The Fugitive Prince

by Daniel Arndt

  “What is wrong with you?! We are trying to get away from the mercenaries trying to kill you and you’re doing this? Are you somewhere else? Are you trying to get us all killed?!”

  Valente barely brought his gaze from the ground as he peered from the guilt-ridden shadow that engulfed him and towards the huntress. His blue eyes were drenched with a dark tiredness.

  “You’re right. I’ve caused nothing but harm to you and others.”

  The defeated and empty tone of the prince chilled the huntress more than the cold winds of the mountain. Cass put aside her fury. Her voice lifted up in concern.

  “Val, are you alright?”

  Valente could not stand the guilt or the question as he collapsed to his knees in the snow.

  “I got them killed. I got them all killed… Bellie, Elan, even Arthan. They died because they tried to help. I did nothing for them but caused them suffering! They died for me and I am nothing.”

  Valente threw his hands into the snow. Cass stepped forward as she outreached her open palm towards the prince.

  “Val… I-”

  Valente shot from the snow and knocked aside Cass’s hand. His head riddled with twisted certainty as it shook back and forth in a tumble of guilt.

  “I can’t let you or Gregor help me anymore. You’ve done more than enough. I can’t put you both at risk. I can’t have you dying for me. I’m not even a real prince! I lost my crest. That’s why they are dead!”

  Valente tossed his snow-covered hand behind him as he furiously pointed to the pillar of burning smoke.

  “If I can’t even protect a loyal Tharian, how can I protect anyone, especially you?”

  Arthan’s words bubbled under Valente’s skin.

  “‘A king without a kingdom is a fool. A kingdom without its people is ruins.’ I have neither.”

  Valente lowered his pointing hand and clenched it into his chest; his other pressed deeply against the snowy ground.

  “Without my crest. I’m nothing. There’s no way I’ll be able to get home without it. No one has seen me in years, and even then I was a child. I have no proof. I have no claim. I’m nothing but a spoiled fool!”

  Cass stood over Valente. Her heart filled with pity, as its weight pulled her down beside Valente as she kneeled in the snow.

  “Valente.”

  Her hand moved up to find rest on the prince’s shoulder.

  “I’ve only known you for so long, but you are much more than just nothing. You are more noble and chivalrous than any Liosian or Tharian I have ever met. You care about your country with unfailing duty even though they traded you away. You were even willing to travel across Farlos and through hostile lands to save them.”

  Cass fond smile jumped at Valente.

  “You even risked it all to save me.”

  Cass’s light hand tightened on Valente’s shoulders as she softly spoke.

  “No crest, nor crown you are still a prince. If not to a kingdom, at the very least to me.”

  Valente stared into the snow. His hands coldly imprinted in the white fuzz. The cool blanket of flakes wrapped around his arms beckoning him to lie in it and give up. He looked up. Cassandra kneeled above him. Her braid messily tossed along her arm, her hood tossed wildly between the worlds of off and on, her eyes filled with a consideration that he could not shake, and her hand once again outstretched towards him as she stood. Cass let her smile lightly remain showing. Though the weight still lingered, Valente could not resist as he reached to take her hand. Gregor approached over Cass’s shoulder.

  “What about using those legs do you two not understand?”

  The knight brashly looked over the snowy prince.

  “You fall in the snow there Val? Come on. We have to get some distance-”

  Cass raised a hand to cut off the knight.

  “It’s okay. You scout ahead. I’ll make sure we keep up.”

  Gregor shortened his sigh and gave a firm nod. He spun and forged ahead grumbling about the youth of today. Cass looked at Valente and her eyes glimmered. Her grip tightened on his hand.

  “Valente I said I would help you get home, and I keep my promises. We won’t need your crest to prove you’re the prince. I don’t know how, but we’ll find a way.”

  Cass helped the prince back to his feet.

  “Besides. I still need to get paid. A mansion of men remember?”

  Valente did his best to smile in the unforgiving cold.

  “You’re right… I am indebted to you Cassandra of Riverperch.”

