Chapter 4

Melissa and Diana came to the back of the house. Melissa sat on the steps and Diana took her arrow and bow.

"Now…, tell me. Who are they, hmm?" She asked Diana raising an eyebrow and with a mocking smile.

Diana replied while setting the arrow in the bow, "I told you. He is the prince and the other his prin…sorry, friend." She shot the arrow and it landed right on the target making her grin.

"And?" Melissa asked with a smirk.

"And what?" Diana asked, totally confused at her friend's interrogation.

Melissa sighed, "Don't you remember? They are the ones who came to the bakery the other day, in straw hats."

Diana said while remembering something, "Straw hats…?" She burst out, "You saw their faces?!" Melissa nodded.

"So, they were the ones? I am going to beat them to a pulp." Diana said furiously. "Because of them, I got punishment for ONE AND A HALF MONTHS!!!"

Melissa hugged her waist from the back, trying to stop her, "Listen to me, idiot!"

"What! Why are you stopping me? What did I do?" Diana snapped.

"They are guests here, Diana! Your dad will be mad at you for beating them. And they might have other intentions to come!" Melissa snapped back.

Diana stopped abruptly, "Oh, right. Dad will be mad." She thought for a moment and said, "But I want REVENGE!"

Melissa hit the back of her head hard making Diana stop.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

Melissa ordered, "Sit down!"

Diana frowned but sat down while rubbing her head.

"What is it?" Diana asked.

Melissa said, "Listen, stupid! They didn't intend to increase your punishment that day, maybe they just wanted to help and maybe they came to say sorry for that."

"Haha. Yes, maybe." Diana laughed sarcastically and said, "Why would someone interfere in a father-daughter conversation? They just want to threaten dad! They are here to complain to dad about me." She grabbed her head with both hands. "I am sure they want more punishment for me. What should I do now?"

Melissa shook her head at her friend's statement.

"Hey! I have an idea." Diana sprung up from her place. "How about we drown them in the pond?"

Melissa sighed, "Diana, Please."

"Or how about we tie them on their horses and leave them in the forest? What do you think?" Diana asked excitedly.

"No! We are not doing anything to them, and I don't think anything about it!" Melissa snapped.

Diana huffed, "Fine." She crossed her arms.

"I'll just go ask them myself." She bolted into the house before Melissa could stop her.

"You have to do this," Carl said.

"You are the one who can!" Eric's voice echoed.

"He is stubborn, Eric. We must do something else." Carl voiced out.

Diana ran towards them. She pointed her finger toward the two men, "How dare you both tried to threaten my dad?!"

"Threaten…?" Eric repeated, head tilting to the side.

"Because of you two I am getting punished for the last three weeks and still three weeks are left!" Diana was angry.

Melissa came running behind her and said, "Diana, Please! Calm down!"

Diana replied, "Calm down. CALM DOWN! Why should I calm down when the problem is sitting on my sofa!"

Mr. Robert shook his head and sighed, "What happened, Diana?"

"Dad don't worry. I know they were threatening you." Diana looked around and found her sword in the corner. "I am going to kill them." She took her sword and pointed it toward them.

The two men held up their hands in surrender and said harmonizing with the words, "No! No! We are sorry. We didn't want your punishment to increase, and we were not threatening your father, either."

"Diana! That's enough! They are my guests, and you should treat them well." Mr. Robert snapped.

Diana opened her mouth but was cut off by Mr. Robert, "Diana, you got the punishment because you didn't listen or obey me." He pointed towards the two men and continued, "And they were not threatening me. They were asking for help."

Her cheeks dusted a hint of pink from embarrassment, "I-I am sorry. I didn't realize this, and I didn't know." She said keeping the sword down and eyes fixed on the floor.

The prince smiled at her. His face became gentle, and his eyes showed unknown emotions. He was practically staring at her until Carl nudged his arm. He came out of his thoughts and realized that the conversation wasn't finished yet.

"I am not going to leave you alone with them and that's final," Diana said while crossing her arms saying her final decision.

Mr. Robert knew they had to comply, or it could turn out bad, so he just sighed and said, "Okay. You can sit."

Diana sat down on one of the chairs with her arms still crossed and a little angry pout.

Eric smiled softly. He looked up and saw Melissa smirking at him, causing him to avert his gaze.

Mr. Robert said motioning towards an empty chair, "Melissa, come to have a seat."

"Ah! No, uncle, I should head back, now. It's getting dark and mom, dad must be getting worried." Melissa replied.

"Give Aunt Mary my 'Hi' and a kiss on the cheek. She must be angry over me for breaking her favorite pot that day." Diana winked at her.

"Diana…..You know, she was really angry." Melissa warned.

"I know. But doesn't that happen all the time?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

Melissa sighed and shook her head making Diana laugh.

"Okay, uncle. I'll be going now. Bye Uncle. Bye Diana and have a nice talk with your…." She looked towards Eric and smiled, "guests."

"I could have come to your home with you, but I can't leave dad alone with them," Diana said in a serious concerned tone.

"I know and that's not a problem, okay. Don't worry, I can go by myself." Melissa said with a smile. "Bye, everyone!" and left the house.

"Okay, so where were we?" Mr. Robert asked, gaining their attention.

Carl replied, "So, sir, we were saying if you can train our soldiers. We will pay you for your services."

"I already said I don't want to." Mr. Robert replied.

"Please sir, it will be generous of you." Eric tried to convince him.

"I am sorry, but my decision is final."

"We request you, sir," Carl said.

"As I said, my decision is final. You may leave now." Mr. Robert said while getting up.

"Ha… I think it's time for us to leave." Carl said while he and Eric got up from their seats.

They looked up to see a quiet figure throughout the conversation. But Diana had already fallen asleep for who knows how long. She looked peaceful, careless, and innocent like she wasn't the one threatening to kill them a while ago.

Eric turned toward Mr. Robert and said, "I think your daughter wasn't interested in our talk." He pointed towards Diana.

Mr. Robert looked at her and smiled fondly.

"Uh… one more thing, sir." Mr. Robert looked up with a questioning gaze.

"I hope you don't think the same as your daughter, sir. We respect you and your daughter."

Mr. Robert smiled and nodded, "I know. Don't worry about her. She'll be fine."

When they reached the door, an idea popped up in Eric's mind, his eyes brightening up, "Sir! If you don't want to teach the soldiers then… can you teach us, just the two of us?" He asked expectantly. Carl looked at him with surprise.

"Ha... You are very determined but still... no, I won't." Mr. Robert replied.

"Okay…" Eric's voice suddenly left all the excitement he had a moment ago.

"Please reconsider and let us know if you change your mind." Carl tried one last time for the sake of his friend.

Mr. Robert nodded, "I will let you know."

Eric took one last glance at the house and left.