CHAPTER 23
Sakura
“You’re smiling.”
Sakura paused halfway through the tent flap, her eyes shooting to her maid. Kasumi watched her with an amused smile playing around her own lips.
“Keenan must be coming around; your exchange just now didn’t look terribly awkward. I told you that treating his friends like human beings would help.”
Forcing her mouth into its usual pleasant but refined lines, Sakura settled onto the bedroll Kasumi had laid out for her and began unlacing her boot.
After a lifetime of training to be a perfect princess and reminders that commoners were beneath her, it was difficult to play the role her mother wished.
Especially when her maid commented on it.
But Kasumi might talk to Keenan, so Sakura had to be convincing.
“I think you’re right.” She leaned forward with an air of camaraderie that three years ago, she hadn’t dared show. “If I tell you a secret, do you promise not to mention it to Keenan or his guard?”
Kasumi’s eyes brightened. “Have you been madly in love since the moment you laid eyes on him in the infirmary?”
She wasn’t ready to go that far. “He claims to be a weapon-smith, but did you notice his sword? And the gryphon on the hilt?”
Kasumi nodded, her smile wide and curious.
Reminding herself that the deceit would allow her to save face when she “discovered the truth,” Sakura continued the queen’s tale. “Mother and I believe he is actually Prince Cedric of Amitié. But since my prophecy rules out princes, he disguised himself as a common soldier to pay his advances.”
“That’s so sweet!” Kasumi sighed as she sat back up. But then her eyebrows pulled together. “I don’t know anything about magic, but do you suppose a prophecy can be fooled like that? Would it have said soldier if your intended only pretends to be one?”
Sakura shrugged. “Perhaps it addressed appearances instead of reality.” She forced a little smile onto her face. “I hope that’s the case, because I’m rather fond of him. But then, I’ve always hoped to beat the prophecy.”
Kasumi smiled, but it was a little wrinkled. “I’m afraid I don’t understand why he chose to be a weapon-smith instead of simply being a guard, though. And if he was determined enough to borrow a Daric guard to help sell his story, shouldn’t you already have his affection?”
Curse her maid’s inquisitive mind. Sakura folded her hands in her lap and tried not to squirm.
“He’s not a very skilled fighter. Perhaps he thought it was safer if he wasn’t employed as one.
As for the other…” She forced her hands apart and started on her other boot.
“I did not make the best first impression when I believed him a mere weapon-smith, and his cousin is marrying a forester.”
“I see.” The maid nodded as if this made perfect sense and dropped her eyes to the ground between them. After a moment, she looked up. “He might understand your position better if you tell him what happened three years ago.”
Sakura’s breath caught. Surely Kasumi didn’t suspect…
Carefully modulating her expression, she shrugged, affecting disappointment to cover her concern. “He already knows about the prophecy. It’s the reason he’s here.”
One side of Kasumi’s mouth pulled up in a sad smile. “I wasn’t talking about the prophecy.”
Then without expounding on her statement, she twirled her finger, silently requesting Sakura to turn so she could help her undress.
She knew.
Shame for her imperfection welled up, but it was tempered by a sense of shared loss. And relief that Kasumi didn’t blame Sakura for Daichi’s fate.
~
Sakura’s eyes slid over to Keenan as he walked next to her. She was glad he had turned down her suggestion of riding double the first day of their journey; Aya would have struggled to carry two riders all day, and her saddle wasn’t big enough. It would have been very uncomfortable.
But she needed to do something to make him fall in love with her. Literally throwing herself at him had seemed to only push him away – even when it was an accident, like with her caught stirrup.
Maybe instead of jumping straight to “falling in love,” she should try to coax a friendship out of him. It had to be possible. After all, hadn’t he made her smile two nights ago? And hadn’t an amused glint lit his own eyes?
She shifted her hands on the reins. They had spoken little since that exchange.
Most of the topics she generally discussed with courtiers wouldn’t interest a foreign weapon-smith.
The weather was always an option, but that was the type of thing one discussed to keep a conversation at arm’s-length.
It wouldn’t convince a young man to brave any danger for her sake.
Not that she was likely to accomplish that in a few short days anyway. Still, she owed it to her kingdom to try. Gathering her courage, she opened her mouth to ask him about his home or family.
