The Princess Fugitive

by Melanie Cellier

  Ava worried about it for the next hour but eventually decided that there was no reason to be nervous. She had no way of knowing if it was herself that Ariana was thinking of but either way, the caravan leader believed Princess Ava to be dead and was unlikely to have any true suspicion of Anna. Worrying about it wouldn’t help.

  Hans didn’t have a chance to check in with her until lunchtime when the train stopped to give the horses a break.

  “He’s a good man, the Guardsmaster,” he told her. “Really knows his stuff. He’s been riding with merchant caravans since he was a lad and from what I can gather from the other men, working for Ariana is a privilege. She has the best kept and most successful caravan in the Four Kingdoms. You have to work your way up before you earn a place guarding her train. We’re lucky she took us in!”

  “I’m sure it’s you that we have to thank, for all her friendliness,” said Ava. “Uncertain times always make merchants a bit edgy and there’s nothing like extra guards for relieving their minds.”

  “You might be right. How did you go talking with her?”

  “She’s exactly as she appears.” And then lowering her voice, “and exactly how I remembered. She stays out of politics but she has some clout. I’ll wager this train will be the first one across the border.”

  Hans grunted an acknowledgement and began to prepare her lunch. She stopped him with a playful hand on his arm.

  “Really, Harry!” she said, her voice back at full volume. “That’s very gallant but entirely unnecessary, I assure you. I know how to prepare my own lunch.”

  Hans froze at her touch but she punctuated her final words with a sharp reminder pinch that caused him to unfreeze and offer her an easy smile.

  “Just making sure you put in a good word for me with my uncle,” he said, relinquishing the food to her.

  “Oooh, I wish my cousins were half so considerate,” said a merchant girl who had strolled over to join them, lunch in hand.

  “I’m Sarah,” she said, holding out her other hand to shake each of theirs. “My family’s wagon is the second down from Ariana’s.”

  Ava deduced from the pride in the girl’s voice that the wagons were arranged in order of seniority and that third place was a matter of some honour.

  “I’m Anna,” she said with a friendly smile. “And this is my cousin, Harry.”

  “Oh yes, I know,” said Sarah, her words tripping over each other in a somewhat giddy fashion. “It’s all up and down the caravan that we have two new members. There’s not too many of us young ones so it’s always exciting to have some fresh faces. I’ll introduce you to the rest tonight. Most of them have to stay with their horses now.”

  Something about the girl’s enthusiasm was infectious and Ava found her warm smile slowly becoming genuine.

  “I’d like that,” she replied. “We both would.”

  Chapter 6

  Sarah was true to her word. No sooner had Ariana called a halt to the day’s travel, directing the train into a large clearing just off the road, than Sarah came rushing up to Ava.

  “My sister was married this winter,” she said, panting for breath, “and my parents have said you can have her place in our wagon, if you like.” She looked at Ava expectantly and smiled when Ava began to express polite acceptance.

  “Oh, it’s no trouble,” she said, cutting off Ava’s words. “It’s a relief, in fact. You’ll save me from being stuck alone in there with my mother.” She made a face.

  Ava, suddenly remembering Hans and wondering what he would think of this sleeping arrangement, looked around for a glimpse of him.

  “And don’t worry about your cousin,” said Sarah, correctly interpreting Ava’s searching glance. “Ariana told us how protective your father is. Your cousin can sleep with my father at our campfire. He’ll only be a few feet away.” She smiled in satisfaction at her perfect arrangements and Ava marvelled at how often Sarah’s expressive face held a wide grin. She flitted between twenty other expressions as she spoke but her resting expression seemed to be a smile.

  Ava, so used to keeping her emotions hidden and her face carefully blank, found it exhausting to watch her. Of course, none of these thoughts showed in Ava’s own expression.

  By the time Sarah had led Ava to her family’s wagon and convinced Ava to let her father take Cinnamon down to the nearby creek with their horses, most of the wagons were settled into their overnight spaces. Watching them all, it was obvious that they were well practiced at setting up camp and that each person knew their assigned place. Ava suddenly felt glad that Sarah had sought her out so eagerly.

