Aleah watched Elurra withdraw and increase her pace to speak with Blade. For a moment, she had looked so happy. Aleah hadn’t seen her face glow like that in years. Then Elurra suddenly sobered and retreated into herself. Terrin watched her go, his face an indifferent mask. Aleah glanced over and noticed Kai had seen the change, too.

Kai looked over at her, and she furtively avoided his gaze. She knew she shouldn’t be jealous of her young charge, as Elurra was alluringly slender and elegant even in her rumpled state. Elurra was oblivious, as she was still a naïve eleven-year-old when it came to beauty, love, and attraction. Aleah had seen the men’s lingering gazes when Elurra emerged from the cave. Even the doctor and the captain had raised an eyebrow. She kicked the dirt below her spitefully. She saw Kai kiss her. Every time she saw him, she thought of what she’d witnessed when they thought she was asleep. Angry tears threatened to swell over, but she pushed them back and swallowed the lump in her throat.

“What’s wrong, Princess?” someone asked, falling into step beside her.

She looked up, bewildered, and saw the annoying redhead who’d carried her while she slept.

“I’m not the princess,” she told him flatly, quickening her pace. She looked at Elurra, who was animatedly talking to Blade. The tall pine trees cast prickly shadows on the twisted road. The farther south they traveled, the less snow they saw. The troll had apparently saved them a few days’ journey with his magical moving cave, as they were farther south than when the earthquake trapped them underground. Aleah had never been out of Lur Alava’s territory, and she wasn’t used to such a colorful landscape. She glanced over at Kai and saw he was chatting with Snore and Plague. Tristen walked beside him, completely silent. She sighed and looked back at Rowan. He leaned closer to her, like he had a deep, dark secret to share.

“I thought you were tha princess at first,” he muttered.

Aleah felt color flood her cheeks, and she brushed her curly auburn hair behind her ear self-consciously.

“Hey, Terrin!” Rowan called ahead. “Your princess may be an eleven, but mine’s a twelve,” he exclaimed as he draped an arm over Aleah’s shoulder.

Terrin’s mouth dropped open, but Elurra blatantly ignored him. Blade and Jon broke into hearty laughs, and some of the others chuckled as Aleah quickly shrugged Rowan’s arm off. Kai looked over sharply and his expression clearly read, “Do you want me to punch him in the face?” She turned away.

Now he cares?

“If we are comparing, who do you think would make a better ruler?” she called up to Elurra. “The great Prince Kai or Rowan?”

The princess glanced back with a blank expression.

For a moment, Aleah was afraid Elurra wouldn’t play along, but with a small smile she said, “We could at least hope not to find Rowan dangling upside-down from a jail cell door.”

The rowdy men demanded to know what they were talking about, so the two girls shared the storytelling between fits of giggles. The pirates roared with mirth, and Kai looked down at his feet in embarrassment.

“Prince Kai, ya seem like an interestin’ fellow ’n I’m bored. Let’s ’ave ah tournament of dares,” Rowan exclaimed.

Kai grinned. “The loser has to be the winner’s servant for a day?”

Rowan returned the smile. “Deal. Yer Highness, I dare ya ta shake a random passerby by tha hand ’n ask ’em for their knickers.”

Aleah heard the rumbling sound of wheels approaching. Kai grinned, and the others snickered. A wagon appeared over a rise in the road, led by two old, long-haired horses. It moved slowly, but a few minutes later it came close enough for Kai to complete his mission. He limped out into the road, waving his arms around. The horses whinnied and lurched to a stop, probably wondering why a maniac was in their way.

“Hello there!” he called to the driver.

“What do you want?” the terrified man called back.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Aleah realized he was probably afraid of their strange group of rough characters. They looked like a pack of bandits. Everyone slowed to watch Kai make a fool of himself. A few of the pirates chuckled as Kai awkwardly stumbled up to the driver’s seat and reached out his hand. The frightened old fellow cautiously extended his own, and Kai shook it exuberantly. Although they were a bit too far away to hear the conversation, the man’s indignation was proof enough that Kai had spouted Rowan’s ridiculous dribble.

He promptly jumped out of the wagon, leaving the poor man bewildered. The pirates howled as the wagon sped away behind him. Rowan greeted him with a hearty slap on the back, and Kai gave him a huge grin, obviously enjoying his time away from royal life. Aleah wondered what he was like in his castle, surrounded by riches and duties. He seemed so open and friendly when he was with them, but she doubted he would be that way when he returned to Unérith. She watched his eyes dance with pride as Rowan rained praises upon him.

