Chapter 4: Green Rider Wears a Red Face

Karigan's aunt's groom handed her into the open-topped carriage and jumped up next to the driver. At her nod, it began at a sedate pace back to the castle. It wasn't that she didn't like the fancy dress thing, Karigan excused herself silently, it was the hordes and hordes of people that came along. The last ball she had been too had been disastrous. A pale moon, crowds of nobles, and one figure. One figure standing alone. Looking at her, knowing her.

Karigan shivered. I should be forgetting now. He's gone. GONE. But I can't help it, he's always there! The Eletian known as Shawdell might be gone as far as the kingdom was concerned, but he still lived with Karigan. Something had formed between them, and it still haunted her.

When she got back to the palace, she snuck. The long billowy cloak became a staple as the days passed, as it served to hide at the very least, her clothing, and if she was lucky, exactly who she was. With still half the day left, Karigan wanted to spend it with Condor.

The horse was indeed happy to see her, and with a haste that had the stable boy gaping, she snatched him out of his stall and led him away. The handy thing with the green uniform was that no one questioned her movements much.

When Karigan had walked enough to work off the basics of her frustration and was just beginning to hold a delicious pity-party for herself over her lack of friends, she heard hoof beats. Somewhat annoyed, she turned. This was her time, her…

It was King Zachary.

Karigan felt her body giving the "flee" signals to Condor and had to repress them. He was too close now for her to "not notice he had come up." So she waited.

Zachary pulled into a stop a few feet in front of her, an undistinguishable Weapon a bit behind him. "May I join you?"

There was a problem with kings, Karigan mused. They were the one person in the world that you couldn't say no to. This was bad when they hated you, and even worse, she decided, when they liked you. "Of course Your Majesty. I would be honored." He stepped up beside her and dismounted. They began a sedate walk towards the sparse trees ahead. The Weapon followed, but not within hearing distance. Ever decorous, Humph.

Zachary had managed to restrain himself from seeking Karigan out the past couple weeks, but he had had time to rationalize. It was only proper to inquire about one of his people who had been injured. He could tell Karigan was getting antsy, but letting her leave wasn't an option. "I heard you hurt your ankle. You don't seem to be too incapacitated."

She swiveled her face to him, then back. Her words came out carefully spaced, almost rehearsed. "Not too much, my liege, but Master Destarian decided otherwise. I'm on extra light for a week at least."

Zachary smiled. "You've saved my life, I think we know each other well enough to dispense with the honorifics when we're alone." Karigan seemed to wince at the word "alone."

Time to say it though, he had to know. "And what have you been doing with yourself in the meantime?" Only because he was looking at her did he see her falter and blush.

"Oh, visiting my aunts mostly. Captain Mapstone decided I could have a kind of modified week's leave."

"I haven't heard you speak of your aunts much, mostly just your father."

"Um, well, they uh, just have one thing on their minds, so I usually don't spend all that much time with them…"

He raised his eyebrows at her, and couldn't contain the touch of fire in his eyes. "And what might be on their minds?"

Karigan mumbled something and looked straight down, avoiding his eyes. Zachary felt a rising flood of frustration. Couldn't she see that he was concerned? That she couldn't just go and—"

Right before he could say anything else, Karigan spoke. "I hear Estora traveled to Selia."

Zachary relaxed. There would be another time. He would have to go slowly with this wild spirit, if he had any intention of keeping her. "Yes, visiting her aunt. She should be back in a day or too. It's just across the channel after all."

He didn't notice Karigan stiffen up beside him, so he was utterly unprepared for when her leg gave out and she fell face first onto the hard packed soil.

Karigan just had time to let go of Condor's lead before she drug him down with her. She hadn't realized when she changed the subject what it would inevitably lead to. At that moment, she had forgotten her ankle, and the rabbit hole had caught her by surprise. She could feel the Weapon's foot steps as he ran towards them, no doubt thinking that Karigan had been taken by some trap or shot meant for the king. With a groan, she rolled over and found Zachary's face directly over hers.

His eyes were wide, "Karigan? Are you all right? What happened?" The Weapon, one she didn't know, appeared over his shoulder and the king waved him closer.

"I just caught my foot in a rabbit hole. Just let me get up and…Ow. Aunt Stace won't be happy. Maybe if I tell her it happened when I was walking with the king…." She trailed off as she realized she was babbling. Zachary caught her as she would have fallen, and her face drained of color.

"You won't be able to walk back, it's more than a mile." He ignored her desperate gaze. "Murphy, take Condor, I'll take Rider G'ladheon on my horse." He put one arm under her knees and the other around her shoulders and seemingly without any effort, swung her atop his horse. Karigan hooked her bad ankle around the saddle pommel to keep it from just dangling. Before she could stop him, Zachary began to inspect her ankle, prodding it gently. He glanced up at her. "Would your activities happen to involve any dancing?"

She met his eyes. He knows. Why did he even ask? "Depends." This was the perfect time to give him Estora's message, but the idea of telling the king what a good man he was and playing the concerned friend didn't sit well on her stomach. Because of her ankle, her first plan was out: giving the note to him, and riding away immediately. Now she was stuck with him for the next twenty minutes or so, and all avenues of conversation seemed to reek of awkwardness.

But for Estora's sake, she had to try.

Haha! I love seeing Karigan uncomfortable!

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-ReadInk