Her Reputation (The Empire: Book 1)

by Laura R Cole

  *

  Wren glanced over at Lise for the hundredth time this afternoon. He still couldn’t believe that such a beauty was spending time with him. Her abrupt departure the last time he had seen her had him worried. He was pretty sure she had been crying when she’d left.

  He cleared his throat. “You looked a little upset last time I saw you,” he stated carefully. She glanced up and met his eyes. “Is everything alright?”

  She smiled sadly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you with my problems.”

  “Please do.”

  After a moment, she spoke. “Remember how I told you that you reminded me of someone?” She paused and waited for Wren’s nod. “I haven’t thought about him for a long time, but that realization brought back painful memories…because he’s-” she looked as though she may begin to cry again, “he’s dead.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Wren said, putting his arm around her awkwardly.

  She looked up through glistening eyelashes and smiled sadly. “It was a long time ago. Please, let’s talk about something happier.”

  “Of course,” Wren immediately agreed. He thought for a moment. “Would you like to go looking for the unicorn?” he suggested. He really should be doing some actual research while he was out here. It was, after all, what he told everyone he was doing every day.

  Her eyes lit up. “That would be wonderful!”

  Pouncing on the distracting subject, Wren led the way into the woods he had abandoned in favor of seeing her. They found his last mark, and continued the search.

  “How is your friend the Princess doing?” Lise whispered to him as they snuck through the woods.

  “I haven’t really spoken to her at all lately,” he admitted.

  “Why not?”

  “We had a bit of a falling out,” he said, unable to keep the sourness out of his tone.

  Lise pushed aside a branch and held it for him to duck past. “With all the rumors about her, she could probably use a friend.”

  Wren bit his lip. “I’m not sure that I’m ready to be her friend.”

  Lise glanced back at him. He couldn’t read the expression on her face. “I see.”

  They walked silently for several excruciatingly long minutes while Wren berated himself for having mentioned anything. Lise finally broke the silence.

  “I can tell that you care for the Princess. Whatever the circumstances of the falling out, I would think you would want to be there for her.”

  Wren didn’t know what to say. “I guess so.”

  Lise suddenly stopped in front of him, and he almost ran straight into her.

  “Look!” she said excitedly, pointing to the ground. There in the fresh mud from last evening’s rain was a perfect hoof print. She met his eye and beamed. Wren thanked the Three for the distraction.

  They followed the prints until they came to a clearing in the woods where there was no longer a clear trail.

  “Let’s spread out and search the edge of the clearing for more prints,” Lise suggested.

  Wren nodded and started walking around the right of the field while Lise took the left. He glanced up now and again to note her progress, but she was intent on the ground. He focused his own attention back to the ground. He was about to step forward when something underneath his foot caught his eye. He stopped and held his foot to the side. He could just barely make out the edge of another print. It was very faint, hardly even noticeable, but definitely there.

  “Over here!” he called out to Lise. She came bounding over, and clapped her hands together in glee. Following the trail through the woods was harder, but eventually Wren began to recognize some of the foliage.

  “I’m pretty sure this is the same path I come in on,” he noted. “See that log over there? That looks familiar…though they all kind of look the same.”

  She giggled. “You’re not much of an outdoorsman are you?”

  Wren grinned unashamedly. “I’m afraid not, My Lady. Does that disappoint you?”

  “Not at all,” she said and skipped off, following the trail. It led them quite a distance. Wren kept getting the feeling that the woods were very familiar.

  Suddenly, Lise disappeared in front of him as she rounded the corner of a large boulder – one he could swear he’d seen before – and he heard her whooping with laughter.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked, stepping around the stone himself, but then stopping short. Lise was bent over double in laughter, one hand resting on a horse – his horse.

  He was dumbstruck for a moment. They had been following his horse’s tracks this entire time? Lise’s amusement was infectious, and he couldn’t help but join in. Their echoing laughter bounced off the trees and birds flew off, startled by the sudden sound.

  It took several minutes for the two of them to get themselves under control once more. When the last of their giggling fits passed, they wiped the tears from their eyes and stood up straighter.

  “Well, now,” Wren began, only to be cut off by a burst of laughter from Lise once more.

  “Sorry, sorry,” she said, waving a hand at him, “go on.”

  He glanced up at the sky and took note of the dwindling light. “I suppose I should be going. And I would feel better you were traveling home while it is still light out.”

  He had tried to get a better feel of where she lived and more than once offered to take her home, but every time he asked her a personal question she seemed to brush it off. Wren didn’t know if it was because she was embarrassed by her situation – she seemed very impressed with his station within the palace – or if it was something else entirely. He fervently hoped that it wasn’t because she was married and avoiding her husband or some similar unfortunate situation.

  “Not to worry, my dear sir. I assure you, I will make it. And luckily,” she repressed another fit of giggles and patted his horse’s rump, “we found your horse, so you can get home too.”

  Wren grinned. “Next time, I’m leading.”

  She put a hand on her hip. “Fine.”

  “Fine,” Wren repeated, glad that she hadn’t argued about there being a next time. “Are you sure you’ll be able to make it back alright? Can’t I walk you somewhere?”

  “It’s not necessary,” Lise waved off the offer once again. “I know these woods like the back of my hand.”

  “And yet you led us to my horse,” Wren teased.

  Lise pretended to glare at him. “I said I knew the woods, not the difference between horse tracks and unicorn tracks.”

  “Very well,” Wren said, feeling awkward about mounting his horse and just leaving her in the woods. But her feisty nature would not allow for him to boss her around. If she didn’t want to be walked home, he couldn’t force her. He cleared his throat and moved to take the reins.

  “Talk to Phoenix,” she suddenly urged, all traces of laughter gone. “She needs people she can truly trust around her.”

  Wren didn’t comment. Luckily, he didn’t have to as Lise turned and walked off without a backwards glance.