And then, with a surprisingly sharp pang, she remembered that her father was dead. That he would never know about the attack, let alone her response to it. It was a hard thought to fathom. A world without her father.
And strangely, it was also a freeing thought. A world without her father. She tried to think instead of what she thought of her recent actions.
But she found her mind drifting back further. To last summer, to her attempts to trick her way into becoming the Queen of Arcadia. To the various stratagems she had used to weaken Arcadia and make it ripe for annexation. To the deeds she knew Joran had carried out in response to her vague commands. Her father had approved it all. Except for her final failure, of course.
But what did she think of her own actions? The thought had never really occurred to her before. It was hard to ignore now, though, in the light of the godmother’s assessment. No, the High King’s assessment, she reminded herself.
Uneasily, she asked herself, for the first time in five years, what her mother would have thought of her actions.
Slowly she felt the old feelings of guilt and grief and anger and shame build inside her.
No! she cried, clamping down on the emotions. I did what I had to. I did it for Rangmere. I was strong. I will not be weak again.
Slowly she bore down on her emotions, bringing her will to bear against them. It was difficult but she was able to repair the wall that had locked them away for so many years.
The effort left her spent and exhausted but she was determined to come up with a plan. To be strategic. She would find the High King and she would make him understand that there were good reasons for all her actions. He would help her.
The godmother had given no indication of the location of the Palace of Light but she had specifically mentioned the Four Kingdoms so Ava called up a mental map of Rangmere and its immediate neighbours.
After long consideration, she decided that the deep forest was the only reasonable option. There was simply no way a palace could be concealed anywhere else. She looked more closely at the trees around them. They could always strike off into the woods at random but it would be slow going and likely fruitless. She needed a better plan…
When Hans awoke, Ava had already retrieved some food from their saddlebags and was waiting for him. He woke like a soldier, instantly alert, his gaze taking in every relevant detail of their surroundings. She waited for him to relax and then handed him some bread.
“I have a plan.”
Hans actually laughed. The light-hearted sound was at complete variance with the sombre mood that had gripped him before his sleep.
“You always do, Your Highness.”
Ava nodded a gracious acknowledgement of this fact but rather spoiled the effect by grinning back at him. She had spent the last several hours working on her new character and although she didn’t doubt her acting skills, she was determined to begin practicing immediately.
“You’re going to have to start by losing the ‘Your Highness’ business,” she continued. “I’m just Anna now.”
“Anna, Your Highness?” asked Hans.
Ava glared at him.
“Apologies,” he said with another grin. “Anna, Your Worshipfulness?”
“Hans!”
“Alright, alright, why am I calling you ‘just Anna’?”
“I’ve been thinking hard and I just cannot believe that my father wouldn’t have explored every bit of his kingdom. The Palace of Light can’t be in Rangmere. Which means we need to get across the border.”
“Ah,” said Hans.
“Ah, indeed. As we have already surmised, the border is almost certainly closed while Konrad searches for our uncle. But if there’s one thing that makes travelling merchants edgy, it’s having borders closed to them. I’m sure there’s a mass exodus currently underway, with those merchants you ran into only the beginning. And the more merchants who amass at the border, the more pressure it will put on my brother. Eventually he’ll have to reopen the border. And when he does, we’ll be there.”
“I’m not sure…” Hans stopped and glanced at her brown hair.
“Indeed,” Ava said. “Thanks to my new disguise and my new role, we’ll be hidden within one of those caravans.” She was feeling too light-hearted to disguise the triumph in her voice. It felt good to cast aside the burdens of Princess Ava and instead assume the carefree persona of Anna.
Hans still looked a little sceptical so she outlined the rest of her plan. “I become Anna, the daughter of a travelling merchant. I stayed behind in Rangmeros to visit with family when my caravan moved on to Arcadia.”
Hans raised his eyebrows at the mention of their western neighbour but Ava just shrugged. “It’s the closest border.”
