CH. 7 Itinerary

The Arcade Center was almost empty at this time of day and they were free to play any game without waiting. Today was a weekday so the two twenty-four-year-olds looked out of place in this Arcade Center at ten in the morning."I know it is not my place to say this but this is the place that is first on your itinerary?" Ethan couldn't help but ask."No." Ashleigh immediately replied. "It was on seventh or something. But I changed it since this time of day it is most empty. Now we can have this place all to ourselves until the evening." Ash replied a little excited and made a beeline to the shooting range."It's been ages since I visited a place like this." Ethan muttered joining her."Same here. I guess we have something in common." Ash commented. She did something like this when she was angry at her mother and ran away from home when Ash was in grade school. Her father almost had a heart attack when he heard the news. He and her uncles had to search for a whole day before they found her when she finally paid the Arcade Center bill with her mother's stolen credit card. Ash felt nice when they swiped that card. This place only brought back some nice memories, nostalgic."Since we both are broke at the moment, What are we going to bet on?" Ash asked in a good mood."We are betting?" Ethan asked in return. "Of course, otherwise it is no fun." She said like it was the most obvious thing."Let's play first and decide later once the outcome is decided." He said. With that, they began playing and at some point, the matches became fierce and in no time, they were playing like their life depended on it."We both suck at this." Ash laughed rolling on the floor. The screen in front of them was that of a car racing game and both of them were lost somewhere on the map before they could make it through the finish line in time."I thought, You would be better at it." Ethan said but Ash only shrugged. "I'm no genius.""We are keeping this a secret, Evans." Ethan glared at the 'YOU LOSE' screen making Ash laugh even more."You are such a sore loser. I don't mind even if it is not a secret though." She said and he glared at her. "I dare you." He said and she raised her hands in defeat. "You get stubborn with the strangest of things. It is cute." She pinched his cheeks and he frowned at her."I don't know why but I'm not happy to hear that." He said and she laughed more. It's been a few weeks since they decided to travel together and many things happened in those weeks. Ash felt like she had become used to his presence and he was surprisingly not as annoying as she thought he was in the beginning."Come let's have something to eat before we resume our battle." She said and he let her drag him away to this way and that for the rest of the day.By the evening they were out of the Arcade Center their hands full of plushies and all kinds of gifts they won from playing games all day. By evening, students began to fill the Aracade Center and some took a second glance at the both of them."What are we going to do with these?" Ethan sighed at his hands full of children's toys. "Souvenirs?" Ash tilted her head with an unsure reply. Ethan smiled immediately, "Good idea.""Are we done for the day?" He asked as they walked back to her car. "Let's buy some takeaways and we will find a nice place to settle for the night." Ash replied."Where are we going?" "You will know when we reach there." Ash said speeding up and soon they were out of the city and towards a lonely road."Are you going to bury me, Evans?" Ethan asked and Ash smiled deviously. Half an hour later they were standing in front of the entrance to an observatory. She paid for the ticket and drove into an almost empty parking lot."We are stargazing?" Ethan asked a few minutes later. They were standing in a vast grassy plain and because the location was in a remote place and there weren't many people around them, there was nothing but pleasant wind that welcomed them."Let's have dinner first." Ash said patting the space next to her on a blanket she spread on the ground."I don't know there was a place like this." Ethan said. "As you should. This isn't open to outsiders. You see those people over there." Ash pointed to a few groups here and there around them. "They are all professionals working here. I got entry because of an entry ID I got from my professor. He gave that to me as a graduation gift. It only allows me for one visit though." She explained.After finishing the dinner, they lay on their backs and stared at the bright stars in the night sky above them. "Are we allowed to spend the night here?" Ethan spoke after a brief silence."Yes but let's leave before dawn because I don't want to face anyone I might be familiar with." Ash replied, She certainly didn't want to be found out by someone familiar and answer their questions. Ash wanted to stay away from everything for the duration of this escape of hers. This was part of the reason why she was so against Ethan being beside her in the beginning. Her family, friends and academy, Ash wanted to keep them out of her mind for a while."There are some students from the academy that might be interning at the