Lord Theodore's Favorite Ritual

"Prince Theodore?" Alice asked again as they rode in their carriage back to the castle. Spring, the people, the flowers and everything else seemed to be forgotten momentarily to Alice except the boy that had saved her life. "Yes my Lady" Harley said, careful not to say all she knew because some of the maids rode with them this time, "A guard was allegedly left lying unconscious and we fear it was Prince Theodore’s or his men’s doing." she whispered.

"But how?" Alice asked absentmindedly, she tried her best to appear interested in the conversation while her mind was only reeling, floating elsewhere to a certain boy with blonde hair and sky-blue eyes that tossed her in its depths till she could not escape. She wished not to escape.

"Disguise," Harley spoke still unaware that the mind of her lady was elsewhere or used to be. As soon as Alice heard the word, her mind had stopped racing through the brief moment she had with her saviour. It was now fully focused on Harley’s report.

"I shall believe I heard you correctly when you said disguise, right?" Alice’s question carried unmasked interest this time. The wheels had began turning in her head again and she was already getting an ominous feeling about all of this.

"Yes" the maid affirmed, "The spies somehow got their hands on farm clothes and with those, it was easy for them to blend in with the rest of Springton being that our population is made up of mostly farmers." Harley explained, her fingers playing with the little knitting pin between her fingers, Conrads had gotten it for her, she might not like him but she liked gifts. Loved them.

"And their prince..." with every word Alice spoke, she felt like her heart would explode with a feeling she didn’t want to bother with yet, she needed to know, to confirm her suspicion first, "Was he on a disguise too?" her brows were skyhigh and waiting.

Harley shrugged. "Likely my lady," she offered "No one has heard of anyone in royal colours in the streets so it is possible that he very well might be disguised as any other commoner."

"Oh" was all Alice was able to let out before falling short of words. Harley waved her hand. "But you know, as a warrior prince he would have an unmistakeable aura around him that would easily expose" her point.