Delicate Flower

Chapter Eight ♡

Hello, my lovies!! ♥
I have missed you all soooo much, and I can never ever e v e r thank you enough for your amazing support for my book!!
Your lovely comments, your messages, your votes all are more than I could ever ask for! I love you!! ♥
I am really sorry again for the late update, I had recently a lot of university work and it stressed me out a lot.
But I never forgot about you guys (how can I) and I tried my best to give Juliette and Maximus some time for themselves in this chapter ♥
I hope you enjoy!
–Theladyandthefox
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Chapter Eight

      "Come buy, beautiful ladies!" the old merchants beckoned, their stalls full of glazed and juicy peaches and apricots, "Come buy!"

Juliette felt as if she stepped into a place of magical and eccentric wonders. The village market, as her newly formed friend called it, was were the maids picked the castle needs; from fruits and vegetables to clothes, brims and even médecine. She gasped in awe as she looked from left and right, trying to memorize as much as she could the name of products the vendors offered. They had fur, spices and even magical mirrors which claimed to foretell the future!

The place was packed with people, so much that she barely had space to move but somehow, this made her feel excited– almost as if she had been from her cage for the first time.

She had been locked away for so long, she didn't know the world could have such beauty, such splendid creations.

She sighed as she gazed at the other gobbled streets facing her. It had a row of magazins shops, many of which people of bourgeoisie were stopping by. They were the easiest to spot from the crowd. Many of them wore fabulous and vivid dresses, their fabrics made of silk and ornamented with jewels and gemstones. She imagined how lovely it would be to have such fine clothes, and so many too to be able to wear a new one everyday.

"Juliette, here, hold this." Yasmine, the girl who talked to her when she first entered the royal dining hall gave her a basket full of shiny strawberries. "For the tarte."

"Oh–yes." She said, her eyes focusing back on her friend. "They look lovely." She said eyeing their vibrant red color. "They remind me of the ones I used to have in the garden."

"Wait until you get a taste of Lady Bonita's Savory Dried Lemons. Once we add them to the truffles, the neighboring guests will have a hard time leaving our kingdom." Yasmine said proudly as she herself carried two giant baskets of vivid red berries.

"And don't you want to pay a visit to the boutiques? Oh, Juliette, don't tell me you are not going to attend the festival." Her friend widened her eyes in disbelief, the kohl surrounding them giving them a more intense stare.

"I-I d-don't know." She muttered nervously as her thoughts snapped back to the declarations she heard earlier. Remond and three other traitors have been caught a few nights ago, and the King wasted no time in implementing their executions in front of the whole Kingdom. She couldn't shake away the image of the tall muscular figure of the king as he gave his threatening speech, targeted to every soul who risks to defy him. She could never forget how the whole kingdom stared at him in terror as he directed his sword towards the traitors.

She didn't know why she hid and cried in her room for hours. She hated Remond, the man who made her seem like a traitor in front of everyone, but she hated the way he met his end. She was shocked and scared of the King's cruelty. The way his speech reverberated within the walls of the castle and the way he killed with no remorse made her recoil in fear. She has never seen such atrocity in her entire life and it made her want to be away from him as much as possible.