Page 117 of Sumanika

"Yes, but before we leave, do your hair; you have to hide it," he said, and I furrowed my brows, unable to think of how I would hide my healthy hair.

"Maybe make a bun and wrap a turban," he suggested, and I nodded.

I quickly made a tight bun, and he wrapped the cloth around my head.

"But you still look feminine," he said, and I couldn’t help but think back to his shawl that I had.

I immediately took it out and wrapped it around myself.

"How do I look now?"

I asked, and he smiled as he looked at me.

"Perfect, and your name is Eklavya, and you don’t know how to speak," he said, and I questioned immediately, "Why?"

He smiled, "Because you have a really sweet voice that couldn’t be changed." His words made a lot of sense to me, and I nodded, "Alright."

He held my hand, and we both walked toward the door. As he opened it, he stepped outside first, checking to see if everything was okay.

"Come out," he said slowly, and I felt butterflies in my stomach already. I didn’t know why, but the thought of anyone finding us made me feel sick all of a sudden.

I stepped outside, trying to calm my racing heart, looking around to see if someone was watching.

Suddenly, while watching me back as he walked forward, he bumped his head into a pole, and a soft cry escaped his mouth.

"Aaaaaaghh,"

My eyes widened in shock before bursting into laughter.

"Hahahahaha,"

He stared at me while rubbing his head and smiled.

"I did that on purpose to make you smile," he said, and I couldn’t help but laugh even more.

"Sometimes, you don’t even behave like a prince," I teased, and he led me silently through the galleries, avoiding detection, replying,

"Everyone is a normal human before they’re a king, prince, maid, or anything else. Life is thousands of times more beautiful when you just stick to that."

His words made me feel good, and I looked at him as he took me to the horse stable.

"Won’t the soldiers at the door notice us?"

I tried to ask, and he looked at me for a moment with a smile while untying his horse and rubbing its neck.

"I don't care,"

He said, leaning in to kiss the jet-black horse and rubbed its forehead.

"That’s my wife,"

He said to the horse, and I gulped nervously, glancing at it looking back at me. It lifted its front legs and neighed a little.

"That’s okay; she doesn’t weigh much," he muttered in its ear, and he inhaled sharply.

"Give me your hand," he said, and I moved my hand closer to him.

"Doesn’t he recognize me? I mean, the you saved me," I tried to say, looking at him as I put my hand on his forehead.

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