Dusk was settling in as the five travelers made their fire and set up camp. Twilight had always been one of Sir Sky's favorite times of day; twilight meant reflection of the day's events and anticipation of the night's.
He watched her when he could, sneaking longing glances as soon as no one was looking. Surely so beautiful a creature, in both the physical respect as well as the way she thought, had never existed. The princess had a solid sense of patriotism, which of course Sky could relate to and respect.
She chose the seat on his left that night as the fire slowly cooked their supper. There was idle chatter from the other three, but they were both silent.
"Anyone else get the feeling we are interrupting the princess and the knight's alone time?" Jack suggested when it was realized the pink and blue members weren't contributing to the discussion. Princess Sydney had the decency to blush, but the knight sent his squire a glare.
"It is highly advisable that you stop speaking," he said through clenched teeth. The squire snickered and then fell silent.
Supper was a quiet affair that evening.
It was Bridge who heard it first, as they were deadening the fire as a safety precaution.
"Do you hear that?" he whispered, putting a hand in the air. "Be quiet and listen."
His four companions were silent, trying to decipher the green man's cryptic warning. Then they heard what Bridge had heard.
"Wolves," Z's voice murmured. The lady was barely audible, and her voice shook.
Sir Sky pretended not to notice Princess Sydney move closer and grasp his hand.
"Do not move, any of you," he instructed in muted tones. "Follow my lead and we shall make it out alive."
Very slowly Sir Sky doused the fire completely. Then he paused, waiting to hear if the pack of wolves would howl again.
The other four were breathing heavily in fear, Sky could hear it. "Be quiet, there is nothing to be frightened of."
It was a distant howl at first, but it steadily grew louder.
"The pack is close," Jack muttered. His hand moved to the hilt of his sword.
"Do not move," Sky repeated, narrowing his eyes at the insolent squire. Looking around, he tried to formulate a plan to keep the other three safe. He and Jack could take a coupe of wolves, but the others were in danger if he didn't do something now.
"Oh, my…" the lady gasped. Sky followed her tawny gaze to the edge of the clearing.
Wolves. At least ten of them, and three of the five travelers were unarmed, no less. Glancing at Jack, both nodded and closed in around Sydney, Elizabeth, and Bridge. The knight and the squire circled their friends closely.
The gray-white beasts moved in on the group. Sky was vaguely aware of Sydney moving behind him, but he was too preoccupied to tell her to stop.
"Sky…we have to do something," Jack said urgently. He pulled his sword from its sheath.
"On my order," Sky insisted, but both Jack and the princess did not heed his words.
Jack was a nimble fighter, full of agility. He was able to dodge the wolves' claws and fangs without receiving a single scratch. The first two wolves fell victims to Jack's blade.
Sky went straight in for the kill without a thought for himself. The wolves managed to inflict wounds upon him, but he barely gave the searing pain a second thought. He and Jack were brave fighters that cared only to win, never mind any injuries that may occur in the process.
The most surprising combatant was the princess herself. She was clearly very frightened, but she tried all the same. The moving she had been doing before the attack had been removing a dagger from some hidden pocket, Sky realized.
Her hands shook as she gripped the hilt, but she moved forwards towards the alpha male. Before she and the wolf knew precisely what was happening, the tiny dagger was plunged into the wolf's chest.
All five travelers stared in shock for a moment. The wolf fell over, his body growing limp. Wordlessly, Sky took the blade from the dead wolf. It was covered with sticky crimson blood and wolf fur.
"That," Jack announced, "Was wicked."
Sydney took her weapon back from the knight. "You are bleeding, Sky," she softly pointed out. "Let me fix you, please."
"I shall find the herbs," Lady Elizabeth volunteered. "Come, Bridge, Jack, I may need some assistance." A narrowing of her dark eyes persuaded the red and green travelers.
"That was an amazing bit of fighting, Princess," Sky murmured. "Especially since you do not often need the skill of a blade."
"Try never," Syd retorted. "But I thank you for the compliment. Now, kindly remove your tunic so that I may assess the damage."
She meant business, Sky knew. So he stripped of the blue cotton tunic as she'd asked.
"You poor dear," Syd mewed. Four long scratches ran diagonally down Sir Sky's chest and down his torso. The blood had smeared slightly as the tunic had come off. "They are not too deep. Not enough to require stitches, which is lucky. The gods were protecting you tonight, Sir."
"Or maybe just a pink princess was," Sky suggested. She was still touching the spot near the injuries, very softly. Her touch was like that of silk. He wanted very much to kiss her.
"One day they will tell legends of us," the princess declared. "Of how you were foolish in not even trying to avoid the claws and how I had to mop up the legendary Sir Sky of Silverhill for his stupidity."
"And there will be tales of how the princess of Marin took the alpha male down with one stabbing motion to the heart," he agreed. "If only she would do the same thing to her betrothed. Alas, she is too pure of heart to do so."
"Maybe there is hope for me yet," Syd offered. "Keep in mind that I never took the life of any creature before."
"Perhaps," he mused. "So, what is the verdict of what needs to be done for these wounds?"
"The herb poultice Elizabeth gathers should suffice," Sydney replied.
Further conversation was halted when the other three members came trooping out of the forest into the camping ground.
"I have found the yellow flowers," Lady Elizabeth proclaimed. "Shall I make the paste, or will you, Princess?"
"I will do it," Syd answered.
Bridge fetched one of the wooden bowls for the princess, who then instructed him to bring her a rock so that she could smash the flowers. When given the stone, the princess accepted it with a nod and set about her work.
When the flowers were smashed into a fine powder, Sydney took and bit of water and mixed it into the bowl, producing a sticky paste, dull yellow in color.
"Stay still, this may sting a little," she told the knight, who bobbed his head and sat. Kneeling beside her friend, the young princess dabbed a bit of the healing paste onto her fingers and carefully spread it onto his injuries. "All better," Sydney cooed when the wounds were covered in a thick coat of paste. "Now, next time you'll know better than to fight wolves without using your dodging skills, will you not?" the princess scolded in a mocking tone.
Sky found himself with a stupid grin planted on his face. "Yes, Mother," he teased Syd. "Next time I shall just let my friends be ripped limb from limb."
"They are positively revolting, are they not?" Jack questioned Bridge. "It is like they are betrothed, instead of Sydney and the emperor."
"I think young love is the most special thing in the world," Elizabeth chimed in, looking at Bridge's chocolate locks. The other two stared at her for a moment before averting their attention back to the pink princess and her blue knight.
Sydney and the rest of her party settled in for their slumber. Sky made sure he was next to the princess' sleeping grounds.
"To make sure no wolves hurt her," he insisted.