Harlow sat down in a restaurant and ordered herself a drink. She was going to sit down and listen in to the people conversing around her, eavesdrop and perhaps hear something useful.
It was a little awkward to sit alone without Julian on her side or even Icecube from outside the window. It almost felt a little lonely for Harlow but she was going to be strong.
"I can do this," Harlow muttered to herself. "I've been traveling alone for weeks now and I am fine."
Before she knew it, minutes passed by and the waiter still hadn't delivered her order at all. Harlow was not impatient, but she started to feel a little out of place because everyone was eating and she was the only one without her food or drinks.
On instinct, the princess started to fiddle with her bracelet. It was a beautiful jade bracelet that she had been wearing for years. Suddenly, she batted her eyes at the sight of it.
Harlow remembered it as one out of the many gifts that Raphael gave her before and she grimaced at the sight of it. This was sent for her fourteenth birthday.
"Ugh. Why do I still have this on?" Harlow muttered to herself in annoyance. All of her friends from Ava, Lilith, and Bianca thought that this bracelet was pretty so the princess kept wearing it.
"Excuse me, little lady," an older woman crooned.
Harlow blinked and glanced over to the next table. It was a hunched over a woman with a spiny staff in her hand and a long wicked nose and sharp eyes. She was the definition of an ugly and wicked witch she heard in stories.
"Um… yes?" Harlow didn't want to judge someone based on their appearances though. She had already known that beautiful people could be evil so she wanted to give someone the benefit of the doubt and not immediately assume this old ugly woman was a wicked witch. The princess cleared her throat. "Who are you?"
"Me? My name is not important at all, but if you must know, I am a witch." the older woman introduced herself. "I am well versed in all magical items and different aptitudes, quite well renowned here."
"Ah, is that so?" Harlow blinked. She wanted to ask why the witch looked so old if she was a powerful magic user. The last witch that Harlow encountered was a powerful one and maintained a youthful appearance. That was Margueritte, The White Witch.
There was no time for idle talk for the witch though.
"That bracelet of yours. Perhaps you will sell it to me?" the witch's eyes gleamed as it eyed the jade bracelet on Harlow's wrist.
"What?" Harlow glanced at her bracelet with a frown. "Why?"
"Name any price and I will pay for it," the old witch added.
The old witch and princess talking started to gather the attention of the people in the restaurant and suddenly they all started to look at the bracelet with sudden interest.
One by one, many of the people started to step forward and gathered around Harlow and the witch.
"If you won't sell it to her, you can sell it to me for a beautiful and magical ribbon!"
"No! Sell it to me instead. I can pay your entire weight in gold!"
"Back off, I saw her first!"
"That bracelet is mine!"
Harlow blinked and lowered her warm underneath the table. She gave the people a confused smile and couldn't help but ask. "Is jade rare here? It's a normal kind of gemstone in the human realm by the way…"
This was crazy, she thought. If these people were willing to pay her weight in gold for a small jade bracelet like this, Harlow could think of ways to make a lot of money by exporting jade to the demons realm.
She pinched her arm. Why was she thinking about making money? That was not the point. She didn't need money. She came from a very very wealthy family.
The old witch's eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Do you not know how valuable the thing on your wrist is?"
"It… it was just a gift. Someone gave it to me for my birthday," Harlow blurted out. "I don't know the true value but I think you guys maybe mistaking it for something else."
"No. I am not wrong. I once saw the jade bracelet in the presence of the great demon king and it was a magical artifact that could be used to summon great demons to help someone during a critical time."
The witch narrowed her eyes, looking like a hungry lion eyeing its prey. Her stare made Harlow feel uncomfortable.
Harlow laughed it off. "Demon King? Yeah… nope. The bracelet didn't come from that guy at all. Mine came from my uh… fiance."
She wanted to vomit when she used that word. Why did she call Raphael her 'fiance'? Was she out of her mind?
Uff… whatever, It was the easiest way to explain the context to these people.
The witch raised a brow. "Who is your fiance?"
Harlow waved her hand and chuckled. "It's none of your business. But he's DEFINITELY not some demon king. You guys must be mistaken and it must just be a similar-looking jade bracelet."
"Your juice is here, miss." The waiter finally arrived and placed Harlow's juice on the table.
Harlow smiled and flipped a coin on the table and stood up. "Yeah, I'm not feeling thirsty anymore. Terrible service here. I'll just get a drink at my inn… My bracelet is not for sale. Thank you for the time."
She left, but the others followed her.
"Hey, Miss! Wait a minute," the witch walked briskly behind her. "Perhaps, if you could let me see it from up close, I can really confirm if the bracelet is not what I am looking for. Do you mind if I take a look?"
Harlow waved her hand without even looking back. "No, thank you!"
The witch walked faster and now obviously she wouldn't give up until she could get her hands on the bracelet.. Harlow cursed Raphael under her breath for gifting her bracelet that made those people misunderstand.
