As they got near the city, Erin stopped to hitch Dinner’s halter to Éimhin’s saddle. They didn’t want to lose the little donkey in the crowds or to a thief. Finally, they reached the city gates and lost themselves in the pandemonium of the crowd. Bethany kept close to Erin, not wanting to get separated.
Much like the other cities they had entered, Bethany felt a certain awe. Nava was more like Dothan than any other place they had yet been. It made sense, having once been a Tokë city. It had been conquered by Wolfric nearly five years ago. Bethany remember when the news had arrived in Dothan. Her father had been shocked and distraught. It was a huge blow to the Tokë nation. Nava produced a large supply of fish. It wasn’t as high of quality or as sought after as the fish from Topaq, but it had been a major industry for her people. More importantly, all these people had fallen under the vengeful fist of Wolfric.
Bethany couldn’t help but look into their faces and see the effects of Wolfric’s handling, or was it the local lord? The poorer inhabitants were thin and their clothing patched and threadbare. Bethany felt her heart ache as she watched these haggard men and women pass her in the streets.
After a long, tiring trudge through the busy streets, they reached the docks. To Bethany’s surprise, the docks were even more crowded than the streets. Erin guided them over to a little nook between stacks of cargo waiting to be loaded on a nearby ship.
“Wait here. I’ll ask around.”
“Will you be recognized?” Bethany asked.
“Not likely. Never been here before.”
Bethany was about to ask him how he knew his way around, but he tossed her Éimhin’s reins and took off into the ever-shifting throng. It was a long while before Erin returned, and Bethany found herself the object of scrutiny by many men as they passed, some glaring at her, other licking their lips. She fingered the hilt of her dagger, letting the solid object remind her of the strength she had gained since leaving Tolad. She wasn’t the victim any more.
Erin appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
“Well?” she asked, though the look on his face gave her a pretty good notion of how his search had ended.
“No one here sails into Tokë ports.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“Me too,” he said with a nod. “Looks like we’re walking.”
Bethany nodded, trying her best not to show her disappointment. Traveling was beginning to wear on her, but she refused to complain. She had a suspicion half of the problems subsisting between them were due to their increased exhaustion. Erin was just as tired of traveling as she was.
“Let’s get some supplies and get out of here,” he suggested as he took the reins from her.
They pushed their way back into the flowing mob and followed the crowd to the central market. From within the open square, Bethany could see the highest point of the city’s keep. She wondered who was lord over the city now. From where she stood, the stone structure looked worn, sad even, as though it had endured decades of neglect and was as dilapidated as she felt.
Bethany forced her eyes off the distant building and watched the people go by as she followed Erin around the wide market square. There was everything from dried apples to bundles of wool for sale. Bethany noticed a number of stalls selling cloth, but she forced herself to turn away. The outfit she had been wearing for the last three months would be sufficient to get her home.
The princess felt a chuckle build in her stomach as she thought of the change that had taken place. Less than a year ago she would not have fathomed wearing the same dress to dinner as she had worn throughout the day, and now she couldn’t even remember the color of the last dress she had worn.
Men have it off easy, she decided as she glanced down at her dirty leather trousers. Pants are much more useful than dresses.
Bethany looked up, her eyes resting on a man staring at her. It took her a second to realize she recognized him, and he her: Lyolf, second son of Wolfric.
“Erin,” she whispered, barely moving her lips, her eyes still trained on Lyolf.
“What?”
Out of the corner of her eye, Bethany saw the knight look at her then follow her line of sight. He froze as he recognized the prince.
“Shit,” she heard him whisper.
Lyolf turned away, talking to a city guard standing beside him. A second later, the guard gave him a little bow and walked away. Lyolf caught their attention again before nodding toward a little alley.
“Should we follow him?” she asked.
“You stay in the market. I’ll see what he wants. If I’m taken you get out of this city immediately.”
“Nice try, Erin, but I’m going with you.’
“Please don’t fight with me on this one,” he sighed.
“All right, I won’t fight with you, but I also won’t be left behind. You trained me so that we could work as a team. We are safer together than we are apart.”
Erin glared at her. “I don’t know what Lyolf wants. This could be a trap.”
Bethany ground her teeth together before forcing the words from her lips. “I know that. But I’m NOT leaving your side. Now c’mon. He’s probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”
With that, Bethany led the way through the crowd toward the shaded alleyway. They found Lyolf halfway down the alley, standing by himself and staring at the ground. He looked up at them and smiled.
“Wasn’t sure you were going to come,” he said as a greeting.
“What are you doing in Nava?” Bethany asked, trying to sound like they were old friends; in truth, her gut was tightening with nervousness. What if Erin was right?
“First, let me say, your escape is not known throughout Nava. No doubt Wolfric never imagined you’d get this far—the fool. And I have no intentions of calling attention to your presence. I was happy to see you escape.”
“Happy?” asked Erin, his voice dripping with doubt and suspicion.
“I always thought of you as a friend, Cal, and I hated to see you on the road to death.”
“Especially when it was all my fault,” Bethany added, shrugging her thin shoulders.
