Luke smiled despite the humiliation at having two commoners laugh at him. In all fairness, Rhiane did caution against the liquor. It was he who, as usual, disregarded the warning, believing himself to be above the common people in all aspects of life, alcohol tolerance included. Though it was not that the prince was about to back down on his personal mission to prove Rhiane wrong, the first swig just took him by surprise. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have gulped as much on the first try.” The furrowed brows disappeared as he took the mug by its handle to give it another chance. The dark liquid slid down his throat with a little less fight than before, because maybe he did not force a lot.

As he gently placed the mug back on the table, savoring the bitter taste and warmth, his attention turned to Rhiane. He told her before they left her room that he did not want the attention of the whole town. It had been a physically tiring day, the night had no right to be equally tiring. But the way her friend framed the question sounded as if her neighbors had lost somebody to look up to when she left to join the contest and consequently won the crown. He remained silent, not wanting to appear as if he was dictating the woman. Instead, he looked down at the pasta bathed in olive oil, overwhelmed with spices, and started his counter-attack. Food and drink were what he came to the bar for, and it was what he would fight to get. 

Needless of a yes or no from the princess elect though, the bartender tilted his head towards the direction of the couple and their uninvited guest. Heads turned, including that of Rhiane’s father and brothers. The men may not have disclosed that the only living female of their household was going to grace them with her presence, but she was right when she said that it was impossible to hide from the crowd once they entered the establishment. Without knowing about the impending crowd about to approach them to at least catch a few words with Rhiane, the crown prince quietly chewed on his food in perfect poise and table etiquette. 

Without his bodyguards, nobody stopped the commoners from approaching the table. A tall man in blue jeans and a plain white shirt braved the prince’s wrath first. Luke was busy pushing away some of the red flakes from the strands of pasta when the second uninvited guest leaned against the edge of the table and stared openly at his fiancee. The commoner faked a surprised look. “Rhiane?” His smile was broad and friendly, but not friendly enough to greet the other people joining the princess elect on the table. “I did not think we will see each other again. I mean, not here or anywhere near here.”

Terzo glanced at Rhiane then at Luke. “Mon, they must be tired from traveling all over the kingdom. Why don’t I buy you a drink at the bar and --”

Mon waved him off with a gesture of his hand. “It’s fine, Terzo. Rhiane and I have a lot of catching up to do, don’t we? Have you heard about Clara? She was duped by this creditor and she lost her family’s farm.” 

Luke quietly gulped a mouthful of the liquor. It was not so bad after a few sips and gulps. He was getting used to the warmth and bitterness and the occasional fight. What he could never bring himself to get used to was the constant rudeness of the people around Rhiane. On one hand, he disliked how privacy seemed to be scarce in the countryside, but on the other hand, he should be happy that he was treated as if he was nothing but another farmer looking to smoothen the edges. If he was to assert himself, it was surely another subject of their argument, but who cared. He was annoyed.
“We prefer our privacy, thank you.” The prince told the man, whose back was on him. Mon’s grin slowly vanished, but his cockiness remained. He shifted his weight, turning to face the royal. Again, a look of feigned surprise was on his face.

“Oh, your royal highness, I did not see you sitting there.” He mocked a bow.

“Mon, stop terrorizing them,” an unfamiliar voice called out. Luke’s jaw was set. Others had discovered their spot and was drawn by his supposedly date for the night.