Happily ever after

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"Well, I really like the steak that they have here, but I shouldn't be one to judge what you'll order." He smiled a little, but as he saw Xana frown, he tilted his head. "Is... Something wrong? You seem a little bit down..."
 
"Okay, I shall have the steak as you recommend," Xera said. She tried to figure out a good way to answer his question, she felt bad that he had to catch her frowning.

"Well, I am okay, thank you for your concerns," she replied to his question, "I don't know why I frowned just then. Or maybe I do."

She then tried to be honest with him about her feelings. "Perhaps, it is a little embarrassing for you to be here with me? Maybe you have a lover and this creates a complication. Regardless, I would insist that that I make payment for my own food, and we can part ways afterwards."
 
Sadao blinked in surprise at her reasoning, and than shook his head reassuringly. "N-No, I don't have a lover... Although my dad is telling me to get one on a daily basis..." He sighed and wished that he lied about that fact. "I just... I don't know, I'm not a people person, I guess..." Was his final excuse.
 
"I'm sorry," Xera apologized, "I thought you were embarrassed to be with me, I guess. It's understandable, I'm a strange and unusual woman in your city so it is to be expected."

She paused a little, wondering how long it would take for steaks to be prepared, perhaps one or two hours. She thought to ask, "so why does your father need to arrange a mate for you? Are you not attractive enough for the women here in your city? I think you are... more than attractive."
 
"W-You think?" He blushed a tiny bit and looked away. "Well... He likes to be the man in control, if you catch my drift..." He sighed. "And of course, no regular person will work for him, no, she has to be special and stuff... I mean, what am I supposed to look for?" He shook his head and looked at Xera. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble on..."
 
"You are a handsome man," Xera emphasized, "and have many attractive personality traits as well. Though, maybe I am biased because you helped this strange woman get to know the city a little more."

She thought about what he said about his father. "Your father doesn't seem to be a very nice person, or a supporting father. My father, he," and she hesitated a little, remembering to make the true story hidden, "he encourages me to learn the family business on my own, freely, and I think he would be supportive of whoever takes me as wife. As long as I'm happy!". She smiled.

"I think you are supposed to look for someone that makes you happy, not necessarily your father being happy with her."
 
He shook his head and sighed. "I know, right? But he's too stubborn to let up... I kinda wish that I had your father." He let out a joking chuckle. "Well, not really... But you understand what I mean."
 
"I understand what you mean," Xera replied, "well I think perhaps you haven't found the right woman for you yet. I think when you do. You will find the strength and courage to fight for her.". She smiled. "Or perhaps your love will cause you to do crazy things."

She looked around at the place. "It is a nice place. And I am happy we get to talk more here. I wonder how soon the steaks will be ready?"
 
"Well... Perhaps." He smiled at her. She made him feel more... Confident in himself, somehow. "Well, I doubt that it'll take much longer. It's usually done by now, anyway." He shrugged.
 
"Any moment now? I hope so, because I am hungry! " Xera said. As she said it, she noticed one of the royal guard peeking in. She wanted to have a message passed to the adviser, so he would not worry that she was away for longer than expected.

"Excuse me, my dear Sadao, I need to go outside to use the outhouse, I shall return shortly", she said with a smile as she got up.

On her way to the outhouse, she said to the guard, "please tell Doak it may be a while, he may find an inn and we can meet there in the evening."

On her return to the table with Sadao she was hoping to see the food ready.
 
And sure enough, when she returned, there were two steaks on their table, and Sadao seemed to be fighting an impulse to just dig in. When Xera approached, he smiled widely.

"Oh, you're back! Great!" He gestured towards her seat once more. "Please take your seat, so we can begin."
 
Xera smiled when she saw the steaks in front of Sadao. "Lovely! Let's eat!" she said enthusiastically. She sat, and cut into the steak, finding it quite tasty and succulent. "I am surprised that you would have such good beef here, I was thinking that an island might not have that much livestock."

