Chapter 5 Playing Hard to Get

"And what do you think you're doing here?" an enormous feathered creature with flaming enraged eyes asked, his voice deep and terrifying.

It let out a terrifying squawk, accompanied by a flash of thunder from the sky. Arabelle screamed in terror. The fear on the beauty's face is indescribable. The atmosphere of the entire surroundings changed when the creature's earlier angry squawk was replaced by chuckles. He couldn't stop laughing at Arabelle's terrified expression; he had planned to scare the beauty from the moment she entered his room.

The monster laughed at what he was doing. "If you could only see the look on your face... Ahhhhhh!" he screamed like how Arabelle screamed. He was holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

The young lady was taken aback by the creature in front of her; her heart was pounding so fast with fear that she almost peed when it squawked so loudly. Her knees were still trembling.

"You're so scared," the creature teased, laughing.

The floor shook as a result of the strong fall of Arabelle's body, who had now lost consciousness as a result of her extreme fear and nervousness over what had happened earlier. The Owl stopped laughing and immediately approached the young lady.

“Miss! Wake up," he shook the beauty, but she remained unconscious.

"Hayst, extra work to do," the creature snorted.

He gently picked up Arabelle and gently laid her down, tying her from his back with the torn part of the curtain so she wouldn't fall, intending to return her to her own room where none of the palace servants would see him.

He went and cautiously opened the door, which he quickly shut when he heard two servants talking in the corridor about what they had heard shouting earlier. When he couldn't hear the servants anymore, he reopened the door.

The bird carefully stuck his head out and looked around the dark corridor, making sure no one was approaching. When he saw no sign of creatures, he left his room. He walked slowly to the stairs and descended to the first floor.

"Just a small woman, but too heavy," the creature grumbled from the woman sleeping soundly on his back. He was about to take the final step, down to the first floor when he heard a familiar voice, the voice of the head maid. He immediately turned to face the source of the voice while he was hiding behind the wall. He noticed the head maid accompanied by the clamators' general.

"I heard that too, so I'm going to the prince's room to see if his Highness awoke by that noise," the head maid said, looking at the clamator she was speaking to.

The creature quickly hid behind the walls, his big eyes widened even more with nervousness; he didn't want others to see him. He decided to fly up to the second floor to expedite his ascent. As soon as he opened the door, he went into his room. The creature heard the head maid arrive and it came to a halt in front of his door knocking softly.

He didn't respond, so the head maid assumed he was fast asleep. It didn't knock again and then left.

He sighed before releasing the rope that was binding him and the maiden on his back, causing Arabelle to fall to the scattered pillows on the floor.

"I knew from the very start that you're nothing but a headache," the creature said, looking at the beauty.

"Why did I do that?" He reflected on what he was doing outside earlier, wondering why he went out just to bring Arabelle back to her room while it was the beauty's fault after all.

"You stink, like a problem," the owl said, pointing to the beauty. He could tell that she was already cold but he ignores it and flies and clings to the chandelier and falls asleep.

Arabelle awoke the next morning to find herself stretched out on a very soft bed.

"Did you get enough sleep?" inquired a sarcastic deep voice.

"Yes!" Arabelle smiled and stretched out her hands. "Good, then leave my room now! " The owl said loudly, causing Arabelle to stop what she was doing and look around the room until their gazes met. The ear tufts on this bird are distinctive, and the upper parts are mottled with darker blackish coloring and tawny. Barred wings and tail. The underparts are a mottled buff with darker streaks. The facial disc is barely visible, but the orange eyes stand out; it stood about 8ft tall.

"Do you know that if you look at me like that, I can sentence you to death?" grumbled the creature. Arabelle immediately took her gaze away from the bird.

"What are you waiting for? Return to your room now," the beast demanded of the beauty. This caused Arabelle to get off to his bed hurriedly.

The beauty immediately searched for the slippers she had worn the night before, and when she found them, she quickly put them on and dashed to the door. The maiden was about to open the door when she noticed the large scratch on it, which brought back memories of what had happened last night.