But all that squeaked out was: “I may have to pack my cloak. It’s almost beginning to feel like spring.”
Keenan took a few more steps before glancing around and then up at her. She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but it felt a bit ghastly.
A crooked grin pulled at his mouth. “I don’t bite, Princess. I’m sorry if I gave a different impression before.”
She relaxed a little at his friendly tone. “Only animals bite,” she replied with a haughty tilt to her head.
“The other day I was a fly. Now I’m an animal?” A hint of amusement tempered his voice.
“If you take that appellation for yourself, who am I to stop you?”
This time, he laughed, a rich sound that tugged at her lips. “You should be careful with that wit, Princess. People might assume you’re insulting them.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Why do you believe that I’m not?”
He hesitated, then shook his head. “You’ve made comments like that before. Maybe it’s foolish, but I’m choosing to believe that it’s not what you meant.”
Sakura simply shrugged and faced forward as if she didn’t care what he believed, but she was secretly pleased.
She often made her remarks in court, but she rarely found someone who realized that there might be a hidden meaning.
Or only a light tease, as in their exchange just now.
If Keenan wasn’t offended, she could use them more often.
Closing her eyes, she let herself focus on the way-finder’s guidance. A winding path was coming up soon, and she didn’t want to miss a turn. But she didn’t stay under for long; Keenan didn’t need more reason to think that she had a magical object aiding her.
“How did you discover your interest in the physical sciences, Princess?” he asked, drawing her from her reverie.
Discussing her unusual pursuits was something she generally avoided.
But Kasumi had watched her tinker three years ago, Keenan had encouraged her to read the book she wanted back at the castle, and Oliver had marched quietly behind them while she gave Kagemori an indirect lesson on gears.
So there was no point in denying it to them.
But that didn’t mean it was comfortable.
She lifted her eyes to the sky, easily visible through the sparse tree coverage.
The expanse was decorated with only a few cirrus clouds, their feathery lace tracing patterns across the sky.
“I’ve always been fascinated by things that move – the curtains separating the extra seating in the auditorium, the dumbwaiter in the hallway. ”
She could feel Keenan’s eyes on her, but she kept hers focused on the clouds.
“When I was ten, my father’s pocket watch stopped working, and I asked if I could have it.
I pried the back off with a knife, and all the little pieces spilled out.
” A smile scrunched her cheeks as she remembered her shocked delight.
“Figuring out how to put it all back together again took weeks and several books Hari borrowed from the library for me, but I loved every minute of it.”
“And Hari is…?”
His question took her by surprise. She was used to everyone knowing her brother’s nickname. “Hatori. My younger brother.”
“And he helped you?” His eyebrows jumped toward his hairline. Then they dropped, a shadow rolling across his face. “Must be nice.”
“I did not always properly appreciate him when we were younger,” Sakura mused. “And Mother would prefer that I spend more of my time with young ladies than my brother.”
“Did she ever despair of the two of you?” he asked with a bark of laughter. It seemed less amused than earlier.
Sakura resisted the urge to turn toward him. It might communicate the appropriate concern of a friend, but she had to maintain a delicate balance. One where he believed she cared…and she knew that she didn’t.
“I do not believe so,” she said. “Hari is too pleasant to engage in true fights.”
He didn’t respond. Shifting her hands on the reins, she searched for a way to keep their conversation from sputtering out. “From your statement, I infer your mother may have found you and your siblings more troublesome?”
“Mama thought I was an angel when I wasn’t ducking homework,” he mumbled. “I wasn’t trouble until Geoffrey came along.”
“Is he your brother?”
Silence.
“Keenan?”
“Master Elias’s son,” he finally acknowledged. “And a thorn in my side for the last thirteen years.”
“Then why didn’t you find a different friend?” Kagemori asked, his nose appearing above the puzzle book. “I try to avoid people I don’t like.”
Keenan gripped the pommel of his sword and looked away. “It’s hard to avoid someone you live with.”
“Live with?” Kagemori, either oblivious or too focused on the puzzle of Keenan’s history, plowed ahead. “I thought you said he wasn’t your brother.”
A muscle began to twitch in Keenan’s jaw, but he didn’t respond.
“You were apprenticed to his father, right?” the boy continued. “I’d think he could keep you two separated most of the time. Or at least, you’d only be together during working hours.”