The Fugitive Prince Read online

  Elan regarded the knight with his glowing eyes.

  “You remind me of them.”

  Gregor’s blush seeped through his beard as he hid it behind his laugh. Elan chuckled in soft response and he continued.

  “I grew up learning carpentry and fashioning furniture. While I was working there, I met Bellie when she was just training as a smith. She and her father were traveling back then and selling their fine tools for sale.”

  Elan smiled so fondly the whole table was engulfed in its warmth.

  “I would’ve missed her if her father didn’t send her to return one of my father’s ‘faulty’ stools. It was a fine bench, but he insisted it was unbalanced. When she came in and gruffly asked if she could return it. I had to ask her, and when she said no, I had to follow her. My father was livid that I was betraying the family tradition, but I couldn’t do anything else.”

  Elan pulled his hands together as he cradled them in a small hug to his chest.

  “I followed her and her father throughout the towns of Lios and Tharia alike. I had almost given up after a year, but then I climbed a mountain after her and asked and… Well, I suppose the mountain air must be romantic because she finally succumbed to my wooing.”

  Elan lingered on his last thought as he swayed in the memory.

  “Her father was just as infuriated as mine when he learned of it, but Bellie is as stubborn as the metals she works. Lost in young love and carrying a folly of not ideal thoughts, we set up our home where she said yes. Here in this dreadful and cold place.”

  Elan’s shrug seemed to lift the lights from the hanging candles and force the room a shade brighter.

  “That is why you find a humble Tharian in Liosian clothing. Fear, not my prince, you shall have safe stay tonight.”

  Cass noticed her growing proximity to Elan as he looked towards Valente and bowed. She cleared her throat and pulled back throwing glances at the prince as she returned to her stew. Valente nodded and murmured thanks under his breath and worked to finish his meal. A satisfied lull passed over the eating group. Gregor happily finished his stew as he leaned back and patted his stomach causing the chair underneath to creak in pain. Elan moved to stand up and collect the empty bowls from his guests with a potent smile.

  “There are a few things I have-”

  The door crashed open as its sound resonated from the foyer obliterating the calm. Heavy thuds of dirty and frosted boots stomped into the dining room where the three sat. The smith’s crinkled face leered at the scene before her. Meeting the observing eyes with a thick scowl she grunted.

  “Why the grim faces? Has my husband burnt the stew again?”

  Elan rose and moved nimbly to join his wife at the room’s entrance. He guided her towards the wooden chair facing Gregor at the other end of the table. Elan placed his flawless hands on Bellie’s heavy-built shoulders.

  “They were just telling me about their lovely little shop in the capital. Imagine that Bellie, we have city folks staying with us tonight! They can tell us about how people live in the castle!”

  The smith growled as she landed in her chair. Elan wrapped his soft arms around his spouse as he sweetly smiled. Gregor grinned continuing the man’s narrative.

  “Ah yes! We own a little tool shop by the bay. It’s nothing fancy, but it puts food on the table and keeps the house over our heads…”

  The Liosian knight continued his tale of a big shopkeeper of the Farlosian coast and his two children he raised all by himself. As the story carried on while the daylight seeped away, Valente kept his eyes monitoring his host as his mind jumbled his concerns.

  A man with a mark of hope.

  The prince shook his head throwing the thoughts back in order. It would not help him get to Tharia to worry about someone blessed by the gods. Valente looked to Cass as she happily listened to the tall tales from Gregor. Even in the face of Elan, her gentle smile and golden braid glowed in the warm light. Her soft cheeks were emboldened by the drifting shadows of the candlelight. They brought out the lively green in her eyes. The hazel eyes caught the prince staring as their vision met. Cass was surprised. Her smile grew as she tilted her head at Valente. A strand of gold brushed over her face. A small crawling red tickled under Valente’s cheeks. Cass raised an eyebrow as she hushed under Gregor’s booming tale.

  “What are you looking at fancy pants?”

  The prince pulled his gaze away as he muttered under his breath.

  “I… I thought I saw something.”

