Trev sighed, regretting telling his friend about the girl. “It was nothing. I’ll never see her again, and I didn’t even get her name.”
Drake paused for a moment longer, then nodded. “As long as you understand that it’s far too late for a fling.”
“It wasn’t a fling.” Trev motioned to the waitress to bring another plate of food.
Hoping to dislodge the skeptical look from Drake’s face, he changed the subject. “What did I miss while I was gone?”
“The rest of the men traveled ahead north to Oakefor. The mayor is expecting us tomorrow afternoon and promises a crowd of people to greet you.”
“I hate the big production. I just want to see the town, shake a few business owners’ hands, and meet the people. Nothing too structured.”
“I know that’s what you want, but that’s not what your father wants.”
“My father isn’t here.” And thank goodness for that. The trip would have been miserable with his father in tow, criticizing him the entire time.
“I know, but he’s right. You need to win over these small towns. The election is in a few months, and Joniss Doman grows more popular every day.” Drake shoved a massive piece of chicken into his mouth.
Trev scoffed. “I can’t imagine how.”
He watched as Drake chewed the meat down enough to speak. “Joniss is schmoozing people all over Albion. Flattery is his strong point. I know you don’t like it, but you have to play the game. You have to be just as appealing as he is.”
“And fake?” Trev asked bitterly.
“But that’s just it. You’re not fake. You really want what’s best for the people of Albion.” Drake stopped talking as a waitress approached their table, balancing a tray in one hand.
“Thank you,” Trev said as she set a platter in front of him, his eyes focused on the food.
Drake dabbed his mouth with a napkin. “We still haven’t received word from Hoskins and Brey. Hopefully, they’re only a few days behind us.”
Trev took a bite of his meat, savoring the salty taste, and sat back against the bench. He had dispatched the two spies three weeks ago to gather intel on the kingdom of Tolsten. There were rumors that the neighboring kingdom was creating more sophisticated weapons—weapons like the ones before Desolation. Weapons of mass destruction were against the Treaty of Essentials. During the rebuild, all seven leaders from each of the new countries had signed the treaty. If Tolsten went against the agreement and built sophisticated weapons, it could lead to war, something that Albion and the surrounding kingdoms were desperate to avoid. No one wanted to ignite another Desolation-style conflict.
Trev swallowed. “We’ll just have to get their information back in Albion. Whenever they arrive.”
“What time do you want to leave for Oakefor in the morning?” Drake asked.
Anxiousness settled deep in Trev’s stomach. Traveling to Oakefor only brought him closer to the Albion Ruler’s Palace; these were his last few days of freedom. You would think a man in his position had anything he wanted, including freedom, but freedom was the one thing he didn’t seem to have. What little freedom he had now would soon be smothered by an arranged marriage and government duties that kept him at the ruler’s palace. He was desperate for a few more hours to himself before that happened.
“Later rather than earlier. I’m in no rush to get to Oakefor,” he answered.
Drake nodded. “All right. We need to make sure we’re there by midafternoon. That’s when the meeting with the mayor is.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be there.” Trev wanted to meet with the mayor. He just wasn’t in a rush to leave this place.
Thankfully, Drake seemed to understand what he needed. Understand how everything in his life was about to change and that he just needed a little more time. Maybe that’s why his friend pretended not to notice the next morning when Trev awoke early and left on his PT. At least this time, Trev left a note.
He headed south thirty miles, back to the pond by Wellenbreck. He tried to convince himself that it wasn’t to see the girl again, but there wasn’t any other plausible reason to go back. Still, she likely wouldn’t be there. Trev didn’t have much experience with fake drowning, but he was pretty sure it didn’t happen often.
He slowed his PT to a stop, searching the area for any sign of her. The pond was quiet and still. Trev exhaled, disappointment knocking the wind out of him. He stood there for a moment, surprised by how letdown he was. He didn’t even know her and now, he would never get the chance. The realization left him feeling unsettled and full of regret.
Still, it was for the best. Nothing could happen with her anyway.
But even that knowledge didn’t ease his disappointment.
Renna
The sun broke through the window in Renna’s room early that morning, spoiling her sleep. She wanted to stay in bed, but escaping would be much harder later on. She needed to leave before Seran woke up, and Renna’s duty to the princess began. All of Seran’s friends were here to see to Seran’s every whim. Surely she didn’t need Renna, too.
Slowly, she lifted her legs out from under the covers and pulled herself out of bed. She scanned the room for one of her suitcases but didn’t see anything. She supposed they were with her maid, Nora, but she didn’t want to wake her. She didn’t want to wake anybody.
Renna’s eyes fell on an old, gray day dress hanging in the closet across from her. She remembered sneaking into her mother’s room years ago and snatching it away to play dress-up. It was a typical day dress for a working-class woman, cut straight and loose with a high, square neck. Two oversized, rectangular pockets rested just below the hips, good for shoving your hands into, but not great for carrying things.
Clothing hadn’t changed much over the years, especially for the working class. Day dresses were long, covering the legs and arms and were always in neutral colors. Renna hated how hot they were, but they were practical, designed to protect her from the sun and elements when she worked in the fields.
