Raised From The Wild-Chapter 191: Welcome to Ra-Iya
"I think someone wants me dead," Amaya said while she surveyed the mess because of the books that fell.
The librarian and some student assistants gathered around and sighed when they saw that all the books on the topmost level of the shelf were now a heap on the floor. The student assistants scurried to the books on the floor and they hurriedly picked them up and sorted them.
Stephane stood beside her with a worried look in his eyes. "What happened?"
"I was just pulling out this book from that shelf when the books from the top of the shelf fell one by one. If I wasn’t fast enough to dodge, the books should have crushed me." Amaya raised the book in her hand.
When the librarian realized who was the victim, he almost fainted.
"Princess, we will investigate this matter. You can go to the couch and rest first. You might have been scared earlier." The librarian sounded frantic.
"I am fine." Amaya hurriedly replied when she noticed the troubled look on the librarian’s face.
Stephane went to the other side of the shelf. He saw a young male student with yellow hair putting away a ladder that he used to reach the top layer of the shelf.
He approached the group standing in the open area in the library. "I am sorry, it is all my fault. I was looking for a book and it was placed on the top shelf. I guess I exerted more force when I pulled out the back. I apologize, Princess."
Amaya scrutinized him and was pondering whether what he said was true and whether he doesn’t have any malicious intent.
Julienne was also studying the man. Why does she feel that the man was not sincere in his apology at all? Anyway, she doesn’t want to create more trouble. Since the man already apologized, she will not make things difficult for him.
They left the library and Stephane brought them to the cafeteria to have their snacks. When they were seated at the corner, a coquettish voice spoke.
"What a coincidence! Can I join you guys?" Without waiting for anyone to reply, Natalia sat down on the seat beside Stephane. The table was for four people and initially, there were just three of them.
Stephane gave her a cursory look before he continued munching on his sandwich. An awkward silence ensued before Natalia broke the silence.
"So the two of you are from high school and accelerated to University?"
"That’s right professor," Julienne replied.
"That’s good that you were promoted. Otherwise, your classmate will always misunderstand you because you do not belong to the same age bracket." Natalia’s words were casual but if you listen carefully, she was trying to humiliate Amaya in a subtle way.
"Professor, it is just two years. It doesn’t make any difference at all." Amaya retorted gently.
Natalia has no comeback for that. She shifted her gaze back to Stephane. "I haven’t seen you for some time Stephane. Did you go on vacation?" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
"Yes," Stephane replied curtly.
"So that’s why."
The uncomfortable meal finally ended. Amaya and Julienne took the opportunity to escape.
"I think we should be wary of Natalia. She doesn’t seem to be a simple person. The way she looked at Stephane earlier it seemed as if she wanted to swallow him whole. It looks like she is head over heels in love with our professor." Julienne shared her observation. "The way she looked at you was bothering me. Does she think that Stepane is interested in you?"
They were walking toward the main gate. Amaya paused when she heard Julinenne’s absurd ideas.
"You are thinking too much. Stephane is our professor. He is treating us like a professor would to his student."
Julienne kept her silece. Maybe she was just overthinking it.
...
Finally, the day of Zanzarra’s wedding arrived. A day before the wedding, a duke from Ra-Iya fetched the bride and her entourage. They rode Ra-Iya’s private jet and it took them two hours to reach the King’s private airstrip.
Amaya was seated beside the window and her royal guard was seated beside her. She studied the areal view of the capital of Ra-Iya. Like Lireya, its coastline was long and she saw mountain ranges with lush vegetation inland.
The airstrip was beside the sea and when they landed, Amaya could smell the salt in the air. She looked around and studied her surroundings. It was just like Lireya.
The Duke was escorting the bride-to-be and Zanzara was just like a proud peacock. Sometimes she would look at Amaya to gloat but unfortunately, Amaya was looking at something else.
"Ladies, you need to split into two vans. I will go with Lady Zanzara. Please take the second van." the Duke said politely. Tataiana naturally went with her sister while Shanaya boarded the other van.
Amaya who was looking around while walking tripped on a stone on the ground. Her body shifted forward and she was about to fall, but a pair of strong hands held her slim waist and steadied her before he quickly release his hold. The guard wanted to let his hands linger on her waist for longer but because there were other people around, he let go.
"Careful, Princess!" the guard with deep brown eyes and raven hair said in a deep voice.
"Thank you!" Amaya’s eyes lingered on his eyes and on his hair.
"I like the color of your hair." She said softly before taking hurried steps to the van.
The royal guard touched his hair and a half smile appeared on his face before walking with big strides to the van to catch up with the princess.
Other than the van, there were black cars waiting for them and some of the guards went inside the black cars.
"How long will it take us before we reach the palace?" Amaya asked the driver.
"We will be there in less than one hour, Princess."
The driver started the van and the engine roared to life.
"Welcome to Ra-Iya everyone."
But before he can even step on the gas to accelerate, gunshots filled the air.
