Come with me

Esme glanced at the man in disbelief. Her face felt like it was on fire, not because of the glaring sun but because of the embarrassment. She was ashamed to hear such things. Did this Prince think that everyone is as shameless as him?

Keith glanced at the girl beside him before looking at Prince Aleister who was busy looking at the roses without looking in their direction, "My Lord, we-"

"We?" Aleister interrupted sharply.

"That's not what I mean, My Lord," As he spoke, Keith felt a prickly sensation on the back of his neck. Since the Prince's attention was not on him, he slowly raised his hand only for his fingers to graze past icicles which landed on his fingers. Confused, he glanced at the sun before looking at the melting icicles on his hand. Where would they come from in such weather?

"What do you mean then?" Aleister asked without bothering to look at the gardener.

Keith snapped out of his reverie, "My Lord, I and Miss Esmeray are-"

"Sounds horrible," Came the Prince's disdainful voice, interrupting Keith once again.

Keith looked around at different types of birds in the garden which were left here to enhance the beauty of the place. He then glanced at the Prince who did not seem to be in a good mood, "What sounds horrible, my Lord? We can get it removed.''

"Oh? Can we?" Aleister tilted his head to look at the constantly chirping gardener, "Her name rolling off your tongue is not up to my taste. Shall we cut your tongue off, hmm?"

Keith was tongue-tied and the man's piercing gaze made his blood run cold. He retreated a step back knowing that the Prince does not make jokes. Neither does he follows rules. He does whatever he wants and even the King can not stop him.

Esme's was displeased. This man lacked shame and grace. He hovered around a maid like a ghost. He also lacked manners. Who made him a Prince?

He should be the devil.

A Prince should be like her elder brother, Adrian Reis. Elegant, strong, kind, and well-mannered. She lowered her head to look at her feet. The reminder of him made her throat tighten. The distant memories started playing in her mind one by one. She recalled how the King of Nevesray, her Uncle had chained her brother in a small cage and tortured him endlessly until he died.

Aleister tilted his head and glanced at the girl who had her head lowered. Her fingers were clutching her dress slightly. A small frown was gracing her beautiful face. "What is it, my dear moon?"

Esme snapped out of her thoughts as she tilted her head to look at him confusingly. "Did you say something..." She asked, her face remained a bit listless, "...My Lord?"

Keith's brows tugged together at the way the Prince addressed Esme. And looking at the way she responded to him without a hint of surprise on her face, it looked like she was used to it and this was not the first time he addressed her as such. But he has never seen them together and Esme was assigned to the work in gardens. So, she couldn't be one of the maids who serve the Prince.

"The flowers are growing ugly," Aleister raised an eyebrow at her, "Because you are busy in nurturing affections with him," And he watched in amusement as her listless eyes turned to furious ones within an instant, "That's what I was saying."

"They are growing just fine, My Lord," They are beautiful, it's you who is blind. Her inner self added. Esme felt her face burning out of embarrassment yet again. She reminded herself again and again that this man is the Prince of the Great lands of Visteria and that she might end up being dead if she offended him. "Mr. Reiner is my superior. You have a misconception about us."

Keith glanced at her in apprehension. Did she know what would be the consequences of her actions? How could she talk back at Prince Aleister in that way? The man was known for his bad temper and ruthlessness.

If he wanted to do anything to Esme, then he would beg for pardon on her behalf. Keith decided it in his mind.

"If you say so," Contrary to Keith's expectations, Prince Aleister was seemingly pleased with the sight of the fuming girl glaring at him with furious eyes. It was not every day that the Prince gets to see such interesting creatures in flesh, "Come with me."

He was commanding her to follow him. But Esme stood rooted to her spot without showing any intentions to go anywhere. She will stay within her boundaries since he is the Prince with power and might and she is just a nobody. But that did not mean she would dance under his fingertips like a puppet. She was not going to let him control or corner her every time.

A smile danced in Aleister's eyes. The more she acted this way, the more he found her captivating. He tilted his head to the side to look at the blue roses before he plucked one of them.

Keith took the chance to lean closer to her, "Miss Esmeray, you should follow the Prince's command before he is offended by your actions," He spoke beside her ear.

Esme slowly and discreetly stepped to the side to create some distance between them. She felt apologetic towards him in her heart. Mr. Reiner has been helping her understanding her work properly all this while, he is very kind and patient with her. And right now, he is being a well-wisher as well.

But she was not used to such intimacy with a man. All these years, after almost every man in the village had looked at her with those disgusting gazes and after all their attempts to touch her inappropriately, it felt like something crawled under her skin when a man got too closer to her.

Aleister tilted his head to glance at the man, his icy gaze locked onto him for a moment before he averted his gaze towards Esme.

Keith felt his back going cold once again.

"It is about the arrow," Aleister said, looking at Esme as his fingers played with the petals of the rose.

Esme's eyes widened slightly. She was very curious about it from the day she unexpectedly ventured into that hallway and the arrow that was aimed at her.

"Will you come with me now?"

Esme nodded after hesitating for a few seconds.

Aleister stepped to the side as he extended his hand in the way that led to the outside of the garden.

Esme walked ahead, lost in her thoughts.

Persuasion works where coercion doesn't. And he just got to know that her preference leaned towards the former.

The man followed after her, the corner of his lips tilting up in a small curve.

Keith glanced at their retreating backs in confusion. Arrow? What were they talking about? They seemed to be very familiar with each other.

And suddenly a chill spread on his mouth. He pressed his fingers only to feel the icicles sticking on his lips and in the next second, icicles grew on his right hand freezing up to half of his arms. His eyes widened in astonishment.

At a little distance from the garden, a man and a beast were standing behind the tree, witnessing everything that occurred. "Wasn't it the same hand that grabbed her palm and the same lips that kissed it?" Rowan frowned, "Your Master is being petty.''

The huge white tiger, Leo, growled slowly baring his fangs at the man.

Rowan raised his hands in submission. What a loyal beast!

Back to Keith, the man's panic was getting evident on his face as the icicles on his lips and hand kept growing. But he could not even call for anyone's help.

He tilted his head to the side and his gaze landed on the Prince who stepped out of the gardens. And in the next second, the icicles on him miraculously disappeared followed by a lingering golden glow.

He glanced at his right hand and touched his lips only to feel nothing on them. Golden? Something clicked in his mind.

The powers in the members of the royalties started from yellow which stood for the weakest, orange, red, and then from purple which stood for the strongest and highest level of power.

But to this day, it has only been Prince Aleister who was known to be gifted with the rarest powers. It was golden. Something unseen and unheard of before. Nobody knew the extent of his powers. Some say there is nothing extraordinary about it while some say such mystifying powers can cause calamities yet no one knew what was the truth.

But what just happened with him...Keith's brows tugged together. Did he displease the Prince in any way? He shook his head at his assumption. There must be some instability when the Prince refined his powers. He has heard that many people fail in it causing their powers to burst and go unstable for a few days.

That must be it. He thought to himself. Because if the Prince was displeased with him, then there was no way he would have survived till now given the man's fearsome reputation.