moment in this institution. There might be some of your juniors working here as well." Ash turned her head and met his eyes that were looking at her."What was it like, at your academy?" He asked."Nothing different from yours probably. A lot of classes and assignments, the usual seriousness. However, since the student body is comparatively small so everyone knew each other. Also, the students are less troublemakers. During my years in the academy, the most well-known student scandal was that a mister accidentally tripped half of the shelves in one of the library sections." Ash couldn't help smiling at that memory. That was a commoner student who cried buckets because he was afraid he might have to pay for the damages but the professor laughed it off and there weren't any serious damages so he was made to arrange them back for a month after that. Some students would come help him whenever they were free and Ash lent a hand more than once in that month. The picture of chaos in the library was a novel sight and Ash would laugh to her heart's content every time and make fun of the student."It sounds like a close-knit community than a reputed institution for higher education." Ethan commented."It does. The professors were warm but the rules were strict. It's like I lived exploring that small world while learning about the wide world all those years. I had fun." Ash said."What was yours like?" She turned to look at him. He fell silent for a moment with his eyes on the night sky. Ethan's friends she saw at the match a few days ago seemed lively. By the looks of it, Ethan looked the most serious and silent among the troublemakers. Ethan wasn't judgemental but would speak if he thought someone was crossing the line. Certainly a good friend and despite his unapproachable aura, he was great partner-in-crime."What are you thinking?" He asked catching her staring at the side of his face."You are a great partner-in-crime." Ash admitted."Only you would say that." He laughed softly. "Because your friends are too scared of your parents?" She asked and his smile disappeared. She had heard of Ethan Mckinley before, never met him but heard of him. She also met his father before when she was seven and he played with her often on her visits to the palace. But she soon forgot about it after she stopped visiting the palace because she was upset with his majesty, the king."Scared of my father, to be precise." He corrected."I don't understand." Ash muttered. "Are you scared of your father?" She added."I'm not." He said immediately. "Then why do you sound so defensive?" She asked and he sat up with a frown. Ash sighed and pulled him back to lay down again."He angers me a lot. He often makes decisions for me without asking me." Ethan replied."Then did you talk to him about it?" Ash asked and met with silence from him. Her brother and sister, the eldest twins were like that. They would go with what their father or mother said most of the time even though it upset them."Maybe it is the trait of being the eldest in the family." Ash said. If her brother and sister weren't twins, they would be alone as the eldest and might feel as trapped as Ethan."You know, I was once scared when my brother brought home a girl to introduce to the family. I thought my family would oppose them because she was a commoner so I climbed to the top of the Blackwell Mansion and threatened my father to agree to their marriage." Ash remembered how embarrassed she felt because the girl's station was never a problem and My brother had already spoken with my parents before."So did your family finally agree?" Ethan asked with a curious gaze."It was never a problem to begin with and I have never felt so embarrassed in my entire life." Ash admitted covering her burning face. Ethan broke into laughter after hearing her and took his time to recover from it."My second eldest twin brothers didn't let me forget the incident for months after that." She said."Also, your father." Ethan's smile faded slowly as soon as she brought him up."He used to play with me in the palace when I was seven." She said and he widened his eyes in surprise."I know. I practically lived in the place during those years that's why I'm a little surprised that I never ran into you." Ash said. Ethan Mckinely was a prince, the king's nephew."I only got my prince title when I turned nine. My father and mother were always hesitant when talking about the palace. I remember it clearly because I very much wanted to enter the palace at that time. After all, most of my friends had visited the palace at least once." Ethan explained."That might be because of your parents' marriage circumstances." Ash replied."I'm surprised you didn't know it." She added. Ethan turned on his side and looked at her, paying her full attention. Seeing his curious attitude she felt like teasing again."You should hear it from your parents. It is not my place." She turned away from him and he held her shoulder immediately turning her back."Finish what you started." He glared and Ash broke into a silly grin."Evans." He called a little annoyed."His Majesty was against your parents' marriage." She finally answered.