chapter 51

Myan stared at the concubines and wondered what it was that they wanted and why they were in the bedroom. She tried to figure out if Ash would be anywhere in sight but she was wrong.

She sat up and the first woman to speak to her, she immediately recognized the voice to belong to the concubine that was supposed to be intimate with Ash from the last night.

"Well, look who decider to come awake?" she directed, snapping her fingers in zmyand dave.

Her face was pale with pink undertones and she had an ugly smug on her face.

"You. You are that palace slave." She rudely directed af Myan.

"Excuse me?" Myan stood to her feet with a disapproving frown, trying not to drop the blankets that had warmed her, on the floor. "I'm not a slave, I'm s servant."

"Like that us even any better." The concybkue laughed and her mates joined her. "You came in here to steal my spot. You might have managed to truck Ash into marrying you, and sleeping with you, but I promise you that stealing him is not something I will accept!"

"You're just jealous that you were not able to get him to marry you. You might be beautiful, and you might be loose mouthed but the truth is the lord married a servant at the ebd of the day, and that is something that should make you ashamed of yourselves." Myan retirelted. She had no idea where she gained the sudden confidence to speak that much but she was definitely not in the mood to get beat up and so sgd took an immediate turn, leaving the room immediately, before they got the chance to attack her.

The concubine had her mother opened the entire time, unsure of what to say in response.

Myan sighed in relief when she was out of the bedroom and it seemed to be that Hilda was everywhere that she went because she was the first person she saw as soon as she got to the living room.

Hildavran up to her side she threw a warm hug in her direction. Mya  was quick to dogged the unexpected interaction with furrowed eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"Thank you so much." Hilda fanned her face, taking deep breaths in and out, "I an so glad you didng tell Ash anything. I'm really grateful." She pulled a full smile on her face and nudged Myan's shoulder. "I also heard that be did nig go to the palace at the end of the day, from confirmed sources! So it's fine."

Myan looked around as if she expected someone to be listening to their conversation. "Why won't you keep your voice down?"

"Oh dont worry, Ash went out hunting early in the morning, he probably wont be back until its evening." She informed manager.

Myan understood why the reason she had not seen him around was because ge was not around.

"So, Lucy went around looking all angry." Hilda nudged her shoulders, folding her hands across her chest, a smirk on her face.

"Who is that?" Myan wondered out of genuine curiosity.

"She is the concubine that was supposed to spend the night with Ash last night." Hikda came to stand in front of Myan. She put her hands on her shoulders and asked with wide eyes, "tell me, did you really seal your marriage with him last night?"

Myan frowned and gently brushed her hands off, "please let me go." She continued her journey to where she had been going before the nose poking Hilda interrupted.

"Come on, you can tell me, I wont…" hikda was unable to finish that statement because a human figure appeared by the entrance of the cave. She flinched when she saw that it was none other than Ash, disappearing from sight before he questioned her presence. Her fear for him had grown ever since he heard those words from her and she was willing to di anything to stay away from him.

"I thought you wouldnt be coming back until it was evening." Myan moved closer to him, amazed to know that he had saved her from hikda.

"Had your bathe yet? Get dressed, we are going out." He simply said, his hands behind his back. She took note if his bun and knew she could stare at his hair all day if she was not careful

"Where are we going this time?" She asked in a low voice after she had just processed the words he had said.

"To the main market in Flame kingdom." He told her, "we are going to get you bew clothes."

She was excited to be going be going back to her kingdom but she was getting highly suspicious of how Ash seemed to be growing a lot more comfortable with being around her.

"Clothes? But the ones you've given me are all-" she started but he interrupted her.

"White." He finished her sentence. "Get clean, I'll be waking for you outside."

"But…" she tried to argue, turning around when he commanded his way towards the bedroom.

"No arguments." He warned and she nodded in understanding. She was about to carry on when she noticed the nervous concubines poke their heads out of the bedroom.

She let out a small gasp and rushed to his side do she could keep his face on her.

It seemed they had tressoassed when they came into the bedroom this morning and she definitely did not want them to suffer any punishment because of her.

"My lord!" She held his wrist with both hands and sucjed her lips in.

Ash trailed his eyes from her hands to her face, his forehead wrinkly ad he waited for an explanation to clear his confusion.

The concubines, realizing what she was doing hurried out of the bedroom on their topotoes, holding their gowns up so they would not trio and fall.

"I just wanted to say… can I pick the outfits out on my own?" She swallowed.

"That's not a problem." He withdrew his hand from her hold and she sighed in relief when she noticed the women had scurried out of sight, into one of the other rooms she was yet to explore.

"Thank goodness " she added to her sigh.

Ash stared st her like she was crazy but he made no comments. He went ahead and left her standing all bu herself.

*

Like she expected, the villagers could not take their eyes off them. Some people audibly rumoured that she was one of his concubines and that there was no way in the world that the lord would ge seen in the market with a servant. Others claimed to know Myan eith the fourth princess.

The villsgerscwere in sight because they were not expecting hid presence and although Myan wished the grounds would just open and swallow her alive, ash seemed to be taking things well.

Theor hair were put up in similar styles bun and he was in grey shorts and a black tank top while she was in one of the traditional white gowns she was accustomed to wearing.

"Why do you look so uncomfortable?" He asked her after a while as she was slowly trailing behind him.

"Its nothing." She shook her head.

He looked over his shoulder, "are you scared?"

"No." She shook her head. A lot of things were running through her mind at full speed. For one, she knew that Ash definitely did not like to be around the villagers when he was visiting the kingdoms but he did not seem to kind today and that was something she could not get out of her head.

"I just really wonder why you would choose to go out with me." She voiced the truth with her head bowed.

"You are the lord's wife, it does not matter how it came to be, people should be able to identify you that way when they her your appearance." Je rszlinded. He took her hand in his and held her as they walked towards the clothes section of the large flame market.

The market was crowded by traders advertising their products on the top of their lungs and children wandered around without cost.

The villagers with higher classes had their servants do the advertisements while they concentrated on how much gold or silver pieces they had made.

It seemed like almost every sector of the market was occupier by fruit sellers.

Myan loved how the sounds from different people speaking seemed to blend into one voice speaking gibberish. She smiled at a display of adults showing off what they could with their fire powers in front of amused children that were yet to partake in crossover.

"Here we are." Ashs deep voice hit her ears and she paid attention to no one but him. She thought it was amazing how well he was taking the sight of her and ignoring the pointing fingers.

Every part of the clothing sector fent like rainbow splashes. Different colours of materials withthe finest designs hung on huge ladders and respective traders tried to draw the customers to their stalls.

A short man with a bumpy head was ranting at a woman who had supposedly stolen a customer from him and that briuht a smile on Myan's face.

"I have a particular trader here with the most expensive silks, they are long lasting, we will find her stl. I have a blurring memory of this place." Ash did not fancy the crowd but he did his best to conceal this feeling.

"Okay." She agreed immediately.

"Eait here, I'll ask around." He said and just walked straight ahead, only a few meters away.

"Excuse me?" He called to a loud, distracted stall owner. "I'm trying to find…" he continued to say even though the woman he was talking to seemed to be afraid of his presence.

Myan folded her arms across her chest, a smile on her face as she relived memories of her coming to the market with the fourth princess.

She raised her head to look at Ash and that was when a huge palm pressed against her lips from behind.

With shock, she stood stiff and tried to scream but there was no time for her to because she least into sudden darkness.