by J. B. North
The prince shook his head. “I don’t think so. I haven’t gone to many betrothal dinners, but I think my father had it positioned like this so we could focus on each other.”
I sat down in the chair uncomfortably, feeling every eye in the room on me. Prince Matthias took the seat next to me. All we had left to do was wait until the festivities started.
I jumped when a servant came up behind me with a pitcher to fill my cup.
Prince Matthias chuckled and took my hand. “Nervous?”
I squeezed out a dry laugh. “Maybe a little.” I itched to pull my hand away, but with so many eyes on us, I knew I needed to try to act like the prince’s betrothed.
When everyone had gotten to their places, the king made his way up from the door and climbed up on the platform behind us. I craned my neck around to see him, but Matthias tugged on my fingers, indicating with his eyes that I should keep facing straight ahead.
I turned back to the people below me uneasily.
“In honor of the soon-to-be Princess Ivy—” He paused as he placed a necklace of white flowers over my head. “—and my son, Prince Matthias—” I watched out of the corner of my eye as he did the same to the prince. “—we feast!”
As soon as he said the words, all the side doors opened and servants poured in, carrying endless trays of food. It seemed like half of them were headed toward us. The table began to fill up, dish after dish.
I stared at everything, overwhelmed. “Any more food and the table would collapse.”
The prince chuckled. “That’s how my father likes it.” He let go of my hand to reach forward and help himself to a platter of sliced roast beef, shoveling it onto his plate before moving on to the next thing and the next. I followed his lead, though I didn’t pile my plate too high, knowing that I didn’t want to be sick while running away.
“Good idea,” prince Matthias said as I picked up my fork. “Save room for dessert.”
I smiled. “That’s my plan.”
As I lifted a forkful of mashed potatoes to my mouth, my gaze fell down to the crowd below. I immediately picked out Princess Cecile. She sat at the same table as the duke and duchess, and as if she could feel me looking at her, her eyes met mine. She gave a nod and continued her conversation with the duchess.
I picked at the food for three hours before the guests started leaving. Most of them came up to us with their congratulations, while others had clearly only come for the meal.
“Can we leave yet?” I asked Prince Matthias quietly after a particularly drawn out conversation he’d had with a lord.
He shook his head. “It’s polite for a host to stay longer than the guests, unless they’re absurdly late in leaving or drunk.”
I sat back in my chair, though I was careful not to slouch since I was still acting proper.
Matthias smiled at me knowingly. “Maybe I can take you on a walk through the courtyard afterward?” he suggested.
“Maybe,” I said noncommittedly as I pushed the dessert plate away from myself, wishing I had eaten less.
A servant came up to clear my place and something about her ringlets of honey-blond hair and her thin mouth seemed familiar. When she glanced at me, her dark brown eyes gave her away.
“Emillia?” I asked.
Her lips flickered into a smile. “I’m glad to see that you remember me, milady.”
“Of course I do. I was hoping I would get to see you.”
She hefted up my dirty dishes and one of the platters of picked over food. “I plan on being here for a long time,” she said, glancing at the prince. “I’m sure you’ll see me in the halls every now and then.”
“Right,” I said, hoping I hadn’t given myself away. I wondered if Ayon had told her that I was leaving.
“Old friend?” Prince Matthias asked after she slipped away.
“More like acquaintance,” I answered. “And Ayon’s new wife.”
He squinted his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. “Is that the fellow that came to be a stable-hand?”
I nodded and watched as the duke and duchess stood up to leave. The duke looked up at the prince and me and gave a bow. Prince Matthias answered the gesture with a respectful nod.
When the couple left, it seemed like that was the key to the end of the dinner. Most everyone followed them in the next few minutes, Princess Cecile among them. I watched her as she left, thinking of our plan.
“Ready to go?” the prince asked as he stood.
He helped me down the steps of the platform, and when Grix and Sir Lochlan came to escort us the prince held up his hand. “I’d like a moment with Ivy. You are dismissed for now.”
I silently begged for Grix not to go anywhere, to stay with me, but he could only give me an encouraging half-smile and nod of goodbye as he turned away.
-Chapter Twenty-
Prince Matthias held out his arm as he led the way into the hall. I hesitated in taking it, but knew that I had to. I didn’t want to give any inclination that I didn’t intend to follow through with the wedding plans. I reached for his arm, but it was already too late for him not to notice a hint of reluctance.
The more distance that passed between Grix and me, the more endangered I felt until finally, we turned the corner and were out of sight. Matthias led the way through a side door, into a courtyard. I shivered at the chill. The light of the sun had faded into dark gray, but lanterns lit up our path. I had been trying to keep a few inches between me and the prince, but to my dismay, he pulled me closer to him.
I sighed. At least he was warm.
He gazed down at me. “Ivy, our wedding day is getting closer, but I feel like we’ve only grown farther apart since getting off the ship.”
I wasn’t sure what to say and found it hard to look him in the eye.
He guided us forward until we stood in front of one of the fountains. “I think we would both benefit from spending more time together before standing at the altar.”
I decided to go along with it. “You’re right,” I said. “I’d rather not marry a complete stranger.”
