183 Starting the Journey
“Anastasia, are you ready?” Caspian asked while standing in front of Anastasia’s bedroom door.
Tilla opened the door for the King. She bowed to him and then stepped aside.
Anastasia was sitting down in front of the dressing table and was giving herself some touch-ups. She looked at Caspian’s reflection in the mirror and then said with a smile on her face, “Almost ready.”
She picked up the bottle of perfume and brought it close to her neck. After spraying the perfume behind her ears and checking herself in the mirror one last time, she said, “Okay. I’m ready.”
Caspian turned to look outside of the main door and then gestured for a few servants who were waiting at the door to come in. “Take the luggage and load them,” he ordered them while pointing at the luggage that Tilla had kept by the bedroom door.
The servants immediately walked inside and carried the luggage out of the chamber.
Caspian then walked inside the bedroom and offered his hand to his wife. “Let’s go then, shall we?”
Anastasia held Caspian’s hand and gave him a nod.
The two of them walked hand-in-hand and headed outside the room.
.....
Tilla also closely followed them.
When the three of them reached in front of the main entrance of the castle, four carriages had already been lined up, ready for the travel.
The royal guards, coachmen, Zenon, and Vincent bowed to the King and the Queen the moment they all saw the monarchs.
Caspian led Anastasia towards one of the carriages that was parked in the middle. And while walking towards the door of that carriage, he asked Zenon, “Isn’t Hamilton here yet?”
“He is-”
Zenon was about to answer the King when they all heard Hamilton’s voice from the carriage that was just behind the one that Caspian and Anastasia were going to use. “I’m already here, Your Majesty. You made me wait here for five whole minutes. Let’s go already!”
“Good to have you here, Hamilton,” Caspian said while looking at the closed carriage window. Though Hamilton didn’t show his face, he was genuinely happy to hear Hamilton’s voice.
The coachman opened the door of the carriage and prepared a footstool for the Queen to step on.
Caspian helped his wife to get inside the carriage. And before he also got in, he looked at Zenon and asked, “You will be able to handle everything, right?”
“Yes.” Zenon gave a confident smile and said, “You don’t have to worry about anything here, Your Majesty.” He then bowed to the King and said, “Enjoy the trip.”
“I will,” Caspian said with a mysterious smile on his face.
After Caspian also got inside the carriage, Zenon glanced at Tilla and said while pointing at the carriage at the forefront, “You can use that carriage. The others are already inside.”
Tilla gave a polite bow to Zenon and turned to head toward the carriage that she was supposed to use.
However, Vincent stood in front of her and asked, “Tilla, why don’t you accompany me? I don’t think I can sit alone in the carriage for two whole days. I will get bored out of my mind within an hour if I have to sit alone.”
Tilla wasn’t sure if she was even allowed to share the carriage with the lord. And she wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to share the carriage with Vincent even if she was allowed to.
“Er... I don’t think I should be sharing the carriage with you, Milord.” Tilla gave a polite bow to Vincent and tried to walk past him.
However, Vincent was quite insistent about it. “Oh, come on, Tilla. You don’t have to be shy. You agreed to be my friend, didn’t you? What good is a friend if they can’t even give me company?”
“But, how can I...” Tilla awkwardly looked past Vincent and looked at the carriage that she was supposed to use. She wanted to run past him and get inside that carriage.
Caspian was listening to their conversation from inside his carriage. They were already a few minutes late. He didn’t want those two to delay the travel even further. So, he looked out of the window and asked his wife’s handmaid, “Tilla, why don’t you do as Vincent has asked you? We are getting late.”
Tilla was surprised to get a direct order from the King. She bowed to him and agreed, not that she had any other option now, “Right away, Your Majesty.”
Vincent focused his gaze behind Tilla. He saw Caspian gesturing for him to get inside the carriage as well. He smiled at his friend, thankful that he wouldn’t be lonely throughout the travel.
“Right this way, my friend,” Vincent pointed his palm inside his carriage and urged Tilla to get in.
After giving a hand to Tilla, he also stepped inside the carriage.
When all four carriages were occupied, the royal guards bowed to the King and then ran ahead to clear the way for the carriages. A squad consisting of fifteen soldiers had already left for Xanmar yesterday night to validate the information about the coronation.
When the royal guards disappeared from view, all four of the carriages also started to move.
Caspian waved his hand at Zenon as the carriage passed by. And when the carriage was out of the main gate, he finally turned to look at his wife.
Anastasia was busy watching the scenery outside. She was placing her arms on the window and resting her chin on her knuckles. As she was taking in the fresh air, her wide smile plastered to her face.
Caspian could hear Anastasia’s heart beating louder and louder. This was the first time he had seen her getting excited about something that wasn’t him or her books.
Caspian got up and shifted to sit down in front of Anastasia. He wanted to see the excited look on her face. Needless to say, he didn’t regret shifting there because he was able to see his wife’s child-like excitement.
“Are you that happy?” he rested his elbow on the window and asked while gazing at his wife’s face.
Anastasia looked at him with a wide grin on her face. “Yes!” she exclaimed and went back to staring out of the window.
Caspian suddenly found himself holding his breath. His heart tingled with happiness upon seeing that happy puppy in front of him. He breathed in through his mouth and smiled, unable to take his eyes off of his wife’s face.
‘I’m glad that I agreed to this trip,’ he thought to himself as he captured that excitement of his wife with his eyes.
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