  It was a further relief to see Hans making his way towards her and to realise that he had already accepted their sleeping arrangements.

  “I’m about to go care for Dusty,” he said, “I just wanted to see you first. I’ll check in with Cinnamon too, if you like.”

  “Yes, thank you,” said Ava, relieved.

  “Are you happy with this arrangement?” asked Hans, watching her closely. Lowering his voice, he added, “If you’d rather we slept on our own I can talk to Ariana. But as a guard, I’ll have to take some night watches and I’d feel more comfortable knowing you’re not alone when I’m on shift.”

  “Oh, no,” said Ava, matching his quiet tone. “This is great. We blend right in, just what we were after.”

  Hans nodded, relieved, and turned to leave. Ava watched him go with a smile, sure that the slight twitch of his hand was an aborted salute. Oh well, if he does forget one of these times, we’ll just pass it off as fun between cousins, I suppose, she thought.

  “You are so lucky!” exclaimed a voice she recognised. “Not only is your cousin polite, he’s also dreamy.” The last comment was followed by a sigh and then a loud snort.

  Turning around Ava saw that Sarah was approaching her again, this time with another girl in tow. The second girl, who was clearly the origin of the snort, looked positively grim next to Sarah’s cheerful animation.

  “This is Evelyn,” introduced Sarah.

  Evelyn nodded in Ava’s direction but didn’t hold out her hand to shake Ava’s.

  Sarah continued on as if Evelyn’s unfriendly behaviour were perfectly normal. “Is he spoken for, do you know?” she asked, apparently still thinking about Hans.

  “Um, no?” said Ava, thrown off balance.

  “For goodness sake, Sarah,” said Evelyn in exasperation.

  “What?” asked Sarah. “A girl can dream!” She grinned mischievously. “And come on, Evelyn, even you have to admit that he’s the best looking new arrival we’ve had in absolutely ages!”

  “He does seem to be extremely competent,” Evelyn agreed reluctantly. “It wouldn’t surprise me if the Guardsmaster offers him a permanent job once we arrive in Arcadia.”

  “Oh, Evelyn,” said Sarah, “You’re so unromantic.” Then turning to Ava, “Evelyn is one of the caravan guards, the first female guard we’ve had in forever.” Sarah seemed equal parts exasperated and proud.

  Evelyn rolled her eyes and otherwise seemed to ignore Sarah but Ava noticed a similar gleam of appreciation in her eyes as she watched Hans disappear amongst the crowd of merchants.

  Overall, however, the two girls seemed so different that she wondered how they had come to be friends.

  “We’re cousins,” said Sarah, as if she could read Ava’s mind. “Don’t let her gruff exterior fool you. She’s nice once you get to know her.”

  Ava examined the two girls, looking for a family connection. She hadn’t noticed it before but they had the same colouring, including light brown hair, streaked with gold highlights. On top of that, although their eyes were different colours, Sarah’s a warm brown and Evelyn’s a cool blue, they were the same shape and both girls had the same nose. Their demeanours and expressions were so different that they masked the physical similarities.

  That and Evelyn was nearly a foot taller than either Sarah or Ava and was dressed in the breeches and leather vest of a guard. But still.

  I
used to be more observant, thought Ava. I’ll have to watch out that Anna doesn’t swallow me up completely!

  Evelyn’s family had the wagon behind Sarah’s and the two families shared a cook fire between the two vehicles. It struck Ava as incredibly humorous that Sarah’s parents were as reserved and dour as Evelyn while Evelyn’s parents were as warm and lively as Sarah. She could see her own amusement reflected in Hans’ eyes whenever she happened to glance his way.

  She had seen more of his sense of humour since they had fled Rangmeros than she had in the five years he had been her guard. It reminded her of his words from the night before. How much more of himself had Hans hidden away when he had dedicated his life to her protection. Did he have friends who saw this side of him? Did he even have time off? She realised she had never wondered about his personal life before.