He raised an eyebrow. “But I’m not a complete stranger. We’ve known each other for…” he paused to think.
“About two weeks,” I said, an eyebrow raised.
He lifted his shoulders. “And that’s not bad. I’ve known plenty of nobles with arranged marriages who only got to see their betrothed once before the wedding.”
I shuddered. At least I haven’t been subjected to that.
I struggled to find the right words to say. “I’m…grateful to have more time.” Without the time, it would’ve been a lot harder to get away.
Prince Matthias didn’t say anything. Without warning, he reached under my chin and tilted my head up. The lantern behind him gave him a golden outline, but his face was shadowed. And then suddenly, his lips were pressed against mine.
It seemed as if time stood still for a moment. I was frozen, my mind spinning, scrambling to figure out what to do in this foreign situation.
I went with my first instinct, and shoved him away, momentarily forgetting that I had unnatural strength. What I thought was going to be a little push sent Prince Matthias tumbling back into the fountain with a splash. A few droplets landed on my burning face. I could only watch as he came up for air, choking and gasping, legs still caught on the ledge.
With wide eyes, I hurried forward. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
His shoulders started to shake as he plunked each foot into the water and attempted to stand. I thought he was shivering at first, but then realized it was laughter.
“I guess you weren’t ready for that, huh?” he finally managed to say, his short hair sticking up in odd angles.
“I guess not,” I said, biting my lip to keep from smiling. When that wasn’t enough, I put a hand to my mouth to stifle the giggles that threatened to escape. Instead, I just ended up snorting, which sent us both into a fit of laughter—something I’d thought impossible with this particular person.
The king had said that Matthias and his brother were prone to illness, and while I certainly didn’t want to marry the prince, I didn’t want him sick either.
He didn’t protest when I took his arm and dragged him back inside the way we’d come. The halls weren’t much warmer than the outdoors, so I led the way to the closest fireplace…which just happened to be in my room. Jake stood at attention as soon as we rounded the corner, but he had to take a second glance when he saw the soggy prince.
“Is everything alright?” he asked, eyebrows shooting upward.
“I got pushed into a fountain,” said Prince Matthias, smoothing back his hair.
“By accident,” I added, shooting the prince a look.
With a slow, calculating nod, Jake shifted away from the door and faced forward.
Just before I took the prince inside, I remembered the pack that I’d left on one of the chairs. If the prince got curious enough to look through it, it could terminate my escape plan. I turned, trying to stay calm. “Can you wait here for just a moment?” I asked. “I need to check to see if I left anything out while getting ready.” I blushed, berating myself inwardly at my carelessness.
He knitted his eyebrows, blue lips trembling. “Okay…but h-hurry.”
I pushed inside. Before I shut the door, I heard Matthias giving Jake orders to bring him another uniform from his closet.
I hurried across the room and grabbed the pack, shoving it under the bed. I was about to go get the prince when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. When I glanced over, I was startled to see a big white bird sitting outside the window, graceful neck turned toward me. Princess Cecile. She pecked on the glass once, staring at me with hard eyes. I was torn between helping the prince and opening the window to let the princess in. In the end, I hurried forward and pushed it open. Cecile dropped inside, flapping her wings at me angrily.
“Stop,” I whispered. “Prince Matthias is just outside the door.”
The swan tossed its head and began to shift form. As soon as Princess Cecile had her human mouth back, she hissed, “You were supposed to meet me outside the palace gates thirty minutes ago!”
I gestured wildly at the door. “I was kind of busy trying not to blow our cover. Prince Matthias wanted to take me on a walk through the courtyard.”
She hefted a sigh. “You could have feigned exhaustion.”
“None of that matters now. You have to go,” I said, trying to push her back out the window.
She resisted. “I will not. It’s freezing out there! And I’ve already sent my servant ahead with a note to my father.”
There was a rap at the door. “Just a minute!” I shouted. “Go, go,” I whispered, pushing the stubborn princess toward the closet.
As soon as the door was shut, I hurried to the fireplace. “You can come in now,” I shouted as I tossed a couple logs on the flickering coals.
“You must not keep a very clean room,” said Matthias as he opened the door and shut it behind him. He made his way over to the fireplace, dripping water all over the rug.
“I guess not,” I replied tightly. I threw on another log for good measure, and closed my eyes as I focused on strengthening the fire. Before long, the flame grew from a few flickers into a roaring blaze.
“That should be good,” Prince Matthias said.
I opened my eyes and backed away to let him take my place. Soon, the water rose off his clothes in steam.
“Shouldn’t you get a little further away?” I asked. “I don’t want the fire to burn you.”
He shrugged. “It feels good for now.”
There was a knock on the door, and Jake entered with an armful of dry clothes. “I hurried as fast as I could,” he said as handed the uniform over.
“Where should I—” began Prince Matthias.
“The bathroom,” I said immediately, gesturing to the door. “There should be a towel in there too.”
As soon as the prince had the door shut behind him, Jake stepped back out into the hallway, leaving me alone and awkward as I tried to calm my nerves.
