Marriage Of Convenience: Part 8

Kirby smiled as he nodded his head happily. “Hello Lina,” he said quietly. “It’s me.”

Lina turned her attention away from him momentarily and regarded him. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw that he was wearing his cloak, which had slipped from his shoulders during the brief moment of hugging. “Oh...um, good day Lord Karson,” she stammered softly. Then she hurriedly turned back to face Kirby. “You must forgive me,” she said as she quickly removed the hood from Kirby’s head. “I am just so happy to see you.” Her voice broke slightly in her last sentence. She wiped a stray tear that threatened to roll down her cheek.

“It’s alright,” Kirby replied. “It’s nice to see you too. It has been such a long time.”

“It has been a very long time indeed, so you're a royal prince Kirby?” Lord Karson chimed in.

Kirby nodded. “Yes,” he answered quickly. “Yes, I am.”

Lord Karson nodded, although he looked a bit surprised. He glanced over to Lina. “I didn’t know that Kirby had royal blood running through his veins,” he said gently. “I thought he was a normal person.” he said, still in awe.

“He is,” Lina responded, looking at Kirby.

“How old are you, Kirby?”

“Twenty,” he replied. He was trying his best to sound as relaxed as possible. He knew that if he sounded nervous at first he wouldn't be able to hide his emotions.

Lord Karson raised an eyebrow. “Really? It seems strange considering all those books and pictures I read about royal princes of old,” he said in a quiet tone. “You look younger than that.”

Kirby chuckled nervously. “Sorry about that. Well, you see…it isn't actually all that common anymore...” he started explaining slowly.

Karson nodded and waited patiently until Kirby finished talking. Once he did he gave him a warm, genuine smile.

“But it doesn't matter,” Kirby continued. "What matters now is now I have found the one and came looking for and I'm going to marry her and take her back to my kingdom. That's what matters to me, after all." Kirby said, looking Lina in the eye. "My love, how can you be so sure that your kingdom will accept me? We barely met, I'm not sure why you would be willing to put yourself through all this trouble to help me.” Lina let out anxiously.

“I am aware of how difficult the first few weeks may be,” Lord Karson told her. “But trust me, my dear, things are going to get much easier from here. Don’t worry. I’ll help you find your way.”

Kirby’s eyes suddenly widened. "Do you mean you can help me? You can help us be together?” he asked eagerly. He stared at Lord Karson wide-eyed.

“Of course,” Lord Karson agreed with a broad smile on his face. “You're going to need my help. And I don’t mind helping you. I would be honoured.”

"What?" Kirby laughed lightly, still staring at Lord Karson. He was stunned. Wasn't Lord Karson against this sort of thing? Didn't people like him despise royalty? Why would he help them? He seemed like the type who liked to sit in his own home, watching the other nobles. Kirby couldn't imagine how this meeting and their plan could possibly help him achieve what he wanted. But then again, Lord Karson said something about being glad to help him, so maybe he could count on him?

"Thank you so much," Kirby thanked the man sincerely. He couldn't believe how lucky he had ended up becoming. After all these years without anyone to rely on, now someone actually wanted to help him. For the longest time he hadn't given a damn about the outside world, nor did he care about his well-being.

To be continued…