Queen Of Monsters

Ru Naya and Prince Jun Liyun followed the river that flowed past the camp and towards the deep forest. The river bubbled as it sn.a.k.e.d through the countless trees and rocks before disappearing amidst the dense undergrowth. Though the river was not visible anymore to her, the sound of the flowing water was still loud in the forest, and the constant sound was a source of comfort amid the chilly and dark forest. However, Ru Naya had to admit that she wasn't as scared of the forest as she had been once before. The jungle that had been downright terrifying looked pretty harmless in the bright sunny morning. The trees swayed gently in the wind, and the birds chirped at a distance. It was hard for Ru Naya to believe that this was the same dreadful forest that she had almost died in. However, despite the pleasant deception of her surroundings, she knew the only reason she hadn't been attacked or chased so far was because of the man walking beside her who exuded a dangerous aura that warned the predators to keep away from them.

Ru Naya surreptitiously studied prince Jun Liyun, though the gorgeous man was imposing, his gait was casual and he looked bored. However, his enchanting eyes were sharp and attentive as they examined their surroundings carefully. She shivered involuntarily as she turned to look ahead, and wondered why she felt irrevocably safe with him despite the hostility that enveloped him. Shouldn't she be more terrified knowing that he was the most deadly predator around her?

Through impervious foliage and dense thicket they travelled when Ru Naya noticed that whenever they walked past, the animals around them would abruptly stop making any sounds. The eerie silence would only be disrupted after the pair had moved away.

After a while, the prince suddenly spoke up, "The men who had escorted your group back to the imperial city haven't told them of what had actually happened to you. It is up to you to inform your people of the truth or lie about the situation. However, my men will abide by your decision and repeat your words incase someone questions around."

Ru Naya looked at prince Jun Liyun, touched by his thoughtfulness. She knew that if Zan Mei and Yan Lin knew about what had actually transpired in the forest then they would feel extremely devastated. Furthermore, they might try stop her from going hunting ever again, or become awfully protective over her if she went anyways. Though she didn't want to lie to them, she could lessen the blow by downplaying the events that had occurred. However, there was another reason why Ru Naya was so grateful for what the prince had done for her. Had the word spread around that she had been chased by a witch then it would become ammunition for Ru Yaya to slander her by spreading remarks about how incompetent Ru Naya was that she couldn't even protect herself while she went hunting.

"Thank you so much," Ru Naya replied, deeply moved, "had you not been so thoughtful, then I would suffered a lot after I went back to the city."

"Why?" The prince asked as he glanced at her curiously.

Since prince Jun Liyun had helped her so much, Ru Naya could at least return the favour by sating his interest through explaining to him what she had meant by her earlier statement. So she told him everything, and noticed his beguiling eyes become intrigued when she mentioned how Ru Yaya would have defamed her had the word got out.

"I take it that your sister is very immoral when it comes to you," He commented once she was done explaining, "why don't your parents admonish her for her behaviour?"

Ru Naya snorted, "The day my parents scold their darling daughter, especially in regards to her behaviour towards me, is the day when the witches will turn good."

Her statement made Jun Liyun frown and he focused his entire attention on her. Ru Naya fidgeted as she bit her lip in uncertainty. Telling him about her family was akin to opening a can of worms, so should she talk about the Ru family?

Why not? she argued with herself. If she were to badmouth her family to the prince then she would be sabotaging Ru family's future attempts of buttering up the nobility. If the royal family disregarded them, then it would make it impossible for them to gain favour of the aristocrats. Reputation was everything to her parents and thus, it would be sweet revenge for their cruel behaviour towards her.

Though, it wouldn't be enough of a retribution by merely tarnishing their name, but there had to be a start somewhere.

"Your highness, my father and mother are not from the higher society and thus their main goal is to gain support from the elites. They want to do it by marrying me off to an aristocrat so that they could gain prestige in the society. My father hates me cause I don't comply with his wishes of becoming a proper marriageable lady, while my mother dislikes me because I am a scourge upon my sister. However my sister is even worse as she is the amalgamation of every bad quality of those two," she sneered, "who could have thought that someone could be worse than Ru Jiahao and Xue Lan? but their elder daughter is a proof enough."

She then turned to look at him with sympathy, "She is also utterly obsessed with your excellency, and thus, will propose to you soon. If you don't want the rest of your days to be living hell then I advise you to decline her as soon as possible."

She finished her impassioned speech and noticed that prince Jun Liyun looked extremely amused.

"Why?" the prince asked, "I almost let you die in the forest, so don't you think that I deserve retribution for my behaviour?"

Ru Naya shook her head resolutely, "No one deserves the punishment of being married to Ru Yaya. "

She said it with such conviction that prince Jun Liyun ended up laughing at her words. Ru Naya was utterly entranced by the deep and beautiful sound. The prince wasn't the one to even crack a small smile, and to hear him laugh was like music that her ears had been starved for many centuries. After he stopped, she felt oddly melancholic and wished to hear that laughter once again.

Ru Naya was still dazed from the beautiful sound when she ended up blurting, "You should laugh more."

His smile faded as he raised an eyebrow at her bold statement.

"I..uh, my lord please forgive me for my imprudent behaviour." Ru Naya apologized quickly. She cursed herself for her improper manners yet again. Why did she feel so comfortable talking to him that she kept forgetting to conduct herself properly in his presence?

However, he shook his head and murmured "No need to apologize. We are not in Bon Sicini so I am just a mere hunter here that you can casually talk to."

If you're a mere hunter, then what am I? Ru Naya wondered to herself.

However, she was overjoyed at his words as it was an indirect way of stating that she wouldn't be punished for not displaying proper etiquette in front of him. She was thankful that she could act as herself and not worry about it.

If he wanted to be informal, so be it. Ru Naya decided to start a friendly conversation, "Your highness, why were you hunting in the forest?"

Usually the prince went out hunting with his ministers as a way of fostering closer relationsh.i.p.s. However, she hadn't spotted any important people in the camp and therefore was confused for his reason of being out here.

She believed that it was an innocuous enough inquiry yet she noticed his back become rigid when she asked him the question .

"I'm in the forest to get away from the court and all the proposals of the ladies." He answered grimly.

Ru Naya nodded sympathetically. She had to only deal with Ru Yaya's cronies and they were vicious enough, she couldn't imagine dealing with an entire city worth of those kind of women, "Must be annoying," she empathized.

"Annoying is not a strong enough word for it, especially more so since I do not want to get married," He griped as his face darkened.

That had Ru Naya perk up. The prince had to overcome so many obstacles to become the crown prince since he was the adopted child of the king. Thus, if he didn't have an heir that guaranteed the succession of the current king's rule, then any present child of the king and his concubines would have an opportunity of becoming the next in line for the throne. They could take over just by the virtue of having the king's blood running through them. Though the prince was much loved by the people, it didn't stop the king and queen from worrying over the next generation. Therefore the king and the queen were pressuring the young prince to marry despite him not wanting to. How upsetting must it be to be forced into something you don't want to do?