“When the king was assassinated, my older cousin, Harry,” Ava gestured at Hans, “became nervous and decided it was time to escort me back to my father. Now all we have to do is find a sufficiently large caravan where our presence won’t cause too much of a stir. The bigger, the better in fact. Bigger trains will have more clout and will probably be the first ones through the border.”
“So, just like that we’re Anna and Harry,” said Hans. “Travelling merchants.”
“Just like that,” agreed Ava. “Once we’re past the border, we’ll part ways with our new merchant friends and head off into the forest. Arcadia seems like the sort of poorly run place that might have failed to notice a giant palace hiding in their forest.
A tinge of bitterness had crept into her final sentence but she quickly shook it off and pasted another smile on her face. Anna is excited to be going to Arcadia, she reminded herself. Anna’s family is waiting for her there and Arcadians are just so nice.
Even in her head it rang false but she determined to work on it. By the time they found the right group of merchants, Anna would be perfect. Not even Hans would recognise the brunette merchant’s daughter as the golden haired princess she used to be.
Chapter 5
As it turned out, Ava had five days to perfect Anna before they encountered a caravan she deemed suitably large. During that time, she completed one test run in a small town where they stopped to purchase supplies.
She insisted on buying a particularly brilliant red cloak, reminding a disapproving Hans that they were no longer trying to avoid attention. “Why should we?” she asked, “Anna and Harry have nothing to hide.”
She didn’t tell Hans the real reason she had been drawn to the cloak. It reminded her of a different red cloak that she hadn’t worn for years. And, more importantly, it reminded her of a different, lighter Ava. One who knew how to feel and to love. The cloak lent her the final something she needed to fully slip into the role of Anna.
The town had been buzzing with news of a large merchant caravan that had passed through the day before. So, when they camped for the night, Ava was confident it would be their last night on their own.
“Go ahead, test me,” she challenged Hans as they sat on the bedrolls they had purchased in the town and which they had carefully laid out on opposite sides of their small campfire. “You won’t catch me out. I’m Anna now.”
“Alright,” he said, his eyes narrowing. Ava could guess what was going on behind the calculating expression. For Hans this was just another part of his job, part of keeping her safe.
“I’m surprised we’ve never crossed paths before, what did you say your name was,” asked Hans, in an almost uncanny impression of the most suspicious shopkeeper they encountered. Ava felt glad to know that she wasn’t the only one able to pull off an assumed role.
“Anna,” she replied in character. “I haven’t travelled with my father much. Most of my time has been spent with relatives in Arcadia and Rangmere. My father’s name is Wilhelm.” It was a safe choice. It was likely the merchants they encountered would know several Wilhelms.
“I have relatives in Arcadie and Rangmeros,” said Hans, naming the capital cities of Arcadia and Rangmere. “Where do yours live?”
“In Arcadie, th
ey live on Hawkers Boulevard,” said Ava. The longest street in the Merchant’s Circle was a safe choice. “And in Rangmeros, they live in the Green District.” Once again this was a densely populated area of the city.
Hans nodded approvingly.
“And what about you, Harry?” Ava asked, turning the tables with a mischievous expression. “Are you a merchant as well?”
“Of sorts,” said Hans without missing a beat. “I’m trained as a caravan guard. I’ll be signing on with my uncle’s caravan, once I’ve safely delivered my young cousin.”
Now it was Ava’s turn to nod appreciatively. “That’s a good thought,” she said. “You’re too much of a guard to pass as anything else.” She regarded him thoughtfully in the flickering light of the campfire, trying to pin down exactly what it was that made him seem so indisputably a soldier.
His wavy chestnut hair was on the long side for a soldier and the stubble on his chin – a result of their current exile – was decidedly not regulation. Maybe it was the eyes? The blue grey of his eyes always managed to convey a deadly strength that seemed fitting for a guard.
