Chapter 12
“SO LIKE I SAID, MY favorite is ‘The Ballad of Ellinore and the Golden Dragon,’ but my second favorite is the one of your very first adventure with the Ursa. Or wait, no, I forgot about the one where you dive down and trick the Lady in the Sea for her pearl. Or wait, I think it’s the one where you defeat a griffin.
Or is it the manticore? Oh, no! It’s where you retrieve the jewel from the cliffside for the queen!
Or is it? I don’t remember. But anyway…”
I didn’t think I’d be so vividly reminded about why I preferred to travel by myself.
But here I was. I rubbed my temples as we hiked, a headache born of equal parts exhaustion and Farrah’s chattiness throbbing behind my eyes.
My legs burned from exertion as the path grew steeper and rockier.
And there was a nice long scratch down my entire shin where my trousers had ripped from scurrying across the bridge on my hands and knees.
There wasn’t really a path, as the grass had begun to overgrow the area with the rains and sun of spring, patches poking up between rocks, playing peekaboo.
Birds chirped overhead, perching on the few scraggly branches of the smattering of trees.
Bees buzzed, frogs croaked, rodents scurried.
It was a nice spring day save for the constant noise of Farrah’s babble.
Aven strolled smugly beside me, a grin on their face that told me they knew exactly what I was thinking and an I told you so was forthcoming as soon as Farrah took a breath.
She finally did.
“We could’ve gone south,” Aven said with a gleefulness that was frankly unbecoming of someone so pretty.
“I will stab you when I have my sword back,” I replied through clenched teeth.
Aven laughed heartily.
The Simmer gurgled off to the right of us as we climbed, cutting a path through the rocks, and somewhere to the left a mountain goat bleated a greeting.
I had an inkling that I had been here once before.
The whole area appeared vaguely familiar to me somehow, but it was the base of a mountainous path.
They probably all looked the same anyway.
As Farrah prattled happily, I nudged Aven with my elbow.
“What’s your beef with Farrah?” I whispered.
Aven frowned. “I don’t have a beef.”
“You looked like you wanted to rip her head off after we pulled you up and were out of harm’s way. What’s that about?”
“Nothing.”
“You can tell me. Do you… like her or something?”
Aven mimed vomiting. “Absolutely not!”
I was a little surprised and concerned at the relief that statement brought me.
“What was that?” Farrah said, spinning around on her heel. Her dark-brown hair in its twisted noble style didn’t move an inch. It was quite impressive, compared with my ponytail, which sagged in the damp heat.
“Nothing.” I smiled sweetly. “Farrah, do you happen to remember all the words to that one about… the sea pearl?”
“Yes. Of course!” She began walking again, singing as she did so. At least she had a nice voice.
I allowed a few minutes of the song before poking Aven again. “Now talk.”
“What? No.”
“I’m literally listening to a song about myself. I hate songs about myself. So either you tell me what’s going on or…”
“She’s from the castle,” they said, then sighed. “When I’m out adventuring, I don’t have to… be the pinnacle of who my family expects me to be. I can just… be. I’m not a princet.” Their expression pinched at the term. “I’m just Aven.”
Oh. That sounded so… relatable. I knew how that felt. I could be myself only around Dave. Around everyone else I was the girl from the ballads.
I swallowed thickly. “I’m sorry. I should’ve thought of that before—”
“No!” They waved their hands and shook their head, their black bangs sweeping across their forehead. “No, it’s fine. You didn’t know.”
“Well, now that I do, I feel awful about it.”
“It’s okay.” They grinned, though it looked like a grimace. “You were right. She’s the best way to get to Ashin. And she is armed.” They looked like it truly pained them to admit it.
I bit my bottom lip, then took a breath. Aven had offered me empathy that morning; I could extend it back to them.
“You… don’t have to be anyone but Aven around me—Aven the quester, my fiercest rival, the second-best competitor in the kingdom!”
The smile that tugged at the edge of their lips was genuine. “Thank you.”
I might not be the best socially, but I recognized the weight of Aven’s gratitude and refrained from offering a flippant remark in return. “You’re welcome.”
“Just don’t believe anything she says about me!” they blurted.
I raised an eyebrow and clamped down on a laugh. “Well, now I’m intrigued. Maybe I should ask her about—”
“No! I will stab you with your own sword if you dare,” they said, echoing my earlier words.
I smiled. “Okay. Noted.”
“Also, even though I now have to endure Farrah’s singing of bard ballads, thanks for not letting go.” They gulped. “On the bridge.”
