Abigail pov contd.
"Why are you following me?'' I asked finally when he did not stop staring at me and did not leave my way.
He raised a brow at my question, "shouldn't it be you explaining to me how and why you are here, hiding like a thief and walking in the dark?" he asked and I shook my head.
"I am a woman of my free will. I am not bound to explain to anyone what I am doing!" though i did not want to sound harsh, if he continued to follow me everywhere all the time then it would be a disaster for my future plans.
He looked at me with shock, and commented, "I am not binding you. Your father has assigned me to protect you, Abigail. It is not safe for you to run on the road without knights. Where are you going anyway?" he asked again and I sighed.
'I did not want to lie. But they did not give me a chance.'
"I am going to the woods in the local carriage. I want to try hunting.'' I replied but he did not look convinced at all.
"Why? I did not remember your desire to hunt before and do you think that hunting is that easy and it would take so less time that you would return to the tea house before your sister returns? If your father came to know about it he would cancel your knighthood ceremony and did not let you go out of the palace. Why are you taking so much risk?" he asked again and I gritted my teeth.
I need to do this so that we all can live peacefully.
"I needed to learn how to hunt, Noah. So that i could be perfect in everything.'' I replied with determined eyes and he sighed.
"Next weekend the crown prince is going hunting in the woods. You can request him to take you with him, since you will be his knight at that time. No one goes to the woods alone, Abigail. You should listen to me sometimes." I blinked at his words! So, it was next week that the prince was going to the woods!
"Alright, then I will listen to you. But since I am already here, I would go and check how Stephan and his wife are working on dress.`` I replied as I still walked towards the area where local carriages were waiting to be hired. I entered the local carriage.
"We are going to the local market missy. We charge three bronze coins per person." he replied, looking at me and then at Noah.
"I will be buying the whole carriage for myself. I need to go to a house in the town nearby.`` I replied to the man as I passed him 20 silver coins. His eyes shone and he nodded.
"Anywhere you say missy." Noah just shook his head as he sat with the coachman.
"There is sufficient space inside the carriage." offered him a seat as he was trying his best to protect me but he looked at me as if i was crazy and still sat out with the coachman.
I just snorted as the carriage started. It took us only a few mins to reach the housing area which Beth had told me once.
"Wait for us here, we will come back soon." I instructed and the man nodded.
"The carriage is yours for the whole day, missy. I am not going anywhere." the man replied with a warm smile as he closed his eyes and leaned on the wooden frame of the carriage.
I nodded and walked towards the row of wooden houses that were looking smaller than my room but clean and full of greenery around them.
"Pardon, missy but can you tell me where did Stephan, son of Beth live?" asked a pretty girl who blushed looking at me but then pointed at the house.
I smiled as I passed her a silver coin.
"Oh no, i can not take ths" she shook her head but i just nodded and walked away.
"You are being too generous, they will doubt your kindness and your identity too." Noah commented but i ignored him,
We knocked at the house which the girl had pointed at and soon the door was opened. Lily was standing there with a confused look.
"Yes," she asked and I removed my cloak a bit so that she could see me and her eyes widened. She moved away from the door and bowed.
"Oh my lady. I apologise for my indolence, please come in" she replied when I was still standing out.
"I want to know where Stephan and his wife are working?" I asked without entering because if they were working anywhere else, I did not have much time to go in and chat unnecessarily.
"Oh there are in. The dress is almost ready and looks very beautiful. Please come in. I will call my brother and ask him to bring the dress too." she chirped happily as she moved in and finally I followed.
"So you have found both the jewel maker and the dressmaker already?" Although Noah's face was still without expressions, I could feel the shock in his voice.
I just nodded as I looked around. The house was simple and it barely had furniture. The place was tidy and peaceful. There was a swing in the porch area with flowers all around. The place looked so dreamy that instead of walking in, I walked there and sat on it.
Noah chuckled as he pushed the swing and it started moving in the air making me giggle. He laughed more looking at me when I tilted my face and raised a brow.
"Why are you laughing?" I asked , though I know he was just amused at my behavior.
"You are the perfect mix of a strong antagonist and a weak protagonist. Sometimes I fail to understand, are you a villain or a knight?" he said, shaking his head and I smirked.
"I am the villain who is turning into her own knight."