Cover Up
Cover Up
Kenneth had changed the original plan of going to another historical town and was thinking of doing some activities inside the castle today. A lot had happened yesterday, and he wanted to keep things light yet fun today.
"I am thinking of having a garden party in the afternoon so that everyone from the castle and all of our dignitaries will get the chance to meet and interact with our guests."
Grace's jaw was wide open after hearing the 'boring' plan that her cousin had made. "You're not being serious, are you?"
Kenneth was, however, very much serious. "I am."
"No…" Grace abruptly got up from her sofa and tried to walk a little closer to her cousin. But she nearly tripped after stepping on the rim of her gown.
Kenneth was ready to hold her but she managed to balance herself.
She then looked at Kenneth and said, "Garden parties are really boring! All your poor guests will do will be smiling until their cheeks hurt and listening to introductions of people who they will probably never meet again."
"Yeah, but–"
"Please tell me that you haven't invited the dignitaries yet?" Grace cut Kenneth in between and asked.
Kenneth looked at her and replied, "I believe that father has already sent out invitations. I had discussed the idea with him yesterday after dinner."
Grace furrowed her brows and impatiently tapped her foot on the floor. The idea of having a boring day didn't sit well with her. So she suggested something else, "Why don't we go hunting in the morning? And later during the day, let's have a barbecue instead of that tea and cake party."
Kenneth laughed because Grace was the person who didn't know a thing about hunting. "What will you hunt? A leaf?" he teased her.
Grace frowned and replied, "I will watch all of your hunting skills. And later I will enjoy the meat."
Kenneth didn't really like the idea of going to the forest after what happened yesterday. So he denied it, "Let's do it some other time. I will take you hunting if you really want to go. But I don't think it's–"
"Are we going hunting today?"
Kenneth abruptly stopped and looked at the door to find Ariel standing there with a curious look on her face.
"Hey, Ary," Kenneth got up and straightened his night robe. He gave Ariel a wide smile and said, "Um… I haven't decided yet about the hunting."
"Ah!" Ariel smiled and gave a nod. And she shifted her gaze to the woman who was standing in front of Kenneth. She gave a courteous nod to Grace, thinking that she must be someone from the Royal family.
Grace also gave a nod to the woman whose beauty looked out of the world. And she immediately made a guess in her mind, "She must be Princess Ariel. I see why Ken traveled a lot to Wyverndale."
"Oh!" Kenneth had the habit of forgetting to introduce people. He suddenly remembered it after the room fell silent. He looked at his cousin first and said while pointing his palm at Ariel, "She is Princess Ariel of Wyverndale."
"And she is my cousin, Grace," he looked at Ariel and introduced his cousin as well.
Grace ran to the door and said with a wide smile on her face, "Ken always speaks so highly of you. It's so nice to finally meet you in person."
Ariel tucked her hair behind her ear and shyly smiled. "The same goes for you as well. We have heard good things about you."
"Really?" Grace was a little shocked to hear that and turned her head to look at Kenneth. And she asked him, "Do you even know how to say good things about me?"
Kenneth scoffed and shook his head. "Why is it so hard to believe?"
"Because you always mock me when I am with you," Grace shrugged and turned to look at Ariel again. "Do you like Brenalia so far?"
"Yes, I love the atmosphere here. And also the town and lovely people."
Ariel sounded so polite and so well-spoken that Grace was enchanted by Ariel in an instant. So she walked outside to the common room while saying, "Princess Ariel, why don't we sit down and talk until my cousin gets ready?"
"Yes, sure," Ariel took a glance at Kenneth and then followed Grace.
While Kenneth was getting ready, the others gradually started to come out of their rooms.
The first one to run out of his room was obviously Zach. He rushed towards Kenneth's room so that he could pester Kenneth again to introduce him to Grace.
However, he stopped midways when his eyes fell on Grace and Ariel who were sitting down in the common room and were chatting with each other.
He gave a bright smile to Grace and gave a slight bow. He didn't see Kenneth there, so he went forward and spoke in a polite voice, "Please forgive me that I didn't introduce myself earlier. I am Prince Zachariah of Wyverndale."
Grace gave a slight smile and introduced herself, "I am the daughter of Duke Frederick, Lady Grace." After seeing Zach in his tidy attire and neatly combed wet hair, Grace was finally not wary of him.
Zach didn't know what else to say to Grace, so he simply went and sat down in front of her.
After a while, Ramon and Niylah also joined them.
"Is everyone here? What are we do–" Ramon suddenly stopped talking when his eyes fell on the lady he had never seen before.
Grace gave a polite smile and a slight bow to both Ramon and Niylah and introduced herself again. She now really wished that she had come to meet her cousin a little later on since she had to introduce herself time and again, that also when Kenneth wasn't there.
And she thought to herself, "Why is Ken taking so long? I don't have many things to talk about now. It's going to get so awkward if he doesn't come out soon."
However, she soon changed her mind when Damien also walked out of his room.
Damien had a towel around his neck and walked out of his room while rubbing his wet hair with one end of the towel. This time, he was fully clothed. He was wearing his black surcoat. But his broad chest was clearly visible from the low V neckline.
Grace clutched her gown and took a deep breath in after seeing that man who looked like he had just walked out of Heaven. Her gaze never left Damien's captivating sight.
And she leaned to the side and asked Ariel in a yearning whisper, "And who might he be?"
Ariel didn't realize it, but she had a few frown lines in between her brows when she looked at Grace.
Ariel didn't like the way Grace was gawking at Damien. "He is… he is my best friend," she replied in a little stern voice so that Grace would wake up from her daydream.
"Good morning, everyone," Damien happily greeted everyone and also didn't forget to personally greet Ariel, "Good morning, Ary." However, he didn't even realize that a new lady was sitting beside Ariel.
And when Damien came and sat beside Ariel, she pulled the towel from his neck and threw it on his chest. She gave a side glare to him and asked in a whisper, "Cover yourself up, will you?"