Raised From The Wild-Chapter 310: The Village

Country of Lireya...

Amaya’s trip to the village was delayed by half a day. King Duncan dissuaded her from continuing her trip, but Princess Amaya was adamant. She wanted to proceed with the volunteer work.

The King could only give up and assign more people to guard her secretly.

It was already dusk when Princess Amaya and her entourage arrived at Legunes. The village was nestled at the foot of two mountains. They passed a wooden bridge and three shallow streams before the six off-road vehicles arrived at the village entrance. Two sturdy logs around three meters high, stood at each side of the dirt road, supporting a wooden arch with the words ’Welcome to Legunas’ etched against a backdrop made of bamboo poles woven together by vines.

The teachers and the rest of the students who arrived before lunch had already settled their luggage at the villagers assigned to host them. A few families with bigger houses offered their houses as temporary lodging for the thirty volunteers who would stay for three days.

The standard thatched house in the village has one master bedroom, a smaller room for the children, a small living room, and a kitchen that doubled as the dining area.

The biggest house amongst the villagers was that of the village chieftain. The village chief has two extra courtyards allotted for visitors who sometimes come. One of the two houses was already occupied by a ’special guest’ and the other was reserved for Princess Amaya.

The small thatched house has just one bedroom, which was elevated from the dirt floor by 31 centimeters so a stair was unnecessary. A long bench made from bamboo was the sole furniture in the small living room.

"I would like to apologize for not having time to improve the accommodation for you, Princess," the village chief was bright red from shame as he escorted Princess Amaya and Julienne to the thatched house.

"Don’t worry Chief Lakan. I grew up in a worse place." Princess Amaya said in a comforting tone.

The princess would share a room with Julienne. She worriedly glanced at her guards who were busy pitching a tent near the entrance of her thatched house. Four guards were also pitching a tent at the back of the house. The guards intended to cover both exits.

Amaya approached Luciano.

"You can sleep on the bench. That way, I can sleep confidently as someone would be watching over me while I am asleep." Amaya purposely spoke loudly so others could hear her.

Luciano rejoiced internally. Who wouldn’t want to be closer to the Princess?

"Dinner will served in the community hall at the center of the village. As we spoke, my wife and the other women are setting up the table. After you freshen up, please proceed to the community hall." The village chief who was in his late forties spoke respectfully.

Princess Amaya nodded and went inside the house, with one of the chieftain’s daughters.

"What is your name?" Princess Amaya asked the teenage girl beside her.

"My name is Ada, Princess." The teenage girl lowered her eyes as she replied shyly.

"Ada, is there a bathroom where I and my friend can wash?"

The teenage girl did not hesitate. She led the princess to the kitchen and opened the curtain to the left of the back door.

What greeted Amaya was a space enclosed by walls made from bamboo. At the left corner was a big jar filled with water. The floor was covered with pebbles and stones.

Homesickness hit Amaya. She remembered her life at the Island of Miraga.

"You call this a bathroom?" Julienne interrupted Amaya’s musings.

"This looks like our bathroom in MIraga." Princess Amaya said nonchalantly. She stepped inside and tested the water in the jar. It was cold.

Ada noticed the princess’s action. "I’ll fetch a bucket of hot water Princess."

When Princess Amaya nodded, Ada hurried out of the room. Amaya turned toward Julienne. She expected her to be disappointed but Juliene seemed to be open-minded and did not look disgusted.

Julienne harrumphed when she noticed Princess Amaya looking at her as if she was expecting something.

’Does she expect me to look disappointed?’

"Why are you looking at me like that? I am not a delicate person. I trained in the military and their bathroom is worse than this." Julienne explained hurriedly.

Princess Amaya did not retort but smiled.

"I’ll get my toiletries. I feel sticky and very uncomfortable."

The distance from the bathroom to the bedroom was just a few steps. Princess Amaya took her toiletries, towel, and a change of clothes and entered the makeshift bathroom.

It was already dark. A kerosene lamp in the middle of a small dining table illuminated the dining area. Ada was also holding another lamp and was waiting for Princess Amaya at the entrance of the makeshift bathroom.

"Princess, the hot water is ready. I’ll hold the lamp here."

"Thank you, Ada." Princess Amaya smiled. Ada’s face turned red. She was thankful that it was already dark so Princess Amaya couldn’t have seen that she was blushing.

Princess Amaya was washing her face using a plastic dipper when she heard cursing from the other house. The voice sounded familiar and yet unfamiliar. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

’It couldn’t be her. The shrill voice made the woman sound like a shrew.’ The princess kept her thoughts to herself.

"I can’t believe I accepted this job. Oh my gosh, what kind of bathroom is this? And it is so dark. Manna, come over to her and hold the lamp. How can I freshen up when it is so dark?" The angry voice from the other side was so loud that Princess Amaya could tell that half of the villagers could have heard it.

When Amaya lifted the curtain, she saw the embarrassed look on Ada’s face. The woman from the other house continues with her insulting words.

"What’s wrong with her? Did no one brief her about the situation here? She is so noisy it is annoying." Julieene complained before getting inside the bathroom.

"Don’t mind her. Go in and wash." Amaya pushed Julienne gently while she took a few steps and entered her room.

Luciano who just finished surveying the surroundings was not pleased. He was concerned about the safety of the Princess.

He turned around and was about to go back to the house where Princess Amaya was when a shadow flashed from behind a tree. A strong hand reached out to grab him.