  Cass threw her fist into the prince’s shoulder in a playful punch as she turned back to Gregor. Valente thankfully rubbed his arm. The two continued to listen to the knight’s tale as the sun burrowed into the horizon leaving the mountain in darkness.

  Elan lit the candle. The flame flickered to life softening the white wax. He gently twisted the end as the liquid wax dripped onto the plate. He firmly affixed the candle into its new wax base. Elan smiled as he daintily lifted it from the countertop. Elan moved his eyes from the dancing wisp of flame to Cass. The huntress’s heart forgot a beat. She was not yet accustomed to his unreal looks. Elan delicately maneuvered the candle in front of him as its light grew bold. Valente walked over towards the new flickering candle from the glow of the dining room to join Elan and Cass. Elan shifted his gaze to the prince. Valente stumbled. The man had forced the prince’s mind and body into a conflict of whether to blush. Elan grinned in the candlelight. He beckoned the two to follow. Elan’s hair drifted behind him as he carried himself down the hall.

  The two followed the enchanting figure down the wooden hall. The light tap of wooden steps called them further. Elan’s motion stopped as his hair brushed against his back in a graceful stop. Elan turned to the side of the hall and grabbed hold of a handle. Swinging it open, Elan flourished his arm and stepped back to reveal the room to his guests. The prince walked into the room first. He caught the soft and fragrant scent of mountain oak and baked bread coming off Elan as he passed. Valente bustled forward to avoid smelling further.

  The gods even made him smell good.

  The small room had little on the walls bar a small window facing outwards towards the cold mountain peaks. A downfall of snow peppered against the pane in near silent taps. The room itself contained a modest bed with a chest standing at its foot. The bed had snuggled itself against the northern wall near the window. Across from the bed hugging the wall to the left of the prince was a little gathering of chairs and a table. Valente shifted uneasily as his mind looked for solutions to a new dilemma.

  One bed.

  Elan stepped out of the way to light the candle in the room. As Cass stepped inside her attention shifted to the matter that held the prince’s worry. Elan moved from the newly lit candle towards the open door and placed his fragile hand on it as he smiled.

  “I hope this is alright. It’s a simple spare room, and it sometimes gets drafty at nights. The blankets should be enough for the two of you. I hope sharing a bed isn’t a problem for you ‘siblings’, is it?”

  Valente did his best to withhold his protests as he shakily replied.

  “We will manage.”

  Elan went to close the door. He poked his head between the ever closing gap with a smile.

  “You two have a good night. I’m just down up the stairs if you need anything. I’ll be waking you in the morning.”

  Cass’s will faltered as she turned to stop Elan. The rush of wind and clash of the closing door vanquished her protests as the sound stamped the enveloping silence. Cass instinctively brought her hand to her braid as she fumbled with the silver clasp. The taps of snowflakes against the window created a cold clock in the silent room. Valente froze. Trapped in the moment and stuck between the fear of both action and inaction. He had shared a camp with the huntress several times already in this journey, but this was different.

  Valente looked at the wooden floor as an alternative. It rigidly looked at the prince dissuading him from a resolution. Even if he could sleep on the floor,
he wouldn’t get a proper sleep, and with the Iron Stars being so close fatigue could not be an option. Valente shifted to face Cass as he put words together. The huntress shifted her clasp up and down as she spoke letting her voice cut through the silence and the start of the prince’s words.

  “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

  A moment of relief hit Valente. If she was willing, perhaps it would not be so bad. The unforgiving floorboards glared up at the prince. Valente’s relief retreated as his Tharian duty pushed it aside.

  “Gregor is already doing that because of his size, and you are a lady. I insist you may take the bed. You two are more capable than I.”

  A part of the prince loathed himself for letting the words out. He cleared his throat letting it buffer the silence as it fell.

  Cass took a step forward. A new warmth burned on her cheeks.

  In the dimly lit room, Valente could swear he saw Cass quietly smile as she brought her braid closer to her chest and took it in both of her hands. Cass gripped her hair and fumbled with her clasp as she spoke to the floor.

  “I… uh… We could share the bed.”

  Though the candle burned low the prince’s blue eyes pierce the dark as they darted to stare at Cass. The huntress fidgeted and then stepped closer towards the bed. Valente’s burning gaze spurred her to her specifications.