  “It’s Riverpeek.”

  “That’s what I said.”

  The prince let the exchange of words settle in his flustered mind as he looked up at the line of black smoke behind him for a final time. The debt carried away in the fumes, however, was one he could never pay. With the burden of a heavy price, Valente marched north. This deep memory etched itself into his mind giving him new meaning and purpose as it spurred his steps.

  I have to be strong.

  Sprouts of evergreens spread along the rocky path of the mountain crest. Cass admired these trees. Each served as a testament to their stubborn and resilient nature. Regardless of their circumstance or place, they had risen to be strong and prosperous feats of the wild while providing shelter to the creatures of the mountaintop. Cass looked back at Valente who had long been trailing behind. She had convinced him to keep going, but the guilt visibly sat on his shoulders as he trudged deeply into the snow. Cass faced forward along the path.

  They had caught up with the knight. Gregor was now looking among the trees scouting every portion of the frosty mountain he could navigating the path forward. The recent snowfall had made progress more difficult as the purity of the snow seemingly erased the trail. Cass increased her pace and trudged up beside the knight. Gregor nodded at his incoming companion. She nodded back and turned to the mountainside. The crest in front of her carried on the side of the frosted peaks far into the northern horizon, but here it split in twain. A lower path carved itself into the side of the mountain and slithered out among the evergreens. Cass pointed as she marched beside Gregor.

  “Looks like we can travel along the backs of the trees down there. On that lower ridge, maybe we can find a path down.”

  Cass looked at Gregor. The knight’s worried eyes were already fixed on the lower ridge’s form.

  “Aye Cassy. But, those are mountain wolf territory.”

  The large Liosian pointed to a tree in front of the gathering below. Near the base of the tree, the bark had been scratched off revealing a band of wood underneath. The tree itself had turned grey and its needles had browned. Many of the small blades had sprinkled themselves onto the snowy ground. She turned to the knight for answers.

  “What did that?”

  Gregor rubbed some sense into his beard.

  “Pack of wolves. They use trees to clean and sharpen their claws by scratching the bark. A few select ones on the edge of their territory. I’ve never seen them kill a tree before…”

  Cass looked up towards the peak. The crest’s path seemed to go on forever and in full exposure the oncoming winter winds.

  “So it’s freezing to death or eaten by wolves then?”

  Gregor’s grin returned.

  “Reminds me of my training days. It’s about time you two grew some hair on your chest.”

  Cass aimed a confused stare at the knight. He raised both his hands in defense.

  “It’s a figure of speech. Regardless, we must be safe. Wolves are puppies compared to a morpus, but they have the numbers and if we show any weakness, they will exploit it.”

  Cass looked back. The prince had fallen considerably behind. His sluggish steps seemed to take him down the slope he was trying to ascend. Cass’s hood pulled heavily on her head.

  “Gregor…”

  The knight hoisted up his cloak wrapping the fur tighter around his shoulders.

  “Yes, Cassy?”

  Cass moved her hand up to relieve her cloak’s tension as she s
troked her braid.

  “Valente… he…”

  The knight let his smile rest.

  “Is there a problem?”

  Cass constricted her braid as she pointed her head in the climbing prince’s direction.

  “He left his crest at the smith’s… The Iron Stars found it and-”

  “I know.”

  Cass threw her surprise at the knight.

  “How?”

  Gregor squinted into the distance pulling together his thoughts.

  “I didn’t get to this age without being a little perceptive. I saw it when you two kneeled in the snow. I saw it in every step he has taken so far. It’s the weight of guilt. A burden I know all too well.”

  Cass twisted her grip around her hair.

  “Then why don’t you say something? Help him he…”

  Gregor peered deeper into the horizon as his forceful voice pushed the huntress’s assault back.

  “He’s right. It is his fault.”

  Cass released her hair as her fists shot down at her sides.

  “How can you-”

  Gregor pushed over Cass’s objections with his stern tone.