My heart somehow fluttered and ached at the same time. “You’re welcome.” I nudged them hard in the ribs. “Besides, you have the information about the eyewitness. I couldn’t very well let you die.”
Aven frowned deeply, as if I’d personally insulted them. Which I had.
“What are you two gabbing about back there?” Farrah asked, spinning around on her heel in an elegant move.
I grasped on to the interruption. “Just wondering what you were doing following us,” I answered quickly. “You never really said.”
“I told you,” she answered, twirling her staff while she walked backward. “I’m here for you, Ellinore.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it, exchanging a confused glance with Aven.
“I know I’m not doing it correctly,” she continued, facing forward but dropping back to walk beside me. “I mean, you’re the best adventurer in the kingdom. I’m certain you receive requests like this all the time.”
Aven stiffened beside me.
But I had no clue what Farrah was referring to. “I’m sorry, I still don’t—”
“Oh! Look! This will help.” Farrah ran off to a patch of vibrant wildflowers that swayed in the light breeze. She plucked several and rushed back to where Aven and I had paused in bewilderment.
She stood in front of me. Clutched in her hand was a scraggly bouquet, clumps of dirt and roots still hanging from some of the flower stalks. Her brown eyes crinkled when she smiled, and her cheeks bunched, and still somehow her hair remained perfect.
And for some inexplicable reason, she thrust out her arm, fingers clenched tightly around the stems of the flowers. “These are for you.”
I took them, bemused. “Thanks?”
“You’re welcome!” She wiped the dirt from the flowers on her trouser leg, wincing when it left a smear, then clasped her hands together in front of her, tucking her staff in the crook of her elbow.
“So,” she said with a bounce on her toes, “like I said, I know you receive a ton of propositions like this. But I was wondering if you would want to maybe—”
Oh. Oh no. Oh nooo. “No!” I shouted, cutting her off. The flower stems bit into my hand. Were there thorns on these?
She blinked. “No?” She said it with a duck of her head, shy and coy. “You didn’t even let me finish.”
I swallowed, my palms suddenly sweaty. “I’m not accepting suitors! At this time! Not right now. Not that I wouldn’t… I mean, you’re beautiful. But I’m moving! Trying to move. Away. To the coast. After all this is settled. This is my last quest ever. So… it wouldn’t work out.”
“Oh,” she said, her fingers fluttering to her mouth. “Oh.”
“Sorry?” I offered.
“No. It’s okay.” She shook her head, her face flushed. “It’s fine. But”—she bit her lip, gaze casting toward Aven, who was as still and silent as a stone—“if we could just talk, I think I could make a case for—”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea,” I blurted.
I’d not really had to deal with love interests before, other than a few heirs of the older lieges asking me to dance at feasts.
Honestly, the only person who really talked to me at the castle was Aven, and it was all pointed barbs and sarcastic remarks, things I knew how to deal with. I didn’t know what to do with… this.
I looked to them for help, but that blank mask was back in place, maybe even a little colder and harder than before.
“I just want to learn from you!” Farrah shouted.
“Wait, what?” Aven asked, voice far too loud for how close we all stood next to one another. They rolled their shoulders, composing themself. “I mean, what?” they said, somewhat calmer.
“Learn from me?” I asked. “This wasn’t about… love?” As soon as I said it, my cheeks burned with a blush.
Farrah laughed. And okay, that hurt a little bit. But she giggled, hiding her mouth behind her hand as if that would somehow keep me from hearing her. “Why would you think”—she snorted as she continued chuckling—“this was about me courting you?”
“Flowers,” I said weakly. “Following us. You cornered me at the castle that one time.”
“I gave you flowers because you always receive flowers from the court when you accomplish a great deed. I thought it was a thing to give flowers.”
“I mean, I guess. I’m not really a flower type of person.” Speaking of, I lowered my arm so the bouquet dangled somewhere near my hip, instead of out in front of me like some wilting manifestation of this misunderstanding.
“Anyway,” Aven soldiered on, “you want to learn from Ellinore? Why? You’ve never shown any interest in questing. You barely attend the feasts.”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you. But if you must know, I… want to learn. I want to have adventures. I want to experience new things.” She turned her face to the sun and blinked dreamily. “Just not in a romantic way!” she hastened to add after her pause. “Sorry. No offense.”
“Oh, solid offense taken,” I said, though I grinned to try to offset the sting. “So you somehow heard about this last quest, shadowed Aven when they left the castle, and then followed us all the way here?”