"Why are you smiling?" Gonzalo spoke in a very high and unfriendly tone. "Can you not see you have stained my purity?" He grunted, looking at his stained regalia.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my bad," Ashina simply said, giving a cheerful grin. She turned and took in the view of the countryside in admiration. "The flowers here are beautiful and natural." Her voice was light and teasing.

Gonzalo gritted his teeth, but a high growl escaped anyway. "You swain!" Gonzalo held her wrist tight, his face deepened in a frown.

"Let go of me!" Ashina pulled out her wrist, pushing him away. She stared at him, in an attempt to read his mind. "This is not the way to treat..."

"You should be on your knees begging and kissing my feet for mercy," Gonzalo said.

"What for? Because I mistakenly stained your robe?" She looked around, expecting the random passersby to interfere and put him in his place. "So, I stained your cloth, and I said I was sorry. Okay fine, I'll buy you another one."

"You think I wear cheap wears, made by the local farmers?" Gonzalo straightened. "Kneel before my feet and plead for forgiveness of sin."

Ashina turned around helplessly, signaling every passerby to interfere. Everyone paid her dust. She rather noticed how they all bowed to greet him, some even trembling as they did so. One more close look at the arrogant man before her and she discovered he was royalty!

She looked at the other side, and discovered his guards were on alert, obviously waiting for orders. She raised her gaze slowly, obviously unsure if she had made a mistake.

"From my observations, I see you are a prince." Ashina folded her arms across her chest. "Prince, I am very sorry, if you wouldn't mind, excuse me." She turned to walk out.

"You dare to insult royalty?"

Ashina turned to face him. Her gaze narrowed, unable to believe a prince could be this feisty, frustrating, gusty, arrogant and grumpy. "You're insulting yourself, Prince. This is not how royalty behaves. You rather behave like a frustrated poor, local farmer."

Gonzalo Hemming, alpha Prince of the Poldark pack, watched the commoner walk away, happily flipping her arms. She seemed to be having a good time. Who was she? All his life he had been feared and dreaded by everyone, including the legal authorities. He was the law himself, his words were final. Who was she to trample on his ego and insult royalty?

"Follow her! I need every information about that swain." He spat disdainfully. "As fast as tonight. Now leave!" He walked hurriedly back to the palace after instructing his guards.

***

As Ashina walked past a small market, fading images of a young female child flashed across her head. The place felt familiar, although she knew she had never been there.

"Grab your books! Scrabble books! Buy a copy!" The tiny voice yelled, waving some scrabble books to sample them. "Beautiful one, please buy a scrabble book." She beaconed on Ashina.

"Let me see." Ashina reached for the scrabble book. Suddenly she had a Deja Vu

"Fifty bucks."

Ashina sighed. "I'm out of cash, will you follow me home?" She said. "Please?"

"My name is Chuchin," the bookseller introduced herself, a genuine smile in her voice. "Are you new around here?"

"Yes, Chuchin." Ashina smiled back. "Call me Ashina, I love your name by the way." Her brown eyes sparkled with laughter.

"I saw you earlier, with the prince." Chuchin looked around, then whispered. "Why did you talk to him like that? You shouldn't have, even though I'm happy someone finally stood up to him, but I fear for your life."

"My life?" Ashina asked in surprise. "Why?" She hated any conversation that involved the prince.

"Please go to the palace and make peace with him." Chuchin looked around again. "Do it before nightfall."

Ashina scoffed. "Hell no, I won't! Chuchin, I live over there," she said and pointed to a building, quite a distance from the market. "Will you follow me home? I Ieft some cash at home."

Chuchin nodded. "Okay, let's go."

The moment Ashina and Chuchin stepped into her house, Chuchin closed the door, then held Ashina's hands, looking into her eyes.

Ashina couldn't understand why tears built in Chuchin's eyes. She looked at her in confusion. "Are you about to cry?"

"Please go to him, beg him, kiss his feet, ask for mercy." Chuchin almost choked on her words. She was speaking as someone in a haste to leave. "Prince Gonzalo is not like his father, he is a ruthless ruler. He doesn't care about anyone except himself and his throne."

"Slow down." Ashina placed her hands on Chuchin's shoulders, then settled her gently into a chair. "Relax!"

