The Priestess' Affair [Books 1 &2]

𝐋. 𝐚 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭

-HER-

I lingered in the shadows with my heart fluttering in my chest. My eyes kept darting around the open courtyard, desperate to spot the familiar tall figure of Viscount. I rechecked my small pocket watch. I was there much earlier.

It had been the only thing I had been dreaming about all night. A part of me was still wondering if it was a dream. I didn't know what made Viscount ask me out all of a sudden, but at the same time, I wasn't complaining. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I glanced at my watch one more time only to find that the time was moving slower and slower. When I glanced up this time, I found Viscount in the empty courtyard, looking around... for me. I almost leapt out of the shadows and ran towards him.

I caught myself and took a deep breath before calmly walking out of the shadows. He stopped looking around when his eyes fell on me. I didn't miss how he scanned me from head to toe.

"Good morning," He greeted me first when I reached up to him, "I hope I'm not taking up your precious time,"

"No, I'm quite excited to see the city," I told him. He nodded before leading me out of there through a narrow passageway. "And she is out, so I have some free time in my hands," I told him.

"I'm glad to hear that," He spoke over his shoulder, walking ahead of me. We left the passageway into a narrow road at the back of the palace. A carriage was already waiting for us there. He held the door open for me to climb inside the carriage before following me inside.

"Where are we going?" I asked him once the carriage started rolling. He gave me a pensive look before asking, "Do you have a particular place in your mind?"

"Not really,"

"What about your family? Would you like to meet them? I'm sure it must have been a long time since they had seen you," He offered. I didn't know why but there was something dark in the way he had suggested the idea. His words pricked me in a way.

"Oh..." I was wordless for a bit, looking out the window, "They don't live in the capital anymore," I told him.

"Then where do they live?" He asked. I heard a hint of determination in his voice.

"It's in one of the villages far away from here," I answered, trying to get rid of this topic, but for some reason, he seemed a bit too fixated on my past.

"You're going to be here for a while. Maybe, I can take you there someday if you wish?" He offered, but it sounded more like a statement.

"I-I don't think that would be possible," I spoke, shifting uncomfortably in my seat and staring out of the window to avoid him. Though I could feel his eyes fixated on me like a blazing beam. "Besides, I think my parents are dead. It's been a long time,"

"How many years have you been at the shrine?" He asked me.

"A couple of years," I told him. "You didn't tell me where we are going,"

"We're going to the shipyard because I've something to deliver there. I'll see where to go from there," He told me.

"The shipyard?" I gasped. The place always fascinated me, especially how the sea looked from there. "I've heard a great deal about the huge ships being built there,"

"That's because we build the best ships," He told me, looking smug and proud.

"Of course," I smiled cheekily.

It didn't take us much time to reach the shipyard. Even though the ships under construction were blocking the sea view, they couldn't cover the sound of waves crashing in the distance. Viscount led me through a path to one of the farther points, telling me about each ship. In between the ships, I would catch a glimpse of the sea through the narrow gap.