Author's note: I'm sorry it took so long to get this posted. Life caught up with me in a big way for the last few months!
-x-
Chapter One: On the Road
Trini's heart was heavy as she joined the group that would be heading south to Taye. It was a larger group than she had imagined it would be - a full contingent of Kimberly's most loyal guardsmen sat mounted and ready alongside Zack Taylor and Isabella Scott at the head of a long column of porters and supply wagons that yawned and shifted restlessly in the early morning light. They were waiting only for her.
Still, she lingered a moment longer in the shadow of the castle that had always been her home. It was early enough that the sun had not burned away the morning's fog, which gave everything an ethereal, dreamy quality.
Chiding herself for her foolishness, Trini climbed into her saddle and even managed a smile and nod when Isabella asked if she was ready to leave.
As they wended their slow way past the castle and into town, heading for the countryside and the highway that would take them south nearly all the way to the Tayene border, Trini cast only one look back. Even at a distance and through the fading fog, she could see a figure standing on the battlements, watching, and she knew without knowing how that it was Jason. A part of her was disappointed that he had not come to send her off this morning, but she knew it was probably for the best. The two of them had said their farewells last night, in private. That would have to be enough to sustain her, for they had no idea when they would see each other next.
She wished more than anything that he had been able to make this journey beside her, but she had been the first to point out that his presence at this point would only complicate matters. She had been away from her homeland nearly her entire life. There were bound to be enough doubts about her identity without giving anyone reason to think she might merely be a pretender put forward as the heir due to her loyalty to the new Emperor of Phaedos. Bad enough that his mother was coming along anyway, ostensibly as Kimberly's ambassador, unofficially as Trini's adviser. There was nothing she could do about that except hope for the best.
For most of the first day, Trini rode as if in a daze. She had hoped never to ride this way again, the memory of her last such journey, much of which had been spent imprisoned in the back of a wagon, still haunted her dreams. But she and Zack had been alone then, cut off from their friends and easily overwhelmed by their so-called guides.
They rode among friends now. They were safe. They would not be taken again.
Or so she hoped.
They took their time, heading down the road at a leisurely pace. Trini knew the plan was to move slowly, giving their scouts time to ferret out what was going on ahead of and around them each step of the way. That way, Isabella had reasoned, they wouldn't unexpectedly blunder into a dangerous situation. Trini couldn't fault her logic, but she still wished they had opted for speed and stealth. The sooner this trip was over, the sooner she could relax.
Zack's voice cut through her gloomy reverie. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," she assured him. "It's just that this all seems so unreal."
Zack nodded. "I know it was a long time ago now, but I keep expecting to turn around and see Sunan Lin or one of his men." He shuddered visibly.
"I'll take this view any day over the one we had last time," Trini said, indicating the countryside around them. "It's much better surrounded by friends, instead of strangers."
"You're right about that," Zack agreed. His smile faded quickly, however. "I still wish Jason, Kim, and the others could have come with us."
Something told Trini there was someone else he wished had come with them, too, but she decided not to push the issue. Instead she fell silent for a while, letting the sounds of the group around them fill the quiet. She was glad she wasn't the only one missing their friends, even if she understood why they weren't here. "Jason will be coming along eventually," she reminded him in quiet tones so she would not be overheard. "And I'm sure Kim and Tommy and all the others will, too."
"But right now they've got kingdoms to run," Zack agreed. "I know. I can still wish, though."
They lapsed into companionable silence after that. Trini took a few deep breaths and let them go, focusing on the wind in her hair and the gentle motion of her horse as it walked along the road in an effort to calm her mind. But the peace was not to last.
One of the guardsmen nudged his horse toward hers, breaking away from the cluster. "How are you holding up, Trini?" Farkas Bulkmeier asked. Trini would rather not have had Sir Bulk, as he was often called, and his crony Eugene Skullovitch along for this trip. The two had been the castle's bumbling troublemakers for much of Trini's life, but they had served Isabella and her husband well during Kimberly's journey to Phaedos. Not even Trini had felt it right to deny them when they asked to be part of the contingent of guards heading for Taye. They might irritate her - and she might not trust them farther than she could throw them - but they had her best interest at heart. She would just have to put up with them.
