His Witch Queen

Hearing this, Alice gave a nod before the doors of their cart were opened for them to get out. Stepping down from the cart, luckily, she didn't hurt herself like the last time. However, straight out from the cart, her eyes fell on the opening of the market. 

"Thank you." saying this to the coachman, who also passed her the smile, she walked ahead to stand with Lady Aura, as their eyes sparkled. 

"Is this the entrance of the town?" 

"You are right. The entrance of the town is with the great market of the place. Come, we should go inside now." After checking that both of them were fine in their looks, Lady Aura smiled with the assured smile, finally taking her hand and guiding her to walk inside the new town... 

It was an all-new experience that Alice will gain, but somewhere, her heart jumped too high in her chest. As if, she knew that originally, she would fall unconscious and lay dead, if not due to her strong willpower to not let herself appear like the joke in the first practice for the time being. 

Keeping her guts high, with her mind entirely focused on meeting the new people as their Queen To be, Princess Alice kept her chin high. 

Subconsciously, when Lady Aura too realized that Alice had settled herself with reality, she had slowly and steadily started to lose her grip on Alice's hand. 

Yet not leaving it entirely, they step inside the great market of the Stiffen Town. It was all hustle- bustle, people were selling their things and whatnot. What caught Alice's eyes was to see the small market, and at the sides were the shops. However, these shops were somewhat converted into houses too. 

While down, there were the big shops and on the above floor, people lived in them. 

From the variety of the shops of spices to woods, games for children, barkery for the bread, to barbers, items of clothing for people, water, utensils for the household, and furniture, there was everything available. 'Hmm..this is so much similar to our market conditions...'

And probably, her taste and preference for the vampires will change with this entire thing. It wasn't new to find, but a faint smile had carved on her lips. This was well noted by the lady Aura, who had smirked inwardly. "Alice, in this town, is famous for their handicraft work and their woodwork." 

"Most of the craftsmen here are famous for their works and even from the other towns, people, especially come here to get something from them. So, remember that this Town majorly focuses on handicraft things, if you understand what I mean." The information was duly noted by Alice who nodded her head. 

Proceeding further they had kept the formal expressions, as lady Aura guided her to the market and gave her the view about the different things. There were ladies in the market, buying vegetables for themselves and some even gossiping. Another thing that caught her eyes was to find the queue for the bread in the bakery. Moreover, the wealthy man even used the cigar to light it off and read the newspaper. 

They were wearing large hats on their head, at least making them appear as the elite class in this place. "Um....is there any race here?" 

"It is the game of money and power. Some of the ones who are working in the Castle itself are highly regarded here. Others, who have significant contact with the Advisors of the Kingdom, are also considered valuable and above all. So, there is a significant race among the people who reside here too." Lady Aura gave the details, which were not new to find but still, she had to absorb. 

They had entered a single street but taking the turns, they had finally come to find themselves at the other hand, where there was no more the world of craftsmen and the furniture was done. 

It was the area for food, as well as the clothes. 

"Lady Aura, after my wedding it was said that the trade will start between the two Kingdoms. Has it started already?" Alice enquired. 

"Well, as far as I know, it isn't. But it will soon since the message has reached up to everyone's ears that they can now send the material out to the other Kingdom and especially in Suzania. Your Kingdom's clothes are in demand here so it will be beneficial for both of us." Lady Aura's words received a nod. 

On their way, they appeared to be the other daughter and mother walking through the lane. Exploring it more and more, Alice has received some minute details from lady Aura, and some significant ones too. 

Initially, Alice was doubtful about why such vital information was being read with Lady Aura and not with Queen Elizabeth's. It equipped her mind to realize the fact that if this tour was meant for the next Queen, then the earlier Queen should have the knowledge about the same. 

There was the hesitation that crawled under her skin to question about such a thing. But in her mind, it was necessary to know whether, in the future, someone else will be given such deep details too except her?

'Since Cyrus will have to marry one or the other day, will this information also be shared with his wife?' It was a serious concern in front of her eyes, as she sensed the competitors might strike. 

"Umm...Lady Aura, I wanted to ask, that being the third wife of the King, how come you know about everything. Shouldn't this be known to Queen Elizabeth since she is the first in charge of.." 

"....Seems like Princess Alice has sharp eyes to find loopholes." Lady Aura had cut in between her words while stopping on their track. Following her, Alice too stopped, and found lady Aura had turned around to look in her direction, with her smiling gaze in those eyes. 

"I....I...was just curious," Alice admitted the truth on her face. 

"But I appreciate that your mind functions in such  a way to understand the tactics of the kingdom too." Was this the compliment that she least expected? Alice thought. 

Even though Lady Aura didn't mind her words, she somehow felt that there was a solid reason for her question. As if, Queen was also aware but the motive behind Aura's actions was way deeper and harder to predict. 

And as she had expected, the next words of Lady Aura did strike at the right point. "I'm not only helping you but also grooming you into the next Queen to be, Princess." 

"My intent is very clear and you are right, I know this because I'm more active in the household and with the external matters, as compared to the other ladies. Queen Elizabeth is least interested to know about the locals since she is too worried about her own skin and beauty to even bait an eye over these...the people who reside in her own Kingdom." 

The words are very heavy to absorb and hard to believe. Even though Alice had already met with the lady and felt the same way and same vibe from her, it came out as the bubble that burst. "But...Queen is alive and right now, I don't think that Cyrus is taking up the crown..." 

"You never know what I predict in the future so don't think about it until you know about the position yourself." Lady Aura answered before she took her hand into hers and started to walk further with the faint smile that was still lingering on Lady Aura's face. 

It was hard to be unbothered but Alice had simply moved her gaze down for some time before she lifted it again. Roaming her eyes here and there, she felt that it was all beautiful and hard to not see. 

And for once, it was Lady Aura who had told her, "Let us go and buy something. Come with me.." 

"But what are we going to buy?" Alice wondered, but her question wasn't answered. 

Instead, lady Aura had brought her to one of the shops of the craftsman there she saw that Aura's eyes were stuck on the one wooden polished diamond. In the center, there are some pearls attached to it, looking mesmerizing to decorate in one's home. 

"Um..how much does it cost?" Lady Aura asked the shopkeeper who answered back, "Four silvers."

"Oh, God! It is too high! Do it for three silver coins and I will buy it right now!" Lady Aura tried hard to bargain, with her shocked expressions, showing that it was way too costly for her. 

Behind her, Alice had to cover her mouth to not let her chuckle be heard by anyone else. 'She already has so many silver coins and she is bargaining?' Maybe this was the trick to appear like any other normal vampire living in the streets and town. 

But as lady AURA was still persisting in bargaining with the shopkeeper, Alice had taken a few steps back to rotate her eyes in all directions, finding that there was another shop, which sold the shawls for everyone. 

Biting her lower lip, and taking another glance at Lady Aura, who was still not done with her own things, Alice had decided to gather the courage and finally test her skills for now...and to remove this hesitation for one and all. 

Taking the slower steps, she approached the old couple, who were selling the shawl. She finally gave them a soft smile before asking. "Can you please show me some shawls with good handwork on the borders?" 

"Which color would you like, Miss?" the shopkeeper lady sweetly asked, which instantly kicked in her mind after an image had flooded. 

"Show me the color of dark blue color!"