“I earn my wage like a grown man.” The lad puffed out his chest.
My respect for Ofie increased. Most children among the desert traders helped with the work, but they did it to learn, and to increase their family’s strings and standing within the caravan. It was kind of Ofie to pay his cousin in coin.
The groaning and bellowing of the camels continued throughout the loading process, stopping only once all the provisions and tents were stowed and the loads complete. Most of the traders would walk, but some camels had been fitted with saddles for the royals and the nobles still accompanying the Tour.
Some of the older ones looked dismayed at the idea, but Celine and the princes clambered effortlessly onto the backs of the kneeling animals. The two princes shared a beast, and I was ushered up behind Celine on hers. I had expected to walk but secretly felt a little relieved. It had been far too long since I’d spent a day walking beside a camel string, and I wasn’t entirely sure I would still be able to do it. At least not for a full day.
Our camel was led directly by an older camel-puller, as was the one ridden by Frederic and Cassian. A line of camels stretched behind both animals, each secured to the one in front with a rope.
“Woah,” said Celine as our camel stood to its feet, rocking us in the process. She peered sideways and down. “We’re a long way up.”
I had managed to put together a very basic wrap for all three royals the night before. They would stay on at least, even if they weren’t as elegant as they would be once I put some more work into them. Celine looked over at the camel which carried her brothers, examining the bright material that draped over the saddle.
“I’ve seen camels before, of course,” she said. “Even if they rarely come into Lanare, they’re common enough in Largo. But somehow it’s different from up here. When I was a child I couldn’t understand why the desert traders were different from the regular traveling merchants, but it’s obvious really.”
“The camels used to scare me a little when I first arrived with the traders,” I admitted. “But I got used to them soon enough. You will too.”
She nodded, peering over the edge with fascination again.
The nomadic desert traders were an off shoot of sorts from the traveling merchants. They were much more restricted in their area of operation and differed in many of their customs, but they were still bound by the rules and treaties of the merchant council. I had thought this unfair when I first arrived since the desert traders only ever sent a couple of representatives north when a council of caravans was called.
But the traders had soon explained to me that the protections provided by the binding were worth the restrictions. “Without them we would be vulnerable,” the older camel-pullers had explained to us youngsters around the fire.
The traveling merchants operated apart from the laws of any individual kingdom. Their own complicated set of laws were administered by the caravan leader or, if necessary, a council comprised of the merchants’ most senior leaders. The treaty between the merchants and the kingdoms was one of the oldest in existence. It provided the caravans with freedom of movement and protection from persecution, among other things. Any violation of the treaty could result in a merchant ban against an entire kingdom, an event of which any sane ruler lived in fear. The merchant council would deal swiftly with any caravan greedy enough to enter a kingdom under a ban.
The camel caravans worked closely with the ordinary merchant caravans, the horses and wagons taking the goods on to the places the camels couldn’t go. Thanks to the desert traders, the merchants didn’t have to fight their way through the jungle down to southern Largo or take ships and risk the treacherous reefs along the coast. Instead they collected the goods closer to Lanare and distributed them to the capital and up to the northern kingdoms.
It was an arrangement that benefited everyone. And the protection provided by the merchant treaty was doubly needed by the desert traders who were geographically tied to Lanover and the Great Desert that ran along its eastern border. It meant they weren’t true subjects of the Lanoverian crown, but given their inability to move to another kingdom as the merchants could, they had long ago sworn a limited fealty to respect Lanoverian laws alongside merchant ones in exchange for protection and favor from the crown.
The desert traders treated the royals with all due respect, and slowly the Tour participants became somewhat inured to the burning heat of the desert sun. Celine never seemed to adjust fully to the dry heat, but she developed a strange affection for the grumpy camels that often made me laugh.
She marveled at their many uses, drinking the camel milk that sustained us all with delight and laughing every time she saw a camel-puller who had run out yarn for his knitting reach back to pull some hair from one of the animals. She made me explain to her how they could spin the hair into yarn on the move and even show her how to knit something herself.
But she was soon distracted from the camels by a far more fascinating situation.
“Evie,” she murmured quietly to me one day as we sat upon our camel for hour after plodding hour. “Have you noticed that beautiful girl?” She pointed to a young desert trader who rode a string ahead of us.
“Yes, of course,” I said. “How could anyone not notice Tillara?” I remembered Tillie from my days with the traders as a child. The few days I had spent with Caravan Adira in my childhood had been mostly spent with Ofie. But all the children knew Tillie. Even then she had been set apart.
The daughter of the leader of Caravan Adira, she had been trained as a leader, not a camel-puller, and had often directed our haphazard games. We had deferred to her naturally and would have done so no doubt despite her excessive beauty which stood out even in childhood. She simply had an air about her that made others wish to be near her and to listen to what she had to say.
“Well, it’s not really notice her I mean.” She paused and glanced sideways at her brothers, lowering her voice again. “Have you noticed anything strange about Cassian?”