"I'm fine, Bulk," she told him, as pleasantly as she could.
"You'll tell me if you're not, right?" he prodded. He looked so serious that she almost wanted to giggle.
"I will, I promise," she said, careful to keep her voice sounding suitably calm and serious. He nodded once in response, but his expression told her beyond a shadow of a doubt that he meant to hold her to that promise. A year ago, she would not have believed this man capable of such fierce loyalty. How things had changed in such a short time!
Zack fell in beside her again later that day, as their first day of travel was coming to an end. They rode in comfortable silence, listening to the conversations of their companions and the gentle sounds of the countryside around them, as the sun sank lower and lower to paint the sky in vibrant colors. Soon they would reach a village and its waystation, where they would spend the first night of their journey.
"It'll be nice to have a roof over our heads," Trini began, but a commotion from further back in the train interrupted her. She looked back, but couldn't see what was causing the fuss. "What's going on?"
Zack tensed beside her, his hand moving reflexively to the hilt of the axe that was always at his side. Trini tried not to let fear of the worst overcome her, but it was not an easy task.
"What is going on here?" Isabella Scott demanded, her voice rising firm and imperious over the hubbub.
Bulk and Skull broke through the milling ranks of guards. "Someone's here to see Zack, my lady," Bulk informed her. Zack shared a worried look with Trini.
"Go," she told him, hating how her nerves showed in her voice. "Find out what they want." Find out if it's safe.
"Jason charged me with keeping you safe," he began. Trini knew why that assignment was so important to him, even if she disagreed with his reasoning. He still felt that he'd failed her last time, that somehow he should have been able to prevent their capture, no matter the odds against him. Trini knew there was nothing he could have done to keep Ivan Ooze from taking them prisoner and using them to lure Jason and Kimberly into his trap.
"I am safe," she countered. "Nothing is going to happen to me. At the first sign of danger, Isabella is going to whisk me out of here to safety even if we have to run all the way back to the castle in the dark." She tried to look as determined as possible. "So go find out who this is and what they want, so we can get to the inn before it gets dark."
Zack gave her one last questioning look, then set off after Skull. Trini waited until he was out of sight before letting out a deep sigh.
"He means well, you know," Isabella commented. "We all do."
"I know," Trini murmured, feeling self-conscious. "But I'm not some helpless damsel that you need to smother. This journey's going to be awful if everyone acts like I might shatter at any moment the whole time."
"I assure you," Isabella said with infinite patience, "no one here believes you will shatter." But Trini did not miss the look she gave Bulk, as if she were giving orders without words: Bulk and the guardsmen had better not make Trini feel smothered unless they had good cause.
Trini looked to the bloodred sky, suppressed another sigh, and wished she had never been foolish enough to leave home.
-x-
"Is there a reason you couldn't just tell me who this mysterious person is?" Zack asked Skull, his voice dry as frustration threatened to get the better of him. "Or why you couldn't just send them away?"
"Yeah," Eugene Skullovitch grumbled right back, sounding none to thrilled himself as he led the way to the very tail end of the supply train. Zack bristled, the memory of betrayal and capture setting his heart to pounding. Oblivious, Skull continued, "She wanted it to be a surprise."
"She?" Zack wondered aloud. But he did not have to wonder long. Even cloaked and on horseback, facing away from him as she was, he would have recognized this woman anywhere. "Angela." He said her name before he could even think to stop himself. She heard him speak and turned to look at him. If he had not been mounted, he would have tripped over his own feet. He'd seen her only yesterday, but it felt like years. That her family was not thrilled by their betrothal and had forbidden her from accompanying him had been a thorn in his side all day, his one major regret about all this. He'd been willing to go forward for Trini's sake, but he hadn't liked it. Now, all his irritation was forgotten.
"Hello to you, too," Angela said pleasantly as Skull sheepishly slipped away. The guardsmen were obviously intensely curious, but nobody dared look directly at them. This was as private a greeting as they were going to get.
