I laughed and we helped each other clean ourselves up and return to our beautiful, youthful selves. Finn forced me to stay with him and even though we laid there for hours and he fell fast asleep, I was wide awake. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He had to be behind this. If he wasn’t creating them, then what? What was he doing?
“Go to sleep, Tilia,” Finn ordered me.
“I thought you were asleep.”
“Your fidgeting is keeping me awake.”
I burrowed down deeper into the blankets and draped my leg over his hip while I snuggled up to his chest. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Now go to sleep.”
“Finn,” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
I pulled my shirt off and pressed my chest to his.
“Tilia,” he grumbled, but it was half hearted.
“Finn,” I whispered.
He didn’t need any more coaxing. He covered me in kisses and playful nips and then disappeared beneath the covers. I had thought the first time was great, but this time was even better. It was amazing.
When I had finished, he slid back up to lay his head on his pillow. I slid down and in one motion removed his pants.
“Tilia,” he gasped.
Afterwards, I slid up to cuddle with him. We went to sleep quickly and I began to relish naked cuddles with Finn.
Chapter Six
We arrived in Qual and were greeted at the docks by warriors. They bowed to us and then escorted us to the castle. Was it courtesy to another royal or to keep an eye on us? The docks were surprisingly quiet and unlike Crilan, there were no merchants selling their wares or their daily catch. It felt…wrong.
The castle was about half the size of Crilan’s, but there were elaborate etchings all over it. I paused by one carving. It was a man, but he had horns and wings and was running towards a field of warriors while bellowing.
“Seem familiar?” A new voice asked.
“What is this?” I asked without turning around.
“That is the depiction of the Massacre of Judby and that is the Dragon of Crilan.”
Jared! This was when he had destroyed Judby to save Esmeralda. The King of Judby had tied her up with magic ropes and almost killed her with them. Faxon had told Finn and I about this. He said that the King of Qual had been a farmer boy that had shown kindness to Esmeralda by offering water for her, which Jared repaid by giving him Qual to rule.
I turned around and one of the warriors with us said, “Presenting, the Ruler of Qual, King Jamel.”
The King was young, possibly only a few years old than Finn, and wore commoners’ clothes. He had dark eyes, but they sparkled with humor as he observed me. His skin was dark, no doubt from the years spent in the sun farming, and his hair was bleached by the sun as well.
“Greetings, Faxon,” the King said with a smile.
Faxon bowed to him. “Your Majesty.”
I curtsied and Finn bowed automatically.
King Jamel walked towards me. He had a smooth gait, not something I would have expected from a farmer. Of course, it had been a number of years since he had become the King, so he may have had training to improve his fighting skills. He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. “It is an honor to meet you, Princess Tilia.”
“Thank you, King Jamel. It is an honor to meet you as well,” I replied.
He released my hand and turned to Finn. “And you must be the pirate who stole the princess’ heart.”
Finn smiled proudly. “I am.”
“Quite a feat. One I do not think any other pirate will be able to surpass.”
Finn bowed his head in thanks.
“I am sorry to drop in unannounced,” Faxon apologized.
“Nonsense!” King Jamel assured him. “You are welcome in my Kingdom and to stay in my castle whenever you desire.”
A man with long grey robes hurried towards us, bowed low to King Jamel, and said, “Your supper is ready, Your Majesty.”
“Perfect timing! Won’t you join me?” King Jamel asked us.
“That would be wonderful,” Faxon agreed.
“How have you been, my friend?” King Jamel asked Faxon.
Finn and I followed behind as the two talked and discussed current affairs. I wasn’t aware that Faxon had a relationship with the King of Qual. What else wasn’t I aware of?
“There have been many dark rumors as of late,” King Jamel said, catching my attention.
“What type of rumors?” Faxon probed.
“Many stories of a dark man with impressive magical powers forming an army,” he said and glanced at Faxon.
Faxon waved his arms. “Don’t look at me. I’ve got my hands full with the Princess and trying to keep Esmeralda and Jared in line. I don’t have time to myself, let alone to create an army.”
Jamel laughed. “Those two have always been such characters. It doesn’t surprise me that their heir would be no different.” He glanced at me and dipped his head, “No offense meant.”
“None taken.”
“Any idea who this man is or where he comes from?” Finn asked.
“That’s part of the problem. The rumors indicate him being in places all over the Realm of Olanze, as well as across the waters into the other Realms.”
“How could one man be in all of those places? Even with teleportation, wouldn’t it alter the rumors? Or wouldn’t you be able to connect them easily?” I asked.
“We are not sure,” King Jamel replied. “That is one of the many problems with rumors.”
“What type of army is he creating?” Faxon asked.
“Again, we are not sure.”
We entered a dining room with several small tables and candles everywhere!
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.
“Thank you,” Jamel said and waved us towards the tables. “Please take a seat.”
We sat at a table that luckily fit all of us and we were presented with roasted duck and steamed vegetables. Finn and I ate in silence, occasionally sneaking a touch in here and there and a few sidelong glances. Faxon and Jamel were discussing political issues and economics. If Finn hadn’t been there, I might have fallen asleep.
