Chapter 4

"I can help carry something," Gwen insisted.

"Please, do not trouble yourself," Kevin said, fastening the gray cloak around his shoulders. "I am more than capable-"

"Well, so am I," Gwen said, planting her hands on her hips.

Kevin looked down at her and then turned to Ben helplessly.

"Here, carry this," Ben offered, dropping his own load at her feet. "Since I'm injured and all."

The knight glared at him. "You would have a lady bear your bag?" he asked pointedly.

The prince shrugged his good shoulder. "The lady wishes to help." He gestured to her as she lifted the bag onto her own shoulders.

"See?" she said. "It is only fair that we all distribute the weight."

"Fair," Kevin repeated, shaking his head. "You are strange for a lady."

"So I've heard," she said, a tad proudly. "I suppose you'd be surprised to hear that I practice magic."

Kevin gave her a strange look. "I cannot be surprised by this, for I have seen you wield it. And wield it well you do," he added quickly when she grew a thoughtful expression.

"Oh, yes," she said, suddenly remembering their escape through the tunnel. She blushed a little. "Of course."

Kevin couldn't help but to smile at her. "Oh, this is for you to carry," he said, sobering. He extended the dagger to her.

"For me?" she asked, taking it. "Why thank you, Kevin."

"Please use it to protect yourself, should the need arise," Kevin said seriously. "I sincerely hope you need never unsheathe it."

Before Gwen could reply, Ben groaned loudly. "Are we quite ready yet?"

Gwen rolled her eyes and turned to him. "Since you are not carrying anything," she said, "perhaps you could protect this?" She reached into her waistband and pulled out the emerald she had removed from the crown. "We must never lose it."

"I know that," Ben said, quickly taking it and stuffing it into his pocket, casting a wary glance at Kevin's curious look. "Let us go, then."

"Yes, lead the way," Gwen said pleasantly, turning back to Kevin.

Kevin nodded and then started forward. "We shall stop by the stream, as I aforementioned, and refill the flasks. We must try to make the water last, for once we are out of the forest we must cross the great plains to reach Osmosia."

Gwen and Ben followed him, dodging branches with some degree of difficulty that Kevin did not seem to display.

"Slow down," Ben whined.

Kevin looked over his shoulder to see that they were several feet behind him. He turned and looked at them strangely. "Should I go and see about horses?" he asked sarcastically.

Both of them glared at him.

"Sorry," Gwen said, a little bitterly. "We are just not used to this, as you seem to be."

"I suppose you will adjust quickly enough," Kevin replied, turning to look ahead as he waited for them to catch up.

"And you do know where you are going?" Ben asked pointedly.

"Yes, Ben."

Ben twitched at the name. He had not wanted a peasant-turned-knight like Kevin to call him as such, but he could not win against his cousin. He partially suspected she had used a bit of magic against him, weakening his will. But he couldn't take it back now, as it was simply too late.

"Good," he said, wishing that he could instead let loose a string of insults. "The quicker we reach Osmosia, the quicker we shall receive help. Then we can hunt Vilgax down and destroy him, once and for all."

"I think revenge has taken seed in your mind," Kevin said over his shoulder. "You should try to think rationally about this."

"Ha! Rationally?" Ben scoffed, nearly tripping over an upraised root. "I do believe rationality has flown out of the window, don't you? I'm quite certain that Vilgax has no sanity, and therefore no reasoning ability."

"Which is why," Kevin said, stopping to turn and give Ben an emphatic look, "if you use your reasoning abilities you'll have greater chance of winning."

Ben narrowed his eyes slightly, and Kevin resumed walking.

"I agree with Kevin," Gwen said quietly so that the knight could not hear. "He seems wise beyond his years, cousin. I believe that we should listen to him."

"You fall in love with the idea of his wisdom," Ben retorted, shoving a branch aside. "You read too many stories. This isn't some fantasy novel, Gwendolyn. He is not the knight in shining armor who rescues damsels in distress from dragons."