"He doesn't value anybody's life. To him, everyone is a slave."

"Shhh!" Ashina placed a finger on Chuchin's lips. "That's enough. Nothing will happen, if he moves crazily, I will arrest him."

Something in Chuchin's voice sounded like a warning, but Ashina wasn't having any of it. She was determined to keep her day light and carefree.

She removed her jacket. "Tell me something, why are you so afraid of him?"

"Nothing." Chuchin pivoted, her heart pounding in her chest. She looked away, brushing off a tear. "I need to leave now, please make peace with him."

Ashina sensed she was not ready to talk. Maybe she was afraid. "I'll go get the money, Chuchin," Ashina said causally, walking into her bedroom.

***

"That commoner!" Gonzalo snapped, stamping his feet impatiently. He leaned back, arms crossed behind his head in a ridiculous way. Ashina's words consistently rang in his head.

"Don't let it get to your head," Danciana said, as she catwalked into the room, head held high. "Trust me to handle the situation."

"Her voice alone irritates me." Gonzalo clenched his jaw. He exhaled hard. "By the time I am done with her, she'll beg for death yet will not see it."

Silence followed for a while before he spoke again. "Who is she by the way?" He asked with frustration in his eyes. He leaned forward on his elbows.

"A traveller." Danciana narrowed her gaze.

"A traveller?" Gonzalo straightened his shoulders. "Mother please, I need it done tonight." He sounded defiant and angry.

Growing up without a father, his mother assumed the roles of both roles of father and mother in his life. She was his pride, his saviour and idol. She was a woman who spoke her mind about politics and a whole lot more. He loved her outspoken manner and business sense. She was too good that he didn't see a flaw in her. In his eyes, she was perfect.

The only times they disagreed was when she brought up marriage issues. To crown him king, he must be married for at least a year.

The throne belonged to him, with or without the king's crown. He still owned the kingdom, so why the rush to marry? He stated it clearly that he would never haunt for his mate. As royalty, he concluded his mate would have to find him by herself.

Danciana on the other hand, disagreed. Every kingdom needed a king, every king needed his mate by his side, to serve him.

He, however, stubbornly insisted on following his own narrative, leaving his mother to find his mate all by herself, however when his mother told him he had found whom his mate is, he felt disappointed. He preferred to live his life without being married.

Danciana stared at him without saying a word.

"Mother?" He called out. He had no desire to play the dumb game. "Mother, say something," he groaned.

"Have I ever failed you?" She asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Go about the rest of your day. Tonight, meet me at the V.I.P.'s prison yard."

Gonzalo lit up at the mere mention of prison. With a satisfactory wink, he turned and poured a large cup of coffee with a touch of regular milk, then slide the cup across the counter. He took a minute to inhale the fresh aroma before taking a sip.

***

Ashina settled herself into bed, then ran a hand through her hair. "It's been a long day. This town is small but interesting." She blinked, staring at the scrabble book in amusement. "What was I thinking when I bought it?" She laughed at herself, forcing herself to shrug.

Her heart skipped when guards broke into her house, pushing apart each door. She leaned her back on the bed, squeezing her duvet in fear.

"Who are you?" She asked in fear. "What do you want?" She broke into a sweat that had something to do with their unwanted visit.

The guards stood still. The chief guard, Boris, stepped forward, his shoulders squared. "Do you not know why we are here?"

Ashina thought carefully. She recognized one of Gonzalo's guards, but not Boris.

"Why are you in my house by this time of the night?" She asked, panting. "Whatever the issue is, trust me we can settle it."

"That is for the prince to decide."

That was the last sentence she heard! Next she woke up in a dirty room, her hands tied to the ceiling. Her feet didn't touch the floor, they were dangling in the air.

"What do you want?" Ashina refused herself to be suckered by fear. "Why are you doing this?"

Boris emptied a bucket of cold water on her. Just then, Danciana strode into the prison yard. Ashina struggled to recognize who she was, but she couldn't place the face. This was her first time seeing her.

"What? You were expecting pancakes? Eggs? Waffles maybe?" Danciana shook her head in derision. "You have no idea what just hit you."

Ashina's eyes opened wide as she caught her words.