Morgan Rice - A Quest of Heroes

Khron squeaked at the sight of her.

“And what do have we here!?” she cried out in delight.

She knelt down and Khron came running to her, leaping into her arms with a whimper; she picked him up and held him, caressing him.

“He’s so cute!” she said, hugging him. She leaned back, and he licked her face. She giggled, and kissed him back.

“And what’s your name, little fellow?” she asked.

“Khron,” Thor said. Finally, this time, he was not as tongue-tied as before.

“Khron,” she echoed, looking into the cub’s eyes.

“And is it every day that you travel with a leopard friend?” she asked Thor with a laugh.

“I found him,” Thor said, feeling self-conscious beside her, as he always did. “In the wood-on the hunt. Your brother said I should keep him, because I found him. That it was destined.”

She looked at him, and her expression became serious.

“Well, he is right. Animals are very sacred things. You don’t find them. They find you.”

“I hope you don’t mind if he joins us,” Thor said.

She giggled.

“I would be sad if he didn’t,” she answered.

She looked both ways, as if to make sure no one was watching, then reached out, grabbed Thor’s hand and pulled him into the wood.

“Let’s go,” she whispered. “Before someone spots us.”

Thor was exhilarated at the feel of her touch, as she yanked him onto the forest trail. They headed quickly into the woods, the path twisting and turning amidst the huge pines. She let go of his hand, but he did not forget the feel of it.

He was beginning to feel more confident that she actually liked him, and it was obvious that she did not want to be spotted, either, probably by her mother. Clearly she took this seriously, because she had something to risk by seeing him, too.

Then again, Thor thought, maybe she just didn’t want to be spotted by Alton-or by any other boys she might be with. Maybe Alton had been right. Maybe she was ashamed to be seen with Thor.

Thor felt all these mixed emotions swirl within him, and hardly knew what to do.

“Cat has your tongue, does it?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.

Thor felt torn: he didn’t want to risk messing things up by telling her what was on his mind-but at the same time he felt like he needed to put all his worries to rest. He needed to know where she really stood. He could contain it no longer.

“When I left you last time, I ran into Alton. He confronted me.”

Gwendolyn’s expression darkened, her high spirits suddenly ruined-and Thor immediately felt guilty that he had brought it up. He cherished her good nature, her joy, and he wished he could take it back. He wanted to stop, but it was too late. There was no turning back now.

“And what did he say?” she said, her voice dropping.

“He told me to stay away from you. He told me you didn’t really care about me. He told me that I was just amusement for you. That you would tire of me in a day or two. He also said that you and he were set to be wed, and that your marriage was already arranged.”

Gwendolyn let out an angry, mocking laugh.

“Did he then?” she snorted. “That boy is the most arrogant, unbearable little pip,” she added, angry. “He’s been a thorn in my side since the time I could walk. Just because our parents are cousins, he thinks he’s part of the royal family. I’ve never met anyone so entitled who deserved it less. Making things worse, he’s got it into his head somehow that the two of us are destined to wed. As if I would just go along with whatever my parents forced me to do. Never. And certainly not with him. I can’t stand the sight of him.”

Thor felt so relieved at her words, he felt a million pounds lighter; he felt like singing from the rooftops. It was exactly what he had needed to hear. Now he felt sorry he had darkened their mood, all over nothing. But he wasn’t completely satisfied yet; he noticed she still hadn’t said anything about whether she truly liked him, Thor.

“As far as you are concerned,” she said, stealing a glance him, then looking away. “I barely know you. I hardly need to be pressed to commit my feelings now. But I would say that I don’t think I would be spending time with you if I hated you that much. Of course it is my right to change my mind as I wish, and I can be fickle-but not when it comes to love.”

That was all Thor needed to hear. He was impressed by her seriousness, and even more impressed by her choice of word: “love.” He felt restored.

“And incidentally, I might also ask the same of you,” she said, turning the tables. “In fact, I think I have a lot more to lose than you do. After all, I am royalty, and you are commoner. I am older and you are younger. Don’t you think I should be the one who is more guarded? Whispers come to me in the court of your agenda, your social climbing, of your just using me, being hungry for rank. Your wanting favor with the King. Should I believe all this?”

Thor was horrified.

“No, my lady. Never. These things never even entered my mind. I’m with you only because I cannot think of being anywhere else. Only because I want to be. Only because when I’m not with you, I think of nothing else.”

A small smile played at the corner of her mouth, and he could see her expression starting to lighten.

“You are new here,” she said. “You are new to King’s Court, to royal life. You need time to see how things really work. Here, nobody means what they say. Everyone has an agenda. Everyone is angling for power-or rank or wealth or riches or titles. No one can ever be taken for face value. Everyone has their own spies, and factions, and agendas. When Alton told you that my marriage has already been arranged, for instance, what he was really doing was trying to find out how close you and I are. He is threatened. And he might be reporting to someone. For him, marriage doesn’t mean love. It means a union. Purely for financial gain, for rank. For property. In our royal court, nothing is what it seems.”

Suddenly, Khron sprinted past them, down the forest trail, and into a clearing.

Gwen looked at Thor and giggled; she reached out, grabbed his hand, and ran with him.

“Come on!” she yelled, excited.

The two of them ran down the trail, and burst into the huge clearing, laughing. Thor was taken aback by the site: it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen, a forest meadow, filled with wildflowers of every possible color, up to their knees. Birds and butterflies of every color and size danced and flew in the air, and the meadow was alive with the sound of chirping. The sun shone down brilliantly, and it felt like a secret place, hidden here in the midst of this tall dark wood.

“Have you ever played Hangman’s Blind?” she asked with a laugh.

Thor shook his head, and before he could respond, she took a handkerchief from her neck, reached up, and wrapped it over Thor’s eyes, tying it behind him. He couldn’t see, and she giggled loudly in his ear.

“You’re it!” she said.

Then he heard her run away in the grass.

He smiled.

“But what do I do?” he called out.

“Find me!” she called back.

Her voice was already far away.

Thor, blindfolded, began to run after her, tripping as he went. He listened carefully to the rustle of her dress, trying to follow her direction. It was hard, and he ran with his hands out before him, thinking always that he might run into a tree, even though he knew it was an open meadow. Within moments, he was disoriented, and felt as if he were running in circles.

But he continued to listen, and heard the sound of her giggle, far away, and kept adjusting, running for it. Sometimes it seemed to get closer, then farther. He was beginning to feel dizzy.