Zoe Reed - Breaking Legacies

Her blue eyes scanned mine. “Will you take me south?”

I didn’t know yet whether or not I was going to keep taking her south. I should have said no already, but part of it depended on when she’d tell me why she ran away. So I kept from giving a direct answer. “ If I take you south, you’ll need your strength.” She studied me again in thoughtful silence, and then nodded. “Albus,” I called as I stood, and when he trotted over I told him to lie down where I’d been sitting. “You can shove your feet under him, if you’d like,” I told the princess. “He’s warmer than I am.”

She smiled gratefully, and I took Maddox off the saddle the princess was leaning against and perched her in a nearby tree. Then I bent over at the princess’s side to grab the saddle, so I could replace it on Brande’s back. “If it’s no inconvenience,” I requested, motioning to it. She leaned forward so I could take it, but before I could pick it up to carry it away, she put her hand on my arm and pushed herself up enough so she could kiss me on the cheek. “What was that for, Princess?” I asked, straightening up to look at her while my face flushed. I couldn’t figure her out. She didn’t act like any royalty I’d ever heard about. She wasn’t uptight, or quick of temper. She didn’t even seem aware of her own title.

“For being so kind,” she answered. “I imagine anyone else the king sent would be treating me like a child.”

Again, because I couldn’t figure her out, I wasn’t sure how to respond. There was the fact that she was my princess, and treating her like anything but royalty would be punishable, even if the king did give me permission to throw her over the back of my horse like a criminal. There was the fact that her life might be in danger, and as a human being she deserved to be listened to. Then there was the fact that she was slightly older than me, according to Silas. So, instead of saying anything, I gave a small bow, and proceeded to fasten the saddle on Brande’s back.

When that was done, I made my way back to the princess, kneeling at her side one last time. “I’m going to get you some clothes,” I told her, and I pulled my dagger from its sheath and held the handle out to her. “Hold on to this, Princess, in case there’s any trouble. I’ll be back shortly.”

I started to stand, but she grabbed my arm again, so I stopped. “I think I see a thought in there,” she said, a slight smirk on her face as she pointed to my head. “I may be a princess, but don’t come back with a dress. Bring me something practical.”

That made me chuckle, because I very well would’ve come back with one. “What would you prefer, Princess?”

She shrugged. “Some trousers I could ride in. Warm boots. Perhaps a tunic, like yours.” I nodded and pulled on my coat while I paced to my horse, but as I mounted Brande, she stopped me one last time. “Kiena, about the incident at the river yesterday, with the bandits…” I nodded once more, and tilted my head in wonder of why she was bringing it up. Her lips pursed with a mischievous grin. “I told you so.”

“Yes, Princess,” I laughed, and what I felt was becoming a regular blush darkened my cheeks. “Yes, you did.”

On my way to the village, I stopped where the corpses of the wolves were so I could get my bow, since in my panic I’d left it. I’d also have to come back later to collect the pelts, which I could use to trade as an alternative to spending the king’s gold. Then I galloped to the village. There were no shops that sold already made clothing, especially in a place as small as this, so I searched around for the wealthiest looking person. Seeing as the princess wanted something practical, naturally it was a male I was looking for. From him I offered to purchase some clothing, and it was fortunate he wasn’t too large a man.

After securing the items for the princess, I made a short stop at the inn. The innkeeper looked almost terrified to see me, which was a comforting fact. I told him he’d be paying his debt in the form of a room as well, and gave him notice to have one prepared.

I was happy to find everything as I left it on my return to the fire. The princess was curled up under the furs, sleeping with Albus at her side. I gave her the clothes I’d bought, and while she got dressed I took my skinning knife from a separate sheath in Brande’s saddle, and carried it back to the wolves to collect the pelts.

“These fit better than I expected,” the princess said when I came back carrying the skins. “Thank you.”

I bowed my head as a humble ‘you’re welcome.’ Truly, the clothes were still large on her. The white tunic hung loose around her shoulders, and she’d had to roll up the sleeves past her elbows so they wouldn’t hang below her hands. The same immensity went for the linen trousers around her waist. Not even her voluptuous curves could fill them out, though the curve of her hips at least kept them on.

“And the boots?” I asked.

“Uncomfortably big,” she admitted, shrinking back one corner of her mouth apologetically and clicking her heels together. I had an idea of how I could fix that, but first, my stomach was growling. So I untethered Maddox from the tree and sent her out for something to eat. “Maddox has taking a liking to you,” the princess observed as the falcon flapped away. “She’s normally quite unsociable.”

All I did to respond was give an awkward smile, still unsure of myself in her presence. The princess seemed friendly enough, but I didn’t want to let my guard down completely in case she decided to run away again. Nor did I want my big mouth to get me in trouble. At the castle, Silas had warned me to watch what I say. The princess might not have owned the throne yet, but she still had authority to make decisions regarding my life, and I’d already said things worth of landing me in the gallows.

When Maddox returned, I said my thanks and began cooking up the food she’d brought, making sure the princess had enough to be satisfied. While I handed her a portion, she said, “Can I ask you something?” I nodded, sitting nearby with my own scrap of meat. “That prayer you say… I’m not acquainted with it in Valens’s Caelen religion.”

“I’m not Caelenian, Princess,” I confirmed.

Her eyebrows furrowed curiously, and I could see the thoughtfulness in her blue eyes as she fell quiet for a minute. “Who are you praying to?” she asked eventually.

“The gods of the earth,” I answered, noting how her eyes narrowed with even more curiosity. It wasn’t entirely surprising. I’d never met another person who knew what I was talking about. “It’s, um,” I began timidly, “it’s a family tradition, I suppose. An old religion.” The princess nodded with interest. It seemed like she wanted conversation while we ate, so even though I wasn’t necessarily comfortable with speaking, I continued. “I was taught that when we’re born, our spirit is a gift from the earth gods, and when we die, we return to them. How we’re received then depends on how we live, how and what we take from and give to the earth.”

“Do they have names?” she asked, swallowing down a bite of food. “The gods.”

I shook my head, feeling my cheeks begin to tint at the level of attentiveness she was showing. “They’re older than names.” All she did was hum, but she continued to watch me for long enough that my face felt like it was on fire. “And you, Princess?” I asked. “You bow to the Caelen god?” She pursed her lips with decisiveness while she shook her head, but that caused my own curiosity to spike. That was the religion of Valens, though I knew her mother was from Ronan. “What about the Ronan god?”

“Goddess,” she corrected with the hint of a smile. “And no.” She gave a soft shrug, tossing the cleaned bones from her meal aside and then reaching down to trace the outline of her toes through her boots. “I’ve never seen results from the application of diligent practice.”