  Later, as she lay in the back of the wagon next to Sarah and her mother, she found herself dwelling on the girls’ words. First she considered Evelyn’s surmise that the Guardsmaster would offer Hans a job. She didn’t waste more than a moment’s thought on this idea. Hans would never abandon her. But the second part of their conversation occupied her for a surprisingly long time.

  She had never really considered Hans’ physical attractiveness before. She called up a picture of him in her mind. With surprise she realised that Hans was an unusually attractive man. Especially when his eyes were alight with amusement or when he smiled at some joking sally. How had she never noticed it before?

  Because before he was always a part of the furniture, she thought. A very loyal and competent piece of furniture but furniture all the same.

  Ava’s life consisted of duty and no part of a princess’ duty involved making eyes at a guard. It had simply never occurred to her. Plus, under her father’s tutelage, Ava had always understood that looks were deceptive. While she used her own perfect princess appearance to her advantage, she tried to look past the image other people portrayed. After all, it might be just as misleading as her own.

  She spent a slightly longer moment worrying about what it would mean if Hans returned the interest of one of the girls from the merchant camp. But this thought too was rejected with relative ease. She was Princess Ava of Rangmere. Hans would no more leave her service for the sake of a merchant girl than he would leave it for a guard position.

  It was a comforting thought and sleep came quickly after that.

  It was three days later, not long after the evening meal, that Ava heard Hans’ voice calling for her.

  “Anna? Anna?” His tone was beginning to creep towards worry.

  “Over here!” she called back, not leaving her precarious position.

  He’d been busy with his guard duties so she hadn’t seen him since the morning but she didn’t even consider turning around to greet him. His voice had come from the row of trees that blocked the creek from the campsite and she assumed that he would find her easily enough once he took a few more steps.

  “There you are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere…” his voice gradually tapered off as he got a good look at her and then he threw back his head and laughed.

  “Don’t laugh at me!” she said. “Help me!”

  Still chuckling, he came over to where she crouched beside the running water. Kneeling down, he removed several of the items that were threatening to slip from her fingers and disappear downstream.

  “Looking at you, anyone would think you’d never washed a dish before in your life,” he said, his eyes dancing with mischief.

  “Really, Harry!” she replied. “What a thing to suggest.” Her light-hearted tone didn’t match the glare she was giving him. ‘Harry’ had taken rather well to their reversal of stations and often took the opportunity to poke gentle fun at his young ‘cousin’.

  “And it’s such an easy job too, with a clear, shallow creek like this,” he said, pretending to miss the warning she was transmitting with her eyes. “If you’re not careful, you might slip in.”

  It was exactly what she was worried about and the reason she had got no further than holding the dishes in the direction of the water. Whipping around to give him another glare, she slipped and would indeed have fallen into the stream if she hadn’t instead thrown herself backwards. She fell into the grass growing along the bank instead.

  For a moment she considered taking out her frustration on Hans but lying there in the grass she found that she couldn’t be bothered. Instead she felt a chuckle build inside her until it exploded out in a sound that was part laugh, part snort and part gasp.

  “Well, that was inelegant,” she said, when she recovered her voice.

  Looking up at the sky she began to trace shapes among the clouds, simply enjoying the sensation of lying still after yet another day’s riding.

  A shadow covered her face and Hans sat down beside her. He placed a stack of dishes on the grass. Ava eyed them warily but they appeared to be clean.

  “It’s very easy, you know,” he said. “Just do them one at a time. Find a good, solid bit of bank and kneel instead of squatting. Then use some sand from the riverbed to scrub them clean.”

  When she narrowed her eyes at him, he smiled good-naturedly and added, “For next time. In case I’m not around to rescue you.”

  His words reminded her that washing dishes was no more a part of a guard’s role than it was a princess’. It made her wonder about him all over again.

  “Thank you,” she said and he glanced at her with raised brows. “For rescuing me,” she clarified. “How do you know so much about washing dishes, anyway?”