“It is your turn, Rowan,” Kai exclaimed, giving him an evil grin. “I dare you to—”

Aleah didn’t catch the rest of his sentence because Kai leaned down and whispered something in Rowan’s ear. He leaned away and gave the prince a rueful smile before looking ahead to where Terrin had caught up to Elurra. They were walking together silently, both focused on their feet instead of each other. Rowan quietly snuck forward until he was right behind the dark-haired boy. He followed him for a few moments, matching his pace, before he leaped up and latched his arms around Terrin’s neck and his legs around Terrin’s waist. Terrin tried to pry him off with a squeak of surprise, but Rowan held on tightly and started counting. Elurra jumped back to avoid their flailing limbs.

“Eleven, twelve, thirteen…” Rowan grunted, attempting to stay on Terrin’s back.

Terrin struggled to get him off and finally flopped down on the ground, Rowan first. The number twenty came out as an “uff” as the breath was knocked out of him. He released Terrin, who rolled off him and glared.

“What on Incari is wrong with you?” Terrin yelled furiously.

Elurra tried to restrain her giggles, whereas Kai didn’t bother. He doubled over snorting, earning a glare from Terrin. Rowan was trying to regain his breath while chuckling, which wasn’t working.

“It…was…a dare!” he gasped.

Kai helped him off the ground, and Rowan dusted himself off. Terrin glared at them both and opened his mouth to continue scolding them, but Elurra touched his arm softly and gave him a gentle smile.

“It was a joke, and we could all use a laugh. I have not seen Kai in such high spirits for days,” she said quietly.

His expression softened, and she lightly tugged on his sleeve to make him keep walking. Aleah fell into step with Kai and Rowan, as she started to find their stunts entertaining. Rowan was already giving Kai his next dare with an evil smile plastered on his face. Kai paled and looked over at Aleah before turning back to Rowan with a skeptical glance.

“You must be kidding,” the prince said, giving him a death glare. Aleah swore his cheeks were flushed.

“Do ya wanna be me servant, then?” Rowan asked with a wicked smile.

Kai scowled at him. “I am the next in line to be the King of Amora; I do not have to do anything for you.”

“Yer sayin’ that yer ah yellow-bellied chicken prince cowerin’ behind his title?” Rowan said innocently, his eyes widening in mock awe. Kai glowered.

What is the dare? Aleah wondered, her curiosity overflowing.

“That has nothing to do with it. You clearly do not understand that I am technically—”

Rowan dismissed his argument with a wave of his hand.

“Well, if it’s that important to ya, then ya lose. It’s yer choice. I must ask, Yer Majesty, have ya ever wanted to do sumthin’ spontaneous, even though yer position forbids it? This would be tha time ta do it, because Elurra’s tha only one around ta judge ya, and she don’t seem too bad,” Rowan said.

Kai hesitated, an answer forming on his lips. Finally, he nodded.

“Yer gonna do it?” Rowan prompted.

Kai looked around at his fellow travelers. His gaze rested on Aleah for several seconds before he turned back to Rowan. “Of course. No one is going to best me at this silly game. You will be my servant for a week, and you will not enjoy it,” he said threateningly.

The redhead grinned. Kai’s jaw clenched in determination, and he turned to look at Aleah. She couldn’t stand the anticipation anymore.

“What’s the dare?” she burst out, quite exasperated. Rowan beamed at her, but Kai didn’t meet her gaze. “Kai, what is going on?” she demanded directly.

The prince looked up, a funny expression on his face. Before she could react, he pressed his lips to hers.

She slapped him.

He jerked back, his cheek red from the hit. Her fingers burned, and everyone glanced back and paused to see what happened. They had lagged to the back of the group after Rowan’s fall, so no one aside from him witnessed the kiss. Her heartbeat drummed in her ears, and blood rushed to her cheeks.

“I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t expect—Your Highness, please forgive me. I didn’t—”

She couldn’t seem to stutter out a complete sentence. Slapping a prince was perfect grounds for execution, even if he deserved it.

Kai touched his cheek in disbelief. He stared at her for a moment and hurt flashed across his features, but it was quickly replaced with an indifferent mask. He turned to face the group, and the other dwarfs turned around, so he didn’t catch them gaping.

“My turn, Rowan.” Kai resumed their game casually as if the entire incident hadn’t happened.

Aleah glared at his back, conflicting emotions radiating from every pore. “I hate him,” she muttered under her breath.