  “It doesn’t mean he should just give up. In life lessons emerge that you have to learn alone. Burdens you pick up so you can be stronger. This is something he needs. He’s not a commoner like us Cassy. Even in Tharia, the royal court is a place where you can’t let a few deaths hold you back from your duty. He’s a king someday.”

  A few deaths.

  Cass closed her mouth as Gregor’s words sank in. The knight’s words stung colder than the frosted wind of the mountain, and even more so because they rang with twisted truth. Gregor walked down the slope letting his massive body pull him down the lower crest path. He left the huntress alone atop the small peak of the ridge. Cass turned her head back to the slope behind her. The prince had made little progress. He seemed to have made barely a few paces in the thick snow. Cass bit her lip in frustration. She had been so caught up in helping him she had not considered letting him help himself.

  He’s a prince. It’s not my place.

  Valente looked up as Cass stood on the snow-ladened hill. His eyes looked for aid. He had grown to rely on her. Cass closed her eyes at him holding back her urge to step down. She deeply exhaled. She moved her bite inwards and into her tongue. Tightening her clenched jaw, she opened her eyes to the prince and simply nodded down at him. Cass turned around letting her fur cloak swing behind her as she followed Gregor towards the treeline.

  Verdant pines popped up all around them piercing the pale blanket of snow. The three had shuffled their way down the slope. The snowy decline twisted through the jutting and frozen rocks as it eventually led to the small forested path. The trees there held off the cold winds as they slowly waved above raking the clouding sky.

  Cass’s eyes did not focus on the trees or the mountain underneath them. They were alert, attentive and awake searching for any signs of wolves the knight had mentioned before. She had never seen a winter wolf, but, if they were anything like the wolves she knew, she wanted to see them first. A tree ahead of the huntress groaned. Gregor leaned against the bark threatening to uproot it as he heavily breathed in. Cass gave him a moment through her scouring gaze. He had not fully recovered from the morpus attack several nights ago. The hike and the cold were not treating him well even with his incredible fortitude. Gregor looked up at the huntress before pushing himself up, smiling, and carrying on. The knight’s training and pride picked him up.

  “I’m not a young as I used to be.”

  Cass let her eyes linger on Gregor’s back as to offer him the little hopeful support he would accept. Gregor looked back, as Cass quickly continued to survey the surroundings. Valente had caught up though he still lingered a few trees behind the rest. His eyes were no longer guilted into the ground as he looked curiously and cautiously around at the woods. His head drifted towards Cass. She focused her attention and gaze elsewhere.

  Hiking carried on for a few tentative hours through trees and over the gradually descending ridge. The effort demanded by the fresh snow and the constant trudge averted most of the mountain’s cold. The marched slowed as it stopped at markings in the snow. A line of deep and snowy indents crossed in front of their path. Gregor stooped over them as Cass arrived beside him. Her focused eyes narrowed over tracks. The knight stood up and traced the path through the trees.

  “Looks like a deer. We follow it we might find a water source. Maybe a river that runs down the mountain. If it feeds into the Araheil, we can follow it down to the border.”

  Cass quietly agreed with the logic with a nodding hood. Her body shivered as it tired of the cold.

  “It’ll be nice to get down from higher up here. We may be able to hunt. We weren’t able to grab many supplies from the smith’s before…”

  Cass let herself trail off as Valente brushed past her cloak and stood beside her. The prince took in the marks in the snow with a considering regard. His eyes lifted from the snow below and he looked at Gregor and Cass with a raised eyebrow.

  “Are we hunting or running?”

  Cass looked at Valente for a moment while his curious gaze ran over her face searching for his answer. His eyes were once more focused but his jaw was tight as he clenched his teeth. Valente hesitantly smiled at the staring huntress. She shook herself free from her prying vision as she reached into her satchel taking out some crumpled bannock and crumbled cheese. She offered the crushed food to the prince.

  “I forgot to give you this earlier. Got caught up in running I-”

  Valente politely smiled at the jumble of rations and declined it with a raised palm.

