Warnings: Lateness…sorries :(
Chapter Fourteen: Running Away is not Guaranteed to Solve Problems.
"Ashleigh!" I called as I slipped into my rooms.
"Yes, milady?" She jumped up from the chair she was sitting in.
"I'm running again." I let out a dry laugh.
"Shall I get you provisions again?" She walked out without waiting for me to answer.
"Marilyn!" I wailed as I walked into my dressing chamber. Do you have any traveling clothes?" I startled her, for she had been cleaning up my dressing chamber.
"Yes, and am I correct in assuming that you don't mean dresses?" She raised her eyebrows in silent query.
"Yes. I'm leaving again." I smiled as she pulled out a slender pair of breeches and a shirt to match. "You must be reading my mind."
"I figured you'd run away again," she shrugged as if Princesses running away were commonplace events for her to deal with. "You don't really seem to do well within these walls. Maybe you would have fared better if you had come of your own free will, but I can't know that, now can I?" She smiled. "Hold out your arms."
She had my dress off in a few scant heartbeats and I was stepping into the breeches and the slipping on the shirt in no time. They fit like they had been made with my measurements in mind.
"Thank you, Marilyn. Thank you so much!" I hugged her as I hopped down.
"You'll want a cape, too." She held out a dark hooded cloak.
Ashleigh appeared in the doorway. "Milady, follow me. I think we'll get you a horse this time."
I would have followed her instantly, except that I saw a chance to irritate Adrian even more. "One moment, please."
"Whatever you wish, milady." Ashleigh waited patiently while I wrote a short note to Adrian.
King Adrian Theylell of Delran-
If you can find me, I will tell you my answer. If not, you shall never know.
-Princess Elensar Kelledy of Meridian.
"Give this to his Highness sometime before noon." I smiled. "Now, let's go get me a horse."
We traversed the same back stairways that we had taken before, except for the last few, which led to the stable and not to the courtyard.
"Aaron!" Ashleigh hissed into the stable.
"What?" A stable hand stepped out into the moonlight.
"We need a horse for milady. Give her a sturdy one, preferably one that won't be missed right away." Ashleigh walked over to Aaron and beckoned me to follow.
"Princess!" He exclaimed, and bowed.
"Not now!" I pulled him back up. "I need a horse."
"Right!" He smiled nervously and slipped back into the shadows of the stable.
"Princess, what will happen when the King discovers the horse missing?" Ashleigh asked me. "We will surely be blamed in aiding you."
She had a point. I pondered what to say for a moment, and then responded, "Tell the King that I have taken the horse as payment. If he tries to blame you, tell him to lay the blame upon my head, for I have put you up to it."
"Yes milady." At that moment, Aaron came back with a dappled horse, and any further conversation was halted.
"She's a good mare, milady, strong. She'll get you a good distance before anyone wakes up. Where are your bags?" He patted the mare's neck.
"Here," Ashleigh proffered the saddle packs that she had filled. "Put some grain in there for the mare as well, Aaron."
"Of course." He attached the bags to the back of the saddle and then produced his own bag. "We'll get you out through the back pasture, I think." He cupped his hands. "Up you go."
I mounted the mare, and Aaron led the way. We walked for sometime, until finally we reached a gate in the fences that line the field. "Thank you both so much," I smiled. "If ever you have need of something, tell me, and I will do my best to help you."
"Thank you, you are gracious." Aaron bowed again.
"Yes, milady. Fare well." Ashleigh once again handed me a folded square of paper. "You'll want that, later. You do remember what it is, don't you?"
"Of course." I grinned and tucked it into my saddlebags. "How could I forget the object of my dearest affection?"
She laughed and slapped the mare on the rump. I was off!
The night air was cool as it rushed past my skin, and I delighted in the silence that was broken only by my escape. I could feel the wind from our passing tugging at my hair, trying to get it to come out of it's wrap, and I hoped that it wouldn't be too tangled by the time I rested.
I thought of Adrian, and the anger that he would surely direct at me. I smiled, knowing what chagrin and aggravation it would cause him to have me run away for a second time.
This time though, I vowed, I wouldn't be caught. I could make better time on horseback, even if I would be more conspicuous on a royal mount.
