War Bound

by Tara Grayce

  Farrendel’s hard expression cracked with a twitch of his mouth that might have been a smile. Or a grimace. Essie couldn’t tell. He gave a flick of his hand in something like a wave at a few people.

  “That’s it.” Essie rested her hand on his arm again.

  When he glanced at her, his expression—definitely a smile this time—softened. He looked like he wanted to kiss her, something she wasn’t sure they could manage while riding.

  In the distance, she heard her name called again. More than a few cheers now. She hadn’t meant for her and Farrendel’s look to be anything but a mushy look between the two of them, but at least the witnesses in the crowd around them could see they loved each other. It would help with the tide of popular opinion.

  Their guards led them down another broad street. Ahead, a huge building of brick and glass stretched for an entire city block. A massive wooden sign proclaiming Aldon Market hung over the double doors.

  “I figured we would wander the market. We could go from street to street, but that would take all day. Most of the shops in the city have a small booth here with their more specialty items. It’s a good way to browse the whole selection, then track down any shops that catch your interest.” Essie halted Ashenifela in front of the market. “It’s a fun place to wander.”

  Edmund swung down from his horse, then turned to Jalissa. “If it would be acceptable to you, Princess Jalissa, I would be happy to escort you through the market.”

  Jalissa stared down her nose at Edmund for a few seconds, just long enough for it to get uncomfortable, before she gave a sharp nod. “Very well. I suspect my brother and Elspetha will wish to have time to themselves.”

  Essie grinned. Jalissa had them pegged. She slid from Ashenifela and grabbed Farrendel’s hand the moment he was on solid ground. “The guards will take care of our horses. Come on. I have so much I want to show you.”

  She tugged Farrendel toward the entrance. All right, it was more like dragged. But this was one of her favorite places in Aldon. The market was always changing with new items and new booths. A whole balcony area was dedicated to booths where artists could display and sell their work.

  As they stepped through the doors, the echoing noise of the enclosed market slammed into her almost like a familiar hug. The smells of spices and cooking food and fancy soap and floral candles filled the air. Essie drank in a deep breath.

  Only when she tried to take a step forward and got yanked back by her grip on Farrendel’s hand did she notice his hesitation. She glanced over her shoulder.

  He’d backed up, as if considering bolting through the doors.

  “Are you all right?” Essie backtracked and lowered her voice. “Is it the brick?”

  “Yes. No.” Farrendel shook his head, his hair gliding across his shoulders in silver-blond strands. “There are a lot of people in an enclosed space.”

  Essie squeezed his hand. “Do you want to keep going or do you need to leave?”

  Farrendel drew in a deep breath, straightening his shoulders. “I will be fine.”

  “Don’t be afraid to tell me if you need to leave, all right?” Essie kissed his cheek, then she set out once again, at a slower pace this time.

  Farrendel fell into step with her, even if he remained stiff and tense. As they weaved into the crowded aisle, he pressed closer to her. Essie couldn’t tell if it was because he wanted to protect her or wanted her to protect him from all the humans.

  “Let’s get food first. What sounds good? There are egg wraps or egg sandwiches or there’s a small café in the corner where we can sit down and eat. Do you have a preference?”

  “Food.” Farrendel quirked a smile.

  “Got it. Let’s sample a bunch of stuff.” Essie led him to the booth with the egg and sausage sandwiches and ordered two of the smallest sandwiches. The woman behind the counter bobbed a curtsy to Essie and sneaked glances at Farrendel as she took Essie’s payment.

  Farrendel wrapped his sandwich in a napkin so that he could eat it without touching the food with his fingers. He wolfed the sandwich down in just a few bites.

  Essie stopped at a booth with egg and spinach wraps, then a booth with stir fried vegetables and potatoes topped with cheese, eaten out of a bowl with a fork, much to Farrendel’s appreciation.

  Essie dumped their bowls and forks in the tub the booth had set out for the dishes. “Come on. Now we need to get dessert. My favorite bakery always has a booth in the market.”