“I think it’s your bearing,” she finally announced. “You always hold yourself as if you’re poised to spring into action. And you’re graceful in the way that only really good dancers or swordfighters are.”
Hans, who had endured the scrutiny with a smile, laughed at her last point.
“How do you know I’m not just a really good dancer?” he asked.
Ava raised her eyebrows.
“Why, Harry!” she said. “Don’t tell me you’ve been holding out on your poor young cousin! Here I am, trying to master all the required steps when I’ve unknowingly being sharing the house with a dancing master. You could have offered to share your skills, you know.” She pouted and tried to look as endearingly offended as possible.
Hans let out another bark of laughter and then looked slightly guilty.
“Fine, fine, I surrender,” he said, holding up his hands. “You’re better at this staying in character thing than me. When we actually meet up with this caravan tomorrow, you shouldn’t test me so hard.” He chuckled again. “The idea of you needing dancing lessons from me,” he shook his head. “Considering how many times I’ve stood guard at balls and seen you dance, how could I take that with a straight face?”
“Don’t underestimate yourself,” said Ava, also slipping out of character. “I had no idea you were so skilled at playing a role.”
Hans regarded her and the dark intensity of his gaze kept her silent. After a minute that seemed to stretch into an hour, he turned his head away.
“It’s not only princesses who have to hide their true selves, Your Highness,” he said. Ava blinked twice in rapid succession but he wasn’t watching her. Instead he slid into his bedroll and rolled to face away from the fire.
Ava waited for a moment but it was evident he had nothing more to say. When she slid into her own bedroll, she faced towards the fire and stared at the back of his head. It had been five years since Hans had become her personal guard. He had become such a fixture in her life that it had never occurred to her that there might be more to the man than he had let her see.
With only the two of them, they travelled much more swiftly than a whole caravan so it was still early morning when they caught sight of the merchants’ camp. The merchants seemed to be in the final stages of packing up in preparation for the day’s travel.
Hans pulled up and turned to face Ava. “Are you sure you want to do this, Your Highness?” He was wearing his most serious expression with no sign of joking Harry.
Ava nodded with determination. “It’s the only way,” she said.
“You’ll have to let me lead,” Hans warned. “As your older cousin and escort it will be expected. And I won’t be able to show you any deference.”
Ava’s second nod was a little more reluctant. She had thought it would be her guard who would be uncomfortable with abandoning formality but it dawned on her that she had become very accustomed to wielding her royal authority.
“I’m certain, Hans,” she said. “I’m actually looking forward to being Anna. I’m rather sick of all the troubles currently burdening Princess Ava.”
To her surprise she realised that there was some truth in her words. The realisation helped her straighten her back, put on a smile and let go of the sting that came with relinquishing her authority to a mere guard. She was Anna now and Anna was fun-loving and carefree. Anna’s biggest worry was getting across the border so she could re-join her doting father.
“Come then, Anna,” Hans said. “It looks as if we’ve found a merchant train to join.” Spurring his mount forward, he trotted into the camp, hailing the first person he saw.
“Greetings!” he called. “Can you point me to your leader?”
The man, who was harnessing his horses, looked up only long enough to point them towards the largest of the wagons. Two shiny chestnut geldings were already harnessed to it and a friendly looking woman was about to climb up onto the seat. She paused at the sound of their arrival and watched them make their way across the camp.
Ava gasped, a sharp sound that was lost in the bustle of the merchants.
Hans, as attuned to her as ever, caught the sound and glanced at her in concern.
“I know her!” whispered Ava. “It’s Ariana, she often stopped by the palace with her wares when I was a child. I haven’t seen her in years but she used to know me well.”
Both of their horses had slowed to a crawl but they were already approaching the lead wagon. Hans reached out and placed his hand over hers where it gripped the reins. “Don’t worry, Anna, he said with steady reassurance in his voice, “you have changed much since you were a girl.” His eyes, which were holding a warning, flicked towards her hair and Ava remembered the changes wrought by the godmother.
