The Jewel in My Heart
Chapter 24

"Yes..." Nina plays with Arthur's sky-blue scarf still lying on one of the chairs, "Mama."

"You want cake?" ask Anna.

Laura swiftly picked up a plate of brownies located on the table and stalled it at Nina. The toddler took a piece and bit her, then Nina nodded.

Anna laughed, if Nina nodded her head then the food was good.

"Little nina likes brownies, yeah. Then I'll ask the kitchen to send brownies here more often."

Laura put it back on the table and began to clean the scarf that was made into a toy by Nina.

"You have a hometown?" anna's eyes glared at the vast expanse of the Royal Palace's courtyard as she asked Laura.

"Hometown?" Laura repeated Anna's question.

"A place where you want to go back, no matter how far you go or how beautiful another place you go."

"Oh! Where my mother was born!" exclaimed Laura after understanding what the meaning of the hometown.

Although Laura could speak Indonesian, not all of her vocabulary understood.

"You got any?"

Laura nodded. "A small town in the western part of Freyster, my mother lived there."

"Away?"

"Three hours drive from here. After the Queen's death, my mother chose to spend her old age there and no longer want to return to the Royal Palace" Laura replied.

Anna pondered, "What's your hometown like?"

"Widlow is still a city full of trees and flowers. Not too crowded, all who live there are natives, until now there are no relocators from other cities, so we know each other well."

"I wish I could go back to Jakarta." Anna's voice grew quieter, then she looked at Nina. "But it's like it's hard."

Laura heard little of Arthur when the king called from the embassy, knowing how dangerous Anna was.

"I hope so too, when I feel tired, I will definitely think of Widlow and her warmth. Did you know that in Widlow every winter we have a gingerbread festival?"

"Ginger keu festival?" anna's eyes were round, she was interested. "That sounds delicious."

"I hope I can visit him later."

"Certainly Miss Anna, you just need to ask permission from Her Majesty Arthur," Laura said enthusiastically.

"She won't approve, she will say 'You must understand the danger you're facing'" Anna said in a voice and her face mimicked Arthur's expression as she spoke.

Laura laughed amusedly, "Geez! if His Majesty Arthur sees her..."

Anna laughed, "She won't know unless..."

"Unless I tell her," continued Laura still with a laugh on her face.

* * *

Anna's pleasure disappeared when she used one of the computers in the Royal Palace to access the internet.

Anna just wanted to find out about Freyster but what came out on the internet really made her ride black.

Photos of her and Arthur circulated on the internet with various articles accompanying her.

There are even photos taken when he just got off the plane with Anna wearing Arthur's suit while Arthur was holding Nina.

Anna browsed through the article one by one, and her forehead creased even deeper. What was written in her really made Anna astonished and upset instead of playing.

Laura showed a worried face at Anna's change in expression, she knew Anna would definitely not like to be the hottest gossip material during this week while Anna read the whole news about herself and Arthur with a nauseous stomach.

Incredibly, he had only been in Freyster for a short while but those people had written as many things about him as they had known Anna for a lifetime.

They say that she is Arthur's mistress and they have been living together secretly abroad.

Some articles even make photos of Arthur and Nina as the front cover with headlines in basic print. "King Arthur's Daughter"

Anna was really confused as to why they could write such things? Anna laughed out loud when one of her articles stated that Nina looked a lot like Arthur.

Because the night was late and Laura looked tired finally Anna told the gadia to rest.

When she was really tired, Anna was forced to get into bed. In her heart Anna is determined to talk to Arthur as soon as the man returns from London.

* * *