She Belongs To The Devil

"Are you okay, Ary?" Zach asked Ariel when he noticed how Ariel was looking as though she was lost deep in her thoughts, and also looked somewhat sad.

Ariel pulled her gaze away from the scenery outside of the moving carriage's window and looked at Zach. She pulled a smile and replied, "Why wouldn't I be? I'm alright."

"But it looks like something has been bothering you," Zach insisted. He couldn't believe that after everything that had happened, there was nothing that was bothering her.

Joyce and Niylah were also in the same carriage.

Joyce also asked Ariel to be frank with them, "If there is something in your mind then you can share with us, you know. Are you perhaps worried that your cat will do something bad in your absence?"

Ariel took a deep in and shook her head. "No. Arion will keep an eye on Herbert. So, I am not that worried about Herbert creating a mess."

"Then what is it?" Joyce asked again.

Ariel pursed her lips and looked out of the window again. "It's just… something has been making my heart uncomfortable for a while now. I just want to get it off of my chest."

The other three waited for Ariel to say something more than that.

However, when Ariel didn't say anything, Joyce asked, "So… Do you want to tell us what that is?"

Ariel sighed for the umpteenth time and then mumbled softly, "I don't want to keep on giving false hope to Kenneth."

No one was surprised to hear that almost as though they all had seen it coming for a while now.

"It's Damien then…" Zach nodded.

Ariel closed her eyes and rested her head on the soft cushion behind her. She gulped and asked her cousins, "I'm not a horrible person, am I? I gave him hope, only to crush his heart now."

Niylah, who had been silently listening to everything until now, finally decided to speak up. "You would have been a horrible person if you had kept on leading him even after knowing that you would never be his. But you are going to tell him, aren't you?"

Ariel slightly nodded her head.

And Niylah added further, "Besides, you didn't know that Damien would suddenly come back to your life again when you agreed to give Kenneth a chance."

Joyce held Ariel's hand and spoke from the deepest corner of her heart, "But I am glad about one thing, Ary. I'm glad that you forgave Damien and accepted his return to your life. If you had tried to shut him out and tried to forcefully stay with Kenneth, then you would have hurt yourself and also those two. So, no, you're not a horrible person for sorting out your feelings."

"Kenneth will get over you soon enough," Zach also added. "Hopefully, he will find someone who can fully accept him."

Ariel sighed and thought to herself, "And hopefully, he won't shut out that someone from his heart when he does find her."

The carriages came to a halt after entering the main street of the capital.

Joyce then said to everybody, "We are going to get off here and walk. There's a festival going on, and people sing and dance on the streets. The carriages won't go any further than this."

"Oh! What festival is it?" Zach excitedly asked while getting off the carriage.

Joyce replied with slight hesitation lingering on her face, "Well, it's called the maidens fair. They say the festival originally started off as a tradition where people would protect a golden-egg-laying hen as it descended from the mountain. But now, it's a festival where unmarried men and women gather to find their potential partners. And some even get married on the spot.

I find it really absurd, to be honest."

Zach's foot stopped midair when he heard Joyce. He instantly turned his head around and asked while beaming, "Did you just say this is a place where we can find unmarried women looking for husbands?"

"Zach!" All three Princesses shouted simultaneously.

Zach shrugged and asked in an unbothered voice, "What? I'm already fourteen!"

"Oh my goodness!" Joyce fisted on her hips and gave a scornful look to the excited teenager. "Are you even listening to yourself? You're just fourteen!"

"So? Can't I look for a bride if I am fourteen?" Zach turned to face his cousins and said while spreading out his arms, "Maybe I will find the love of my life here. Who knows? Maybe your cousin will get married tonight."

Ariel, Joyce, and Niylah, all three of them face-palmed themselves while giggling at their stupid cousin. Suddenly, the gloomy air around them was slowly fading away.

"Why the hell are you so excited to get married?" Ariel looked at Zach in disbelief and asked while still giggling at his over-confidence.

"Who's going to get married?" Theodore's voice suddenly echoed in their ears.

Zach instantly put his arms down and stood in an attentive position. And before anyone pointed at him, he laughed awkwardly and said while gesturing at the streets, "Joyce was saying that a lot of people are going to get married in this fair tonight. I was just excited to witness the marriages."

The three girls said nothing and kept on giggling.

Theodore had already heard their conversation earlier. So, he walked ahead of all of them. And as he passed by Zach, he mumbled to him, "You better grow your ba- body first, and also your mind. Your father will pull your hair out if you take someone home with you."

"Ahahaha…" Zach nervously laughed while straightening down his hair as if they were going to disappear from his head at that very moment.

"You heard me…" he mumbled as he followed Theodore while keeping his head down.

The boys and Grace also joined the rest of the group.

Vlad and Joyce took the lead of the group and led them deeper inside the street that was getting livelier by the second.

Vlad also explained about the festival again. He explained the backstory as well as the new attraction.

"There are platforms around the street for the people to showcase their talents like singing, dancing, sewing, etc. They can attract like-minded people from the crowd that way. And there are also food stalls and other games and activities that everyone can enjoy. Also, the priests are also available for those who want to get married right away."

Everyone looked intrigued by the bizarre and carefree nature of the festival.

Ariel suddenly felt someone's hand lightly brushing against hers. She found Damien walking by her side.
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He was grinning whimsically. And when he saw her looking at him, he held Ariel's hand, leaned close to Ariel's ear, and asked Ariel, "So, what do you say, Ary? Shall I look for the priests?"