She looked at Sadao and wondered how many times he'd here before. "But I guess you know that very well. I think you've been to this place a lot, haven't you?"

She was quick in devouring the steak. Xera didn't realize how hungry she was, she forgot that her last meal was rations consumed on the boat coming to the island.
 
"Oh, well, we do have a surprising amount of farms to the north, you see. They supply us with a lot, but not everything, you know..." And this is when he realized that he had just been blabbering for time on end... Again.

"Sorry, sorry. I guess that I got a bit carried away..." He sighed and ate his steak, which was delicious as always.
 
Xera grinned widely. "It's perfectly alright... I like hearing you talk, it helps me learn more and more about this place."

She was about finished with the steak, so she thought of a part of the city, or a part of the island she wanted to see next. "As this is an island, if you still have time, perhaps the last thing I would like to visit is one of your nice beaches. I think that might be the last thing left I would want to look at before deciding whether to settle here or not."

She paused a little. "But I have already taken a lot of your time, and some of your hard-earned coins with this lunch, so maybe you could just direct me to the nicest beach I could get to easily."
 
While hard-earned maybe wasn't that correct, Sadao nodded to her and pointed south. "Well, it should be right over those hills there." He sighed as he thought about it. "Now that I think about it, I haven't been at the beach for ages... Maybe something to think about." He said to himself as he stood up. "Well then, it was nice meeting you, Xera. I hope that I'll get to talk to you again soon."

As he walked away, a little girl walked up to Xera and asked her something with an unsure voice. "Why were you talking to Prince Sadao?"
 
Xera was a little disappointed that Sadao wouldn't be accompanying her to the beach. "I might still need a guide there, but if you have other affairs I truly understand." she said. "It was a pleasure to meet you and thank you for all you have done for me."

Then a little girl... called him "Prince Sadao". Xera was surprised.

"Prince?" she said to Sadao.
 
"Well, yeah, I got some business to take care of, and..." Sadao stopped dead in his tracks, both in walking and speaking as Xera suddenly called him by his true title. The girl walked back to her mother, as Xera apparently wouldn't answer her question.

"I... Um... Yes, that's me. I'm the prince of this island." He said in an almost guilty tone.
 
"Prince, you say," Xera mused, "I would not have guessed." That was quite the revelation to Xera. Some questions came to mind, like why he chose to keep his identity secret from her. She didn't feel bad, as she was keeping a secret of her own. She just smiled, somewhat mischievously at the revelation.

She decided to keep the role she had been in this entire time on the island. If she really wanted to find him later, she had a good idea of where to find him.

"So, Prince Sadao," she said, "I'll go to look at and possibly enjoy the beach you recommended, as my time on the island is running short. If I don't see you again," and she bowed to hin, "I wish you all the best." And then, she walked out, towards the beach.
 
He sighed as he watched her go. Was she put off by his title? It was understandable, but at least she could say something. He just walked back to the castle with a simple "I'll see you later."
 
Xera was a little disappointed that Sadao didn't follow her, but she couldn't force him, especially being a Prince. She was actually a little worried that she might implicate the Prince in a scandal, but for the moment that concern was far from her mind. She wanted to enjoy the beach... there was no such place in her native Ilum which was not a nation blessed with beaches.

She looked at it, a beautiful beach like Prince Sadao described. She looked around, and she was the only one there. She decided to take the opportunity to undress and go for a swim.

Once she reached the water, she submerged herself. She rarely had opportunity to swim, and the weather and climate were perfect here on the Isle. She let herself float for a while and would relax, and daydream. Her thoughts would run to Prince Sadao occasionally, but she wasn't sure what to think of him. He was a handsome man, charming, but he didn't seem as convincing a figure as she would imagine a prince to be. She felt sorry for him, actually.

She would almost forget where she was, she was almost falling asleep in the ocean waters.
 
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