  “It’s alright. I’m not hungry as of now. But if what you say is right, let’s keep going and see if we can find that deer or the water.”

  The huntress held the clumps of food in her hand for a moment. Their weight seemed to grow in her hands. She closed her fist around them as she replaced them into her satchel. During their travels, the prince had never turned down food regardless of quality. She slowly closed up her satchel and reached up to take out her bow. She examined the prince. Valente hunched himself under his fur cloak while he exhaled into his palms hoping to breathe more life into them. She hesitantly looked at his face and then deeper into the prince’s eyes. Her gradual and tracing eyes were afraid of what she may see. An unmistakable weight still wavered in the prince. The rich blue of his eyes even shone a shade dimmer. Even though a burden burned in him, he was doing his best to move past it. He continued to warm himself by aggressively rubbing his hands together forcing his mind on more immediate issues. His eyes scanned the line of trees the way she would have. Valente’s blue eyes clashed with Cass’s causing her to look away. Cass cupped her hands over her mouth as she warmed them with her breath.

  I hope he’s alright.

  Cass absently rubbed her nervous hands together as she exhaled. The steam of her breath swirled in the cold before it vanished on the wind. Cass did not watch it go as she moved to take the lead. The three began their walk beside the frozen tracks.

  -17-

  The small, ice-covered creek was not far. The tracks ran to it and continued down the mountain. Cass walked alongside the icy, slivering snake that cut through the snow. With her bow out and an arrow at the ready, she was free. The open fields of snow, the familiar greens, browns of the woods, the rustling wind through her hair, and the trees sheltering her, all of it inspired liberty. Though the chilling wind above and the frosty snow below pushed against her, this freedom gave her an irrevocable and unrelenting warmth. Engrossed in the thrill of the hunt, she stepped hastily along the frozen water. Her newfound haste left Valente and Gregor shambling to keep up through the mounds of snow.

  It was not long before she arrived at the rippling pool. The ice that rested upon the surface was greatly fractured into a large and rigid web. The cool liquid seeped from the cracks forming several thirst-quenching puddles. Pushing together her parched lips, she sc
anned the surrounding for the tracks. The hoof prints curved into the nearest edge of the water and continued towards the far side. Cass lowered her bow as her eyes ran over a new set of tracks. Though faded and well hidden in fresh snow, the paw prints could only belong to a wolf. Exhaling, the huntress slung her bow upon her back letting it rest as she took out her flask. She placed it against the broken ice. The cool water quietly trickled into her empty flask. The bubbling freshness of the crystal fluid sparkled as it spiraled into the slowly filling flask. Its enticing flow forced Cass’s impatience to spark a rapacious drink. The sudden chill caused her tongue to recoil and twist to balance against it. The refreshing sensation was worth the chilling discomfort. Cass lowered her flask again and continued to refill it.

  Valente and Gregor marched between the trees and caught up with Cass. Trying to match her speed had been difficult and even forced Gregor to crouch beside the now kneeling prince. Looking towards the huntress their eyes landed on the icy and fragmented mirror. They quickly mimicked Cass as they began filling their bottles and their mouths with the much-needed water.

  Valente greedily gulped down the cold fluid. A sharp regret formed as the water coldly tickled his throat. He coughed in a ravage fit. Gregor chuckled through his frosty beard as he took a more controlled intake of water. Letting his body savor the fresh brew, the knight looked up into the sky in search of the waning sun.

  “It’ll be night soon. We should try to set up camp somewhere sheltered. The wolves aren’t fans of fires, so we need to keep one burning all night.”

  Cass’s neck hairs stood up from the chilling thought of a night in the mountainous forest. The icy air, unfamiliar territory, dwindling food, and the dark shadows did not appear to be a very pleasant combination. As her shivers subsided, the huntress turned to the recovering prince. Valente attempted once more to drink his water. This time at a more reasonable pace applying excessive measures to avoid breathing it in. Cass quietly judged with a grin as she looked at the heavily breathing Liosian. Gregor had set his focused gaze on the wolf tracks that lay on the far side of the pond.