I was on the wrong side of the river, stuck in a village of strangers who either hated me or wanted to marry me, and the sky was about to open up and downpour.But at least I’m not drowning, or stuck being engaged to a lunatic...
My mind wandered back to Kian, and I made a silent wish that he had escaped the river, too. I wouldn’t be free from the rebels if it wasn’t for him.
My thoughts were disrupted by my growling stomach. I had never eaten the dinner Bindi and Guppy brought me last night since I had been too focused on escaping the cave. Now that I was no longer in eminent danger or being snubbed by jealous sisters, I took a moment to take in my surroundings. As expected, there was a small village stemming from the edge of the river. Most of the rotting wooden shacks were pushed a good bit back from the water source, likely to prevent flooding during the rainy season. Near the bank where I had been rescued, various homemade fishing nets lay strewn throughout the water. Most of the nets were tattered or were made of hand-tied, fraying strings, but a few of them looked sturdy.
My eyes greedily fell onto the one of the nets. Caught inside the tangled netting was a small fish, no bigger than the length of my hand. I cast a quick look over my shoulder, but no one was near the river now that the sisters had left. I reached out to snatch the fish, but then let my hand hover over the net. A guilty tension wrapped around my heart, and I slowly withdrew my hand. I was no stranger to thieving—it was a means of survival for my mother and I—but as easy as it would be to steal a meager fish…
This isn’t Ashbourne, and these people likely need their food as much as I do.
I sighed as I turned away from the river bank. Part of me still wanted to swipe the fish after the cold welcome I had received, but it was wrong and I knew it. If Mother had been here with me, she would have agreed. My stomach growled once more, but I shushed it. I may be a thief, but I’m not a criminal.
If this fishing village wasn’t going to be receptive of me, then I would need to seek refuge elsewhere. My feet squished uncomfortably in my boots as I walked along the river. After maybe ten steps, I gave up and sat down to remove my stockings and sling them over my shoulder to air out. The boots chaffed my bare toes without the padding of the stockings, but at least they didn’t feel as damp. The rest of my clothes were sopping, but there wasn’t much I could do about it other than walk in the sun.
As I passed along the edge of the village, I noticed the occasional curious stares from peering villagers. Bindi’s cloak had remained tied over my shoulders during my swim, so I pulled the hood over my hair to lessen the attention. The drenched hood soaked water into my already soggy curls and dripped cool water down my neck. The feeling was entirely unpleasant, but it was better than risk being ambushed by bachelors or aggravated young ladies.
It was utterly ridiculous that I had to even prepare for such a dilemma; I wasn’t even the princess... The village slowly disappeared from my sight as I continued onward. At some point, I drifted away from the river and walked into a thin forest of birch trees. My stomach hadn’t relented any of its constant growling, so I decided it would be in my best interest to at least get a fire stared and hope I could forage some food.
My wet clothes were beginning to weigh me down as I trudged past the narrow trees. Despite the warm weather, my teeth chattered aggressively from my elongated exposure to the cold water and soggy apparel. As I walked, I collected an armful of twigs, branches, and thin bark in an effort to build a fire. Once I found a decent spot for a fire, I got to work building up the flames. Fortunately, the thin birch wood burned easily, but it required a lot of wood to keep the flames healthy.
After stacking up a significant collection of kindling, I took a moment to enjoy the warmth it provided. I slipped off my cloak and held it beside the fire to dry with my stockings. My skin tingled as the cozy heat dried the waterlogged wrinkles that had formed across my hands and fingers. My gaze fell to my drying hands, recalling the feeling of Kian wrapping my grip around the limb.
I hope he’s alright...
Guilt wracked me as an image of his injured body sinking to the bottom of the river flashed in my mind. He had been bizarrely helpful to the point where he had actually been foolish. He should have never helped me. If he hadn’t, then maybe...
My eyes locked onto the flames, trying to distract myself, even temporarily. However, the fiery red glow did little to disperse my thoughts since the vibrant red only reminded me of my cursed hair. I reached for my unruly locks and twirled a strand tightly around my finger.All this trouble... just because of this ridiculous red hair.