“Ooohhhh.” I considered her question, looking between the prince and the girl up ahead of us. “He has seemed even more reserved and detached than usual, possibly.” I knit my brows. “Do you think that means something?”
Celine nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, mmhmm, absolutely. He stares at her all the time, and I don’t think he’s spoken in her presence even once. He’s in love with her.”
I felt a twinge of unease. Was that really enough evidence to draw such a conclusion? There were probably plenty of people who Cassian had never spoken to. I expressed my doubt.
“Oh, no,” said Celine. “It’s not just that he’s never spoken to her, it’s that he doesn’t speak at all when she’s around. I know he’s reserved, but he’s also usually self-assured. He doesn’t really get nervous, precisely. Well, not before now.”
I considered her words. She was right. Maybe?
“Well, what if he is in love with her?” I said. “It’s none of our business. She might not be a traditional choice, but you said yourself the alliances with other kingdoms are all taken care of by your other siblings. A closer link with the merchants and traders wouldn’t be a bad thing for Lanover.”
“But exactly,” said Celine.
“Why do I have a sinking feeling in my stomach?” I asked.
“Because you know I’m right,” said Celine promptly. “You know I’m right, and you know we have a hard job before us.”
“We do?”
“Yes. Because he clearly needs all the help he can get.”
I narrowed my eyes and wondered if I should just push Celine off the camel right now. For poor Cassian’s sake. But then I looked between the prince and the trader girl. She would make a wonderful princess, and it did seem like Cassian might need some help…
That evening Celine cornered Frederic.
“Frederic,” she said without preamble, “Cassian needs our help.”
“He does?” Frederic looked back and forth between the two of us before settling h
is eyes on me. “Why do I suddenly feel afraid?”
“I know exactly the feeling,” I said, “but don’t look at me. She’s not my sister.”
Frederic groaned. “What has poor Cassian done now?”
“The question,” said Celine, not in the least abashed, “is not what he’s done but rather what he hasn’t done. And what he hasn’t done is talk to Tillara. Or around Tillara. Not even once.”
A dawning look of shock passed over Frederic’s face. “Are you saying you think…”
Celine put her hands on her hips. “Just think about it for a minute, Frederic. You know him better than any of us.”
Frederic frowned, clearly deep in thought. “You know, now that you mention it…”
“So, as I said, he needs our help.”
Frederic looked uneasy. “Now hold on just a second, Celine. I’m sure the last thing Cassian wants is any of us getting involved.”
Celine raised an eyebrow. “That’s all very well, Frederic, but what exactly do you think is going to happen if we leave him to sort it out for himself?” She didn’t wait for her brother to answer. “Nothing. Nothing is what’s going to happen.”
Frederic looked at me, and I held up both hands.
“Don’t look at me, I didn’t notice anything until she pointed it out.”
“I have to admit it’s true,” said Celine sadly. “While Evie is a more than satisfactory friend and seamstress, she’s been a highly unsatisfactory partner in crime.”
Frederic threw me a look full of such admiration that I actually blushed. “That’s high praise indeed. I hope you feel honored, Evie.”
I grinned back at him, filled with a warm glow that he still wished to joke with me after everything that had passed between us, and that I now knew him well enough to be confident when his serious manner hid a jest.
“Oh, absolutely,” I said, grinning back. “I have rarely received such an accolade.”
“You are both highly disappointing,” said Celine. “But I will not be distracted. The first step, I think, is to get close to this Tillara.” She turned her bright gaze on me. “Do you know her, Evie? From when you used to live here?”
“Yeesss,” I said, drawing the word out with reluctance.
“Excellent.” Celine clapped her hands together. “Let’s go find her, and you can use your old ties to reminisce and get close to her.”
“I can what?” I said, just as Frederic said, “Right now?”
Celine ignored us both. “Let’s go.” She got several steps before looking back at us. We hadn’t moved. “Well? Come on!”
I stepped forward, a little reluctantly. I hadn’t spent much time with Caravan Adira, and Tillie and I had never been friends, exactly. Although she had never done anything to ostracize me, either. I just didn’t know if she would even remember me, let alone put any value on our past connection.
Frederic looked like he wasn’t going to come until Celine fixed him with a withering stare. “You wouldn’t leave Evie to face this alone, would you, Frederic?”
He fell into line after that.
“Only three more years,” he muttered to me under his breath as we trailed behind Celine.
I looked at him with a question in my eyes.
“Only three more years until she’s eighteen, and I can ship her off to make a marriage alliance somewhere. I keep telling myself it’s not that long, but…”
I stifled a laugh, knowing he didn’t really mean it. “You’d miss her if she was gone, admit it.”
He looked at me and grinned, the full smile I didn’t get to see often enough. “You’ll have to take pity on me and keep me company when that day comes, Evie.”
My lips twitched, but I kept my eyes on the sand ahead of me, hoping he couldn’t see the warmth in my cheeks. What did he mean?
A quiet intake of breath made my eyes fly back to his face. His gaze was fixed on my lips. I flushed again.