“It seems our young lovebirds are distracted or we are boring them,” Jamel told Faxon and laughed. “Cia, please show the Princess and the Chief to their rooms.”
A woman stepped away from the wall, seeming to materialize from the wall itself, and bowed to me. “This way, Princess.”
“Thank you for a delicious meal,” I said and curtsied to Jamel.
“Thank you for sharing my meal. It is always refreshing to see young royals who don’t believe they should be catered to or have every whim and desire fulfilled simply for their breeding.” He looked at Finn and said, “And it is also nice to meet someone who came from dire circumstances similar to myself and proved his heart was pure enough to do more in the world.”
Finn bowed. “Your kind words mean much to me. I only hope I can prove myself worthy of Crilan and their Princess.”
Cia, began walking, so we followed her. I turned and waved to Faxon. “Goodnight.”
“I will see you in the morning.”
Cia didn’t talk as we walked, but I supposed we didn’t really need a grand tour. Finn linked our hands together and I took the invitation to sidle up closer to him as we walked. We made several turns, most surprising because the castle was so small, but not long after, we made it to our destination.
“I bid you both goodnight,” Cia said and then her body shimmered and she disappeared.
“Whoa,” Finn whispered.
“How interesting,” I mumbled. I had never seen someone do that. When you teleported, you just disappeared. Was it a cloaking spell? Even so, why would she use it in the castle?
Finn pulled me into the room and I was shocked at how beautiful the curtains were. They seemed to shimmer and shine like falling rain. The bed and dresser were dark oak with snakes carved up the legs and on the pillars of the bed.
“Snakes?” I squeaked. I really disliked snakes.
Finn laughed and pulled me into a hug. “Don’t worry, I will protect you from the snakes.”
“I can kill a snake just as well as you can,” I growled at him.
“I know,” he said as he nipped my neck. “I just like seeing that adorable scowl.”
I kissed his cheek and climbed into the bed. He locked the door and climbed in with me.
“You think Faxon knows they put us in one room?” he asked and nuzzled his way through my hair, until his nose tickled my neck.
“No. He would not allow it unless it was for safety reasons.”
“Exactly,” Faxon said.
By the time I gasped, Finn was out of bed and had his sword pressed to Faxon’s throat.
“Did I startle you?” Faxon asked Finn with a smirk.
Finn lowered his sword and exhaled loudly. “Maybe a tad.”
“Why the drop in?” I asked Faxon.
“I wanted to talk to you, but without being escorted,” he explained.
“It’s possible that there is someone who can shimmer into existence here,” I told Faxon.
He nodded. “I saw.”
“Lucky for us that we have a Seer who could tell us if that person came here,” I whispered.
“Things are not as they seem,” he whispered. “There is someone frightening the King. He didn’t say much, but he said enough.”
“You and Jamel seem close,” I commented.
“I spent almost a year with him after he became King. Jared wanted to make sure that the split went well and that no one tried to assassinate Jamel. I volunteered to help him. It was a nice change of pace.”
“What can we do?” Finn asked.
“I’m going to talk to him more tomorrow, but tonight we are going to sleep. I have a feeling that we are in for some rough weather ahead,” Faxon informed us. “Keep your swords at the ready and stay together.” He started to prepare himself to teleport, but paused and looked at Finn and then me. “Behave yourselves. I don’t think I need to specify what I mean.”
“We understand,” I assured him. “We will behave.”
He disappeared and Finn climbed back into bed. “I almost cut his head off,” he grumbled.
“That would have been very upsetting,” I teased him. “I’m pretty sure it is against Crilan law for the Chief to kill the Arch Mage with no reason.”
“Technically I was provoked,” he said with a laugh.
“Poor, Finn. He was so scared he leapt out of bed to attack the defenseless Arch Mage.”
“He is far from defenseless.”
“I don’t know if I would have been able to tell Esmeralda or Jared!” I gasped and put a hand to my heart.
“Ha ha. Go to sleep, Princess.”
“Fine. You’re awfully grumpy for someone who wasn’t nearly decapitated.”
He started tickling my sides, which caused me to laugh loudly and struggle against him. “I give! I’m sorry!” I yelled. He stopped and I gasped, “It wasn’t enough for you to attack Faxon, you needed to attack me as well!”
I waited for his impending attack, but he surprised me by kissing my cheek and said, “I love you.”
We snuggled closer together and just as I had relaxed, Finn resumed his tickle assault.
“Who’s the greatest?” he asked me around my laughs. “Who is the most handsome man in all of the Realms?”
“You are!” I conceded.
He stopped and pulled my head onto his chest while I repositioned my body. “Thank you.”
“Do you think the ‘dark man’ is the same one that attacked me in Drimla?” I asked Finn softly. It seemed very likely to me.
“Possibly.”
“What are we going to do?”
Finn tightened his grip on me and I found comfort in his strong arms. “We will face it together, but no matter what, I will protect you.”
“I don’t want to experience that spell again,” I croaked. Just thinking about it made my heart speed up.