Zack dismounted to approach her on foot. She let him take her hand in his, her dark eyes brimming with unspoken emotion. He stumbled over his words, his heart pounding now for a totally different reason than it had a moment ago. "What… why… how…?"
By contrast Angela was entirely composed. "Last time I let you go, I almost lost you forever. And once you had left today, I realized that I couldn't let that happen again, no matter what my father says."
If there were words adequate to describe his elation, Zack could not think of them. But the feeling was fleeting, replaced by concern. "But your father… won't he punish you for disobeying?"
"How can he, when I'll be all the way in Taye?" she asked sweetly, but he could sense steel beneath that velvety smooth voice. "Besides… I'm his heir. What can he do, really?"
Zack could think of a number of things, but he kept his mouth shut. Angela's lips curved into a deprecating smile as she went on, "He can disown me if he wants, but I don't think he will. All that will do is ensure I never return, and I'll have you either way." There was a delicious hint of wickedness behind that smile and the pure innocence of her face that made Zack grin in response. "My father may still see you only as a landless, fosterling knight, but you're so much more to me than that, Zack…"
She trailed off, brushing the fingers of her free hand gently against his cheek. As if it had only just occurred to her, she added, "If you'll have me, that is."
Stepping back, Zack bowed with a flourish. "My lady," he said, "I would be honored if you would join our humble company." He only hoped Trini and Isabella would be as happy to have Angela along as he was.
-x-
It was with some relief that Trini welcomed Angela to the group. Although everyone in the group was technically a friend, there was no one but Zack that she felt she could actually confide in. There was Isabella, of course, who had been like a foster mother to her for most of her life. And yet their relationship had been strained ever since the truth of Trini's parentage had been revealed. Isabella had not treated her any differently since then, and Trini had done her best to do the same, but it was too late: the seeds of doubt had been planted.
Isabella and her husband had known the truth about Trini from the moment she became Kimberly's handmaid and companion. They had welcomed her into their home unquestioningly. They had encouraged their son to befriend and protect her. When he might have married a princess and become a king, they had allowed him to carry on quietly loving Trini instead.
She had always thought highly of them for treating her as an equal, for accepting a common maidservant as part of their family. Now she could help but wonder if it had been ambition, rather than love and compassion, that had prompted them not to push harder for their son to marry Kimberly. What if they'd only tolerated Trini because they'd had their eyes on an even bigger prize than Kimberly and her kingdom?
She had wondered and wondered, but never asked. She wasn't sure she was ready to hear the answer. She wasn't sure she would ever be ready.
On the other hand, Angela had never been a close friend, but she had also never cared one way or the other about Trini. She had always been courteous and had never spoken unkindly about Trini's humble background the way others often had, especially when they were younger. Even now, Angela was here for Zack, not to curry favor with a vulnerable princess.
She was unpretentious and unfailingly kind to all her companions, without picking out Trini in particular, though she sometimes turned a surprisingly wicked sense of humor on Zack or some unsuspecting guardsman. Riding alongside Angela and Zack made Trini feel almost at home, almost at ease, as if they were merely out for a day's ride outside the city and not on their way to some unknown fate in a distant land. And it almost made up for the strained suspicion she still felt around Isabella Scott.
And so, slowly and uneventfully, the days crept past. They made their way south in no particular hurry, spending their nights in well-appointed inns and waystations, once even stopping to enjoy a local festival. Trini did her best to make the others think all this put her at ease. She appreciated their intentions and their efforts, even if she felt like nothing would ever scour the memory — and the fear — of Ivan Ooze from her soul.
The very idea of crossing the border into Taye was enough to give her nightmares, and only got worse with each day that passed. That there was now no way to turn back did nothing to help. And yet as much as she feared what was to come, she knew there was no way to put that fear to rest but to face it head on.
Too bad that was easier said than done.
She lingered in her room one morning, weeks after they first set out, just to delay the inevitable a little longer. Last night had seemed like any other night on the road, but this morning she could no longer ignore it. This was the last inn.
