This was the first time boredom had hit Audrey.
After Damien followed the soldier out, leaving her with a bowl of water, she had no idea what else she was supposed to do. She had used the little water to wash her face, hands, and legs before changing into different attire. It wasn't elaborate, but it was enough to differentiate her from the maids.
Then she had remained in the tent with nothing to do.
Her stomach churned in hunger, but she had no idea where to get food.
She felt totally helpless.
Determined this time, she left the tent and walked towards the midst of soldiers running around. She wondered where the strategy meeting was taking place.
There was no one she could talk freely to here apart from her husband.
It would be nice if she could find the crown prince's tent or even find Mia. At least, she was someone she could easily relate to here.
She took several turns, ignoring the stares from the soldiers watching her as they continued their work and training. She didn't stop until she reached where the wagons were parked. At least there should be something for her to eat in the wagons. She remembered seeing different fruits being loaded into the wagon when they were about to start their journey.
The soldiers surrounding the wagon suddenly stepped aside.
A man crouched beside the broken wheel, tightening a bolt with practiced ease. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, his shirt discarded on a nearby crate.
Audrey walked faster, willingly, to see what was going on. It was a way of entertaining herself rather than doing nothing.
Instead of what she expected, her eyes widened at the man kneeling close to the wagon with a screw in his hand.
His body glistened with sweat, and that was when she saw some of the maids staring at him from afar.
Damien.
His body was toned, and it made her throat feel like sandpaper. She swallowed, watching how his hand moved effortlessly on the wheel as if he had done this a thousand times.
Even the soldiers whispered among themselves.
Audrey was certain that most of the soldiers had no idea what to do, so how could a prince know how to fix a wagon wheel?
She remained fixated on the spot she was as she watched it.
After a few minutes, he stood up, dusting his hands and handing the spanner to one of the soldiers watching him.
"Check the axle once more before loading it."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Another soldier gave him his clothes, which he shrugged on after telling him that he had repaired every wagon and they would soon be able to continue their journey once they had loaded all the goods back into the wagons.
Damien nodded, leaving their presence as if he had been an onlooker like the rest. It wasn't until his eyes settled on Audrey before her stopped right in front of her.
"Have you eaten?"
Her stomach churned at the reminder that she hadn't eaten through the day. She frowned at him. "Where did you learn to do something like that?"
Audrey looked back; some of the maids were still staring at him. She moved closer to him.
"That. It's just one of those things I can do." Then he turned, while she followed behind. Unlike her, he seemed to know where they were going.
It was the smell of food that made her stop. She looked up at him as if he was her savior.
"Stay here. It can get dangerous there."
Audrey nodded.
There were lots of people pushing through, trying to get a plate of food. But from the moment their eyes dropped on Damien, they parted like the Red Sea.
Damien moved to the front, the muscle of his back contracting, bringing back the flashes of what he looked like without his clothes on.
She quickly looked away before anyone noticed where her eyes had lingered. Why was she suddenly noticing things like this?
Her mind was so far away that she had forgotten her surroundings until she heard the voice. "What are you thinking of?"
Damien was right in front of her with two plates of food.
She shook her head. "Nothing." Then she stared around, confused about where to eat. "Do we have to go back to the tent to eat?"
Damien smiled. "No. Come with me."
She followed obediently; he seemed like the only person she could depend on here.
"During a period of war, soldiers eat together to form solidarity. Getting to know each other and support each other is very important. And one of the few moments we can get to know the rest of the soldiers is during a meal."
Audrey stopped. There was no way she was stooping to the level of eating with maids and slaves and soldiers.
Audrey stared at the long rows of soldiers already seated with bowls in their hands.
"You can't be serious."
But the look on his face said otherwise; he was very, very serious.
He moved to join them, though some of them moved away from his side only to sit further from him.
Having no choice in the decision, she sat beside him with her plate of food. Her gaze moved around the soldiers seated, then she turned to him. "I don't see the crown prince, and Mia here."
At the mention of his brother's name, Damien's face hardened. "What he does is none of our business? We're here to serve our nation and not the crown prince."
Audrey knew when to draw the boundaries. "I thought you liked your privacy. So, why are you eating with these people?" Her eyes moved around the soldiers.
She saw them conversing with one another, but no one dared to direct a question at Damien or even looked at him.
It felt like his presence here made them a bit uncomfortable. Audrey smiled; that was just how it should be. Commoners shouldn't be comfortable among nobles.
Knowing that none of them would converse with her or even dare spare a look at her because of Damien, she was finally able to focus on her meal without sparing anyone a glance.
But suddenly, everyone kept quiet.
Audrey looked up from her plate; some of the soldiers stood up to meet the man that just come into their midst. The crown prince smiled at everyone while Mia walked quietly beside him.
Anyone would have thought she was the crown princess if they didn't know he was married to Princess Ella.
"Your Highness." They bowed, putting their plates beside them.
The only ones who remained seated were her and Damien. The first prince didn't blink. It was as if he couldn't hear anything they were talking about.
"How is everyone? Hope you all had a good night's sleep?" The crown prince asked, still all smiles.
The soldier was quick to respond to him, they even moved closer to him offering him a seat beside them.
Alex shook his head, "Thank you, but I am fine. I just came to check on everyone." Then slowly his eyes moved towards Damien. "Oh, I can see my brother is here also."
With two long strides, he stopped in front of Damien. "Brother, would you like to continue your meal in my tent, so we could discuss more in the strategy."
Damien paused eating. "I think I am okay right here. And if we have anything to discuss, we can always hold another meeting."
Alex's lip twitched for a mere seconds, before his face was back to the full blown smile he usually wore. "Well, I'll leave you to it. I have something's to go through with the commandant."
His eyes fell on Audrey, lingering on her before he strode off.
Mia glared at Audrey without a word before she stormed off too.
Some of the soldiers let out a breath of relief, before picking their plates to resume eating. At that moment, Audrey had lost her appetite.
Was it just her her or did Audrey seemed to be annoyed with her?
What for?
"Are you okay?" Damien asked, dropping his plate. "The day is still far fetched, we need to be prepared for anything."
Just as soon as he finished saying the word, a little boy from nowhere ran into the camp looking all tarted and dirty.
He stopped a few distance from us, heaving heavily.
"Help!"