Spinola held the plate of meal in one hand while she rubbed the piece of royal ruby the woman had offered her. The words the woman had said to her earlier stuck like honey on a spoon.
The woman's words didn't need to be explained for Spinola to understand that she was being asked to steal. That was the only way for her to feed the princess and herself properly as long as they stayed in the palace.
Spinola greeted the people she passed with a smile, but her mind remained frazzled with different thoughts. She never had to steal for survival, not even a thought of it had crossed her mind. She was the royal governess of Ziadne.
The personal trainer of the next queen and best friend to the current queen.
A thief? Spinola shook her head. She needed to be at her lowest to even think of taking what belongs to another, but then.... her eyes lit up at the sight of the royal ruby. That is the closest she had come in contact with wealth since she left her kingdom.
Spinola knew just how much the ruby could get for the princess Good clothes and even better meals. She glanced at the plate she carried. It was barely enough to feed anyone, but here she was glad she had even gotten a piece of a tiny chicken foot.
Reaching the stable, Spinola found a tiny figure curled in the corner. Initially, she didn't recognize the princess because filth covered her hair, then she heard a soft sob.
"Who is... Princess?"
Izrina raised her tear-filled eyes when she heard Spinola's voice. She moved her frail body to get a closer look at the woman's face. She muttered with a shaky voice.
"I want to go home...."
Spinola parted her lips, her eyes twitched, staring at the princess like something had broken inside of her. Without saying a word, she dropped the plate of food carefully on the ground before pulling the girl into her arms.
Izrina melted in the woman's embrace, letting go of all the suppressed tears she had tried to hold back.
"I can't do anything here.... I keep getting you and Cora into trouble... and it hurts... everything hurts."
Hearing the girl's voice, Spinola could tell it wasn't about the moment that made the princess cry. Everything that broke her apart came all at once at this very moment. And Spinola knew it was coming.
Bottling up anger or tears just to look strong worked only for a short time. It had its day and will break a person apart if not careful. That was the situation Izrina found herself in.
"It's okay...." Spinola whispered. "We will return home soon...just give me a little time."
Izrina moved back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "What are we going to do now? The King might suspect me.... I met him twice today! Twice! What if I have ruined everything?" Izrina took her time narrating the morning incident that led her to a horse and to the king again.
Spinola listened attentively, now chewing her fingernails. "So he only asked for your name and teased you... but he didn't ask that you get locked up?"
This time Izrina had forgotten about crying. She sat on the ground with her legs crossed facing Spinola. The shock of riding a horse unplanned had made her remember she wasn't a princess anymore.
"He didn't... he asked me to leave, and that is all." She replied.
Spinola nodded slowly. She didn't understand the king or even know what he was thinking. The young man was unpredictable. "Let us assume he knows nothing, but that doesn't mean we won't be careful."
The thought of sending the princess back to the kitchen crossed Spinola's mind. It was safe, and she won't have to pretend to be a boy.
"We can-" Izrina's stomach rumbled.
Spinola clapped her hands together when she remembered the reason she had come here. "Poor little pea..." she rushed to the plate she left by the side.
"Here...have this..."
Izrina pressed her lips together, feeling shy, but she was too famished to pretend. She wiped her palms on her shirt before she started eating.
"Easy...take it easy, love." Spinola muttered, pushing a strand of the girl's hair away from her mouth.
Izrina raised her face, mouth full. She raised a piece of the chicken to Spinola's face.
"No, you have it, darling...you need the energy."
Izrina moved her hand closer; she had also heard the woman's stomach rumbling. "My hand hurts..." she mumbled with her mouth full.
Spinola leaned closer and took a bite, then another.
"Have more," Izrina pushed the food forward so that both of them could share. When the woman ate from her plate, she smiled. She didn't know how Spinola could get food for them, but Izrina was grateful.
Done with eating, the two women sat in the barn and watched as the day slowly went by. The cloudy morning was now replaced with a scorching sun and a windy afternoon.
"Do you think it will ever snow in this kingdom?" Izrina asked with a tired yawn.
Spinola hummed, "That will be if heaven wishes to bless them," and she doubted that. With what the woman had told her earlier about the palace, the kingdom didn't seem like it needed heaven's blessings, just hell's curse. Izrina exhaled softly, kicking sand off her leg. She wished for it to snow.
After a while of resting, Spinola got her feet. "We have to get you away from here."
Izrina tried to stand with her. Feeling the soreness in her leg, she gritted her teeth but still stood straight. "Where can I go?"
"Somewhere the King won't find you?" Izrina and Spinola turned to see Cora walk into the stable with a small bag slung over his shoulder.
"Cora!" Izrina cried out, she rushed over to hug the young man.
Cora staggered at first but held his ground, his hands hanging awkwardly at his side as he wasn't sure what to do with them. He turned his reddened face away.
"I was worried about you." Izrina said, taking a step back. "I thought you would rush in to help me and get caught by the king. I have never been so proud of how controlled and calm you are, Cora."
Cora cleared his throat, trying to keep a blank expression but it was too hard especially with how the princess stared back at him with bambi-eyes.
"Well, we are all safe." Spinola added. "Cora, we need to get the princess out of here." The woman said, her hands now on her waist.
"Do you have somewhere in mind?"
A line formed on Cora's forehead. He had somewhere in mind, but it wasn't a place a princess could work. "The only place the king won't go to is the woodchoppers shed....it's almost outside the palace."
The silence that settled was enough to show the worry of the trio. Moving to work with a woodchopper would be more work than tending to horses.
"But it will keep me away from the king's presence." Izrina remarked, speaking everyone's mind. "Then let's do it!" Her eyes lit up with newfound hope.
Cora glanced at Spinola, he noticed the woman bite her lips nervously.
Bringing up the kitchen work had to be her last option, and knowing the king already had eyes on the princess, what if he suddenly want to break his rules and take the innocent girl? Spinola couldn't risk that.
All she could do was hope that some royal officials would take her and maybe she would gather just enough rubies to get them away from here. She had to meet with the woman who had helped her earlier so she could get help from someone wiser.
"I can try to stay hidden there." Izrina promised cleaning the dirt that stuck on her skin and shorts. "Let's go."
Cora took the girl's hand, placing the small bag. "The scarf inside is warm... and I brought some fruits too." He couldn't wait to get the girl far away from this kingdom. The young man pressed his lips, hoping the princess would hold on for just a little while until he was powerful enough to protect her properly.
Izrina stared at the orange ball in the sky, she took a deep breathe. Only if she could be useful enough to help these two that always risked their lives to help her.