Yes, I'm back! Sorry for the delay!
I awoke the next morning to the smell of something disgusting cooking. I opened my eyes and immediately closed them against the harsh sunlight. Who know the deep woods could be so bright in the morning?
"Good morning, Princess!"
I suddenly realized that I was lying on hard ground. I forced myself up and groaned. Every part of me was stiff. Every part of me hurt horribly. I stretched out my arms and screamed.
I had forgotten all about the quicksand.
"All right, then. Not a good morning." Jesser sat a few feet away over a small fire. Yes, he had built a campfire, right in the ground, just like Lydia used to do. Over it was something unrecognizable on a stick. "There's a stream nearby, if you want to wash."
I glared at him. Stupid little servant, daring to tell me where to wash. "I want to go home! This is not funny anymore! Prince David will want to know where I am!"
He pulled the strange stuff from the fire and studied it. "Princess Moriah, we are much too far to return. We covered a lot of ground yesterday."
"You covered a lot of ground," I muttered. "I had nothing to do with it. You kidnapped me. And then that old woman tried to kill me." I sighed. "Who was she?"
Jesser shrugged. "Probably a ghost."
"A ghost?!" And he had to say it so nonchalantly.
"I told you that these woods were haunted."
I tried to finger-comb my hair and realized it was glued together with mud. Maybe I would have to bathe in the stream. "I didn't think I believed in ghosts."
Jesser laughed and took a bite of whatever was on the stick. He actually smiled as he ate it. It was rather impressive. "There are a lot of things people don't believe in that they should."
Like getting back home. I felt glum inside. That was never going to happen again. If I ran away from Jesser, a ghost or a witch would get me, and he certainly was not going to take me back. "Where are we?"
"Ten miles from Rantolia."
Ten miles! The hag had had been right. I never would have been able to walk ten miles. "You carried me ten miles?"
His face lit up as he replied. "You're very light, Princess."
I felt myself blush. I wasn't sure if it were a compliment or not, but I blushed just the same.
"I'm pretty strong, anyway. And I'm a fast runner. You have to be that way to be a servant. Now according to the map your sister left—"
I had forgotten about the map.
"—it should be a few weeks' journey. If we start immediately."
"A few weeks?" I felt sick. Oh, how I wanted to go home. "You would go much faster if I were not with you."
"Princess Moriah, we have already been through this." It was almost a threat. "You will be coming."
Lydia. I just had to think of Lydia. "May I have something to eat first? Before we start on this incredible journey?"
He paused, then handed me the stuff on a stick.
I made a face. "What is this?"
"Squirrel."
I refused to take it. "You killed a cute little squirrel?"
"It was chewing on your hair all night. I thought that would make you furious."
I almost screamed again. An animal. On my hair. "It was what?"
He nodded. "Like I said, Princess, you are more than welcome to bathe in the stream."
Wasn't he afraid I would run off again?
As if reading my mind, he continued "I'm sure the ghosts will aid me in keeping you near."
"You'll spy on me," I snapped.
The expression on Jesser's face was enough to almost make me laugh. "Why on earth would I do that?"
"Because you kidnapped me. The Prince's wife." I thought it was fairly obvious. "You can be capable of everything else, for all I know."
He held up his hand. "I vow that I will stay right here until you have returned."
For some strange reason, I trusted him.
I found the stream a short while off, protected by enough trees to keep anyone from spying unless they directly came up. I stood on the shore, feeling disgusting and still aching from the night spent on the ground. The water was moving, and it looked dirty. I didn't trust standing on the bottom.
But if a squirrel had been in my hair… I began to cry silently. How had I been reduced to this?
I stepped into the water. It was freezing. But I had to get clean. Teeth chattering, I moved in further. It wasn't too horrible after a minute or so. I knelt down, letting the water rush over my back. The water before me became opaque with mud. I was filthy. I pulled off my dress and wrung it in the water. I wasn't sure how to wash clothes, but I figured it was good enough. I could see the mud coming loose.
"Moriah!"
I screamed. Jesser had promised to not come. The dress came loose from my hands during the shock, so I didn't even have that with which to cover myself.
Except it wasn't Jesser.
There, on the shore, dressed in his usual hunting clothes, was Prince David.
I gawked, suddenly wishing I had my dress more than ever. It had caught on a rock a few feet away. My face burning, I stumbled toward it. I fell.
Prince David was already in the water, splashing toward me. He did not look happy. "What are you doing out here?"
"Prince David, please don't look," I begged.
"For crying out loud, you scared me! Disappearing like that." He grabbed my dress and handed it to me after I had pulled myself up. "I don't care if you're dressed or not right now. After all, we are married."
Like I needed that reminder. I pulled the dress back over my head. "It was not my fault. One of the servants captured me. Kidnapped me."
"Kidnapped you?" He paused, his hand on my arm.
I nodded. I was suddenly very glad Prince David was here. He would take me home. "It was awful. I told him you wouldn't let me go, but he didn't listen."
"Moriah, I didn't want you out here."
"I know. But it wasn't my fault."
"There is no plan for rescuing your sister. All we did was worry about you. We spent the night looking for you."
"And you came this far?" I asked.
"I'm a pretty decent tracker," he muttered.
"What about Lydia?"
"Your sister." He closed his eyes and sighed. His round face suddenly looked very serious. "We'll… we'll figure out something. Don't worry. You just scared me, so I couldn't think. We'll just get you home."
I threw my arms around him. "Thank-you."
"And this servant will be thrown into prison."