Chapter 27
"Oh, fuck... I've missed this," I groaned, throwing my arms into the air.
Even though the hood I now had to wear at all times, ever since I had been formally presented to the city as a princess, hid much of my face, I didn't care. I hadn't been here in weeks, and now it felt as though I was seeing everything for the very first time.
“Princess, a little quieter,” Welme whispered as she hurried to keep up with my quick pace. Her red hair had been tied into a simple braid that swayed wildly behind her, occasionally slapping against her cheek. Her face was flushed from the heat, tiny beads of sweat gathering across her forehead.
“We're almost at the tavern,” I said, waving her concern away.
My eyes wandered everywhere at once, drinking in every color, every building, every person simply going about their lives.
Along the way we stopped several times, handing coins to beggars who sat beside the streets, and even bought a small bag of sugar-coated walnuts for Sando.
For a brief moment I considered buying some for Lys too...
But I didn't.
When we finally reached The Tavern Under the Stairs, I almost cried. I hadn't realized something this simple could be what I missed the most.
I tightened my hood around my face and pushed open the old wooden door, which groaned loudly beneath its own weight. I paused for only a second as the familiar scent of cheap ale, roasted meat, and warm kitchens hit me, and a smile found its way onto my lips.
As the floorboards creaked beneath our boots, several people inside looked up to inspect the newcomers. Their eyes traveled over us from head to toe before they returned to their meals and drinks once Welme and I slipped into an empty booth.
“Ah... I can't believe it's been this long,” I said excitedly. Welme only smiled and shook her head in return.
“Oi! Where the hell have you two been?” Pain exploded through my skull before I had time to react. My hand flew to the sore spot while, beneath the table, Welme had already drawn her dagger halfway from its sheath. The moment we both realized it was only a very angry Anne, we relaxed.
Poor Anne had absolutely no idea that striking the princess would have earned her an execution on the spot. “I asked where you've been!” she repeated, even louder. “I was worried sick!” Her thick peasant accent somehow made the entire situation even more entertaining.
I hissed quietly as I rubbed my head, and Welme answered before I could. “We've been outside the city these past few weeks.” Anne folded her arms.
“And neither of you thought to tell this ole' woman?” she snapped. “Were you trying to give me a heart attack worrying about you two little wenches?” I laughed and scooted over on the bench to make room for her.
She wiped her flour-covered hands against her apron before dropping heavily onto the seat beside me. “Sorry, Anne. We had to leave in a hurry.” She only waved the apology away before yelling something at a drunken man across the tavern.
“Girls, I may be old now...” she muttered, turning back toward us, “...but I was like you once.” I highly doubt that, I thought. “You think I don't know this has something to do with that lad who was here with you last time?” The moment she mentioned Lysande, my stomach tightened into a knot.
I forced myself not to let the change show on my face. “I told you, Anne. You know there was the tournament, and afterwards we had to leave the city with our father.”
At the mention of the tournament, her eyebrows climbed nearly into her hairline. “Oh, right... the tournament.” She sighed heavily, brushing flour from the front of her dress.
“Some visitors told me what happened; they say it was terrible.” I nudged Welme gently beneath the table, silently asking her to continue while I only nodded along.
“Yes,” Welme answered quietly. “It was. We left early... after that man killed the horse.” Something inside me sank. Not only because of that horse, but because of Lys's too.
“We ran the moment it happened,” Welme continued. After that, I barely heard another word. My mind had already drifted elsewhere. To that field. To the dying horse. To the look on Lys's face.
I felt tears begin to gather behind my eyes, but blinked them away just as Welme called my name.
“Isn't that right, sister?”
“Yes.”
I had no idea what I was agreeing to.
“Such a shame,” Anne grunted as she stood up.
“Poor creature.” She dusted off her apron.
“I've got to get back to the kitchen now. Dinner's on the house tonight, and don't let me catch either of you trying to pay.”
She had already taken several steps before pointing a warning finger back at us.
“But I'm still not forgiving you two for disappearing.”
Then she vanished into the kitchen.
Welme and I laughed together as we waited for the first proper meal we'd had all day.
Of course, after a long and rather heated argument, we still ended up leaving far more than the meal had actually cost. After promising Anne we'd return soon, we finally stepped back outside.
Dusk had begun settling over the horizon, and a light drizzle bounced against the stone streets. I pulled my hood farther over my face while Welme threw both hands over her head in a hopeless attempt to stay dry.
We started running toward the entrance to the city, but the truth was that neither of us was really trying to escape the rain.
We were laughing like children as we raced through the nearly empty streets, splashing through fresh puddles, pulling each other along by the hand, laughing louder with every corner we turned.
At one point, my hood slipped from my head completely, and the rain immediately soaked my hair. I didn't care. For the first time in what felt like forever, I was genuinely happy.
For this one moment, I wasn't thinking about my past.
I wasn't thinking about Lys.
I wasn't thinking about all those knights who had died for nothing.
I wasn't thinking about the fact that I would probably be married off soon.
I was simply... Here. Alive. Present.
I tugged Welme sharply into one of the narrow alleyways, making her yelp as she nearly slipped on the wet stones. "Come on!"
"Princess, that's the wrong way!" she almost shouted before quickly lowering her voice again. "It isn't," I screamed back.. Because we weren't going back to the castle. Not yet.
There was somewhere else I wanted to go first.
After weaving through two more winding alleys, even over the sound of the falling rain, we began hearing waves crashing against the stone seawall. Both of us slowed as we stepped onto the open harbour. The very same one where we'd always bought seashells.
"Oh..." Welme breathed softly as she looked around. Then she stretched both arms wide and began spinning in circles beneath the rain, laughing without a care in the world. I laughed at her. But then something stopped me.
A cold sensation crawled from the back of my neck all the way to my fingertips.
Someone was watching us.
I opened my mouth to tell Welme to stop, but before I could speak, a hand wrapped firmly around my wrist from behind. My jaw tightened instantly. Almost on instinct, I pulled the dagger from the hidden pocket inside my coat.
"Princess... what are you doing here?" The voice spoke just as the tip of my blade came to rest against his groin. For a heartbeat, I didn't even realize who stood in front of me. His hand still held my wrist. Lys glanced down. He raised one eyebrow at the position of my dagger.
Then his face tightened into that now familiar scowl.
"Where were you, princess?" My surprise at seeing him vanished the moment I heard the sharpness in his voice.
"Watch your tone, knight," I warned. He still hadn't let go of my hand.
"You can't disappear like that." Rain streamed over his face, and only then did I realize he wasn't wearing his helmet. I pulled my wrist free from his grasp and walked past him.
"I have every right to do as I please, ser. And you, as my knight, should know your place." His jaw clenched.
But then I saw it. His expression. His real expression. The same one that reminded me of the conversation we'd shared on that bench months ago. I stopped walking.
"I thought someone took you, princess." His arms slowly fell to his sides.
I looked toward Welme, who had watched the entire exchange without saying a single word.
Then back at him. I took one small step closer.
"I thought something happened to you," he whispered so quietly that only I could hear him.
His eyes closed. He drew in one slow, shaky breath.
And then, as fast as the blink of an eye, the mask returned.
That cold, unreadable expression settled back over his face as though it had never left.
"Please allow us to return to the castle, Princess. No one knows you've left. I entered your chambers myself, and I apologize for doing so."
His voice had become perfectly formal once again. Perfectly emotionless. I nodded.
Without another word, I turned toward the castle.
But that night I realized two things.
The first was that this was the most Lys had spoken since becoming my knight.
And the second was that somewhere, buried beneath all that anger and hurt, Lys still cared about me.