The mayor's son deeply regretted his foolishness when he saw the knight was ready to kill him. This was not a good nor honorable way to die.
"P-please… don't kill me…" Bran suddenly fell to his knees and begged Jarvis to spare his life. He had seen how Jarvis' eyes were filled with killing intent. "I am sorry… I am so, sorry…"
The mayor's son cried pitifully. When he saw Jarvis didn't bat an eye, Bran immediately crawled toward Rowena and pleaded for his life. "I am sorry for what I did… I didn't mean to… Please tell him to stop…"
Rowena scrunched her nose in disgust. She stepped back when Bran almost touched her feet. She didn't want to be dirtied by the young man's blood.
"Ugh…" Rowena looked around them and realized so many people were watching them now. If Jarvis killed this man, their efforts to not attract attention would be futile. And did he claim to be the mayor's son?
Someone like a mayor would surely want to get justice for his son's death and soon this matter would escalate to the royal palace. No. Rowena didn't want her father to know what happened.
She finally sighed and motioned Jarvis to leave. "Let's not bother with trash like them."
Lady Liz agreed with Rowena's decision. It was better if they left and found another place to eat their food. She grabbed the princess' arm and took her away. She turned to Jarvis and said, "Let's get out of here. Jarvis, you know what to do."
Jarvis nodded back. He kicked Bran one more time and whispered to his ear that if he dared speaking about this incident to anyone, the king would have him and all his family killed.
Bran's eyes bulged and blood immediately left his face. He was so paled and almost passed out. He finally understood what happened and who that beautiful girl really was.
His heart pounded in fear and his mind went into a panic. He turned to his friends with the look of horror and muttered incoherently. "L-let's get out.. of here…"
***
Jarvis walked toward Rowena and held out their cloth and picnic basket. "Your Highness, I am sorry that happened to you today."
Rowena nodded in response. "Thank you for keeping me safe, Knight Jarvis."
"That's my job, Your Highness," the knight responded with a smile. "I have spoken to those jerks. Now, you can continue your picnic. Nobody would dare to mess with you again."
"Oh, thank you, Jarvis," Lady Liz said politely.
Jarvis went to grab his hat that fell on the ground and then left the two of them. Rowena smiled at the man. He had protected her and still gave Rowena a chance to enjoy the day pretending to be a stranger who happened to be helping her.
"Looks like we'll have to find another place to rest," said Lady Liz.
Rowena nodded in agreement. The two of them decided to continue walking through the park until they reached a large field with a long river. Rowena looked around her, there were many people sitting on the bank of the river.
The river looked shallow because several small children were playing there. They looked at their pants and submerged their feet in the clear water. Not far from where they stood there were several men with fishing hooks.
"We should have been sitting here from the start," commented Lady Liz. "This place looks really nice."
The woman flapped the mat so all the dust and dirt fell off. Then, she spread it on the ground, not far from the family who was also having a picnic.
Lady Liz was really annoyed to see that the apple she peeled earlier was now covered in dust. They couldn't even eat the apple. Luckily the cake they bought was tightly wrapped. So that when their basket rolled, not a single cake was exposed to dust.
"Ah, those boys really have no manners. Their ignorance of who you are frustrates me," said Lady Liz, biting hard on her cake.
Rowena just laughed without responding. She looked at Jarvis, her bodyguard, who was approaching an old man by the river. The old man was sitting focused waiting for the fishing line to move, a sign that a fish had eaten the bait.
"At least Jarvis understands that I still want to be here. It is fine."
"That's right, he acts as if he doesn't recognize us. At least that way, your identity as a princess will not be exposed. But if I remember the group of youths earlier, it irritates me even more. Very disrespectful! If they knew who you are, they wouldn't even dare to look in your direction!" said Lady Liz so vehemently.
Rowena covered her mouth and chuckled, feeling funny at the annoyed expression Lady Liz made.
"Right, they're very rude," said Rowena. "I am glad we brought Jarvis and the others with us."
When Lady Liz wanted to speak again, Rowena put the cake in front of the woman's mouth making Lady Liz speechless. "Alright, don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy the rest of the day. This is such a good day. Let's not ruin it."
Lady Liz also neutralized her emotions again and took a bite of the cake Rowena had given her. The two of them now turned to look at the row of people who were fishing.
Rowena chuckled when she saw that the old man's fishing rod had now passed into Jarvis' hand. Both Rowena and Lady Liz cheered happily when Jarvis managed to catch a big fish, making some of the people around them open their mouths in amazement.
That afternoon, not only Lady Liz or Rowena could enjoy the day. Even a princess' bodyguard had a new experience, fishing from the river. It seemed, everyone was having a good time during this excursion. Not just Rowena.
At one point, Rowena closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. The air was fresher and somehow felt sweeter.. The sun above them gave her warmth and the breeze touched her face gently.