“It will be alright,” Finn assured me., “Go to sleep and try not to think about it.”
It was almost impossible to stop thinking about it, but eventually I fell asleep.
There was something sliding up my leg. “Finn, stop it,” I growled. While normally I would have been excited about it, I was tired.
“Huh?” he asked groggily.
The thing continued to slide up until it reached my hip. I smacked it, expecting it to be a hand, but it felt scaly.
“Ah!” I screamed and tried to kick it away.
“Tilia!” Finn yelled.
Snakes pinned our hands and legs down with their bodies.
“What is going on?” I gasped.
“It seems that you see more than you should be able to,” Cia said. She appeared at the foot of the bed, a snake wound about her neck.
Finn and I struggled and tried to break free of the snakes. How could they hold us down? They were just snakes!
Two more snakes slithered their way up my legs and reared up on my chest.
“You have overstayed your welcome,” Cia said. “It is time for you to leave.”
“It’s a bit difficult to leave when we are being held down,” I growled at her.
The snakes on my chest hissed at me and bared their fangs.
“Tut tut, Princess. Speaking to me in such a manner will only anger my pets.”
“Let us go now and we will spare your life,” Finn ordered her.
“You will be leaving, although not in the way you wish,” she told us and laughed maniacally.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked her.
“He is trying to protect us, but the stupid King cannot understand his vision,” she hissed. “Your Kingdom is a threat to us all. We must prepare.”
“Crilan has no desire to do anything to Qual,” I informed her.
“Qual and Crilan are allies,” Finn said.
“I am not speaking about Qual. I’m talking about my Kingdom, the one you took over!” she snapped at me.
“Trian?” I guessed.
“Yes.”
“They started the fight,” I reminded her.
“You are a filthy pirate wench and your Kingdom’s promotion of this pirate scum to Chief is a mockery of everything.”
“You’re blinded by your hate and by your former King’s stupidity,” I snapped at her.
“You are a foolish girl who is blinded by her hormones. In time, you will see that I am right. You will understand when this man leaves you penniless to go on more adventures and find himself a new wench, that you should have never fraternized with pirates.”
“What a moving speech,” Faxon said and clapped slowly.
“Faxon!” I gasped.
He snapped his fingers and the snakes disintegrated. “Sadly, we do not give a second’s thought to an uncultured swine’s hate.”
“How did you escape?” she asked him, her eyes widening in shock. She took a step back in fear.
Faxon advanced a step, but looked calm and collected. “You are not as informed as you would like to believe. First of all, I am not afraid of children.”
“Children?” Finn asked as we joined Faxon where he stood.
“She made it seem as if I were being attacked by small children with weirdly large eyes,” Faxon said. He shuddered and continued, “I may not have children or have spent much time around them, but that was not due to fear.”
“You were around me a lot,” I reminded him.
“You were ten when you came,” Faxon said.
“Back to the point,” I reminded him.
“Yes, so the next part of this fun little adventure will be you telling us who you are working for.”
“Never,” she hissed at us.
Faxon froze her in place and walked slowly towards her. “Let’s see what you are afraid of.” He closed his eyes and touched her forehead.
Her screams echoed in the small room, but it didn’t take long
for her to faint.
“Horses?” Faxon whispered in shock, “She was terrified of horses.”
Odd.
“Are you okay?” Finn asked me.
I nodded. “I still do not like snakes, but they did not bite me.”
“People think you’re scared of children,” Finn teased Faxon.
“Small children with large eyes running at you is rather disturbing,” Faxon admitted, “but I have seen worse.”
“What are we going to do with her?” I asked and pointed at the unconscious woman.
“That will be up to the King. I will take her to him now. You two should head to the ship to finish your night’s sleep.”
“Did you know we were going to be attacked?” Finn asked him.
Faxon shrugged. “I figured it was a high possibility, which is why I told you to be ready.”
“You used us!” I gasped.
“You were never in any danger,” he assured me.
I turned away from him with a, “Hmph.”
“Uh oh, you made her mad,” Finn whispered.
“Head to the ship. I will wake you up for breakfast,” Faxon ordered us.
“I can’t believe he used us for bait,” I growled after he had disappeared with Cia.
“He did warn us,” Finn reminded me.
“He could have given us a bit more of a warning or explicitly said what was going on.”
“If we had known, we would not have gone to sleep and then she would not have attacked, which would have allowed her to continue terrorizing King Jamel for who knows how long.”
“Stop making sense,” I ordered Finn.
He laughed at me.
“Let’s go. I need sleep.”
“Grumpy Princess.”
“If you don’t stop, I’ll show you what a grumpy Princess is really like,” I threatened him.
“Stop teasing me,” he whispered. “We’re supposed to stay in separate rooms, but if you keep it up, I might have to break that rule.”
“Now who is teasing who?”
The cold ocean breeze eased my worry and swept away the lingering fear. I really hated snakes and I really wished we would never see a snake again.
“Why didn’t she give you your own fear?” I asked Finn.
He shrugged. “Maybe she figured she only needed to contain me while frightening you.”
Princess Triumvirate Page 10