I jumped when the bathroom door opened, and the prince stepped out in dry clothes, his others wrapped in one of my towels. “I’m afraid I’ll have to take this one,” he said, lifting it. “I’ll make sure it gets replaced.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” I replied. “I’ll just ask my maids to fetch me a new one in the morning.”
“Whatever suits you,” he said as he went back over to the fire. I noticed that his shivering had come to a halt.
Trying to give a hint, I stretched and yawned loudly.
Luckily, he wasn’t completely senseless. “Right. It is pretty late.”
I followed him as he made his way to the door.
“I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow?” Matthias asked with a glance back at me.
“Tomorrow,” I replied, watching as he turned in the direction of his room.
I closed the door and put my ear against the wood until I heard his footsteps die off. With a sigh of relief, I hurried to the closet and opened it to find Princess Cecile smirking at me. “Took you lovebirds long enough,” she said as she pushed past.
She strolled over to the window as I reached under the bed for my bag.
“Ready to be a runaway bride?” she asked.
“Ready,” I said as I looped the bag around my neck and shifted into the phoenix.
-Chapter Twenty-one-
As the sun rose higher on the horizon, I could only imagine what my maids would think when they found an empty bed and an open window. Hopefully, they’d assume I’d woken up early and gone on a flight, but it wouldn’t take much longer to figure out I’d run away. And Princess Cecile’s simultaneous disappearance would tell the king exactly where we were headed.
The afternoon sun beat down from the sky when the princess couldn’t go any longer. We coasted down into the long grass that seemed to stretch forever in all directions. The princess could barely stand after she’d shifted form, so I offered to keep first watch.
I looked over at Princess Cecile, who hummed in her sleep for the hundredth time. She looked a lot different when her face was peaceful instead of pinched.
I’d let her use my pack as a pillow while I sat uncomfortably on a nearby rock, listening for sounds of intruders. The last hour was the hardest, with the clouds above stained orange with sunset and the crickets warming up for their nightly symphony. I fought through the fatigue until it was finally Cecile’s turn to take over.
When night fell, we flew over the remainder of the Leviathan plains until we reached a foreboding stone wall, lit up for miles with thousands of torches. A black and yellow flag flew high in the air above an outpost, the white shape of a hawk sewn in the center. We’d finally reached safety…or so I thought.
As soon as we crossed into the new kingdom, a roar sounded. Soldiers filed out of the building onto the wall, pointing loaded longbows at us.
My heartbeat raced in my chest.
The source of the roar was a large black panther, its eyes glowing in the torchlight, its tail flicking back and forth as it watched us. Princess Cecile seemed unruffled as she circled over them.
I followed her lead, even though it was difficult to stay calm with weapons aimed at us. We circled five times before the soldiers lowered their weapons.
The black cat shifted into a man and waved us down.
Princess Cecile dove down to the wall and landed on the walk as she changed form. I was right behind her, shifting almost as fast.
Each person on the wall immediately dropped into bows except for the man that had shifted from the black cat. “Back to your posts,” he barked behind him. Most of the soldiers looked like they’d rather stay and eavesdrop, but they did as their commander ordered.
The man bowed his head slightly in greeting as he said,
“Your Grace. Your servant said that you’d be coming this way shortly.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Yes. I sent her ahead to make sure we weren’t threatened by your archers.”
He regarded her tone with coolness. “Since you’ve been gone, princess, we’ve been getting more and more attacks from every side of our wall. We’re losing men every day. This is protocol for all who wish to cross our border. Even you.”
This news of the attacks silenced Cecile and gave the man the chance to turn his attention on me. “The servant girl didn’t tell me you were coming. Running away, are we?”
I was speechless. I’d hoped that the news hadn’t spread this far, but clearly, it had. Before I could fumble for a reply, Princess Cecile spoke up. “These attacks on our kingdom prove that she’s doing the right thing. Her destiny is to save all the kingdoms, not just Leviatha through marriage.”
The man scrutinized me silently. “Be on your way, then,” he finally said. “Leviatha will be the third kingdom at our throats, but if you think it right, Princess, then so be it.” He turned away, and headed back toward the garrison.
Princess Cecile turned to me for the first time since shifting and looked up at the sky. “We’ll land in Furling Gap in the morning. My home is just a day away from there.” She looked down and raised her eyebrows. “Ready?”
We shifted form simultaneously and took off into the night.
* * * * *
Furling Gap was a small village located in the bottom of a shallow ravine where, even in the colder days, the grass still grew greener. We spent the day at an inn, relying on locked doors and windows while we got our fill of sleep. When we awoke, we ate a quick meal and resumed our travels.
Only a couple hours after leaving, a bolt of lighting flashed ahead of us, among big billowing clouds that shadowed the dark sky. I circled back to Cecile to see if she had seen what I’d seen, and from the look in her eye, she had.
We flew low over the grassy hills. As the clouds neared, so did the cold winds, and it wasn’t long before the sleet pelted our wings. Below, I spotted a big barn and headed straight toward it, flying through the open window into a pile of straw. Princess Cecile followed my lead, and then we were watching out the window in human form as we ate what was left of the bread I’d brought from the inn.