“Oh, of course,” she said, giving him a smile. “You are, as always, right, cousin.”
They had now reached Ariana and the woman smiled, somehow making the expression both a welcome and a question.
“Greetings!” Hans said. “My name is Harry and this is my young cousin, Anna. I am escorting her to join her father, a travelling merchant who is currently at the Arcadian capital. Anna had intended to spend the summer with her relatives in Rangmeros but…” he made a face at the merchant. “Her family would prefer she re-join her father and I would prefer not to be travelling the roads with just the two of us. I’m trained as a wagon guard and would be happy to offer my services if you would allow us to travel to Arcadia with you.”
“Well now,” said Ariana, “that’s a generous offer.” She seemed to weigh them both with her eyes. Finally she gave a decisive nod. “It can never hurt to have an extra guard in unsettled times like these. Besides, I’m a mother myself, though my children are all grown, and I’d hate to see two young things such as yourselves travelling all alone. So welcome to Caravan Hargrove!”
“Oh, thank you! You’re so kind,” Ava smiled at Ariana, her confidence slowly rising when she saw no hint of recognition in the face of the older woman.
“That’s a beautiful mount you have, my dear,” continued Ariana. “Do you prefer to ride her or would you like me to find you a place in one of the wagons.”
“Oh no, thank you. I’ll ride,” said Ava. She examined the other woman’s face for hidden meaning. Did she recognise Cinnamon and Dusty as royal horses? It now seemed obvious that they should have put some effort into dirtying the animals’ coats at least.
“She is beautiful, isn’t she,” continued Ava, doing her best to look young and pampered. “My father said only the best for his family so he purchased both horses for me from the royal stables. I prefer Cinnamon though. She’s the best mount I’ve ever had, even if she is a bit old.” She stroked Cinnamon’s mane.
“You have a loving father, indeed,” said Ariana. “And a fine horse. As you can see we’re nearly ready to ride out for the day. You’re welcome to ride beside my wagon, Anna, and exchan
ge some pleasantries for a while. Harry, you can go and let my Guardsmaster know I’ve signed you on as an extra guard. He’ll be glad to hear of it and will let you know where he wants to place you.” She pointed towards an older man who sat astride a horse, giving instructions to a group of mounted guards.
Hans looked at Ava, clearly reluctant to be parted from her so soon. She gave him a small glare and waved him away. With a small nod he rode off towards the Guardsmaster.
“He’s a protective one, isn’t he?” said Ariana with a chuckle. “I can imagine the family’s given him all sorts of dire warnings should he let any harm befall you.”
Ava smiled confidingly. “I’m afraid my father is a little overprotective and all the rest of the family lives in fear of him.”
“Oh aye,” said Ariana, “I know the type. Well, don’t you fear. No-one’s ever yet come to harm in my caravan. I’m famous for it.” She straightened her shoulders but then seemed to deflate a little. “Well, there was one time…” She laughed, apparently at herself. “But even that turned out for the best. It was a minor mishap and had me right worried but it all came out better than anyone could have dreamed!”
Ava had no idea what Ariana was talking about but smiled encouragingly anyway. After all, Anna was friendly and loved to listen to other people’s stories.
By the time Caravan Hargrove got underway, Ava had no extra information about the single mishap that turned out for the best but she did know the names of each of Ariana’s children and the many virtues of each of her grandchildren. As she slipped deeper and deeper into the role of Anna, she even began to find herself interested in the people Ariana was describing. None of the woman’s children were part of her caravan and there was something fascinating about this glimpse into the lives of the middle class. A little wistfully she thought that it sounded like they were a happy, if far flung, family.
She only felt nervous once, when Ariana confessed that Ava reminded her of someone.
“She’s someone I knew a long time ago and I always wanted to help her but I never had the opportunity and won’t ever have now,” the older woman said. “So it makes me feel good to help you.”
The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood (The Four Kingdoms Book 2) Page 4