The Princess and Her Rogue

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  Kiara tried to determine how long it’d been, but she was unsure. She had taken a long time with climbing down the rope, so the weapons were bound to go off soon. Kiara picked out the whitest horse out of her choices and saddled that one. She wasn’t thinking of the practicality of ridding a white horse in the middle of the pitch-black night, but she thought it was prettier than the others and more fitting for a princess to ride. Nate chose the blackest of the black stallions in the line up and saddled him.

  As they were leading their horses towards their old cart to gather up their things, Nate finally noticed Kiara’s poor choice. He stopped and sighed ruefully.

  “Kiara, you need to go get a black one, quickly. You can’t ride a white horse at…” before Nate could finish his scolding, two thunderous explosions sounded off towards the armory.

  All the horses were spooked as Kiara and Nate jumped at the noise and turned just in time to see the silhouettes of two iron spheres hurtling towards the gate towers. Men shouted all about the grounds as the towers were hit at their center. And, just as Nate predicted, two more fiery explosions boomed at the tops of the towers, bursting them into great smoldering flames that began to catch quickly down its splintered trunk.

  Nate forgot about Kiara’s mistake, mounted his horse and galloped towards the cart to speedily gather their belongings. Kiara mounted soon afterwards, watching as knights and soldiers all awoke and ran onto the grounds to find out what had happened. Kiara flanked just behind Nate as he sped towards the slowly lowering drawbridge and gradually leaning, flaming towers.

  As men tried to come up alongside them with waving swords, Nate drew out his own dagger and brushed off their blows to make way for their escape. Miraculously, they evaded all arrows that were shot at them and trampled over the soldiers that tried to block their path.

  When they approached the gate, the towers were about to collapse into each other in the middle. Just as Nate planned, the gates would eventually become something like a burning barricade to delay anyone’s attempts at following them. But, it almost appeared that they would not make it out alive.

  Kiara and Nate, with hearts pounding and heels slamming into their horses’ sides, sped towards the closing gap between ground and fire. They just narrowly escaped the falling pillars of fire, cutting it so close that Kiara could feel the heat and hear the loud crackling of the burning wood just inches from the top of her head. Flames licked her horse’s tail and the towers crashed over the gate, trapping all occupants inside. Kiara could heard loud shouting and trumpets sounding throughout the castle.

  But the timing of the towers falling and the drawbridge fully lowering to allow passage to the other side was slightly off. Their horses had to leap from the top edge of the bridge and down to the grassy shore of the mote. Both warhorses, trained in such tricks, stood up admirably to the test and didn’t even hesitate to make the jump, landing perfectly on the other side.

  Nate and Kiara galloped away as fast as they could and nothing could stop them. They chose the straightest road that would lead them northward to Resh Pass, which was no more than twenty miles away. They kept to the edge of the tree line and never looked back, as they were on their way home.

  Deceiver was notified of their escape immediately and he was infuriated beyond words. He would have to delay his march on Aleph a few more days. As he and Azor glared out a high window, overlooking the smoldering chaos that his two prisoners had left behind, he breathed steadily, holding in any angry outbursts.

  “I told you there should have been more men guarding their cell. Nathan is a crafty rogue and I foresaw he would do something this destructive,” Azor reprimanded in a tired, wispy voice. “How Nathan knew how to operate a new modern weapon such as the cannon, I do not know. But, just look on the bright side. He only delayed you one or two days and there’s no way they could reach Aleph in time to warn Malcolm. Things could be much worse, my lord.”

  Just as Azor finished his speech, a deafening explosion suddenly roared from the direction of the armory. Deceiver didn’t flinch, he didn’t blink, he didn’t even look in the direction of the explosion. He simply took a deep breath and watched as flaming bits of rock, shrapnel and cannonballs flew through the air in all directions. One cannonball even shot straight through the tower in which he was standing in, and blew through the belly of one of his guards, carrying him out the other side of the chamber with a agonizing shriek.

  Azor looked out the window at the destroyed armory. “On second thought, we may be delayed a week,” he said regretfully.

  A moment later, an exhausted knight came to the Deceiver’s side and reported, “The armory was just blown to bits, my lord. All of our weapons, armor, shields and the new cannonballs are buried under a mountain of burning rubble.”

  Deceiver slowly turned to the knight with a cold, furious glare and snatched the man by the throat, squeezing tightly so the soldier would hear more clearly. “You will salvage all you can out of that ‘burning rubble’ or I will personally pull your entrails out for you to gawk at before I skewer you from groin to chin and parade your worthless corpse along my walls as a sign of what happens to those who displease me. Do you understand?” he glowered.

  The knight, though running out of oxygen and cowering in fear, nodded and was released to run off and carry out his orders. Deceiver turned his attention to the indignant Azor and clenched one of his powerful hands into a fist.

  “I want that rogue’s head on a platter before all of this is over!” he shouted, letting down his fist like a hammer to crack the stone windowsill he was standing next to.