A few more days crossing empty wilderness and they would emerge undetected in Taye before slowly making their way back to the main highway that would take them all the way to the capitol city. Trini did not need to ask why they had veered off the main highway several days ago, ending up at this inn in the middle of nowhere and with the prospect of several days camping in the open ahead of them. They could have stayed on the highway and slept in sumptuous inns all the way to the Tayene border and beyond, but it was at one of those inns that Sunan Lin and his men had sprung their trap and whisked Trini and Zack into captivity.
Trini wasn't sure whose idea the detour had been, but she was grateful for it. She didn't think she could bear to revisit the place where her misfortunes had begun.
Someone knocked on her door and she startled, yanked back to the present as her heart raced in her chest. "Who is it?" she asked, half wondering if she ought to go out the window, and if it had been a mistake to let anyone know she was in her room.
"It's Angela."
Cursing herself for letting irrational fear get the better of her, Trini went to open the door. Every single guardsman that accompanied her had been personally vetted by Queen Kimberly, and there was no way she could conceive of Zack, Isabella, or Angela somehow betraying her. She needed to focus on that, not on what had happened before. With that thought firmly in mind, she opened the door and forced a smile onto her face. Angela was alone in the hallway, but she was clearly not convinced by Trini's cheerful expression.
"Are you okay?" she asked after Trini had let her in. She paused uncertainly. "Zack told me some of what happened… last time." She paused again, as if wondering if they were good enough friends to continue. "It didn't seem like anyone else was making sure you were ready for this, so I thought I should."
Trini sank down to sit on the bed, the only furniture in the room save for a single small table that sat beside the bed. "Thank you," she breathed, surprised at just how much the simple gesture meant to her.
Angela sat beside her, close enough that Trini could lean against her if she wanted to. "If you're not ready, we can tell them to wait," she offered.
That would only make everyone worry without solving anything, Trini knew. Instead of saying so, she asked, "Is Zack ready?"
Angela sighed. "I'm not sure. He just says he'll follow your lead when I ask him about it. I wish he'd be more open with me, but I guess I can understand why it's difficult for him."
"I'm not sure I'm ready, either," Trini admitted. "But I think I'd like to get it over with."
That earned her a chuckle. "If that's what you'd like, I can tell the others for you."
"Thanks," Trini said, more sourly than she had intended. "But I should probably do it. I have to get used to giving orders at some point. Does it ever get any easier?"
"I'd like to say yes, but… at this point I'm not sure if it got easier or if I'm just naturally bossy."
That did it: a fit of giggles swept through her. Angela smiled. "That's better."
"Thank you," Trini managed to say when she had finally quieted her nervous laughter. "I mean it. I needed that."
"I thought you might."
"For what it's worth, I'm really glad you joined us."
"You know, I felt completely ridiculous sneaking off after you like that," Angela confessed. "I've never done anything like that before, never disobeyed my parents. And I had no idea if you'd send me back or let me stay, but I had to try."
"You were willing to do all that just to be with Zack. How could I turn you away? You two love each other."
Angela was quiet for a moment. "You really miss him, don't you?"
Trini didn't have to ask to know she was talking about Jason. She wondered if they had been that obvious about their feelings that everyone knew and just pretended it was a secret, or if Zack had told Angela. Somehow, it didn't really matter right now. "I do." She took a breath to steady herself. She had missed Jason a lot, but she had also tried very hard not to think about him. Thinking of him would just make her miss him more, and would not bring her any closer to him. "There's a part of me that's afraid I'm never going to see him again."
Kimberly and Aisha would have told her that of course she'd see Jason again, of course they would have a happy ending together. Her friends would have accepted nothing less, no matter how unlikely or ridiculous. And they would have made sure it happened. Angela, by contrast, was unwilling to make promises she had no power to keep. "I hope you do see him again," was all she said.
Trini gave her a small smile as silence fell over them. It wasn't the comfortable, friendly kind of silence that she shared with Zack, but it wasn't entirely unpleasant, either. It was the kind of silence that made her think that someday she and Angela could really be friends. She rather liked that idea.
Knowing that they had delayed enough already and their companions would soon grow impatient to be on the road again, she stood and let out her breath in a rush. "Let's get this over with."