  “My sister used to work in the palace kitchens,” he said and Ava remembered that he had mentioned friends in the kitchens once before. This was the first time she had ever heard him mention a sister, however.

  “Was she a scullery maid?” asked Ava, curious. She had spent some time in the kitchens herself as a child, though it seemed like another life now. As a princess she had had few friends of her own station and had loved to sneak down to the kitchens to watch the hustle and bustle of food preparation and to pinch a bun when the pastry chef wasn’t watching. Idly she wondered if she had seen Hans’ sister on one of her many visits. Perhaps she had even spoken to her.

  “No.” His voice was curt enough that Ava didn’t want to press him. Perhaps his sister had died or perhaps they had had a falling out. Either way, the conversation was closed. Sighing, she struggled to her feet and picked up the stack of dishes, ready to lug them back to the wagon.

  “Good morning!” After a week’s travel, Ava had become used to Sarah’s chirpy morning greeting.

  “Good morning,” she returned, markedly less enthusiastic.

  Sarah just laughed at her. “It is a good morning, Anna! Don’t forget that it’s a rest day today. No bouncing along on the wagon, or horse, in your case. And tonight, we’ll have a dance.” Her eyes positively shone when she said the word ‘dance’.

  “You know Ariana’s only doing it ‘cause everyone’s so tense about the assassination and wondering if they’ll let us across the border, right?” said Evelyn, poking her head into the back of the wagon and glaring at her cousin. Ava hid the pang she still felt anytime she heard someone mention her father’s murder.

  “Who cares?” Sarah said before turning back to Ava. “Ignore her, you’d think she’d have gotten over her morning grumps, what with all the strange guard shifts she has to do. She’s still a positive ogre in the mornings, though. And it doesn’t matter if she’s only just woken up or right at the end of a shift, either.”

  “The only wonder is how you can be so endlessly cheerful in the mornings,” said Evelyn. “That and how your mother hasn’t killed you for it yet,” she added as an afterthought.

  “My mother finds me delightful,” said Sarah loftily but her point was somewhat undermined by her mother’s snort.

  “I’ll find you a great deal more delightful if you’ll stop mooning over the dance tonight and help me pack up these sleeping pallets,” she said.

&nbs
p; Ava moved quickly to assist her and earned a grateful smile. Once they were finished, with some intermittent help from Sarah, her mother summarily dismissed them.

  “Now be off with you. You can get out from underfoot and make yourselves useful by gathering some water from the creek for breakfast. And find a good spot for washing. If we’re having a day’s break, it’s a good opportunity to get the clothes and linens washed.”

  “Oh no, not washing,” said Sarah with a groan. “It’s supposed to be a holiday!”

  “Tonight will be holiday enough,” said her mother without sympathy. “You know that rest days are wash days. Now get off with you.”

  The three girls each grabbed a couple of buckets and headed off towards the small stream running behind the campsite. Sarah dragged her feet and cursed the washing under her breath for a few steps but then seemed to regain her usual good cheer.

  “The wash will only take a few hours, after all,” she said to the other two, neither of whom had complained at the prospect of doing it. “There’ll still be plenty of time to get ready for the dance. I’m going to wear my best dress. The golden one that mother embroidered with green flowers for my last birthday.” Ava had already seen the dress since Sarah had showed it to her the night before and she thought it would match the lively girl’s colouring well.

  “I’m planning to wear my ice blue dress,” volunteered Evelyn. Ava hadn’t even been sure Evelyn owned a dress but she was sure the tall girl would look striking wearing a colour that sounded like an exact match for her eyes.

  “Oh excellent!” said Sarah. “You haven’t dressed up for a dance in ages. I wonder what’s inspired you this time, hey?” She accompanied the words with a sly smile and a jab at her cousin’s midriff. “A certain someone’s cousin, perhaps,” she added, in case either of the others had been unsure of her meaning.

  “I bet he’ll ask me to dance first, though. I’ve been hinting for the last two days,” Sarah admitted shamelessly, taking any sting out of her words.