"Prince Aegolus?" " And turned to face the creature, who was now staring back at her. "You are Prince Aegolus!" " The beauty spoke cheerfully. The Prince's eyes widened as he saw Arabelle's delight as she said his name.

"And what's the point, if I'm the Prince?" His expression shifted to annoyance. "Get out of my room right now!" The Prince rushed over to Arabelle, opened the door, and pushed the beauty out. "Don't ever come back here," the door slammed shut in front of the young lady's face.

"What's that for?" the beauty wondered, perplexed by the Prince's behavior toward her.

"Dear Priestess, why are you here? The head maid will scold us again for what you are doing," Vaste cried. "I've been looking for you," she cried, her voice concerned. Vaste had spent the night searching for the Priestess after waking up and discovering that she was not in the bed.

"V-Vaste, I saw the Prince," the beauty explained to her servant.

"Yes, Dear Priestess," the servant agreed, thinking Arabelle had just sleepwalked.

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"Are you serious, Priestess?" What does the Prince look like? " Ulula asked, stunned. When Arabelle and Vaste entered the room, the maiden immediately informed them of the incident.

"He appears normal..." She came to a halt and looked at the two creatures she was conversing with. "I mean, he's a normal Owl like you guys, he's not a frog after all," she joked to her friends.

"Is his Highness handsome, Dear Priestess?" Vaste inquired, causing Arabelle to pause and think.

Despite the fact that the entire body is covered in feathers, the large body of such a bird cannot be hidden. The nobility is also visible in its bearing. Arabelle thinks the Prince is a stunning bird. "All I can say is he's a beautiful bird," Arabelle replied.

"Ah, what did I see, Priestess? Are your eyes shining?" Ulula asked, teasingly. She and Vaste both laughed. The brows of the maiden clashed.

"Your eyes are so big that you see nonsense things," Arabelle interrupted the conversation. Another reason for the two to laugh at her. They came to a halt when Arabelle glared at them.

"If there's no problem with the Prince's appearance, why doesn't he show up to everyone?" Arabelle inquired abruptly. They just shrugged because they had no idea why.

"Because he took too much of the blame for why we all became like this," explained the head maid who had just entered Arabelle's room. "So my suspicion was correct that I saw the Prince last night," and smiled. "Am I right that you were the one who made that noise we heard last night too?" asked the head maid, but unlike before, her voice was full of joy.

Arabelle bowed her head in shame. The young lady was about to apologize and explain when the head maid signaled that she no longer needed to explain. Instead the old owl lady continued to speak.

"I'm sorry for how I behaved yesterday, Dear Priestess, I don't want to look bad in your eyes, I just want you to be safe." "His Highness is too dangerous for you to approach, that's why I prevented you from going there, but last night..." She remembered how the Prince hid behind the wall with his head sticking out, looking all around the stairs like a little kid. The head maid let out a soft laugh. "The Dear Prince acted differently because of you Dear Priestess, and for the first time, he bravely went out of his room, which is very rare." The head maid's face still has a hint of joy.

Arabelle frowned as she listened because she had no idea what the head maid was saying; all she remembered was the Prince scared her, she fainted, and woke up in his bed.

"Dear Priestess, may I request a favor?" the head maid asked, holding out her hand.

"W-what is that, Mrs. head maid?" the beauty inquired.

"Just call me Leonor," Leonor pleaded. "Dear Priestess, please befriend his Highness." The three which are Arabelle, Vaste and Ulula exchanged glances.

"W-what do you mean?" Arabelle asked in confusion.