Adrian would be annoyed also that I had taken one of his horses. I cringed a little inside. I may not have been against antagonizing a King and disobeying his orders, but I did feel a sense of guilt at stealing from him. After all, I reasoned, I would be paying him back, after all. I had told Ashleigh and Aaron to tell him to charge the mare to me. I felt a little better for my analysis.
I slowed the mare to a steady trot, knowing it would be no good to have her tired before morning came.
By the time that dawn's first light tinged the sky pink I was dead tired. During the night, we had slowed to a walk and I was certain it hadn't been solely my decision.
"Come on, sweetie, trot for me." I nudged her gently with my heels, and she moved grudgingly into a halfhearted trot. "Thank you, baby." She snorted derisively, and I patted her shoulder.
An hour or so later, I called a halt, and I let the mare graze while I ate my breakfast. I took the ribbon out of my hair, wondering what I could do with it. Setting it aside, I combed out my hair, bit by painful bit. It seemed that every inch of it was tangled!
Soon I gave up and just separated it into three roughly equal sections for a braid, tying the end with the ribbon.
I supposed that I could sell it when I had need, or exchange it for food when mine ran out. In a more superficial light, I didn't want to part with it- it was pretty, and I liked pretty things.
Just as I was getting up from my rest, the muted thunder of hoof beats met my ears. "Shit." I jumped up and snatched the mare's reins. "Time to go, horsy." She snorted as I led her away from her breakfast.
I scrambled into the sparse forest, horse in tow just as the horsemen pulled even with me.
"You there!" One of them called out to me. I realized the stupidity of my mad dash for the timber; instead of camouflaging the mare and myself, I had only made us more conspicuous, and therefore more suspicious looking.
"What?" I turned around slowly, keeping my eyes politely downcast.
"Why in all hells are you trying to drag the horse into the woods and off the road?" There were ten of them, a full wing.
"Because…" I tried to think up a plausible story.
"Because…why?" The spokesman prompted m. He was a lieutenant, by the designs on his uniform.
"Because," I feigned being a silly girl, "I wasn't dragging the mare into the woods. She was dragging me."
"But you were in front," the soldier stated skeptically.
"Well, if you hadn't interrupted me, I would have continued. However, she had been pulling me that way, but then she stopped and decided that she wouldn't move. I was only trying to get her to move again." I pouted. "She won't."
"First off," the Lieutenant explained as he dismounted, "You shouldn't stand in front of her when you want her to move forward; she'll think that you're a blockade that she can't get through. You should turn her, like this." His hand came over mine on the reins and he turned the mare's head to the side.
My equine companion followed him docilely, especially since she hadn't been refusing my commands in the first place.
"Thank you!" I dared to sneak a shy smile up to him. "How can I ever repay you?" I took back my hand and the reins.
He smiled down at me, since he was a good deal taller than I. "A kiss from a pretty girl would do."
I heard exasperated sighs and muffled groans from the others under his command as I stood on tiptoe to bestow upon his lips a chaste kiss.
I giggled girlishly and blushed. He chucked me under the chin, "Why don't you ride with us for a while?"
"Oh, I couldn't impose upon you like that! I mean," I tried to look as naïve as possible, "you must be doing something very important, and I'd only get in the way…"
"You'll be safer with us! We are sworn to protect the citizens of Delran. Besides, we may ride hard for searching for Princesses is hard work, but you'll be safer with us than anywhere else."
"Well then, I'd bee delighted to!" I flashed him a flirtatious smile. "Thank you, Sir…?"
"Jayden." He smiled back. "I'm only a Lieutenant, though, not a Knight yet. Let's get you mounted up." He cupped his hands and boosted me onto the mare's back. "Now that I've told you my name, why don't you tell me yours; I can't bear not to know."
"I'm Karin," I told him, picking a Delrina sounding name.
"Well, Karin," He led the mare over to the wing that was waiting for us, "These are my men." He proceeded to introduce them, but every time a new name was mentioned, I forgot the last one. "Now, let's ride!" Lieutenant Jayden ordered as he swung into his saddle.
We rode until midday, when we stopped for lunch. I heard a few of the soldiers grumble that they wouldn't have stopped if not for me, but I didn't care. It was nice to get out of the saddle again. I wasn't used to long hours in the saddle, I was accustomed to long hours in a dress.