  Farrendel followed her without protest as she threaded her way between the people, who usually stepped out of her way with slight curtsies and sideways glances at Farrendel.

  Essie tried to see this market as Farrendel saw it. Brick walls surrounded them with glass windows set high in the walls. Steel sheets covered most of the roof, but parts were made with steel frames and glass panels, giving more light. Rows of booths filled the space while people bustled, carrying bags and parcels and food.

  They turned a corner, and the warm smell of cinnamon and yeast and baking bread wafted in the air. The Sixth Street Bakery’s booth was tucked into the end of a row, a pipe connecting the oven to a large, central chimney that served several of the food booths in this section of the market.

  The white-haired woman beside the oven set down a tray and bustled toward them. “Princess Essie! It is so good to have you home!”

  “It’s good to be back in Aldon. I’ve missed your cinnamon rolls.” Essie resisted the urge to give Mrs. Burke a hug. Essie was close to her, but not that close. A princess did not distribute hugs to people in the marketplace. “Please tell me you have some still warm.”

  “I just spread the frosting on these.” Mrs. Burke pulled out a tray. The cinnamon rolls lined up, the frosting melting in white, gooey pools.

  Essie reached into her pocket for coins, but Mrs. Burke shook her head. “No need to pay. These are gifts. For your wedding.”

  It was always tricky accepting gifts as a princess. People often gave gifts, hoping to eventually get a favor in return. But Essie had spent enough money at this bakery over the years and her patronage of the place was well-known. It was unlikely that Mrs. Burke was angling for a favor; she was simply offering a gift out of the kindness of her heart.

  “Thank you. Farrendel and I appreciate it.” Essie smiled up at Farrendel. He was attempting to appear friendly, which was mostly him lurking at her side with his mouth occasionally twitching with something that might have been a smile or a muscle spasm. It was hard to tell.

  Mrs. Burke slid two of the cinnamon rolls onto napkins. She leaned closer as she handed them over. “Your elf husband is the silent type, I see.”

  Essie stifled a snort. “He’s quiet but sweet. And, he understands Escarlish.”

  “Oh.” Mrs. Burke covered her mouth. “I apologize, Prince Farrendel. No offense meant.”

  His ears tipped a shade pink, Farrendel glanced at Essie, as if asking her what he was supposed to say next. Essie gave him what she hoped was an encouraging wave. She had to be careful not to keep answering for him in situations like this.

  He gave a small sound in the back of his throat. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

  Mrs. Burke smiled. “Oh, you’re a dear.”

  “Yes, he is.” Essie handed one of the cinnamon rolls to Farrendel. Mrs. Burke was Essie’s secret weapon when it came to public opinion. Mrs. Burke’s bakery was a favorite among the elite, and she’d tell everyone how Farrendel was a sweetheart and he and Essie were very much in love. It might not sway the hardened, but some would listen.

  With a final wave at Mrs. Burke, Essie strolled back into the crowd. She bit into her cinnamon roll, closing her eyes for a moment at the sweetness. She’d missed these so much in Estyra.

  She tried to savor it. She really did. But somehow the cinnamon roll disappeared in only a few warm, gooey bites.

  As Essie licked the last of the frosting from her fingers, she couldn’t help but laugh at the glare Farrendel was giving his own sticky hands. She bumped
into him. “Just lick your fingers.”

  Farrendel frowned. “Humans are...”

  “Sticky? Gross? Unmannerly?” Essie nudged him with her elbow.

  “Unsanitary. Do you eat everything with your fingers?”

  “No. After all, it would be hard to eat soup that way.” Essie held out her hand to him. “Come on. Let’s find a faucet so we can wash our hands.”

  Farrendel shook his head, leaning away from her. “No hand-holding until you wash your hands.”

  “My hands? Your hands are the ones still sticky with frosting.” Essie headed for the nearest corner, where a public water closet would have a sink.

  “You licked yours.”

  “You’ve kissed me. You didn’t find my saliva disgusting then.” At least, she didn’t think he did. He seemed to enjoy kissing her well enough. But elves were apparently persnickety about things.

