Ileana's POV
A long, sad sigh came from my throat as I looked out from my tower. How long would I be forced to sit up here, waiting for my prince to come?
I once heard a joke from Sir Rodingham, one of my fathers friends about princess once they were "out of their prime."
"You have to catch them early. The younger, the better. Once her beauty leaves her, there's nothing left!" he guffawed. Every other man in the room joined in, some looking pointedly at their wives. On the other hand, the women of the room all avoided each other's eyes. Not one of them was what one would consider "young." And so started my intense fear that my prince would come too late.
I was already sixteen years old. What in the world was taking my prince so long to find me?
Kerning's POV
The morning began like every other morning. I woke up and washed my body as well as I could in whatever water I could find. I ate the rest of the possum from the night before and prepared my horse. Repetition. Back home, I couldn't stand repetition. It was boring, pointless even. Why shouldn't I try new things?
In fact, had I known how much repetition there would be on this trip, I probably would have attempted to find some way out of it. Not that I would have been able to find a way out of it. Every prince had to make a voyage at one time or another to find their princess. Tradition stated it. Actually, I couldn't stand tradition either. Who made up those stupid rules and customs, anyway?
I mean, really, think about it. What sense does it make to make every princess, once she reaches the age of fifteen, to sit in a tower day after day? And why does every prince of nineteen have to go find one and make her his bride? When did this come about?
My horse, Guns, interrupted my musings as I finished my breakfast, with a snort. As I looked up to her, I noticed how high the sun was on the sky. "Damn! It's almost noon!" I quickly packed up the rest of my belongings and saddled Guns. "Giddy up!"
It was probably good that she interrupted my thoughts, I decided after a while. What good is thinking why we do things? We still end up having to do them, but then we really don't want to. I just hoped that my princess was near. I didn't know how much more of this I could take.
Ileana's POV
As the day wore on, I did all my normal activities. I finished yet another needlepoint of a castle. It was stored in my hope chest along with all the others and my wedding dress. I then braided my curly auburn hair and then began to sew a new night gown.
I wondered what life would be like once I was saved. Would I be like all those other wives, doing exactly what my husband wanted me to do? Yes, I would. I knew this and I knew that I had to accept it. It would be my life, even if I fought it.
I was just sitting down to my lunch when I heard them. Steady and even. What I had been wishing for. The trotting of a horse's feet. As quickly as I could, I stood up and ran over to my window.
It was a wild horse. Not exactly common to these areas, but not rare, either. Disappointed, I sat back down to whittle away my day. A few minutes later I heard some more cracking of dried leaves, but I decided not to get up again. It was just a disappointment to me.
I continued to eat slowly, when something registered in my brain. The "wild" horse had had a saddle. He had gotten away from his owner! At that moment, I heard a man's voice outside my window.
"Slow down Guns! Slow down!" I leaped up and ran over to the window.
Kerning's POV
I had not been riding for a very long time, when the wild boar spooked Guns. I was thrown off her back into some brambles that were sitting by the path and she continued to run. I knew immediately that I would have to follow her; she was the only thing that could transport me to my princess and then back home.
So, of course, I took off running after Guns as soon as I could pick my body up. I am not sure how far I ran until I caught sight of her, but she was galloping around in front of some tower. A tower! I knew that there had to be a princess in there, but first I had to catch Guns.
"Slow down Guns! Slow down!" I shouted as I chased after my horse. I continued to chase after her, until I noticed auburn curls blowing out in tendrils from the tower's window. I stopped chasing Guns and looked up to the window.