Chapter 28 – An Unfortunate Encounter (1) Leah opened her mouth, and closed it back up again, unable to think of anything to say. She didn’t know how or why their conversation had steered that course, but Ishakan was treating it as if he only found another partner in bed. Despite her flushed face, Ishakan only narrowed his eyes, looking at her contemplatively. “Do you wish to do it once more?” he asked, and looked around, before turning it back to her, “I’m fine with doing it outside.” he shrugged and Leah stared at him, mouth agape, as she was dumbfounded. Sex outdors!? she yelled in her thoughts. It was like she was slapped in the face by how bewildered she was with Ishakan’s crazy thinking. It was an outrageous notion! Not waiting for her to get over her shock, Ishakan only grabbed ahold of her wrist and began to drag her behind him. She felt like she was in a daze, reaching an alley. Light, from the main road, seeped along the walls. It was quiet, and despite being obviously deserted, there were still a couple of people passing by every now and then. Leah brought her hands around herself, before finally finding her voice. “Not here!” she hissed at him, but she didn’t try to stop him from coming closer. His face was suddenly so close, she could feel his breath hit her face. He drew closer, and spoke in a quiet tone. His intense gaze was focused solely on her. “You...” he trailed off, his husky tone sending chills down her spine. In her gut pooled a mixture of tension and nervousness. She hadn’t realized she brought her two hands in front of her, clasping them together. “Don’t be scared.” he told her, her eyes drifting down to his lips, watching the way it moved as he spoke, “You can speak freely around me.” he drew even closer, until his lips was right next to her ear, “You don’t have to act like a princess when it’s just us.” He whispered, nodding at her as he recalled what had transpired in the palace gardens, encouraging her to speak her mind. Soon the tension built inside her settled down, and was replaced with a myriad of jumbled sensations. I don’t have to act like a princess... she thought wistfully. Never before had she heard such words addressed to her in all her life. She had strived to be the perfect princess in every way, and those words just crashed her walls down. Not even the Countess Melissa, who had been with her since she was just a child, had told her such words. Overwhelmed by her mixed feelings, she finally let out a deep breath. “Are you out of your mind!?” she exclaimed in a whisper, but Ishakan didn’t seem to be bothered by her reaction. “Well, the princess who beautifully grew up is indeed special.” he gave her a roguish grin, teasing her. And Leah shook her head at him incredulously. “In this situation, you truly are insane.” Ishakan is the first person in her life who dared suggest ridiculous things in front of Leah.  This stranger from the desert was indeed making her feel a lot of things she wasn’t used to before. Leah let out a frustrated sigh and opted to keep her mouth shut. Silence soon fell between them. And during their silence, Leah could only blink at the dim light. Despite calling Ishakan insane, she too could feel herself going crazy. Amidst the silence, she slowly closed and opened her eyes. Even though she called Ishakan crazy, Leah herself is going nuts at this very moment, too. He truly is a dangerous person—someone not to be involved with.’ She thought grimly. ‘The king of the enemies with an unidentified purpose. But Leah was still curious about Ishakan, and seeing no other way to quench her curiosity, she opened her mouth to speak. “You-” but she was quickly cut off by the sound of boisterous laughter, and booming music that was reverberating in the alleyway. Her curiosity shifting towards the noise, she pushed Ishakan aside to look out, and saw a band of Gypsies dancing about in the alley. Their laughter too had caught Ishakan’s attention, who had mirrored Leah’s actions, before muttering under his breath. “Tomaris.” he grunts and Leah looks at him in confusion, “You people might know them as Gypsies.” he clarifies for her as he continues to observe them, “I don’t like them much really.” he admits. Like most people in the continent, Kurkans steer clear of Gypsies. After all, they never settle in one place for long, and do the odd job or two to make a living. Their jobs range from selling handicrafts, to luring people in ridiculous astrological myth, singing, dancing, and so on. But even more so is the blatant prostitution that occurs whenever Gypsies band together, which only serves to endager public security and peace. But despite their negative reputation, they still existed because some people do keep them running. However, there are also some who are well-versed in the art of sorcery. And because of this, more often than not, wealthy merchants, and even the nobles, would secretly seek out their services, buying love potions, or cursed dolls, and would pay them in securing their safety and livelihood. There also stemmed the old warning, that when one would mess with Gypsies, bad things will come. Hence most people turn a blind eye to their lawlessness. Such a troublesome group indeed. “They’re like weeds,” he grumbled, “No matter how hard you pluck them out, more of them keeps popping out.” he let out a defeated sigh, “I’m not in the mood anymore.” he said in a distasteful frown, before turning towards Leah, and pulled her close to him once more. “Do you think we can pick up from where we left off?” he asked her teasingly, but Leah couldn’t find the words to reply to him with. He chuckled at her speechlessness, until they heard someone calling for him urgently. “Ishakan!” It was a whisper. “Ishakan!” it repeated.