  “It is supposed to be in your mouth. Not on your fingers.” Farrendel’s expression remained blank.

  She had better cut off this line of thinking and fast. If she gave Farrendel too much time to think about it, he might never want to kiss her again. Kissing was something that only sounded good if one didn’t think about it too logically.

  But then she finally noticed the twinkle in his eye.

  He was joking with her. This joking, absurd side wasn’t something she saw in Farrendel often, and it had taken her a moment to recognize that’s what he was doing.

  This was love. Not just the kissing and attraction, though that certainly was nice. But simply the fact that she enjoyed his company. This moment, walking through the market with him, was special and fun and different than anything she’d experienced with anyone else. When times got hard, this was what she’d choose to dwell on. Laughing with him. Smiling. Having fun together.

  They only had a few more days. She drew in a breath at the pang deep in her chest. In two or three days, he had to return to Tarenhiel and go to war. Until that war was over, there would be very few days like this one.

  The smile dropped from Farrendel’s face. “What is wrong?”

  “I don’t want today to end. You’re going to be leaving for war, and...” She couldn’t finish. She didn’t want to lose this. Lose him. Not when they were building something real and deep and precious between them.

  “Do not think about it.” Sticky hands and all, Farrendel stepped closer, though he didn’t touch her. “Do not let tomorrow spoil today.”

  Wise words. She could usually push aside what-ifs. But this seemed bigger. Harder. The hurt deeper.

  “All right.” She smiled and shoved away the worries. He was right. She would savor today. “Let’s sanitize our sticky fingers.”

  AFTER ESSIE AND Farrendel washed their hands, they browsed a few more aisles. They briefly stopped at the merchant selling Illyna’s elven shampoo and conditioner. The merchant was already nearly out and hoping for a new shipment to arrive quickly.

  Next to that booth, Essie found one of the local coffee shops that had a booth with a selection of coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and mugs.

  “We should pick out mugs we can take back to Estyra for hot chocolate there.” Essie dragged Farrendel into the booth to the mug display. “What one would you like?”

  She already knew which one he’d pick. It was a deep blue fading to black at the rim, made of a thick ceramic.

  Farrendel considered the mugs for a moment, before he gently picked up the dark blue mug she’d spotted. “We do not have a way to heat hot chocolate in our rooms in Estyra.”

  “I have a plan for that.” Essie claimed a deep green ceramic mug that matched Farrendel’s blue one. “A small camp stove should do the trick until we can convince either an elf or human inventor to come up with a compact, magically-powered stove. If they can power trains through magic, surely someone can figure out how to power a small heating device. Lance Marion is the human inventor I was probably going to ask. He has a shop at the edge of Aldon, and he has worked with the Crown before. We can stop there before or after our ride since we probably want to have him start right away, considering you elves have a thing against fires in your treetops.”

  “Yes.” Farrendel’s mouth twitched.

  Great. He was laughing at her again. Essie gave him a fake glare before she turned to the girl running the shop. She couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen, and she was staring rather unabashedly at Farrendel. Essie wasn’t sure if it was because Farrendel was an elf or because he was good-looking.

  Essie turned on her brightest, professional princess smile. “Do you offer samples we can taste before we make our purchases?”

  The girl blinked, started, then swiveled so quickly that she nearly toppled from her stool behind a small countertop. “Oh, right, yes.” The girl took a deep breath, and a professional mask settled over her face. “We offer samples of all our coffees, teas, and hot chocolate varieties. What would you like to try, Your Highness?”

  “What would you recommend for the hot chocolates?” Essie softened her smile, hoping to put the girl at ease. This had always been her job as a princess. As king, Averett couldn’t mingle with the people the way she could and, when he did, he needed to keep an extra layer of regal professionalism in place. Edmund and Julien could be charming when they wanted to be, but they didn’t love mingling with people the way Essie did.

  As the youngest, Essie had more freedom. She could be the approachable princess who felt more like one of the people than the rest of her siblings.

