While Ser Liam managed their supplies for their upcoming travel to Lioncrest, Henry and Ariel were roaming around and experiencing everything the Kingdom has to offer.
First are the singing and dancing, which Ariel instantly falls in love with when it comes to the Corona Kingdom. In return, she also became an instant star in the city thanks to her beautiful voice and her never-heard-before songs.
Although she had never danced before, the constant movement of the body that matches a certain rhythm or pattern hooked her. In just a few minutes, she learned the cultural dance of the Corona Kingdom, and some kids and adults alike wanted to take the opportunity to dance with her.
Unfortunately for them, she only wanted to dance with Henry whom she urged repeatedly before the man finally succumbed to her bad influence.
'I only know Ball Dances though…' As the Crown Prince, it is a must for him to learn how to dance in certain royal events. And the said dances are not something that would make one's body go wild and free.
Royal dances are more stiff, controlled, and require extreme precision especially when it comes to footwork.
So when Henry first danced with Ariel, he promptly forgot about his status as a Crown Prince and allowed himself to immerse with the wildest dance he ever had in his entire life—including the previous one.
'I've never danced like this before. It always made me cringe to dance like this because the last time I did, people laughed at me…' He murmured to himself, his vague memories of his past life flashing before his eyes.
It was after the prom night when he swore that he would never dance wildly and freely again.
At least until now, all thanks to Ariel.
"You got some good moves, Henry!" Ariel grinned as sweat started to accumulate between her eyebrows and yet that didn't stop her from vibing with the music around them.
Henry didn't reply, he just smiled at her. As if words are not enough to describe his gratitude for hearing that. Perhaps this is the way to recover from his trauma back then.
They continued their dance until Ariel got tired. Henry never did, his body is built for situations like this that require endurance.
"I'll get us some drinks," Henry said while making his way to a local fruit stand. It may be a fruit stand but it also sells squeezed lemonade juice.
Henry bought two and paid with a single gold coin despite the man's insistence that the juice's value is far less than a gold coin.
He went back to Ariel and as soon as he handed the wooden cup filled with the squeezed lemonade, she instantly gulped it all in one go.
"Ahh~" She gave a deep sigh of relief and satisfaction, though there was a trace of displeasure in her tone after, "It's not as good as the one in your restaurant earlier, Henry."
Henry didn't reply and just smiled. He took pride in his restaurant, more than half of its menu was made by him, while the rest was his chefs' own specialties and creations.
As the owner, Henry doesn't want to be similar to the capitalists in his past life. He's not going to restrict somebody's talent just because they might turn into a future risk.
He advised, "You'll get used to it. Not everything that lands in your tongue tastes good."
'Hmm, that sounded weirder than I thought.' Henry mentally coughed to reset his brain.
"I see." Ariel nodded her head in understanding before stretching her arm towards him with a smile, "One more please!"
Henry smiled at this.
———
—{King Frederic}—
"How do I look?" I questioned my wife as I wore my everyday royal garments. She briefly turned around and approached me, removing the smudge near my neck before planting a kiss on my left cheek.
"There. Now you look better." Seeing her smile made me do the same.
"Is it because you wiped the spot?" I asked.
She calmly corrected, still bearing the smile, "No, because I kissed you."
This puts a smile on my face as he gently leaned forward and kissed her on the lips, "Perhaps I'll look better if you kiss the one between the cheeks."
She immediately turned red and gasped before playfully smacking me on the chest, "You're such a pervert, Frederick!"
Her action confused me a bit, we're husband and wife, right? How is it perverted to ask my wife to kiss me on the lips?
As if reading my mind just by looking at my expression, she pouted and turned around, "Nevermind. I thought you meant something else. Anyways, let's head down and get some breakfast."
I've seen that look before. She would wear it whenever I did or said something wrong. Seriously, is it really perverted to ask for a kiss on the lips?
"Wait! Arianna!" I chased after her.
When I arrived at the dining table, she was already sitting and receiving a report from one of the servants.
"We have received a special guest according to the gate guard, milady."
"Special guest you say?" I watched my wife meticulously bite a piece of her sausage while asking, "And who is this special guest supposed to be?"
"It is the Crown Prince of Lioncrest, Prince Henry. Or so his entourage says."
I frowned at that, "Are you telling me we have the Crown Prince of a Great Kingdom inside our city, right now? And why am I only being informed of this right now?"
"My apologies, your Majesty. We were supposed to report to you earlier but you seemed…occupied at the moment."
Hearing her, I turned to my wife and saw her look away, blushing slightly as she chewed on as if nothing was said.
I didn't bother to start my breakfast and stood up, "I'll go ahead and greet them. I've been meaning to see what my supposed future son-in-law looks like." Right as I said that, my tone took a solemn turn and Arianna froze and looked down, I don't doubt one bit that she's trying to hide the sadness in her face.
Years ago, before my child was born, I was but a mere Prince of my Kingdom that was still ruled by my father. Back then—even until now—we've been allied with the Lioncrest Kingdom. The two Kingdoms have been through thick and thin during the Great War.
Maximus Charming, just like me, is also a Prince—and my very good friend who took an arrow to the chest for me. He saved me during that fateful day.
Perhaps because I had been under the influence of ale, or maybe I was too grateful for him that I swore in my name that I will marry my first child to his first. A promised pact between us was made during that day.