"The Dear Prince has spent a long time in his dark room," Arabelle recalled, recalling the darkness, the scattered items, and the numerous scratches on the wall of the Prince's room. "To live alone and without company," the beauty lamented, recalling what appeared to have happened to the Prince, who screamed in agony as she touched the scratches on the wall. "He couldn't ask for help, he thinks it's all his fault, he thinks we blame him even though we don't," "Dear Priestess, can you show him that it's not too late? That the kingdom can still return to the way it was before, that the curse imposed on us can be broken, let his Highness realize that we do not blame him... show him that he has a friend who is ready to help him at any time and situation…" Leonor's voice showed sadness and concern in her voice.

Even if the head maid doesn't ask her, she also intends to be friends with the dear Prince, she knows the prince has hidden goodness in his heart, she saw it in his eyes.

"Don't worry Mrs. Leonor," the beauty said with a smile, Leonor also smiled at her.

After that conversation, the head maid left while Arabelle, Vaste and Ulula walked around the palace garden.

Even though only the moon's light illuminates the entire garden, The maiden can see that the gardeners really take care of the flowers. There are a variety of flowers planted there, including Evening Primrose, Moon Flower, Lilium Casa Blanca, and many others.

Arabelle was leisurely strolling through the garden when she became aware that her every move was being watched from afar, prompting her to turn around every corner until she noticed two pairs of large and orange eyes from the Prince's room's window on the second floor she stared at it for a long time, until his eyes vanished into the darkness.

Arabelle made the decision at the time to make friends with the Prince.

That night, she came back to the Prince's room, knocked several times, but Prince Aegolus didn't bother to open the door, so the maiden decided to return tomorrow.

Arabelle went to the Prince's room early the next day.

"Your Highness, this is Arabelle," she said from the other room. But the lady received no response.

"Your Highness, I brought your breakfast," she said cheerfully.

"Get out of here, and don't come back! And why are you bringing my breakfast? Are the servants here useless?" yelled the Prince from his room, not even opening the door.

"I offered to bring your breakfast here, your highness," Arabelle replied worriedly, the Prince's voice sounding as if he was about to do something bad.

"Put my breakfast in front of the door!" "Remember, this is the first and last time you'll do this, and if you don't obey my words, I'll fire all the servants here!" The Prince snorted from behind the closed door.

"Y-yes," Arabelle stammered. She left after placing the food in front of the door. The beauty realized that befriending the Prince was too difficult; it was like trying to open a door that no keys could open. So the beauty tried even harder to befriend Aegolus.

The next day, Arabelle sat in the shade of a tree near the Prince's bedroom. She sang a few of her favorite songs while the Prince secretly peered in, watching her sing and play with a friendly rabbit who approached her. The beauty looked at the window and their eyes met again, she smiled, and the Prince immediately closed the curtains in every window of his room. Arabelle left sighing.

The maiden offered to clean the Prince's room the next day, but she had threatened to fire all the servants in the castle. The next day, she invited the Prince to drink tea, but all she got was "In your hopes!" from the Prince. Arabelle has wasted many days attempting to befriend him with no success.

The Prince, on the other hand, was having a good time torturing Arabelle. He knew what she was up to from the start, and he had no intention of becoming friends with her. "She's such a pain on the ass," Aegolus proclaimed.

One day, Arabelle discovered that some servants were picking flowers to put in flower vases in the palace; she joined them and picked as well. The maiden considered giving the Prince flowers so she chose a flower that piqued her interest and placed it in front of the door after knocking.

When he saw the flower on the floor, the Prince's eyes widened and he quickly picked it up before anyone else did.

"Is that girl insane?" asked the Prince, smacking his forehead.

Arabelle, on the other hand, tells how she gave flowers to Prince Aegolus.

"And what flower is that, Dear Priestess?" Vaste inquired.

"I don't know what it's called, but I can describe it to you," she said. "It has lightly succulent leaves that are mildly lance-shaped. It has a tall flower stalk covered in multiple white-colored blooms. The flowers are star-shaped and have a strong distinct fragrance, I think it's similar to gardenia or jasmine but slightly muskier," Arabelle said.

Ulula and Vaste looked at each other and their jaws almost dropped when they heard that.

"What a Tuberose?!" they asked at the same time, shocked.