I tied the forest-green cloak back across my shoulders and tugged the hood over the offending locks. No sooner had I completed the motion than I noticed the red in my fire had begun to fade into a soft orange, then snuffed out completely. My head shot up to the sky and was greeted by a heavy raindrop that splashed on my nose. I raced to my feet, frantically searching around for any available shelter, but all I could see were endless birch trees.
The skies broke open above me and rain poured down at full force. I tucked my head low and sighed heavily under my breath. I could already feel the water soaking back through my cloak and seeping into my clothes.
Perfect…
chapter nine
What a brilliant plan this was, Killian…
My shoulder throbbed relentlessly as I trudged through the blinding rain. The blasted rebels had nearly done me in with that dagger, but I wasn’t the type to go down so easily. It took a great deal of effort to stay afloat with only one arm, and the actions certainly increased the strain on my fresh injury, but I’d been trained to survive. No Ashbourne prince would ever fall by the hands of a mere Sybettian.
I winced as the rain washed out my wound. I had attempted to bind my shoulder with the ratty cloak I wore, but the efforts had left the rest of my body exposed to the elements. My clothing had already been drenched from my dunk in the river, so the rain was only an added nuisance. There were so many clouds darkening the sky that I could hardly tell if it was still daytime.
I need shelter…
In my efforts to escape the river, I had been forced to cross onto the western side of the kingdom. This did me no favors since my men and the border to Ashbourne were both located in the east, on theoppositeside of the river. Now I was alone, injured, and trapped. The rain could continue for weeks during the wet season, and the river was difficult enough to cross the first time. It could be months until I could safely cross again.
An irritated growl rose out of me as I sloshed through the fresh puddles.What was I thinking?I had the girl right in front of me. It would have been so simple to let her drown, then the princess problem would be solved for good. It was so easy to lure her into the water. If I had just taken the branch from her...
I cursed under my breath. The thought had crossed my mind, of course. As much as I wanted to pursue my plan of marrying into an extra crown, I still couldn’t ignore the tempting thought of ending things the easy way. But when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t do it.
Part of me wanted to believe that I had simply been smart by gaining her trust and aiding in her escape. She should have developed at least a miniscule attachment to me after the rescue, implying that I had been successful in pursing her affection. I should have been proud of my success, but...that wasn’t why I let her live.
Unlike Conan, I hadn’t actually killed someone before, and staring into the terrified eyes of an innocent girl made the action feel far too... evil. She had been so sure that she wasn’t the princess. The desperation in her eyes made it apparent that she believed more than anything that the rebels had the wrong girl.What if she was right?
Her hair certainly matched Estelle’s description. It would still be wisest for me to assume that she’s the princess and work toward gaining her affection. I still had the most to gain by inheriting Sybettal’s land and people, and at least Nixie wasn’t as dimwitted as the girls in Ashbourne. Marrying her wouldn’t be a total sacrifice.She did have some cute freckles…That was obviously the smartest move in this scenario. It would have been foolish to let her die when I still had so much to gain from her. My next plan of action should be to track her down again, except I no longer had any idea on how to find her.
I groaned, then spotted a shallow overhang on the side of a short hill. I quickened my pace and ducked under the rocky cover, achieving a small semblance of shelter from the rain. There were a few twigs and sticks cluttered underneath the rooted roof. With my good arm, I collected the twigs and shaved off the wet pieces of bark with the new dagger I had collected. The short blade had dug far enough into my shoulder that I was able to retrieve it before the river washed it away. It was worn and dulled in some spots, but the tool was certainly handy now that I was on my own.
It took a few failed attempts, but I managed to get a puny fire going to help warm the small nook. I rested my aching body against the dirt wall, allowing the fire to dry my soggy clothes. The small overhang was just barely big enough to shelter maybe two people. There was a solid chunk of stone supporting the dirt that made up the edge of the hill, and a few rocks that transitioned into coarse dirt along the supporting wall. The ground sloped downward toward the wall, so unfortunately, the ground was riddled with puddles and thick mud. I was too tired to care about getting my trousers wet at this point, so I succumbed to the muck and stretched out my tired legs across the clear puddles.