Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Maisie’s cheeks began to hurt from how much she blushed. She couldn’t believe she was holding hands and taking a walk with the heir of the Moonlove kingdom.

“Thank you for taking this walk with me.” She uttered, and Damon answered with a faint smile.

“But you know you don’t have to hold my hand. Did my mom tell you to do that too?” He asked, and Maisie chuckled.

“No, she didn’t. But I like it this way. It will help me keep up with your walking pace.” She answered shyly.

As they kept walking, Maisie sighted the training field from afar, and her eyes widened. “You have a training field too?” She asked in awe.

Damon furrowed his brows and looked at the field too. “Why are you so surprised? Every kingdom has one.”

“Not every kingdom, my prince. Though, our kingdom has one, but only the males are trained to fight. The women are trained to be good wives.” She answered.

“Oh… well, everyone can train here.”

“That is amazing! Can we move closer? I would love to shoot an arrow for the first time. I’ve always wanted to, but I never found someone to teach me how to.”

‘Move closer? Belinda was with the sword when I saw her. She is probably there too. I should ignore her.’ He thought.

“I don’t feel like going to the field.” He answered coldly.

“Please, my Prince. I promise that if you teach me how to shoot an arrow today, we’ll put an end to our walk.” Maisie pouted, hoping Damon wouldn’t turn her down.

Damon clenched his jaws and nodded. “Fine. After I teach you how to shoot. You’ll leave me alone, right?”

“Hmm.” Maisie nodded. “I’ll leave you alone… for today.”

“What do you mean by that? I thought I made my answer clear on the day of the mate mate event , Miss Maisie.”

Maisie smiled faintly and bobbed. “I know, Prince Damon, and I’m not trying to force anything here. I just said that. You don’t have to take me seriously. Come and teach me how to shoot an arrow already.

She took the lead and pulled him along with her, into the field. As they drew closer, Damon was searching the whole place for Belinda.

He wasn’t sure why he was doing that, but he did it anyway. His eyes swiftly from inside the training hall, back to the field and Vice Versa.

‘Maybe I just need to look her in the eyes again. Maybe then I’ll be able to control this strange thing I feel.’

Soon, he found who he was looking for. Belinda was standing meters away from the target, with an arrow in her hand. This time, she wasn’t alone. She was with a man.

‘Who the hell is that? Why is he so close to her?’

**

“Do you come here a lot too?” Belinda asked Reggie as she set the arrow on the bow’s string.

“Yes, I do. You’d have hardly noticed because you didn’t know me. I used to watch the prince and Princess teach you how to use the sword and how to shoot an arrow. It was pretty fun to watch.”

“Really?” Belinda answered with a smile, and Reggie nodded.

“Really. You are a quick learner, and that is very impressive.” Reggie added, and she shyly lowered her head.

“Thank you. I still have problems with keeping still when I shoot the arrow. I tend to move my hand forward in support.” She explained and raised her hand.

“All you need to do is relax your hands. Know that it’s fine not to hit the heart now because you’re a beginner. You should also know that moving your hand forward will only make things worse.” Reggie lectured and moved to her back.

He placed his hands on her shoulders and gave them a slight squeeze. “Relax your shoulders too.”

Belinda nodded and kept her eyes on the chest of the target. “Are you ready?” Reggie asked.

“Yes.”

“Shoot!” Reggie ordered, and she released the arrow immediately. They watched the arrow fly in the air, and to their greatest surprise, it hit the target right in the chest.

“Yes!” She smacked excitedly and laughed.

“I told you, it’s not that hard.” Reggie told proudly. He was very proud of her.

“Wow! That was awesome!” Maisie complimented from behind and began to clap.

They both looked back and that was when they realized that Damon and Maisie had been watching them.

“Thank you.” Belinda answered. She looked at Damon’s cold expression and when their eyes locked, the smile on her face slowly faded away. She swallowed hard and looked away.

“Good day, Prince Damon.” Reggie greeted with a grin. Damon nodded and also let out a very faint smile. He looked at Belinda again, but she kept her face away.

“Can you teach me how to shoot like her too? I really want to know how to.” Maisie said to Damon.

“Sure, I can do that.” He answered, expecting Belinda to react, but she didn’t. Instead, she gave her quiver filled with arrows and the bow to Maisie.