On her tiptoes, Renna crossed the room, examining the dress before throwing it over her head and undergarments. She let out a deep sigh. The fit wasn’t great, now that she was grown. The sleeves were three-quarter length instead of long, and the dress ended mid-calf, but it would have to work for today. She had forgotten how unflattering these dresses were. When Renna had moved to the Government Center, the first thing she had welcomed wholeheartedly was the upgrade in clothing.
Renna opened the door to her room and peered out. She looked down the hall to the master bedroom where her mother slept. The door was closed.
Thank you, she whispered to herself.
Seran’s door was cracked open, but if Renna was quiet, she might make it past undetected. She crept down the hallway, each step deliberate until she reached the top of the stairs. She took each stair slowly, knowing exactly how to dodge the creaks in the old wood. Reaching the bottom of the stairs safely, she quickly glanced into the front room where Seran’s friends were sprawled out, still sleeping. That wasn’t a surprise. They’d sleep all day if they could.
Renna headed to a closet nearby, quietly opening the door. She pulled out a satchel and a blanket and stuffed it in the bag. Next, she went to the kitchen for bread, granola, and cheese. If she had her way, she would stay at the pond until the caravan was leaving. Packed with provisions, she sidled over to the back door and pushed it open. The cool morning air filled her lungs with happiness. Eyes closed, she sucked in as if it was her first time ever breathing fresh air.
Everything felt different at Wellenbreck. It felt better.
Male voices startled her. She pressed her back against the stone wall and tiptoed to the corner of the house to get a better look at who was there.
Guards.
There were always guards in her way. The four men were supposed to be on patrol outside the house. Instead, they stood chatting in a semi-circle.
The last thing Renna wanted was to be funneled back inside by one of her mother’
s co-conspirators, but these men weren’t expecting Renna. She was confident she could slip out unnoticed.
Renna waited until the guards’ heads were turned, then she scurried to the long rows of corn stalks fifteen feet away. Without thinking, she dove to her knees as if her escape was a matter of life or death. She swung her shoulder bag onto her back and started crawling, immediately feeling the damp mud between her fingers and seeping through the bottom of her dress.
Ugh! Why didn’t I just bend down?
She was a mess, but she convinced herself that it would be fine. She could wash up at the pond and then have breakfast at her father’s grave.
Halfway through the row of corn, Renna decided it was safe to stand. She sighed when she saw the mess she had made out of her dress. She lifted up the bottom of the skirt, picking at the mud as she walked, trying to flick it to the ground. She took a stick and worked at the dirt on the bottom of her shoes. She was so engrossed in cleaning the mud off her clothes that she hardly registered the rest of her walk to the pond.
As she approached the clearing, splashing sounds triggered the abrupt stop of her feet. Her head jerked up, but she couldn’t see anything between the trees. Renna listened again. More splashing sounds. Her heart raced as the noises confirmed someone was swimming in her pond.
The soldier from yesterday flashed through her mind.
Could it be him?
It seemed unreal, but as she peered around the last tree, a head of dark curls appeared in the water. It was him.
And with very little clothes on.
He had left his weapons and shoes on a rock near the edge of the dock, but this time he’d also removed his shirt and pants, which meant he was swimming in nothing but his undershorts. His muscular arms pierced through the water and then out again with each stroke.
Courage swelled in Renna’s chest, tempting her to continue the game they had started yesterday. Her lips crept into a devilish smile as a plan came to mind.
His clothes were only a few feet away on the rock.
Renna waited until he dove under the water again. Then, without hesitating, she made a dash for the pile. As she scrambled forward, she wondered how much a person could hear underwater. She used one hand to steady her bag against her hip so he wouldn’t hear it jostling. He was more likely to hear her beating heart. It pounded loudly between her own ears. Reaching his clothes, she scooped them up against her chest and scurried back toward the tree.
She might have been caught, but luckily his eyes were closed when he came up for air. Brushing away the water threatening his eyes, he pushed his hands to his face and up through his hair. It gave her just enough time to reach the tree and hide safely behind it.
She looked down at the pile of clothes in her arms: black pants, a white shirt, and a black button-up jacket. She noted that they were surprisingly clean for a soldier, and she resisted the urge to smell them.
That would be weird.
Then she reminded herself that she had just stolen a stranger’s clothing. Everything about this situation was weird.
So she smelled them.
The aroma of lemongrass-scented soap filled her nostrils.
He’s a frilly soldier.
Sloshing sounds in the water startled her. Renna peeked around the edge of her hiding place to see him nearing the water’s edge. She willed her breath to be quiet, guessing that he was probably looking for the heap of clothing he had left by the water. He muttered something she couldn’t understand under his breath, but she clearly heard the string of profanities that came next. For a moment, she panicked.
I stole his clothes! This was a mistake.
Maybe he didn’t want to play any games today. Maybe he was in a terrible mood and had just wanted a quiet swim to feel better.
But she was in too deep now. There was no way out.
With as much confidence as she could muster, Renna casually walked out from behind the tree. “It looks like it’s your turn to be rescued,” she said as she dangled his clothes from her finger.
