Sold to a Prince!

Across the brilliant violet horizon, a giant bird flew high in the sky, its wings outstretched, gliding gracefully.

Sitting atop the bird were two figures, one more comfortable and casual, while the other frozen still without any movement.

Roman subtly looked over at the young girl sitting near him. 

Her silver hair fluttered in the wind and her eyes stared ahead coldly, not betraying the thoughts inside her head.

The two of them were currently riding his mount, a golden brown griffon.

He could tell that this was probably her first time riding a beast, especially at such an altitude but yet she did not show any signs of fear.

She simply stared at the endless oceanic waters as they continued flying across the ocean. 

He didn't know why but he could also feel her gaze getting colder and colder by the minute.

Was she upset? Was she angry? Am I supposed to say something? Roman ruffled his hair awkwardly. He was not good at dealing with women, let alone comforting them. 

He was more than a hundred years old but the number of women he had interacted with could be counted using fingers.

"Ahem… So… Do you see the tall structure over there? That's our sacred temple. One can even see it all the way from the human lands." Roman muttered randomly, trying to break the awkward silence.

Sylvia gazed in the direction the man was pointing to but then froze. This was the same tower that she had seen not too long ago when she was in the yacht.

Her mind was about to wander into the part of her life that she had forcibly pushed down and buried, but thankfully the tower's golden silver sheen held her attention and she felt an invisible pull from within it.

The exact same feeling that she had felt back on the yacht as well. "That's a temple?" She asked, the coldness in her voice startling Roman for a second.

His gaze had a subtle twinkle in them as he observed the girl who was so meek and pitiful just hours ago, but it seemed as if almost everything about her had changed now.

"Yes. It is." He answered her and then remembering how Sylvia had grown up in the human world, he reminded her further. "Nothing too religious like how the humans worship their god. Our temple is simply a place to honor our ancestors."

"It is also a grave for our clan elders and every lunar cycle, all the tribes meet there to discuss various things."

Sylvia nodded. She then went back to staring at a distance.

This girl! Roman sighed. Isn't she even a little bit curious about who her parents are?

Or any of the million things about the beast lands?

Whatever. She is not my responsibility. I just need to hand her over. He turned around and gazed into the distance, the same uncomfortable silence wrapping them both once again.

Only the griffon's squawks sounded every now and then, amidst the flapping sounds of its huge wings. The bird looked like an eagle but its features were far sharper and its talons longer.

A few more hours passed when Roman finally gave in. "Don't you want to know about your parents?" He asked her.

Mmm… Sylvia nodded. She looked like she couldn't care less.

"Your father is the King of our Kingdom, Miss Sylvia. Your family has been ruling the beast clans for centuries." 

Roman's lips curled upwards, confident that this time he was going to get a reaction out of her, but…

Sylvia simply nodded.

What!!! He shook his head helplessly in defeat. 

He thought that the news about belonging to royalty might elicit some sort of response, considering the commoner's life she had led so far, but he was mistaken. 

It seemed like she didn't care about that as well.

"Your father is a good man, Miss Sylvia." Roman continued, though he was not quite sure why he was talking so much, considering that he hated talking to others.

"You also have a grandfather, who… hmm… I guess is also not too bad, but your brother though… he is a hateful maniac."

"He gets on my nerves every single time. I swear that bastard enjoys tormenting me. You should be very wary of him. He is an evil asshole. He is… " 

Forgetting what he was doing in the first place, Roman started rambling, becoming engrossed in his own thoughts, and calling the supposed elder brother of Sylvia several impolite names.

Sylvia, however, had no emotions on her face whatever. 

She listened to everything the man said but she looked ahead, the only thought in her mind was not to look back.

The sun soon drowned into the ocean and pitch-black darkness blanketed the waters when finally the first signs of shore started appearing.

It had taken them an entire day to cross the vast ocean even with the bird, whose speed was top tier.

"We are here," Roman muttered, and he patted the belly of the bird. Understanding his silent command, it doubled its speed, shooting through the final stretch like an arrow.

Sylvia's body slightly jolted but she held the harness tightly, not losing her balance. Wind rippled through her body and the force was tremendous, but she held on.

"Impressive." Roman nodded. "As expected of an Akhekh…" He didn't say the last part out loud.

Before long, bright lights appeared on the land beneath, interspersed with thick clusters of forests and mountains. Unlike the human lands, the wilderness was mostly wild and untamed. 

The griffon gracefully and swiftly glided down towards one of the huge clearings and landed on the ground.

"Good girl. Good girl." Roman hopped down and threw a huge slab of meat into the air. The bird's eyes shone as it quickly raised its head and snapped the chunk of meat with pinpoint accuracy.

"Do you need help getting down?" He then turned around to ask Sylvia but she was already standing on the ground beside the bird.

"Alright then." Roman cleared his throat. "Let's go. It's time to meet your family."