Years past and we've kept in touch with each other, the two of us became Kings of our respective Kingdoms. His wife gave birth to his first child, Henry Charming, a handsome fella they say.
But I didn't get to visit because my wife was sick and I had to be there with her for everything she's going through. When we found the miracle flower that is rumored to have healing properties, she was able to recover and safely give birth to our daughter, Princess Rapunzel.
Perhaps the heavens wanted to curse me for plucking that flower or simply to get back at me for escaping the death that was supposed to take me during the Great War—Rapunzel was kidnapped and since then, she has gone missing.
"…derick…Frederick!" My eyes snapped open and I felt something wet and warm on my face. When I reached out to touch, I realized that there were tears streaming from my eyes.
In front of me, Arianna was looking at me with those twinkling eyes so dashing that she was able to capture my heart. Except this time they were red and glistening in tears.
I gulped and my shoulders slumped in defeat, "I did it again, didn't I? I'm sorry my love."
She reached out to touch me on my cheeks and whispered caringly, "You don't need to apologize, Frederick. Everything is gonna be okay, she's still alive somewhere, I can feel it."
I'm no longer sure how right she is. She's been saying the same thing over and over again. Describing it as her motherly instincts whispering to her ears that Rapunzel is still alive and well.
I wiped off my tears and nodded my head, making sure that I was not showing any disbelief in her words. As long as she thinks I'm fully believing her, she'll get around just fine.
"Let's finish our breakfast first, the Crown Prince wouldn't leave that quickly." She assured me and I nodded my head in agreement.
———
"Prince Henry, we've been invited to the royal castle." While in the middle of a shopping spree with Ariel, Ser Liam suddenly arrived with some news in hand.
"The royal castle?" Henry frowned, 'Could it be Rapunzel's parents? Well, it's not that unusual to be invited considering a man of my status.' The frown disappeared and he just shrugged his shoulders in agreement.
"Hey Ariel, want to see what a royal castle looks like?" He nudged the red-haired girl on the side who was busy inspecting the tiara on her hand, she had been pretty obsessed with it since earlier.
She blinked her eyes, snapping out of it, "…O-Oh? A royal castle? Isn't that the place where Humaan Kings and Queens live?"
"Not just the King and Queen but also their Princes and Princesses." Ser Liam added from the side.
As expected, Ariel instantly misunderstood as excitement flashed in her eyes as she grabbed the hem of Henry's shirt and shook him repeatedly, "Ooohh~ Are we going to your place now, Henry?"
This made Henry rub his forehead and reply with a bone-weary tone, "No, it's not my home but it's similar to mine."
Instead of further explanation, Henry simply held her hand and they left together with Ser Liam.
Sometimes, Henry was doubting whether Ariel was genuinely curious about things, hence why she's a bit innocent and naive but for the past few days after they met again in the Lioncrest ship, he's starting to notice that she seemed to be doing it on purpose compared to before during her rescue at the Pirate's Paradise.
'Is she really doing this naive and innocent act on purpose? But why?' Henry rubbed his chin in curiosity.
He's not that averse when it comes to female minds. Based on what he learned about them in his previous life, females are complicated.
They would emphasize the importance of communication is the key and yet they don't want to communicate.
They would say that they're not hungry and yet they actually are and would get angry at you for not understanding them.
Whatever she says should be right and whatever you say should be wrong, no matter what.
And last but not the least—Henry is not sure about this but he also heard strange rumors about how accountability doesn't exist in a woman's dictionary.
'Okay. So which among those symptoms is she currently experiencing?' Henry asked himself. Perhaps he had been staring too long at Ariel that she immediately noticed and tilted her head.
"Is there something on my face?"
Henry smoothly looked away, "Nothing. Just thinking about what kind of conversation I'll have with the King. I've never heard or met him before."
"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, you did manage to stand the pressure of my dad, so maybe this time, you'll fare much better."
"Are you saying that a human King is weak compared to your father?" Henry's intention was to tease her, however her response shocked him.
"That's right. Dad could probably crush all the human Kings with his trident!" Ariel flayed her arms around. Thankfully, there are barely any people left on the streets, so not many heard her words.
'Now this is what I call genuine. Genuinely blunt.' Instead of scolding her, Henry simply smiled. He's been getting an eerie feeling with her fake acts of innocence and naivety, and the scene of her bluntness that used to be the norm back then made him sigh in relief.
'She has changed alright. But I don't like where it's going. I like the genuine Ariel. Not this.' Henry made a note to himself. He'll confront her about it later after his audience with the King of Corona Kingdom.
Speaking of Rapunzel's father, he's wondering if he should tell the man the truth and avoid all the trouble that is going to happen just like in the movie.
That way, Rapunzel would immediately reunite with her real parents without having to cut off her hair.
'I really hate the short and black-haired Rapunzel.' He pouted in his mind, recalling the time when he first saw that scene.
Imagine getting used to her long and shiny golden hair, even to the point of falling in love with her for it, only for it to be cut off and stay that way until the end. Obviously, Henry wants to change it.
'But things won't go easily. Right now, she's still being smothered by an old woman and she sees her as this perfect loving mother who protects her from a world full of evil. I need to find a way to make her wake up and see her fake mother's real face.'
Henry's face then scrunched in disgust as he finished, 'Both figuratively and literally.'