Lyolf laughed. “That it was.” He stared at her more closely. “It does me good to see you safe, Princess, and I’m sorry for the pain my family has caused you.”
Bethany nodded to him slowly as a formal acceptance of his apology, much like she would have within Wolfric’s court.
“Now, Lyolf, what are you doing in Nava?” Bethany asked.
Lyolf chuckled again, his face turning a little red.
“After you two disappeared, all hell broke loose. In the heat of it all, I addressed the long-silenced issue.”
“Your parentage?” Bethany asked, just to be sure.
The prince nodded. “Wolfric wasn’t too happy with me for forcing us to talk about, and mother was beyond upset. Despite the blow out, Wolfric was generous to me. Or at least I thought so until I got here. He gave me the estate here in Nava. I was quite shocked until I saw the estate. Bit of a project, really.” Lyolf turned to Erin and continued, “I could sure use a good man, Cal, if you’d be willing to stay. I’ll send an escort to get the princess home.”
Bethany glanced up at Erin. She had no doubt her eyes were showing the panic growing inside her. Had this offer been made a few weeks ago she would have had no doubt that he would complete the task, but after so many days of bickering and painful silence, Bethany didn’t feel any confidence. Erin looked down at her for a second before shaking his head.
“Thank you, my lord, but I have promised Bethany to see her safely home.”
Lyolf’s lips slowly pulled up into a smile. “I see how it is. I can’t argue with that. We’ll c’mon. You two need a good meal. So do your horses,” he added, his eyes glancing back at their animals.
“Thank you, my lord,” repeated Erin. “But I do not think it would be wise for us to enter your keep. No offense intended, but I would not feel comfortable surrounded by Wolfric’s men.”
Lyolf
hesitated a moment before nodding. “Of course. I’ll take you to an inn and feed you up. Oh, and none of this ‘my lord’ shit. I renounced my position entirely. Just a knight, now.”
They followed the ex-prince to a small, backwater inn. Lyolf saw them seated with a large, hot meal before them, their animals being tended to and fed.
“Now, you two eat and rest while I organize some supplies. Don’t worry,” he added when Erin began to object, “I will collect the supplies myself. My men will have nothing to do with it.”
With this statement, Lyolf exited the noisy inn.
“What do you think that’s all about?” Erin asked, leaning toward Bethany and speaking softly.
Bethany let out a frustrated sigh before taking a large bite of food. She chewed a few times before talking around the food in a way her mother would have smacked her over.
“Erin, you are beyond belief. Lyolf sees you as a friend. He wants to see you safely away and he’s helping you!”
Erin looked at her for a second before taking a bite of his own food.
Lyolf exited the inn. He couldn’t even begin to describe how amazed he was to see Cal and the princess standing in the middle of his market place. He had never expected them to make it this far, especially with that Pelor man going after them. He was genuinely happy to see them alive and well, though a little piece of his mind wondered if he was being untrue to his family by not turning them in.
We have all made it free of Wolfric’s grasp, he thought as he trudged back to the market place to purchase supplies for them. Only that isn’t exactly true, he realized. I’m still working for Wolfric. Nava is part of his vast nation.
Lyolf thought on his realization the whole time he was working his way through the market place. He didn’t want to be under the king’s thumb any longer. That had been a contributing factor in him choosing the estate over the army, and yet he was now realizing just how stuck he really was. He just wanted to be free to live his own life. Before long, Wolfric would call on his soldiers to fight against Tokë.
Can’t Wolfic just leave well enough alone? he wondered as he threw the last, large sack over his back.
He understood Cal’s concern, but another pair of hands would have been helpful.
When he got back to the inn, he found the princess leaning against Cal’s arm and dozing lightly. He felt a smile pull at his lips.
Who would have thought those two would end up together? he thought as he crossed the room, bumping into people with his large burdens.
He reached their bench near the fire, dropped the burlap sacks to the ground, and collapsed into the available space next to Cal.
“Sorry I couldn’t get more,” he sighed. “The estate was given to me in such shambles, most of the money I came here with has already been spent.”
“You are more than generous,” Bethany said, having woken up at his voice.
“I got you some feed for the animals, extra fortified, though you shouldn’t have as much trouble with them grazing now you’re out of the desert. Also,” the ex-prince continued, listing off the items, “two pounds of jerked beef, a wheel of hard cheese, and one loaf of bread as a treat. I also got you two fresh pouches for water. I wasn’t sure what conditions yours were in.”
“They’re close to cracking,” Cal admitted as he fumbled with the pouch at his belt and retrieved their two last coins. He held them out for Lyolf.
“Not necessary, Cal. You guys need that money more than I do. You still have a long way ahead of you. And the White Caps will be difficult to pass, even with spring coming on. The locals say there’s always snow up there.”
“There usually is,” Bethany said in agreement.
“I forgot you’d be familiar with them, my lady.”
Bethany waved her hand. “I think we’re beyond such formalities, Lyolf.”
Lyolf smiled and nodded. “I can get you a room here, if you’d like?”
“We need to keep moving. It’s still early in the day,” said Cal.
