Royal scales|| an enemies to lover's story

Village life

(TW: description of death, description of someone being burnt alive, mentions of child abandonment, mentions of an animal attack, mentions of accidental injury of a child, implied beginnings of religious trauma, description of a corpse. I know I already said that character death happens in the beginning, of the story to get warnings out of the way, but I feel as if I should put warnings of the serious stuff. If you are sensitive to any of the triggers mentioned or some of these things have happened to you, I will give a tldr at the end so you can skip the chapter. Reader discretion is heavily advised for this chapter. Read on if you feel you can manage these things, but discretion is still heavily implied.)

"Life has been treating me fine Ivan, though I do wish Michel would stop pushing for us to wed, we are still young & have dreams of our own. We do not need to tie the knot so soon now." Rose said, picking up a pale of water that was beside her feet. Ivan had decided to grab a pale near him wanting to be of help to his best friend. "You don't need to do that your majesty." Rosa said in futile protest. "I know Rosa, I wish to help though. I spend most of my days within the castle walls, it only seems fit I were to help out around the village." Ivan replied, following Rosa to the barley field. As the pair headed to the fields, small children ran about chasing each other. Some playing Chivy, others playing knight & dragon. Ivan noticed that a small group of children were hiding among the village stalls, some in bushes, with one child searching for them.

By the time Ivan & Rosa had reached the barley field Rosa's dress had been stained with mud & dust, & Ivan's pants & boots were coated in muck & manure. Rosa entered the field & tossed water from the bucket onto the ground, which greedily drank it up. Ivan attempted to mirror Rosa, managing to send the water into the parched fields before falling into the ground. Rosa let out a small chuckle as her friend sat up in the field covered in dirt. Ivan had stared into his hands before letting out a joyous chuckle. Before long, the two friends were engulfed by their own laughter, finding the events that transpired to be humorous.

Once the laughter had settled, Rosa helped Ivan reach his feet before they made their way to Rosa's home to wash off in the dirt & muck off themselves. Rosa's mother, Kate Kline, had brought a fresh set of robes & dress for the two before heading off to wash the old clothes. "I must say, your mother is very compassionate Rosa." Ivan said, climbing out of the basin he sat in & heading to his clothing. "She is indeed." Rosa replied, doing as Ivan had before slipping into the new dress her mother left for her.

Ivan had struggled slightly with getting the clean clothing left for him on, managing to get them on with the help of Rosa. "So, I should have asked your purpose for visiting, should I have?" she said, sounding calm yet regretful for the words she let spill from her mouth. "Oh! Not at all, I'm the one who should have explained. My parents have crowned me the next in line to rule & had told me to talk to those here in the village to restore confidence in my rule. I do apologize for not bringing this to light." Ivan said, remembering he had to converse with others in the village.

While Ivan was catching up with Robert & Kate Kline a bell rang, reminiscent of the bell used to call forth the maids & butlers in the castle. "CAROLINE MESQURA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF WITCHCRAFT! THE WITCH IS TO BE! BURNED AT THE STAKE!!" a voice called, followed by pleads of mercy & prayers mixing together in a cacophony of voices. "Isn't Caroline the girl that helped rid the fields of parasites?" Kate said, horrified that they trusted a witch. As the family & prince exited the home, Ivan watched as a woman was held back as another was being tied up, both had raven hair & earth brown eyes. "PLEASE! I SWEAR TO THE LORD MY DAUGHTER HAS MENT NO HARM TO ANYONE! SHE ONLY HOLDS THE DESIRE TO HELP! SHE HAS GONE TO CHURCH TO PRAY HER SINS AWAY! PLEASE SPARE HER!" the woman being held back pleaded, trying to stop the execution.