  Chapter 16

  Kiara and Nate rode all night, not stopping or slowing down for anyone or anything. Only occasionally, Nate glance back to make sure that Kiara was still following closely. And obediently, she never fell more than a few feet behind his horse. They met no one along the path to Resh Pass and Kiara was more than thankful for that. As long as they were alone, that meant Deceiver was still being delayed. Kiara once glanced back at Tau and saw the smoke and glowing flames rising from Deceiver’s armory. Their plan had worked and she couldn’t help but beam with joy.

  The moon above gave such little light that Kiara couldn’t tell when they had crossed the boundary lines from Deceiver’s territory into Malcolm’s. Nevertheless, their horses never stopped galloping until small rays of sunlight broke out from the horizon. It was only then that Nate gently pulled on his horse’s reins to slow down its pace. Kiara, being too exhausted to even realize that Nate had slowed down, almost didn’t stop in time. She passed him up by half a dozen yards before tugging on her horse’s reins, making him skid to a halt.

  Nate trotted up beside her and they stood there for a moment, looking at each other and glancing at their surroundings. Suddenly, the world was bathed in rich colors, drowning out the gloominess that had lingered over them for so many days. The leaves on the trees seemed greener, blossoms were forming along the skinny branches and the weather seemed warmer than it had the day before. It was like they had entered a different world. Lively squirrels scurried through the lush grass on the side of the road while birds twittered and flitted above the treetops happily. Kiara could sense the energetic and peaceful life that throbbed throughout this land. And then it occurred to her that she was finally home.

  She turned to Nate with a bright grin and began laughing for joy that their long, arduous journey was at last coming to an end. She never felt so happy to be back where she belonged. Such joy was contagious and Nate began to smile and laugh with her.

  He shifted in his saddle and turned behind him at the path they had been traveling on. While Kiara smiled, closed her eyes and lifted her face to bask in the warm sunlight that shone through the trees, Nate took a deep breath and pursed his lips together. They may have been in Malcolm’s territory, but now Nate was the foreigner and away from the only home he’d known for years. He was happy for Kiara, but scared for himself.

  “Well, the hard part is over now. All that’s
left is the short trip home. We should be able to reach Aleph in a day or two if we don’t take any detours,” Nate said confidently, as if he knew this land as well as he did the one he left behind.

  “If we keep following this road, it should lead us straight to Aleph.” Kiara loomed up to the path, then to Nate with the most serene glitter in her eyes that made the very breath in his lungs freeze. He stopped all motion and stared into her lovely green eyes, captured by their youthful luster.

  Kiara giggled, thinking the stupefied look on his face was amusing. He shook off the distraction, bowed his head and gently coaxed his horse into a steady walk down the road. Kiara followed suit and rode beside him, watching the world around her with excitement bursting in her chest. She had almost forgotten how beautiful Malcolm’s territory was compared to Deceiver’s. She was more than glad to be home after being so long away from it.

  But, as the idea of going home dwelt in her mind like a pleasant melody, another idea struck her with such harshness that she was tempted to fall out of her saddle. They certainly were on the last leg of their journey, but it would also be the last time Kiara would ever see Nate again. The cheerful smile faded quickly and her countenance turned grim and grieved. She bowed her head and stared at her horse’s coarse mane. Not even the colorful flowers that grew upon the bushes she passed could brighten her spirits now.

  Nate noticed her sudden melancholy and became just as distraught himself. “Are you alright?” he asked, steering his horse to edge closer to hers.

  Kiara looked up with slight surprise as if she had tuned out the rest of the world and had forgotten where she was. “Oh, yes, I’m fine… I suppose I’m just a little sleepy,” she answered with a weak smile.

  The rogue didn’t buy that excuse and looked at her curiously for a moment, then sighed. “Well, you can try to maybe take a nap on the horse and I’ll hold the reins for you.”

  She was silent for a while, then nodded and leaned down as far as she could till she was able to fold her arms over her horse’s snow white neck and rest her head on it. Nate smiled and took up the reins for himself, tying them to his own horse’s harness. He watched her attempt to doze off with a feeling of utter peace and yet turmoil was in his heart.

  He knew, also, that their time together was quickly dwindling away and that they could never be together after she was delivered back to her father. He felt his heart break. Nate wanted to be with her so badly that it vexed him night and day. The more he stared at her lovely face and the more he got to know her as a real person and not just a princess, the more he fell in love with her. Nate could scarcely explain it himself, but all he knew was that it felt like he would willingly face the death penalty for her, but want to give his whole life to serving her like a slave that didn’t wish to leave its master.

  Kiara couldn’t sleep no matter how hard she tried. The bitter sweet pain of going home made her want to weep. So, she turned her head away from Nate, letting her long black hair fall down next to the horse’s neck, and let out the silent tears that forced their way past her eyelids. This was unbearable. She felt like killing herself, because she’d rather die than go back to Sir Claude and the life she was bound to live as a daughter of the king. Now, more than ever, she wished she could have stayed in that orphanage and lived a life of poverty so she could simply have the opportunity to spend the rest of every waking moment with Nate.

  She didn’t even know why she had fallen for him so quickly. His handsome looks were very captivating, but there was just a feeling she had in his presence that made her want to stay. She felt safe, secure, at peace and at home with Nate. There was just something about him that drew her in like moths to a flame. She knew it was dangerous and forbidden to love someone outside of her class, but he was simply too irresistible. She couldn’t help herself.