  “I’ll sleep on the blanket and you sleep under it. Okay? Nothing weird.”

  The statement introduced a certain weirdness to the prince. Valente tilted his head a fraction in the dark in a curious attempt at a better angle.

  Is she flustered? Blushing?

  The prince was knocked aside and out from his thoughts as the huntress brushed past. She quickly flung off her cloak and placed it on the chest at the base of the bed. In quick and seamless succession, Cass removed her bags and belts and small pouches placing them in a neat pile atop her cloak. Maintaining the momentum, Cass kicked off her shoes and placed them quietly on the side of the bed. Cass exhaled and then crawled onto the covers and towards the wall just under the window. She rolled over the bed’s length to hug the stone wall leaving her back facing the prince.

  Valente stood for a moment as the candle flickered. A cold draft of air rustled over his skin. The room was near silent bar the light pattering of snow above the bed. The slender figure curled on the bed brought uncertainty to the prince’s world. Valente looked to the floor as a remaining viable option. Cass shifted on the bed and sent an impatient gaze back at Valente. It was riddled with as much uncertainty as the prince had, yet in it lingered a sliver of expectancy. The huntress hid her face once again as she faced the wall under the tapping window. The prince swallowed as he cautiously stepped forward. Valente had never shared a bed with a woman before. Maria had joked and teased about it many times, but this was something he had not prepared for.

  It’s just for the night… nothing weird.

  A cold wall of air drifted through the room causing the prince to burrow his neck down into his garment. Cass involuntarily shivered on the bed. She curled tighter against the wall. The prince took a few more steps as the chill persuaded him forward. Valente slowly removed his vest as he placed it beside the small black cloak on the chest. The prince’s eyes observed the cloak in the dim light. The material was sleek and smooth as it seemed to shimmer in the darkened room. Valente had not seen it up so close and so still. Valente stepped further up next to the bed. His body loomed over the sheets and the huntress. He swallowed his hesitation once more. Leaning on the bed he pulled off his boots and placed them beside Cass’s. The figure on the bed flinched as the bed gently lurched. Valente deeply exhaled as he sat for a long moment on the bed. The sheets taut under him as a huntress weighed them just an arm’s reach away. He had been this close before, but this proximity was driving him and his heart up the walls. The air thickened. Valente did his best to think on other thoughts besides the overbearing feeling as he pulled himself under the covers. The present weight of the huntress added a resistance to his task further reminding him of their situation. As the bed settled, Cass curled tighter towards the wall though it gave her no pardon. Both Cass and Valente moved to adjust on the hardening cushion of the bed. Each took silent turns to negotiate themselves the best compromise for space and comfort. As the awkward minutes crawled on, they settled down with their backs lightly touching through the thin cloth barrier. Valente’s body demanded rest, but his mind flooded itself with thoughts and uncertainties. Cass moved her leg closer to her body. The action sent a small ripple across the blanket. The veil of tension amplified every action.

  Valente gently turned his head towards the ceiling as he darted a gaze to his companion. Through the dull candlelight, he could see she was not faring much better. Above the shield of the blanket, her body gave away the gentle shivering she did her best to hide. Cass bounced between curling up to Valente for warmth and stretching out to give agreeable bed space at the cost of her own. She looked like a half-corked bottle. Valente nearly laughed at her self-induced predicament. Cass turned her curious head at the jovial spasm of the prince.

  “What is it?”

  The prince turned his head again to Cass. Their eyes glowed meeting under the soft light of the candle. Valente rolled onto his back to relieve the strain on his neck. His arm grazed Cass’s.

  “It’s… strange. I’ve never shared a bed with anyone before. It’s not what I do,”

  Valente sent a nervous glance at the wrapped ball of the huntress, “As a prince of course.”

  Cass uncurled to better hear the prince letting her arm retire beside his.

  “Yeah… me too.”

  Valente adjusted the blanket as he pulled it to accommodate a better angle of conversation.

  “We’ve been through a lot together.”

  Valente pointed to the blanket covering him.

