“Can we not go any faster?” Kai whined as he scratched his side irritably.
Aleah and Elurra both rolled their eyes and kept their gazes forward. They had quickly discovered Kai was a horrible companion. After the rescue, they were optimistic about their trip, as they seemed to have outdistanced anyone Nitiri sent after them. Then the moaning began. He complained incessantly about anything from the snow to the traveling food, inns, sleeping conditions at said inns, horses, walking, wool, and all other general annoyances. When all that wasn’t good enough to complain about, his favorite pastime was to whine about the cold itself. He also had a bad habit of talking to himself, which made everything worse. They had made it a week, but Elurra wasn’t sure if she would be able to refrain from killing him for another two if his attitude didn’t improve.
“Your Highness, for the fifth time, the border is still quite a distance from here. The horses can’t keep at a gallop the entire time, so we do have to slow down and walk them, or else they would collapse under you. I suggest you stop grousing if you wish to improve the journey,” Aleah told him in a much politer tone than Elurra would have used. “Besides, we are close to a village. We’ll be there soon.”
Aleah’s horse grunted like it was agreeing with its rider. Elurra tuned out the rest of the speech, which would no doubt lead to complaints about how lumpy the last inn’s beds were or how terrible the food was. The wind whipped around Elurra, and she pulled her coat closer around her shoulders, although it didn’t do much to break the wind. She could tell it would start snowing by nightfall, which was only a few hours away. She hoped Aleah’s memory was reliable, or they would freeze to death.
Elurra thought it refreshing to travel by road, not to mention by horse. When she walked to Amora she hadn’t been going very fast, and she’d been taking the most direct route through the forest with her tiny eleven-year-old legs. She could finally travel the way the world was meant to be traveled. The trip to the Amorian castle had been the same way. Their caution slowed them down, and that’s why things turned out the way they did.
She knew, even with the assistance of horses, their path would be a long one. Orin Du, the main road through Lur Alava leading to the castle and on through the ancient mountains to Sheni, was an indirect route. Even though it was the main road, it wound across the landscape, making it longer than a direct path. It was the only safe way to travel through Lur Alava, though. Otherwise, travelers would find themselves camping outside in the elements, which were harsh at best. Orin Du was the only route to take most of year because there were tiny settlements a day’s journey from each other. Even tiny inns could survive because of merchants who readily paid for a room during trading seasons. But there were always risks to going into towns.
Elurra adjusted her head covering self-consciously. Her hair made her stand out far too often, as only those from the Cӧratic Islands occasionally had golden locks, considering magic flowed freely there. In Lur Alava, people with blonde hair were called “Snowborn” because legend said those who inherited it were related to the gods themselves, who had birthed the world out of the clutches of snow and ice. Her mother was often called the Snowborn Queen, sent from the creators to save them from the Demons, and in turn people often called Elurra the Snowborn Princess. As a result of her renown, she was forced to cover her head for the duration of their travel so no one Nitiri sent after them would easily be able to ask about her, although Kai’s darker skin was almost as much of a giveaway.
“Princess Elurra, why is it Terrin calls you Snow when no one else calls you by a nickname?” Kai asked, making her grimace for multiple reasons. Aleah glared at him.
“Terrin and I grew up together. That is why he is the only one who calls me Snow,” she answered after a long pause.
Her eyes looked lost in space, and her voice sounded far away. Elurra saw a flicker of confusion linger on Aleah’s face before she resolved it. She felt bad for her governess, who had raised her for years only to be replaced by a boy she had known for only a few months.
“Elurra fits you very well, if you do not mind me saying so, Your Highness,” Kai said, the dignitary inside of him showing through.
Elurra smiled. “I agree with you, Prince Kai.”
Kai can be charming when he isn’t goofing off or complaining, she observed, nodding in approval.
“I was wondering, Princess Elurra, if you would allow me to call you Elurra for the rest of our journey. I know it is not as proper, but it is better if we can drop the titles.”
She nodded, liking the sound of the proposal. “In that case, I will call you Kai.”
Kai nodded, looking relieved. “Good. That goes for both of you. Aleah, I would be most relieved if you would also call me by my name alone.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“That sounds agreeable. Unless, of course, you would rather we call you the pendulum prince,” Aleah suggested with a straight face.
Kai flushed, and the two girls laughed merrily at his reaction.
Maybe the rest of this trip will not be so bad, after all, Elurra thought.
They spent the remainder of their journey in silence, as it was hard to talk while at a gallop. They finally arrived at a decent-sized town as night fell.
“I cannot even see my hand in front of my face. I bet there is no decent inn, either,” Kai complained as they trotted down the main street of the town.