“I found her,” called Celine, distracting us both. She flew back and pulled me forward by the hand, pointing to where the other girl sat beside a newly-lit campfire. Sighing, I walked forward out of the gloom of twilight and into the cheery circle cast by the dancing flames.
To my relief, the other girl leaped to her feet at the sight of me and circled the fire in my direction.
“Tillie.” I reached to embrace her.
“Evie!” She placed a kiss on each of my cheeks. “Ofie told me you were here, I should have come to find you earlier.” Her voice sounded just as musical as I remembered.
I shook my head. “You have many responsibilities, I hear.” I let some teasing seep into my voice.
Tillie laughed, the sound like tinkling bells, and nodded. “Oh, so boring, is it not? Would that we were carefree children again.”
“Except we had Ofie, so I’m not sure I’d consider it carefree.” I grinned at her.
“Oh, Ofie.” She sighed. “No, I suppose you are right.”
I remembered the reason for my presence here and gestured toward the other two. “You’ve met Princess Celine and Prince Frederic, of course.”
“Certainly,” she said with a small curtsy. “We are honored to host them in Caravan Adira.”
“As we are honored to be here.” Frederic gave a half bow.
“Yes,” said Celine, jumping in. “So honored that we would like to invite you to eat the evening meal with us tomorrow.”
“How kind,” she said, looking between us with curiosity.
I forced a smile. “You’ll have to fill me in on all the news.”
“But of course,” she said with a smile of her own. “It has been so many years.”
“Yes, indeed,” said Frederic. “I would love to hear some stories about Caravan Adira and Caravan Osmira when the two of you were children.”
A noticeable hush fell over the group around the fire. Several of Tillie’s companions placed their palms to their chests as the camel-puller had done earlier. Tillie herself gripped both my arms and rested her forehead against mine.
“We grieve together.” She said the rote words quietly.
“And together we find the strength to go on.” I struggled to get the traditional reply from my suddenly tight throat.
Celine and Frederic watched us with questions on their faces that no one attempted to answer.
Chapter 21
Celine allowed us all to retreat after that, but she soon fell behind Frederic and me, getting further and further back until she disappeared into the darkness between campfires. I sighed silently. I shouldn’t have been surprised, not when she had matchmaking so firmly on her mind.
We walked silently through the murmur of voices and the occasional grumble of a camel. When we neared our own section of tents, Frederic paused and gestured toward the edge of the camp where the sand dunes stretched away in almost complete darkness.
“It’s a perfect night to view the stars.”
I murmured a soft agreement and let him lead the way out onto the closest dune. The camp stretched out on one side of us, the darkness on the other. Tilting my head, I gazed up into the endless night sky. How many times had I gazed at it thus? And yet my skin had never tingled so at the awareness of someone beside me in the night.
“I feel as if I’m fumbling in the dark,” said Frederic, breaking the stillness with soft words.
I bit my lip on a return quip. This time his serious tone reflected a serious mood.
“Why does everyone react so when I mention Caravan Osmira?”
I turned to look at him but could make out only the dim outline of his face. “You truly do not know?”
“Obviously not.”
I opened my mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. “I thought you must know. It was six years ago now, but still, I thought…You’re a prince…”
He turned to face me, his eyes reflecting light from the camp behind us. “So it does not just involve you, then? Tillara was not offering you condolences for being abandoned.”
I shook my head. �
��She does not—” I cleared my throat and tried again. “She likely does not even know of it.”
He sucked in a breath. “How is that possible? She knows you left the caravan.”
I shook my head again. “No.” The word was such a quiet whisper I forced myself to speak more loudly. “No, she knows my caravan was taken from me.”
“Taken…?”
I swallowed. “They consolidated the strings and had no more string for me to lead. Some argued that I should stay, that they would grow their camel numbers again. But others said I would be just another mouth to feed until then. I was no kin of theirs, and they had younglings growing who would soon enough be ready for strings of their own.”
I swayed, and he placed a hand beneath my elbow, steadying me.
“Someone said one of the jungler women had offered for them to leave me with her. They agreed they would do so the next time we stopped at the village.” I paused to take a deep breath. “It’s so near the eastern border of the jungle that the caravans will send a single laden string to the village if they have goods to sell or receive. But that means it is also near enough that a determined girl may walk the path out alone.”
His hand on my elbow tightened.
“For three years I learned the trader ways. I had come so close to being accepted. I could not bear to throw it all away. So I followed them back to the desert.” My voice dropped to a whisper. “I have wished sometimes since, in my darkest moments, that they had never left me. That I had still been with them when death came calling.”
“Death?”
Silent tears tracked down my face as I struggled to keep my voice steady. “Those who hadn’t been taken by the arrows or the sword had been burned. All of them. Everything. The goods, the tents, the camels, the men and women, the elders—” My voice cracked. “Even the children. Everything. When I at last stumbled into the desert there was nothing but their blackened remains. I counted them…”
The Princess Search: A Retelling of The Ugly Duckling (The Four Kingdoms Book 5) Page 16