Note:

Thank you, dear Kelly Goodwin,  for gifting a castle to "The Cursed Prince" yesterday! xx

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"We will finally go out together," Rowena whispered to her beloved pet. "Are you excited?"

Lucent screeched softly and rubbed its head on hers. It was enough for Rowena to know that Lucent was just as excited as she was. Yesterday, Rowena had begged her father to allow her to bring Lucent with her during her excursion and, surprisingly, King Draco said yes.

"Don't let people see Lucent. It must stay in the carriage at all times," Lady Liz said over and over again after they entered the simple carriage provided for this special occasion.

The coachman was a big burly man who immediately drove the carriage toward their destination. There were four knights in plain clothes following them from behind to make sure the princess was safe and protected.

"Understood, Lady Liz." Rowena nodded.

She opened the carriage window and let the gentle breeze touch her face. She closed her eyes and took in a long deep breath. It almost felt like the air out here was much better and fresher than the air she breathed in the castle.

She knew it must be her imagination because there was no way the air would be different. She had learned a lot about such things in books and her teachers taught her about nature and the world. All humans breathed the same air, just like they drank the same water.

Maybe, when you were happy, everything just felt better? She opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. Maybe that's what's happening, she thought. The trees looked greener, the flowers more beautiful, and she thought she could hear birds singing from the trees.

It was such a beautiful day!

"Lady Liz..." Rowena suddenly turned to her governess and touched her arm. "Can we stop for a bit? I want to see those flowers over there. I think I saw them many times in books. I have never seen the real ones."

Lady Liz looked outside the window and saw there was a beautiful meadow to their right with a small lake. There were many small purplish flowers covering the surface closer to the lake.

People called it Cris and these flowers only grew near water. It's true that Rowena had never seen the real one because the castle was not close to any lakes or rivers.

Lady Liz didn't care about Cris, but she thought the place was beautiful. So, she nodded and ordered the coachman to stop their carriage. As soon as the carriage stopped and the door was opened by one of the knights, Rowena stepped out excitedly. 

"This is so, so beautiful...!" she cried excitedly. Slowly tears were forming in the corners of her eyes and she smiled broadly.

She crouched down and touched the grass. It was not much different from the grass in the castle ground, but somehow she felt they were so soft to touch.

She closed her eyes and smelled the air. It was sweet and filled with the aroma from flowers around them. She looked ahead and saw the little purple flowers that she came here to see. 

Rowena walked toward the lake to see Cris flowers and picked some. They were not that remarkable, but somehow in her eyes, they were so beautiful. She picked enough flowers to make a nice little flower crown for herself.

It looked really beautiful. Since she was not allowed to take off her hat, Rowena could only keep the crown in her hand and admire it.

"Are you done?" Lady Liz came to her and asked Rowena to go back to the carriage. "The sun will be high soon. It will be too hot for you to walk around if we delay."

Rowena turned to look at Lady Liz. She noticed the older woman was not wearing any hat. Then she looked at the flower crown in her hand.

Rowena thought the crown was too beautiful not to be worn. So, she reached out her hand and gave the crown to Lady Liz.

"This is for you," Rowena said.

"Huh?" Lady Liz was dumbfounded when she saw the flower crown was extended to her. "For.. for me?"

"Yes." Rowena nodded. "Do you not want it?"

Lady Liz was at a loss for words. She batted her eyes in confusion and then repeated her question. "For me? Really? Why?"

Rowena pointed at her hat. "I have to wear my hat. You told me that."

Every time Rowena wanted to rebel and do something that was not allowed, she remembered her father's threat. She didn't want her father to hurt Lucent if she disobeyed her father or her teachers.

So, even though she really wanted to take off her hat and wear this flower crown, she only swallowed that desire and did not act on it.

"Oh..." Lady Liz touched the flower crown with a trembling hand.

Then, she looked at Rowena's face. The beautiful girl was looking at her flower crown with such longing on her face. Lady Liz could tell that Rowena wanted the crown for herself, but she didn't want to be punished.

Lady Liz took the crown, but before she could put it on her head, suddenly she changed her mind. She gave the crown back to Rowena. "You wear it."

"Me?"

"Yes." Lady Liz put the crown to the ground and helped Rowena take off her wide hat. "I think we can let you wear it for a while. You don't really need this hat."

Rowena's lashes fluttered and her expression was filled with disbelief. For the first time in eight years, suddenly Lady Liz showed some kindness to her. 

"But my father..."

Lady Liz winked at the princess. "Your father will not know."

She fixed the beautiful crown on Rowena's head and stepped back to admire her. Rowena looked like a fairy from the books. She was really beautiful and mesmerizing.

Lady Liz suddenly remembered what many people said about this girl's beauty. She had a beauty that could topple even gods. Ahh.. not only was she beautiful, but Rowena was also very smart and had a kind heart.

This made the governess wonder, what kind of man would be so lucky to marry this princess.

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From Missrealitybites:

Raphael is that lucky man!

PS: I miscalculated. Rowena will meet a very interesting person in the next chapter.. Not this one.

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