Raised From The Wild-Chapter 55: Impending Separation

In Asteria’s palace dining hall that night, Amaya announced her intention of taking an admission test for Senior High School.

The people inside the dining hall all looked at her with weird expressions on their faces.

"But big sister, you have never been to school." Danella suddenly blurted out. "Shouldn’t you start as an elementary pupil?"

"Daddy taught me. It is like I was home schooled." Amaya protested. She looked at King Duncan pleadingly.

"Grandpa, Dad I would like to go to school." She said in a gentle tone.

"Why do you keep on calling Father as ’Dad.’ My brother and I call him Father so why can’t you call him the same way?" Danella spoke rudely.

"What’s wrong? I call my father Ibrahim, Daddy. Why can’t I call Daddy Ibarra the same way?" Amaya reasoned in a gentle way. "Why don’t you call him Daddy as well?"

"Mother, Amaya is bullying me." Danella pouted as she complained.

"That’s enough." Crown Prince Ibarra’s deep voice was heard. He massaged his temple. The two girls were giving him a headache.

"It is just a name. Just let Amaya call me Daddy as that is what she is used to."

Danella sulked as she continued to eat. She was angry at her father for standing up for Amaya.

Amaya on the other hand looked at the king and asked again if she can take the admission test.

"Alright. I’ll have Armando accompany you tomorrow." Wasn’t it a good thing that her granddaughter wanted to go to school?

"Thank you, Grandpa." Amaya exclaimed happily.

Marx cannot take off he gaze from Amaya. He will definitely miss her. He cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty, I will be returning tomorrow to Usturia. Thank you for your hospitality. I will be back next week for the handover of the museum that the Skylar Family is giving back to Lireya."

"You are always welcome to visit here, young man." The king said in his barritone voice. "Thank you for returning to us the things that Ibrahim and Amaya built in that island."

"They rightfully belong to Lireya, Your Majesty."

King Duncan acknowledged Marx’s declaration with a slight nod.

"By the way, Prince Ibrahim designed Amaya’s tiara for her eighteenth birthday. I commissioned a famous jeweler in Usturia to make the tiara. I will bring it with me when I come back."

King Duncan, Prince Ibarra and Consort Nelida looked at Marx at the same time. The three have their own thoughts.

’This man cares so much about Amaya. Does he has intentions for her?’ King Duncan regarded Marx with interest. ’He is not bad. Though he is not a royalty, he is still a very successful and rich CEO.’

’Why does Marx Skylar meddles so much on my daughter’s affairs? Does he like her? He is too old for my daughter and he doesn’t have a royal blood flowing in his veins.’ Crown Prince Ibarra thought. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Oh, that’s great! I am looking forward to seeing Amaya’s tiara." Consort Nelida said nicely. ’Hmp, how can Ibarra design a nice tiara? It must just be simple and ugly.’ She muttered to herself.

After the royal family was done with their dinner, Amaya made a concoction of the Milagrosa, and a few other herbs. She added a teaspoon of honey and brought the teapot to her grandmother’s room.

"Grandma, I made this medicinal concoction for you. Daddy discovered this medicinal plant and he named it Milagrosa. I became so sick when I was eight years old and Daddy was scared. He thought I would die. He made me a tea out of Milagrosa and few other herbs and I recovered fast."

When Queen Lucinda heard that the brew was a recipe discovered by her son Ibrahim, she happily drank it. She expected that it was bitter but she was surprised that it tasted refreshing.

Amaya took out a small wooden container from a paper bag. The container was designed like a flower vase but it was covered by a burlap on its lid. At the center of the body of the container was an outline of a butterfly made from tiny holes. Inside the container were dried petals of different fragrant flowers and bark of trees. A sweet, calming scent filled the room.

"Go to sleep, Grandma. Good night." Amaya kissed her grandmother on the forehead.

"Goodnight my granddaughter. My room smells so nice. It makes me sleepy."

Amaya tried to sleep but cannot. She kept on tossing on her bed but sleep evaded her. She asked her personal maid Lilia to accompany her to the garden. She would like to look at the stars.

When she arrived at the gazebo in the garden, she was surprised to find Marx sitting there. He seemed to be holding a short stick that was lit on one end in between his two fingers.

Marx was about to take a puff of the cigarette when a gentle breeze blew and it carried a waft of a subtle sweet scent to his nose. He looked back to see the silhouette of a young woman walking toward him.

"What are you holding in your hand?" She has seen that thing before. Guards in the palace would sneak out in the garden and put the stick between their lips and blew out rings of smoke.

"This is a cigarette." Marx flicked the ash that formed on the tip of the cigarette.

"Can I try it?" She asked with a hopeful look.

"No." Marx stubbed out the cigarette and threw it in the bin beside the gazebo.

"Why not?"

"You are still a minor and this is bad for the health." He sat back on the bench in the gazebo facing Amaya who has already sat down.

"If it is bad, then why are you using it? It must taste good right?"

"I can’t sleep so I smoke to pass time and to relax."

"I can’t sleep too. The calming potpourri in my room can’t help at all." Amaya placed her clasped hands on the stone table and leaned forward closing the distance between him and Marx. The dim yellow light in the gazebo made her looked even more ethereal.

Marx exhaled deeply. He looked away from her as complicated emotions swirled within him.

"I will miss you."

Amaya’s somber voice drew his gaze back to her. He felt happy because she will miss him. ’Did that mean that I am important to her?’ He thought deeply as his lips stretched sideways in a half smile. Amaya has somehow gotten used to his presence just as he has with her.

’If only she is a bit older, then I can marry her and I can bring her with me to Usturia.’ Sometimes he regretted returning her to the Royal Family of Lireya. His decision will only have one outcome. Amaya will be separated from him.