  The set to the girl’s shoulders relaxed, and she smiled. “The double chocolate supreme is my favorite, though a lot of people also like the dark chocolate delight and caramel chocolate craving.”

  “We’d like to try all three, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

  After tasting the samples with lots of chatter on Essie’s part and nods from Farrendel, they settled on two packages of the double chocolate and one of the dark chocolate. As they paid, Farrendel eyed the shelf with the packages of hot chocolate, as if he wasn’t sure three would be enough.

  Essie leaned closer and whispered in elvish, “We’ll get more at another booth.”

  The furrow between his brows disappeared, and he nodded.

  This was the reason she was glad she’d married another member of royalty. She didn’t have to explain to him that they needed to spread their patronage out between shops.

  They left the shop with Farrendel hugging his paper-wrapped mug to his chest like it was the most precious gift he’d ever been given. She took his free hand, swinging their clasped hands slightly as they weaved into the traffic in the aisle.

  It was getting more crowded, and Farrendel’s fingers tightened on hers, his shoulders tensing.

  He was probably nearing his people limit by this point. He’d put up with a lot of noise and bustle for her. It was probably time she found him a little peace and quiet.

  She steered him toward the stairs to the loft section that stretched across the far side of the space. “There’s a full coffee shop in the loft by the artists’ booths. We can get a table by the railing in a quiet corner, sit for a moment, and look for Edmund and Jalissa. Once we’ve found them, we can leave the market and go for our ride.”

  Farrendel gave a large nod. “Yes.”

  He must be ready to be done with people. Together, they climbed the stairs and strolled to the coffee shop in the far corner. This shop was busier and didn’t offer the free samples nor did it have as many specialty items. But it had a good, creamy hot chocolate that Farrendel and Essie savored while they searched the crowd from the balcony.

  “I don’t see them.” Essie scanned the crowd bustling back and forth below. Jalissa’s long, dark brown hair should have been easy to spot, flowing down her back as it was instead of pinned up. Plus, there should have been a cleared space in the crowd where the people gave her brother and Jalissa room.

  “They are not down there.” Farrendel’s tone was calm, not worried. As if he knew something she didn’t.
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  When she glanced at him, he pointed past her. She turned to see Edmund and Jalissa strolling toward them from an aisle between the artists’ booths up here.

  She should’ve guessed Jalissa would prefer strolling the art gallery rather than the bustle of the booths below.

  Edmund flopped into the chair near Essie. “Well, that was an enjoyable morning.”

  “It was tolerable.” Jalissa perched gracefully in a chair near Farrendel. Her gaze swept over him, as if making sure he was all right.

  He smiled and tipped his head as if to reassure her.

  Essie held out her mug of hot chocolate. “Do you want a sip of hot chocolate?”

  Jalissa’s nose wrinkled, as if the thought of sharing Essie’s mug disgusted her. But she took the mug and delicately sipped. Her eyebrows arched. “This is good.”

  “Would you like your own?” Edmund started to push himself to his feet.

  “No, but thank you.” Jalissa swung her gaze from Edmund to Essie. “Are we done here?”

  “Yes. We’d like to leave for our ride, if that sounds good to you.” Essie reclaimed her mug and gulped down the rest of her cooling hot chocolate.

  Jalissa nodded. “That is acceptable.”

  When they returned to the market’s entrance, their horses and patient guards were waiting. A small crowd had also gathered. They waved, and Essie waved back as regally as she could manage.

  It took nearly half an hour to reach the far side of Aldon to the stretch of rolling hills perfect for running the horses. The guards they’d sent ahead met them, letting them know it was safe.

  Essie tightened her grip on Ashenifela’s reins and grinned at Farrendel. “Ready?”

  Farrendel flashed a quick smile before he kicked his horse into a gallop.

  “Hey! That’s cheating!” Essie laughed and urged Ashenifela forward. The mare leapt into a gallop.

  The wind tore fingers through Essie’s hair. She laughed harder and leaned low over Ashenifela’s neck. By Farrendel’s grin when he glanced over his shoulder, his hair whipping around him, this was his favorite part of the day.