Jacidia Alpinuer.
Holy shit… she looked just like her, may even be a sister…
I stopped myself from nearly bumping into her. She had such a sweet smile when she stared at me and my dumbfoundedness, introducing herself, “Pleasant day, warrior! Are you here to buy some potions?”
I looked down at her hands, Jacidia holding about five of them to her chest.
“N-n-no, actually, I’m not.”
She giggled, then leaned over to me in a whisper. “Neither am I. I am just here to test the quality of these products! Call me paranoid, but I’m a bit skeptical about their authenticity.”
My eyes grew, her voice resembling Jezz so closely that I thought I was in some type of twilight zone. I didn’t realize I was staring at her for so long until that sweet smile on her face went straight, and her eyebrows furrowed on me. “Hey, is everything all right?”
I shook my head and chuckled bashfully. “Heh, sorry about that. You just look like someone I know.”
She laughed. “I get that a lot. People say that I look like my young sister, Jezzie.”
I choked. “I beg your pardon?”
“Jezz? The name that’s forbidden in my father’s court? Everyone around here knows about the infamous ice wolf who was banished from her royal home.”
I swear my mind was ready to explode…
Was she saying that Jezz was an Alpinuer?!
Was Jezz actually royalty?!
CHAPTER FIFTY
There were just some pieces of a puzzle that just wouldn’t fit, and I was trying to ram this one in a particular way. The frustration was building up inside me, and I couldn't seem to let it go. My brain might not be working… that was it! I was hearing things, but when Rufian came to my side, he gave the girl an odd look that confirmed everything.
“Lady Jacidia Alpinuer,” he said coldly, then his temperament changed just as fast, Rufian bowing respectfully toward her. “What a delightful pleasure!”
What the fuck dude!? That’s your sister! I screamed in my head, freaking out!
“Why, hello there.” She smiled. “Are you two traveling together?”
“That we are,” Rufian said, standing himself straight again. Jacidia offered her hand to him, Rufian hesitant to take it.
“Our bloodline is strong, our bloodline is pure!” she mocked in a whisper. “But don’t be afraid, commoner. I am not like the rest of the Alpinuers.”
“I am no commoner…” Rufian said, taking offense.
“So then you wouldn’t feel so shamefully intimidated…”
What the hell was going on? Was she sizing him down?
She had a strange smirk on her face to compete with Rufian’s irritated glare.
He wasn’t hiding his emotions well. His face went flush before Lady Alpinuer snatched his hand and yanked his shoulder into hers, the blonde assertive girl whispering in his ear, “I know it’s you under that mask, brother. You have that same wrinkle along the corner of your eye whenever you lie to dad about your extracurricular activities…”
What a tell…
Rufian yanked his hand back from her, but the grip on that girl was strong.
“Let go of me, Jaci,” Rufian growled through his teeth.
“Did you really think that half-assed disguise would fool me? Your dearest doting sister?”
“Doting? Try an annoying and snoopy, stuck up, money hungry harlot!” Rufian hissed in a whisper.
“Better than a man slut,” she sang.
“You sure wear your stripes, well! Enough that father allows you around commoners.”
“What can I say? I’ve always been his favorite!”
“That’s because your entire life is a charade! And the old man can’t smell a fraud like you.”
“Honestly, brother, you were never an Alpinuer,” she said bitterly. “But the Gods have a sense of humor, don’t they?”
“The Gods were laughing when you were born...”
“Hey,” I said, interrupting their dump fest. Jacidia finally let go of Rufian as he snatched his hand away from her, Jacidia wiping her hand down her red dress just as fast.
“Your hands were always so sweaty.”
“Only when I’m around a demon spawn like you,” Rufian retorted. “Just my luck I’d find an Alpinuer in the streets.”