I brought out a packet of food that Ashleigh had packed for me, and I opened it gratefully. Jayden invited himself to share with me, but I let his audacity pass for once.
"You said you were going to look for that Princess," I smiled at him, "Have you ever seen her? I've never seen a real Princess- only the King when he makes speeches."
He looked slightly uncomfortable. "We haven't seen her, actually. Only Mercutio has, and that was at one of the nobles' fancy balls. The rest of us were always on duty somewhere else when she would have been visible to us. They sent us this way because we probably won't see her. This is the route she took last time she escaped." Jayden leaned in conspiratorially, "I've heard she's very beautiful, but she couldn't hold a candle next to you."
I blushed hotly and studied every detail in my feet. "You're joking." His declaration worried me slightly, for if he truly thought that I was more beautiful than his conception of Elensar, he would tell people. I didn't want him to tell about me.
"Don't listen to him," One of the riders sat down next to me, and slung a friendly arm around my shoulders. "He's a terrible flirt. He'll say anything to get a kiss or two."
I laughed and so did Jayden. "You caught me," he admitted, "Farrell's right, I am a flirt. I did mean it when I said you were pretty though."
"I never said you were lying," Farrell protested laughingly, "He certainly wasn't lying when he said you were beautiful," Farrell spoke to me.
"Thank you," I blushed again.
"No problem to tell the truth." Ferrell grinned roguishly.
Jayden seemed slightly miffed that my attention was not on him, even now that I did know he was quite the flirt. "We should be going."
"Fine with me." I stood up and stuffed the remains of lunch into my saddlebags. Jayden helped me into the saddle again, and then swung up himself.
The other soldiers mounted with an efficiency and speed that was positively terrifying. "Ride out!" Jayden called.
We started out at a good clip, but soon settled down into a steady trot.
Jayden and his men would stop every traveler we met and question every town we came to. Had they seen the Princess? Had they seen a girl come through in a fancy dress and an obstinate attitude?
I always knew the answer before the question was even complete. No, they hadn't.
After a week of riding around Delran searching for the missing Princess, we had only encountered two other patrols. They too had not found any sign of Elensar, but their attitude was lax and they weren't exactly searching all that hard.
Apparently, they really wanted me back. Well, that was fine with me.
Every time another wing was spotted, however, I was shoved to the back and hidden from view. Having an unmarried and underage woman traipsing about the country with a wing was a taboo that they couldn't break obviously. I didn't exactly mind being hidden every time we met others; it made for a very secure camouflage.
The soldiers seemed to enjoy my company, and on occasion I could make them laugh, but for the most part they ignored me. I could sing passably well, and so I did sing along with some of their songs at the night fire, but I felt excluded when they told their tales of past glories and honors. I would laugh, but it was a bitter laugh; I missed having friendly company that I could talk to and really laugh with.
I actually missed Adrian.
There were also times when I faltered in my role as Karin. I wouldn't always respond promptly when they called my name, or I wouldn't reply when they directed a question at me.
Jayden had recognized my mare as one of Adrian's own, too, and he inquired about it.
"How did you come to be riding one of the King's horses?" He had asked me nonchalantly one night around the fire.
I replied somewhat hesitantly, "I found her wandering alone on the road," I nodded, "I didn't know that she belonged to the king! What an honor…" I trailed off when he wasn't buying my story.
"You found her." His tone was flat.
"Y-yes…" I tried a smile.
"You found a carefully guarded horse of our beloved King wandering alone on the Fendarth Road with all of her tack on. That's a likely story." He glared at me.
"Yes, I found her." I glared right back, dropping the naïve little girl in favor of the belligerent brat. "You know, she could have been the Princess's mount," I offered the truth, hoping he wouldn't realize the truth when he saw it.
"True," he didn't look as if he believed me.
"She could have fallen off, or went to sleep and not tied the horse up properly and so she wandered away!" I smiled brightly.
"That might actually be correct…" he trailed off as he pondered it. "Ferrell! Come here!"
"Yes, Lieutenant?" Ferrell jogged up.
"Do you think that Karin's mare could have been the one that the Princess was riding?" Jayden stared shrewdly at the mare.
"Was riding?" Ferrell looked at me.