“Will you stop fussing? Wait until we don’t find any town nearby and it gets dark. Then you will have something to complain about. We will be sleeping on the ground, hoping nothing eats us in the night or we don’t turn to icicles in our beds,” Aleah told him crossly, obviously annoyed by his constant nagging.
That shut him up, to Elurra’s great relief. Silent snowflakes spilled down from above, covering everything in a soft blanket of white. The snow muffled their horses’ footsteps as they slowly walked down the street looking for somewhere to stay.
“Elurra, it is freezing out here. Are you sure there is an inn?” Kai asked, Aleah’s threatening words not hushing him for long.
Elurra ignored him. Aleah followed her example.
“There!” Aleah announced, pointing to a taller building with a stable. They dismounted and coaxed their horses into stalls. Kai’s teeth were chattering audibly as they housed the horses and gave the stable boy a coin. The innkeeper had just blown out the candles when they knocked on his door.
“Where you folks headed?” he asked them in a kind tone, handing them the signature register.
Kai wrote down some false names while Elurra answered, “We are traveling to Enamor to visit some relatives.”
Enamor was a larger town near the border of Amora right off Orin Du they would be passing on their travels. He nodded, accepting their story.
“Be careful down there. Something strange is boiling in Amora. I haven’t seen any Southern merchants for a while, which is unusual at this time of year, and I’ve heard a great deal about earthquakes spreading south, which astounded me. I thought the earthquakes were only in Sheni and the Northern Islands. I advise caution, miss…Snow White? White is a noble name. Are you related to the Isálte family?” he asked as he raised an eyebrow and gave her a searching glance.
Elurra looked down to see Kai had written “Snow White,” “Leah Govern,” and “Kain Dawn.” Elurra automatically reached up and checked to make sure her head covering was still securely in place. She had secured a headdress over her hair to avoid detection and revealing it would surely give her away. Thankfully, it was still pulled down across her forehead. Aleah and Elurra glared at Kai, who looked at the innkeeper with a smile.
“If she is, it is a very distant tie. She is Leah’s cousin. We are actually traveling south to see Leah’s father so I may ask for her hand in marriage,” Kai said, slipping his arm around Aleah’s waist casually. Aleah turned bright red, and Elurra had to make sure her mouth was not going to fall open.
“Congratulations! I hope Concordi, the goddess of love, will bless your union. You two do make a handsome couple.”
Elurra’s fake smile was plastered to her face like someone had painted it there. Aleah looked like she was trying not to grimace. The nice old man handed them a key and candle after Elurra gave him a few coins for the night.
“Goodnight, Miss White, Mister Dawn, and soon-to-be Mrs. Dawn.”
Kai beamed at the innkeeper, who gestured to the stairs. As soon as they mounted the steps, the innkeeper yawned and headed to his own room on the first floor. The lobby grew dark below them. Aleah delicately pulled away from Kai as Elurra whirled around.
“What is wrong with you?” she demanded quietly.
Aleah looked like she was torn between laughing and hiding with embarrassment.
“I am sorry. I was simply trying to distract him from your name!” Kai protested.
Elurra’s eyes flashed. “The house of White is a prominent family here, and you should know that! Was that seriously the best you could come up with? Not to mention my first name means ‘snow.’”
“I am not very creative, but at least I curbed his curiosity.”
They glared at each other until Aleah doubled over laughing.
“What?” they asked in unison.
“Kai, you are the worst prince I have ever met,” she choked through her laughter. She turned and continued up the stairs, chuckling and shaking her head.
Kai chased after her asking, “What do you mean by that? Are you saying I would not be a great husband? Would your parents not approve?”
Aleah did not turn around, but Elurra could tell from her embarrassed giggle that her face was probably flushed. She followed them slowly. She turned and looked back down the stairs at the dark lobby below. A cold draft of wind gusted up the steps and made her shiver. She stared down into the shadows for a while, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
I feel like I am being watched.
“Elurra?” Aleah’s voice floated down.
“Coming,” she answered.
She hesitated for a second more, then hurried up the steps. Two pairs of eyes appeared in the gloom behind her, glowing like flames. They watched her disappear.
“She has true blood in her. She almost saw us in our element,” one said to the other in their language.
“This is distressing. Did you see the mark?”
“Yes. She is cursed by the queen herself, although it was passed from the father.”
“The queen wants her dead, yet she said we should not kill the girl. This is most confusing. By the old laws, we must terminate her, but our orders say otherwise.”
Tiberius hummed in agreement. “We will let other forces do the work for us. Don’t fret, young one. There is one other thing that strikes me as strange. Did you sense it?”
Bathen didn’t answer for a while, obviously thinking. “She is bonded, although the mark is crude.”
“Correct. She has a light binding, but it is weak. It is as if it was accidentally cast, or the caster is not of full blood. This being is a strange one. It would be in our best interests if she ceased to exist.”