“Here, Ma’am. You can use this to practice.” She said with a grin.

“Really? Are you done using it?” Maisie asked, and she bobbed.

“Yes. I need to practice my sword fighting now.” She answered and began to walk away. “Wait! Let’s train together.” Reggie uttered and followed behind her.

“Here, My Prince. Let’s start.” Maisie said with so much happiness and gave Damon the bow and an arrow.

***

~At Evening~

After training with Reggie, Belinda grew tired and hungry, so headed to her room. On the way, she met Megan returning from wherever she had gone with Yolanda and Isla.

“Princess Megan. You’re back.”

“Yes, I am. And hope you didn’t miss me too much.” Megan teased, and Belinda giggled.

“It’s impossible not to.” She answered, and Megan laughed.

“Where are you coming from? What have you been up to since morning?”

“I’m coming back from the training field. Took extra lessons today.”

“That’s nice. I hope my brother didn’t bully you again.” Megan muttered worriedly, and Belinda sighed.

“No, he didn’t. He was busy with a lady today. He wasn’t able to train me.” Belinda said sadly.

“A woman? Who is she?” Megan asked in surprise.

“I have no idea, Princess. But they seemed pretty close. He taught her how to shoot an arrow. She’s also very pretty.” Belinda added.

Megan creased hee brows as she listened to Belinda. It sounded so impossible to her. ‘My brother with a woman? Who can that woman be?’

“Wow. I must say I’m surprised. I’ll make sure I find out who this woman is. But before I do that, freshen up… you’re having dinner with me tonight.”

Megan tapped her shoulder and walked away after speaking. Belinda smiled and looked at her as she left. The smile slowly faded from her face when she remembered the woman that was with the prince again.

She exhaled and turned her head when she suddenly saw Prince Damon in front of her. He was some inches away.

“Prince Damon.” She called in astonishment and lowered her head. An awkward silence set in between them, and Belinda slowly raised her head to see if he was still there.

She saw that he was still standing and staring at her. ‘Why is he so silent?’

Damon gulped and drifted his eyes away from her. He looked up and began to approach her. He got closer, but didn’t stop when he got to her, instead, he passed by her.

“Prince Damon!” She called before thinking, and Damon took an abrupt stop. He looked over his shoulder at her, waiting for her to speak.

“You have been ignoring me since morning.” She uttered, playing with her fingers nervously.

“What do you mean by that?” Damon coldly inquired and turned to look at her.

Belinda’s heart began to race as he gazed at her. ‘I shouldn’t have said that.’

“It’s nothing.” She shook her head. “I wanted to thank you for helping me watch the boundaries last night. I fell asleep and…”

“I chose to. You don’t have to thank me. Anything else?” He rudely responded.

Belinda narrowed her gaze at him, showing that she was in great confusion. “What did I do wrong? Why are you so cold to me?” Her voice quivered as she spoke.

“I’m always cold.”

“No, this is different. If falling asleep made you so angry, I’m very sorry.” She pleaded, and tears heated up her eyes.

“Can you stop this? I’m not mad at you, and I am my normal self. I believe you should have gotten used to it now.” He answered and turned to leave.

“No. This isn’t your normal self. Up in that tower, we had a connection. I don’t know…”

“There is nothing like that, Belinda! Stop fantasizing about something that will never happen. Nothing is happening between us and nothing will ever happen. I wasn’t being nice to you, so don’t misunderstand. I was never nice to you. Stay away from me.”

Belinda gasped as she listened to the harsh words that came out of Damon’s mouth. Her heart was broken into pieces again. It was more painful than when she saw him with the woman in the morning.

Damon tightened his fist and turned to leave again. This time, Belinda didn’t call him back.

Belinda covered her mouth with her hand and began to cry. She was hurt by his words, but deep down, she couldn’t blame him.

‘What was I expecting? That he pulls me into his arms and tells me he loves me and that we should be a couple?’ She nibbled on her lips as she wept and to her chamber.

She got into the chamber and shut the door behind her. She rested her back on the door and slid down.

“You’re so stupid, Belinda. Why did you act over a useless dream you had? Now he told you to stay away from him.” She mumbled to herself and kept crying.

‘I have to stay away from him.”