn't that much safer?" Beth insisted, worrying that things could go out of hand. After her encounter with hawk-eye yesterday, she didn't want anything that would make her be in her suspicion list. 

"No, you're not going," Isabel said as she went through the clothes stacked in the wardrobe and she pulled out a long scarf. Turning back to face her, she said, "I already made it clear to you. Why are you not trying to understand?" she said with a little frustrating tone and then sighed.

Beth picked on her fingers and parted her lips again. "But why are you doing this? Who is that important person you go out to meet all the time?" she asked.

Isabel already finished wrapping the scarf around her neck after covering it with her head and she let her hands fall to now drop at her side. Replying to Beth's question, she said, "Someone I don't deserve."