Lyolf nodded before standing. Cal followed him. They grasped arms.
“Best of luck to you both,” Lyolf said before leaving them.
Chapter Thirty
It had been three days since they left Nava, well supplied by Lyolf’s generosity. For the first time in their journey, they were eating well, but that seemed to be the only thing going their way. Beyond Nava, as they grew closer to the border between the Tokë and Aardê lands, they began to notice more and more troops. The change forced them off the roads and into the countryside, slowing their pace.
Bethany walked behind Erin, staring at his back. She didn’t know why they were still not talking or what had happened to make him so distant.
Well, if the quiet doesn’t bother him, it won’t bother me either, she thought to herself.
Of course, it was a lie and she knew it. The silence between them bothered her tremendously. As they grew closer to her homeland, her thoughts ran more and more to what it would be like to face her family again, for the first time in nearly a year. And each time her thoughts went to that future date, she reminded herself that Erin would be by her side. Now, as their emotional distance grew, she began to wonder if that would be true.
Yes, he will be, she told herself. Even if I have to make it so.
“What do you think you’ll want to do once we get to Dothan?” she asked out loud in the hopes of breaking the silence. “I’m sure my brother would hire you, or would you rather not be in court anymore? There are many wealthy families in and around Dothan. I could get you a job with one of them, doing security or something like that.”
“Who says I’ll want to work after I get my reward,” grumbled Erin.
This silenced her. He hadn’t spoken of a reward since their first couple of weeks. In many ways, she had assumed he had stopped considering it as part of his future. Up until their unexplained falling out, she had sort of assumed he would want to work for her family, alongside her.
“Oh yes, of course! You wouldn’t need to. How silly of me,” she said cheerfully, trying to hide the hurt she felt in her heart.
Bethany looked at the ground as she walked, unsure why his words hurt so badly.
He’s not your friend, you foolish girl, a voice in the back of her head said. He’s your employee. Stop trying to make him out to be more.
Bethany felt the pressure behind her eyes that signaled more crying. She bit down on her tongue, refusing to let the tears out. She had done enough crying.
Tears don’t help anyone.
Bethany cleared her throat and forced her attention on their surroundings.
“You okay?” Erin asked without looking back at her.
“Fine,” she lied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Erin shrugged his wide shoulders.
Before either of them could speak again, a voice called out to them. They both turned to see a middle-aged man and young woman striding toward them from the edge of a plowed field.
“You there,” called the man, waving one arm over his head. “Stop, I say.”
“Let me lead,” ordered Erin as he stopped and turned back toward the newcomers.
Bethany didn’t argue. They didn’t look like they were in need of a healer, so she doubted there would be a reason to argue.
“I say,” said the man as he reached them, his chest rising and falling quickly from his brisk walk across the field. “What are you doing on my land?”
Erin gave a little bow. “Sorry, sir. We were just trying to cut across country.”
“Well, you can’t just walk across someone’s plowed field like this, with those big horses,” grumbled the farmer.
Bethany lost interest in the conversation and began looking about, wondering where the farmhouse was and what sort of crops they grew. She finally noticed a little coppice of trees and assumed the house was tucked within it.
“Bethany?” a female voice whispered.
Bethany glanced around, her eyes finally falling on the young woman who had
stopped a couple feet away. The two men stopped their argument and looked at them, while the young woman took a few steps closer.
“Have you come to haunt me?” The woman’s voice quivered.
Bethany stared at her, trying to place her familiar features.
“Nuala?” Bethany asked before she had even realized who the woman was. “Is that really you? What are you doing here?”
Bethany dropped her horse’s reins and grabbed the other woman in hug. The woman pushed away frantically, and Bethany realized what was bothering her. Everyone who knew her from that time thought she was dead.
“I’m alive,” Bethany announced unnecessarily. “I didn’t die in the attack. What are you doing here, in Aardê territory?”
“You know her?” asked Erin.
At the same moment, the woman dropped to her knees in the mud, bowing low before her princess.
“None of that!” shouted Bethany as she jumped forward to stop the woman. She glanced at the farmer but he seemed mostly confused. In a softer voice, Bethany added, “This is not a safe place to be known. I knew Nuala from… um… my earlier days.”
Nuala smiled. “Egor, here, is my husband. He knows my history, and doesn’t care what nationality I am.”
“War’s none of my business, ma’am,” he said, nodding his head to her.
“Egor, this is Princes Bethany, daughter to King Middin.”
The farmer’s eyes went wide and, like his wife, he dropped in the mud to bow to her. Bethany helped him back to his feet.
“Whether we like it or not, Egor, war is everyone’s business,” she said as he climbed back to his feet.
“You might be right at that, Princess. We won’t tell nobody that we saw you. After all, I was Tokë once myself.”
“Once?” asked Bethany.
“Well now, Wolfric’s men came and said they ruled this land now. Who’m I to say different.”
“Egor, who the lord of the land is has no bearing on who you are. You are still Tokë in my eyes.”
“I guess it don’t matter none, m’lady. Not like anyone cares what I think.”
The Dothan Chronicles: The Complete Trilogy Page 54