"Yes, I- we- think that my mare could have been the mare that the Princess stole from the King. I found her wandering around on Fendarth Road, and so I am assuming that something happened to the Princess." I patted the mare gently.
"I think our darling Princess has proved herself to be more capable than just letting her mare get away, if her last attempt at escape is any proof, but it's plausible." Ferrell smiled grimly. "We'll have to find a messenger and send them back to the King with news of this."
"Yes," Jayden thought for a moment, "The next wing we come across will probably be heading back toward the Capital. We'll send our suspicions back to the King with them."
"That sounds like a plan!" I smiled, and the other two agreed.
The next day, luck would have it that we came across another wing of searchers. My luck would have it that one of those in charge of the wing was Sir Larne.
The other riders overtook us, so the soldiers in the Lieutenant's wing did not have time to hide me. Instead, I was in plain view as I rode along with Jayden and Ferrell at the head of our group.
"Lieutenant Jayden!" Jayden spun his mount around as his name was called.
"Company halt!" Jayden called, and the rest of us also turned to face the other riders. "Sir!" He saluted the other officer, and the soldiers followed suit.
"Lieutenant," The other officer rode up, and I recognized him right away. "Have you seen the Princess in all your- Princess!" Sir Larne bowed as best he could from the saddle.
"Princess?" Jayden echoed. He looked a bit shocked and even slightly angry.
"Yes, and now that we've all be introduced, I'll take my leave of you gentlemen," I smiled at them, whirled the mare around and sent her into a flat out sprint.
My mare was fleet of foot, thank goodness, and not too worn out. If anything, she was quite ready for a good run after two days of monotonous trotting.
"Company ride!" Jayden and Larne called at the same time. The thundering off hoof beats soon afterward showed the quick response time I had become so familiar with.
"Come on, horsy, carry me far and fast." I gave the mare her head and she stretched out, her long strides eating up the ground. My hair, still in its nondescript plait, thumped against my back as the mare galloped onward.
The trees blurred by me in a whirl of green and brown. They swirl of color gave me a sudden idea. I yanked on the right rein and we swerved into the foliage. I could hear the others crashing along behind us.
"There she is!"
"After her!"
"Follow the path! It's simple!"
I kicked the mare again, and ducked under a tree branch. I didn't need to look back to know that they were close; the snorts of their horses and the thudding of hooves was enough to tell me that I needed to keep running.
I kept thinking of what would happen if I were to be caught. It wasn't exactly inspiring. Adrian would find a way to lock me up while still forcing me either to go to court and look happy, marry him or, at worst, both.
I whacked the mare with the reins, intent on escaping.
I was so intent that I didn't see the branch until it was right in front of my face, and by then, it was too late to do anything about it.
Author's Note: I know, this is a lot later that than I intended. I won't make too many excuses; getting used to my new school and schedule is hard. I've been sleeping in the time that I would usually post, to make up for the sleep I lose in getting up uber early. It's…interesting. Enjoy this chapter and guess what! We made it up to 90 reviews! Thanks so much guys! Thanks for putting up with me, and keep reviewing!
Thanks you to:
Tamaran Girl: Adrian is Adrian…and you'll just have to wait and see! :)
Lilred-07: Well…I didn't exactly update soon, but…I updated! :P I hope this explains some things, even thought I'm pretty sure it isn't much more than a really long, suspense-creating filler chapter of me torturing my lovely readers.
Stubble96: Thank you! Her being a strong character does make sense, at least, to me it does.
Sealednectar: Wow! Thanks- that's a feat indeed!
Megan: I hope I didn't make you hang for too long…lol.
Miss Piratess: I'd like to see how Adrian and Elensar end up too…hah.
Flummoxed: Saucy, eh? I like it! Peer pressure doesn't seem to be much of an issue to our spunky Elensar…haha. She'll do whatever she pleases!
No myridon: Gotta love the romance! As of the moment, she's saying a rather resounding "no," but in the future…that may yet change. I'm a hopeless romantic, after all. :o)
Cheekychik: Eh, my update wasn't that speedy, but it's long! I hope that makes up for it at least a little…As for Lord Raven, he's just himself. He might be important later, but then again, maybe not. I'm not sure yet. :oP
Thanks again, and review again! You make me feel splendiferous when you do! :o)