  The idea of betraying her father’s wishes made her wary of the consequences of such an infatuation, but for some reason, she didn’t care. She was willing to die for him, or worse.

  After contemplating her limited choices, Kiara finally sat up and took a deep breath and looked around her. They were still walking at a steady pace along the dirt road and the scenery hadn’t changed much.

  Kiara stretched her arms out, still trying to convince Nate that she really had taken a nap. However, his attention was drawn to the road, rather than on her.

  “Have you seen any road signs yet?” she asked before faking a yawn as Nate handed her reins back to her courteously.

  “Yes, just a few. I think a fork in the road is coming up soon. One leads to Aleph and the other to another town that I’m not familiar with,” Nate replied, shifting in his seat. Kiara watched him for a while and let herself smile and blush. His profile was so dashing.

  “Do you know what the name was? I might know it.”

  “I’m not sure, but I think it started with a letter that looks like this.” He created what Kiara recognized as the letter “D” with his hands.

  “Daleth?” she asked with sudden perkiness.

  “Yeah, I think so.” Nate glanced at her with suspicion and hesitation.

  “That’s where the archery tournament was going to be! Oh, can we go there, please?” Kiara begged with zeal, putting on her “pout” face that always ensured that she got her way.

  Nate glanced over twice to the giddy princess as if she were losing her senses. He cocked an eyebrow at her and tried to break her pleading. It didn’t work. Kiara only leaned in a little and batted long eyelashes around those her pretty emerald eyes. He couldn’t resist that look. Nate broke down himself and rolled his eyes with a submissive sigh.

  “Alright, but just for a little while. We’re not staying very long, ok?”

  Kiara grinned from ear to ear and without a single word, kicked her horse into a fast gallop down the road. Nate shouted after her as she sped towards the previously spoken fork in the road.

  “Hey! Slow down! Wait for me!” he called out, then jabbing his heels into the horse’s hip to make it reel up and burst forward. Kiara was far too eager to get to Daleth. She turned down the road on the right, completely ignoring the sign that read Aleph was the other way.

  Nate soon caught up with her and even came close to passing her before they came to a break in the trees with blue skies beyond it. Kiara tugged tightly on her reins to skid the horse to a sudden stop. Nate did the same and they found themselves looking down into the most gorgeous valley in all the country.

  Rich green grass lay stretched across all four corners of the valley floor, with only a few tall trees scattered around a small village that lay in the center, a small creek running along it’s western border. Kiara smiled like a fool when she saw that the festival was still going on adjacent to the town. Canvas tents were pitched up in rows with game arenas set up in stations around the outskirts of the city. Merchants, venders, travelers, fighters, knights, squires and all their ladies and children bustled about the fair. It was a marvelous and welcoming sight to see sensible civilization laid before her like a dish waiting to be tasted. Kiara wanted to devour it.

  Before Nate could stop her, the daring princess kicked her horse again and made the white stallion speed down the steep hill, straight into the valley. Nate followed closely behind, half expecting her to do something like that. He constantly yelled back for her to slow down, but she wouldn’t listen until she was at the festival’s edge.

  Kiara felt like hugging every citizen she met, for they all looked warm and inviting with happy smiles across their healthy faces. She hoped and prayed that no one would recognize her, but at the same time, she was more than elated to be there among her own people.

  Nate cautiously trotted up beside her and looked out over all the strange faces. Everyone looked so happy and good-natured that Nate wasn’t used to it. He grimaced and shifted in his saddle once more in an effort to relieve some uncomfortable sensations.

  “Are you sure this is wise? Maybe someone will recognize you?” Nate mumbled as they dismounted their horses in
front of one merchant row that sat near the fighting arena.

  “What’s the big deal if they do recognize me? No one is dangerous here. They’re all loyal to Malcolm and if they knew who I was, they would only try to make sure I was completely comfortable and enjoyed myself. We may even get a nice big tent to sleep in and hot meals every day until I get back to Aleph. What’s the harm in that?” Kiara reasoned as she led her white horse up to a fenced in coral where all the horses were being tended to.

  Nate gulped nervously, glancing around to all the nice, clean-looking people with an air of total humility. He felt like he didn’t belong among all these innocent people who have probably never even spoken a harsh word in their life.

  The tents all varied in color and style, most according to what part of the territory they were from. Those from the far west usually had pure white and buckskin tents, seeing as the west in the sunniest and driest in all the territory and the white color blocked out some of the scorching heat. Hunting was a major sport in that region. The north fashioned for themselves blue tents, which is the standard color on the king’s coat of arms. All knights pitched their tents according to their arms colors as well, which differed widely from the others and were easily recognizable. The eastern tents were a greenish color to help them blend in well with the grasslands and forests. Southern tents were of the red color and stuck out like sores among all the other tents. Kiara was sure that this particular color was to help them be noticeable against the white snow that blanketed much of the southern lands around the base of the mountains. Most the people were dressed in peasant garb, but the knights and their ladies walked around in more elegant garb. There was such a blend of colors, cultures and people as Kiara had never seen before and hoped she would one day get to see again.