-ALEX-
I was silently walking down the streets and cursing under my breath as I pondered hard on where that girl might have gone to. As far as I knew, she is new to this country, so where in Gilead will she go after her classes? I've never learned until now from Lucas earlier that girls are that sensitive, for I am not the type of guy who enjoys talking to a girl either.
To be honest, Krisella was the only girl I am talking to right now because of my responsibilities of teaching that dummy how to be an expert in using magic. Well, there was this other girl whom I knew before, but anyway that's all in the past now.
My feet halted when I reached the front gates of the Gilead Academy, the magic institution where I graduated in. It is now closed, for it is already past seven in the evening. Even how much I would think of it, I don't have a single idea where that girl had gone to.
Exasperated, I turned my back on the gates and continued to move forward. I was not even that far from the school when I felt beads of water started pouring down against my bare skin on the face from above. My head went up, and that's when rain started pouring down continuously. I hurriedly opened my umbrella and went out of this place.
Thank goodness I have the initiative to bring an umbrella with me right now! The pit patter sound created by the heavy drops of rain that falls within this color black umbrella that I am now holding and to the streets of Citadel is the sound evident in my surroundings as of the moment.
Now, let's get back to finding that annoying girl.
---
-KRISELLA-
My eyes blinked countless times when this kid who startled me earlier called me as the prince just now. Is my face that obvious even if I am in a girl's outfit comprising a bright yellow v-neck crop topped shirt paired with a high-waist flowy skirt that is several inches above the knee?
This awkward silence between us was soon cut out by the drops of what seems to be rain started pouring down on us and to the shout of a man several inches away from us saying, "Hey kid! Give me back my money!"
Upon hearing the man's words, I swiftly turned to look at this kid, who I think was being chased because he stole something from the man, and was about to depart from here when he suddenly grabbed my right hand and dragged me with him.
O...kay. This would be my third time being dragged around to somewhere else.
The kid is too strong for his age that I was having a hard time pulling my right hand away from him. To save my energy, I didn't push myself too hard in attempting to grab for my hand and will save it later for my escape plan.
I was too engrossed in my own thoughts that I haven't even noticed this kiddo was taking me to some dark, secluded alley that looks kinda spooky and sketchy to me at the same time. As he continues to drag me to somewhere I have no idea about, I started to imagine things once again, like this kid is actually a member of a syndicate and is trying to lure me in to join them or something like that.
"Here we are." The kid finally said after making a quick right turn then suddenly halted. My eyes tried to follow his hand pointing a shabby-looking rustic door and wondered if that's the place he wants to bring me. Is this the syndicate's hiding place?
When the kid seemed to notice my growing uneasiness, he was the one to go near the door and opened it for me. He turned to look at me once again and motioned for me to go inside as well while his other hand was holding the door for me to enter. O...kay, this kid seems harmless, I suppose.
Heaving out a sigh, I was compelled to enter, and so I did before the kid locked the door behind me. Wait a minute, did he just locked it? I turned to face the door in horror.
"Welcome home, Leo!"
My eyes went round when I heard several cute little voices behind us, making me turn my head as quickly as I can. It stunned me for a split-second when I saw five children, comprising three girls and two boys, hugged the kid who dragged me here with their tiny hands. All of them looked like five to six years old to me.
From them, my head turned to look at the kid who was called as Leo by these adorable children right in front of us and wondered, 'what exactly is this place?'
"Prince Arthur, I want you to meet my little sisters and brothers," Leo moves his hand and point each kid as he states their names. "This is Andy, Tim, Samantha, Ruka and Lyn."
The children, in turn, propped their heads and looked at me with so much innocence.
"Who is this Leo?", said by a girl in her pigtails and has the same hairstyle as mine. Her tiny right index finger is pointing at my direction.
"Everyone, I want you to meet Prince Arthur." Leo smiled widely to the children in front of us. My forehead puckered as I looked at him in the intention of correcting him.
"No, there must be a mistake over here," My brows furrowed as I state these words in a somewhat reprimanding tone. "I am Krisella, an ordinary commoner and a student of Gilead Academy."
However, the kid wouldn't even buy any words I am telling him. "You may quit pretending to be a girl in our presence, Prince Arthur. I know it's you since I was there in the front row when you gave that beautiful speech on the king's birthday in the neighboring country of Cordova."
That made me plastered a confused look on my face. How can a kid like him be able to travel to places?
"Ahh, you must be wondering what does a kid like me doing in Cordova, am I right?" Seeing the questioning look on my face, the kid was obliged to spill some beans. But before he proceeds with the talking, he motioned me once again to go to their dining table and sit in one of the old wooden chairs at the sides.
"But first, let me serve you first something to eat before I will tell you everything. I am the best cook in the city you'll ever meet!" He said loud and proud. And before I know it, he disappeared in front of me and ran towards their kitchen, which was only several inches from the dining table to serve me something to eat.
I can't help but worry around here. It's already dark outside and I need to be back home in the castle as soon as possible! What will I do from here?