Gwen scowled. "He's saved once," she hissed. "He's put himself at risk by going back to retrieve these things for our survival."

"He needed them for himself as well," Ben said heatedly. "His intentions might be for his own skin."

"Then why would he help us?"

"He's afraid of us."

"I do not think that is the case," Gwen said coldly.

They met eyes and glared as they walked, and nearly bumped into Kevin, who was looking at them warily. If he had heard any of their argument, he made no acknowledgement of it. Instead he gestured ahead, and the royal cousins saw that they had reached the stream. Ben and Gwen moved forward, uncapping their water containers to fill them.

"Kevin," Gwen said, turning to him with a concerned frown, "where is yours?"

Kevin looked at her a little uncomfortably. "There were only two," he admitted.

Ben and Gwen exchanged a look, hers more meaningfully directed toward him. Ben sighed. "You and I shall share this one," he announced, closing the flask. "The lady shall keep hers."

Kevin cleared his throat. "Uh, thanks. We'd best be moving. The deep forest is not safe at night, and I would like to get out of it before dark."

"Yes, I agree," said Gwen. "The sooner, the better."

They mutually started forward, still following Kevin. He carefully picked a shallow path across the water where the ground was solid. Ben and Gwen had an easier time keeping up with him, and felt a bit proud of themselves. What they didn't know what that Kevin was walking more slowly and judging the easiest paths through the trees for their sakes.

The trees grew thicker as they penetrated deeper into the forest. The tall canopy above them filtered the sunlight, the air about them had a strange greenish tint to it. They pressed on despite the foreboding atmosphere, and Ben bit back his complaints of fatigue. None of them wanted to rest here. Once or twice they had to go around a particularly large spider web that stretched between two trees, and though there was no spider on it, they were certain there was one hiding and awaiting its next meal. Kevin had taken his sword out and held it at the ready, but for what Ben and Gwen could not imagine. They had never ventured into the wilderness. Luckily, they ran into no danger. They could not believe their fortune. No forever knights had come searching for them, no monsters had attacked them. It seemed too good to be true.

It was unnoticeable at first, but the trees began to thin. Ben and Gwen voiced their praises, and when they came across a golden patch of light on vibrant green grass, they came to a rest. Ben collapsed onto the ground and closed his eyes. Several twigs and leaves were tangled in his short brown hair, but all of them had, even though their hoods had been up.

Kevin and Gwen unloaded their bags before they sat. The knight tilted his head back and gauged the time of day from the sun's position. "A little after high noon," he stated, then lowered his blinking obsidian gaze to Gwen. "You and he must be hungry."

Gwen smirked. "And I'm sure you are as well, Kevin. Let us eat, then." She opened the bag with the provisions and pulled out some more bread and cheese, and this time a bit of the jerky, too. "Ben, come and eat."

"Can't move," he mumbled in reply. Despite his claim, he pushed himself up with his good arm and crawled over to them to partake in the meager meal.

"How much farther must we travel?" Gwen directed her question to Kevin, who chewed thoughtfully for a moment.

"Perhaps three leagues," he answered finally. "But I shall not know for certain until we reach the great plains."

Ben sighed heavily. "So then three more hours of walking, give or take. Great." He took a swig from his water flask and then pushed it toward Kevin, who drank from it as well. They tried not to think of their lips touching the same surface.

"We might not walk for that long," Kevin admonished. "The great plains are flat, easy ground. If we can keep up a good pace, we should cross it quickly."

"I hear the plains are hot," Gwen said.

"In the summer, yes." Kevin raised his eyes to the sky again. "But it is autumn, and the sun has crossed the meridian already. The air will be considerably cooler when we cross."

"I see," she replied, feeling a bit better for that.

"Let us rest for an hour," Ben said. "And then we shall move on."

Kevin nodded compliantly, and they each ate slowly, savoring the taste of their food. They still had a long leg of their journey ahead.

A/N: For those of you who don't know, a league = three miles, or the distance one can walk in an hour. Three leagues = nine miles = three hours (walking).

Thanks for reading! ^-^