He looked in her direction, and the same smile from yesterday returned.
The game was on.
He huffed. “I would hardly call this a situation where I need rescuing.”
Renna stepped closer. “Is that so? I guess I’ll just keep your clothes.” She shrugged, an innocent look on her face. “After all, I’m always looking for more boy clothes to swim in.”
He pushed his body out of the water and onto the dock, revealing muscles she had never known existed nor cared about until this moment. Feeling flustered by his bare chest and wet, clinging undershorts, she quickly walked forward and threw the clothes onto the dock, losing all her confidence from moments ago.
“Here you go!” She stumbled back onto the grass awkwardly, searching for somewhere else to look.
“Are you all right?” Amusement filled his tone.
“Yes! I’m fine! I just, um . . .” Why wasn’t there anything to look at? Or anything to say that didn’t make her seem like an idiot? She covered her eyes with one hand as she spoke. “You’re here, and I’m here, and you don’t have your clothes on, and you need your clothes . . .”
He snickered as she rambled on.
“Pants! Pants are important to have, and most men wear them, at least in front of me. And um . . .” She glanced from under the palm of her hand.
He still wasn’t dressed.
Instead, he stood on the dock, dripping wet, his blue eyes glimmering with amusement. “I had no idea my chest had such an effect on women.”
“It doesn’t,” she lied, determined to wipe his smug smile away. She lowered her hand to her hip, trying to regain some of her pride back. She was completely horrified by how ridiculous her actions must have seemed to him. “I thought I saw a snake and . . . I hate snakes.”
“It’s okay if you liked what you saw.” He shrugged, obviously not believing her.
She did like what she saw. In fact, she highly doubted there was anything much better, but she wasn’t going to admit that to him. She waved her hand flippantly. “I’ve seen dozens of men shirtless just this week, all of them with better-defined abs than you.”
There was his cute smile again, stretching from ear to ear. “Dozens of shirtless men, huh?”
Great! Now I sound sleazy!
He studied her. “What happened to you? Maybe you do need my clothes, after all.”
Renna sighed as she looked down. She had forgotten about the dried mud all over her dress and sleeves. She didn’t even recall smoothing her hair out this morning before she’d left her room. How she looked should have been the first thing she considered when she saw him. Instead, she stole his clothes.
She silently cursed herself for being so stupid. All she could think about now was how self-conscious she felt, no thanks to her mother’s too-small gray dress covered in mud stains.
“I tripped on my way here.” Another lie.
“I know how to clean your muddy dress,” he said with a growing smile. “You need to get it wet. Come swim with me.” He nodded to the water behind him.
“Right now?” Her eyes went wide.
“I thought you liked swimming.”
“I do, but I’m not swimming with you.” She shook her head. “I don’t even know you.”
“You can call me Trev,” he said, offering his hand out to shake.
“Just Trev?” she said, raising a questioning eyebrow. Usually, men gave their entire formal name.
“Just Trev.” He shrugged.
Renna slowly took his hand and immediately a surge of energy went through her. His eyes flashed to hers as if he felt the chemistry too, and something inside of Renna—something she couldn’t explain—flickered alive.
“What’s your name?” he asked, not dropping her hand.
Yesterday she hadn’t wanted to tell him her name, but today things were different. Today she decided to match whatever game he was playing. “Renna. Just Renna.”
They stood there for a momen
t like time had evaporated away. Her eyes blinked, remembering why they were holding hands in the first place. She gave a quick shake and pulled her hand out of his grasp.
“Now we’re not strangers,” he explained. “Now you can go swimming with me.”
Renna looked at the water. She did want to swim, but in her mind, her mother’s disapproving voice told her how inappropriate it would be. It was the only thing stopping her from running down the dock and jumping in the water.
She folded her arms over her chest. “I can’t swim in a dress. I told you that yesterday.”
“So take it off.” He smirked.
“I thought the point of getting in the water was to clean my dress.” She raised her shoulders. “If I take it off, there’s no point in swimming.”
“Excuses, excuses,” he said, clucking at her.
Renna let out a rough laugh. “Normal people don’t just strip off their clothes and go swimming in front of strangers.”
“You’re not normal.”
Her jaw dropped. “Yes, I am.”
“The moment I found you faking your own drowning, I knew you weren’t normal.”
Her brows furrowed. He was right.
“Still, I’m not going to take off my dress and swim with you. There are modesty rules in place to keep relationships appropriate.” She held out her hands, her fingers counting as she rattled off some of the guidelines. “Women should wear dresses. They should never wear anything that reveals too much of their shoulders, chest, and back. They should wear a dress color appropriate for their station—”
“I’ve already seen you break one of those rules yesterday by wearing boy clothes,” he said, cutting her off.
Trev was right again. Renna had never cared much about the modesty guidelines. It wasn’t like violators were punished by law. It was more about social scorn than anything. But there was no one here to witness except him.
Slowly Trev began to walk toward her, and Renna recognized the mischievous look in his eyes. She backed away. “Don’t even think about it.”
“You better run,” he said, getting closer.
The Promised Prince: A YA Dystopian Romance Page 4