  “I just think it’s unnecessary that there’s this barrier here. We both need sleep and we won’t get any if we are trying to be polite here. You’re not fooling anyone. You’re freezing Cass.”

  Cass turned on her back and unfurled.

  “Yeah… I guess you’re right. I didn’t expect to be…”

  Cass stopped her arm from reaching up and playing with her braid as she rubbed it with her other free hand.

  “worthy to impose on a prince.”

  Valente pulled the covers as he spoke,

  “Please, I have no objections to sharing the blankets. It’s cold and I wouldn’t want a lady, commoner or not, to shiver in her sleep.”

  The red and vibrant warmth visited the huntress’s face. Her hand was quick to wrap around her golden hair. Cass smiled and nodded at Valente.

  “Then I would like my share of the blankets.”

  Valente complied as he rolled out of the bed. Cass rolled after him. Valente threw the blankets back revealing the surprising comfort of the feather mattress. The prince followed the action with an overtly grand gesture and beckoned the huntress back to her spot beside the wall. Cass shuffled over the bed and under the covers by the wall. Valente followed as he leaped back into his warm groove. He pulled the blanket up mid-jump. The warm and woolen cloth landed on the two. Cass caught her end and patted down any openings to the cold draft in the room. Valente moved the blanket once more to his chin as he settled into the bed. The task was simpler without the weight of the huntress tugging on the sheets. Valente let his body warm the fabric once more and exhaled his deep relief.

  “I don’t want weird feelings between us. I think it’s better if we aren’t ashamed to share the necessities.”

  Cass let the prince’s words drift in silence for a moment before pulling the blanket snuggly.

  “Okay.”

  Valente closed his eyes and exhaled once more, yet deeper and more methodically.

  “Good. There are enough worries between us that don’t need the company of a cold and awkward night.”

  Valente nose wrinkled as he yawned.

  “But for now, I bid you goodnight Cass
.”

  Cass gripped the blanket close to her braid.

  “Goodnight Valente.”

  The weight shift from the prior tension and onto the prince’s mind. Fog covered and consumed his thoughts as it lifted him off to sleep. The gentle tap of snow against the window served a potent and pleasant lullaby. As the dreams sprang forth, Valente smiled in the fading candlelight. He enjoyed the warmth of another.

  The flame sputtered in the pool of wax at the peak of the candle. Cass closed her eyes tightly letting the dancing and dying light play tricks behind her eyelids. She had heard the prince’s breath grow slow and shallow. Her body was on the verge of sleep, yet her mind continued to race towards an unknown finish line.

  ‘I don’t want weird feelings between us.’

  The prince’s words swung violently in her mind. Valente may have addressed the awkwardness between them, but he had cemented a feeling. One Cass had been wrestling with. The huntress pulled the blankets down to her chest to quell the erratic desire that thumped within. Her eyes turned to the wild, black whips of hair that collapsed onto the sleeping prince’s face. Even in the dark, she could trace the soft lines of his face. The heaves of his low breath met the tapping snow against the window in a low a rhythmic lullaby. Cass smiled at the sleeping prince, as she turned her vision up to the now black ceiling. With the warmth of a prince and his unintended berceuse, her vision fluttered and the heavy dark of night fell upon her. Her anxious thoughts could not outweigh sleep forever as she tumbled into her dreams.

  -16-

  A quick succession of raps on the wooden door sprung Cass awake. Navigating her face from the jungle of twisted blankets she pushed herself from the bed and looked towards the sound. The morning light glimmered through the window above her as night lost its slow fight to keep dominion. Cass looked at the ruffled messed of hair that lazily tugged on the blanket and the sudden awakening of the huntress. Valente was caught between fervent dreaming and determined fighting against the morning. He groaned in feverish protest as his body twirled to cocoon itself in the resisting blanket. Cass scooted over to the end of the bed to move around the sleeping prince. Valente avariciously clung to the fabric as the huntress stood free of it. The prince wiggled and curled tighter in his dreamy victory. Cass blinked her eyes tightly as to clean the night from them. She encouraged their awakening with a quick rub over her eyelids as she pulled the door ajar.