Once dinner had ended, which is to say that my food got cold and I didn't care to hear any more of the men's conversation, I excused myself back up to the library. I climbed up the stairs near my room and ventured into my large realm of books once again. I sat down in front of a mural of the continent and studied it for a short while. I was familiar with the land. The placements of mountains, the flow of the rivers, and the thickness of the forests. I knew the four kingdoms as well as I could from a map. I didn't know much more than the shape of the land to the west. It wasn't the kind of area that cartographers cared to risk their lives to map. The West wood was only a day on horseback. I never took the time to give it any real consideration. Sure, I would wonder what it must be like and what secrets it might hold, but everybody had a certain curiosity about the unknown. Besides, It would be intimidating to be so far from what I had grown used to. It would be a lie though, to say that I did not crave that sort of action. I could handle myself, I had read plenty on making traps and huts from the journals of the adventurers before me.

A voice behind me snapped me out of my daydream.

"Planning your escape?" Achilleus joked. He had a mug in either hand as he approached.

"Every day," I said dryly, hoping he picked it up as sarcasm more than truth. He laughed, handed me a mug of lavender tea, and sat with me at the table.

"I would flee to the east of here personally. Flee towards home, to the people I can trust." he took a sip and sat his mug down. "you?"

I took a slow breath in and out. "I'm not sure. I heard the south is beautiful. The ocean always seemed like a nice place to be." He nodded in agreement.

"it is. I've been there a few times. It smells of salt and sunlight. If sunlight were to have a smell that is, I imagine their kingdom reeks of it."

I chuckled through my nose.

"A lot of my books take place in the south."

"The good books often do." He said. It made me raise my brow.

"Do you read then?" I asked. Men hardly took time to read silly little books of other places.

"On occasion. Usually, I read maps and balance sheets when it comes time for our citizens to pay their taxes, but when I have little else to do, I read stories."

I gave him a skeptical look. " religious books or guides to war?"

"No, neither"

"What do you read then." I pried. He was slow to answer. He took a long sip of his tea.

"Romance, usually. At least, those are the sort of books I brought with me this time. They put me in a sappy mood... Ridiculous I know."

I laughed just a little. It was ridiculous.

"You do not." I shook my head. This man had the romantic prowess of a dead moth. The only way he read romance books was if he held them upside down. He laughed at my doubt.

"I do. I could share some with you if you'd like. We could read one together, perhaps."

I took some time to think.

I could hear some sincerity in the way that he spoke. I wondered if he might need such books to teach him how to talk to a woman. If his romance books were guides more than adventures.

"When you finish your next book, I would very much enjoy reading one. Though, If I am being the most honest. I could really go for a good adventure." I sipped my tea and sank lower in my chair.

"Ah, well I did not bring any adventure books for you, my lady. Perhaps a walk would be nice?" He offered, gesturing to the door. I shook my head.

"A walk through the garden or these lame hallways is far from an adventure."

"Then we go outside of the village, there is a lake not too far away, is there not?" he asked.

There was a lake, with a patchwork of caves and wildflowers around it. It was nearly beautiful enough to be adventure worthy.

"There is, but it is a bit of a hike." I protested. It was a bit of a hike, not one that I made often. I was happy to go, but I wanted him to know what he was getting into.

"That won't be an issue. We can take two of my horses and be there in hardly any time. I have a tent in my carriage for the night that we had to stop on the way here. I have a bow and a sword as well for protection. I will keep you safe My lady."

I gave him a nod as he talked through his plan. It would be nice to get out, even for just a few hours.

"The lake sounds good."

I didn't know how much I had missed the feeling of riding until the wind was blowing through my hair. The rush of riding at night was fantastic. Under the full moon, the trail was plenty visible. The tall grass plains seemed to stretch out forever around us until the castle became little more than a faint fuzzy memory on the horizon. The smell of wildflowers and tall grass danced around in my head like a symphony to my senses. If I fell off of this horse, I decided, I might just stay here forever, as far from home as I could manage. Ahead of me Achilleus slowed his steed down to a trot and fell back in step with me.

"You seem to be enjoying the night breeze." He smiled.

"I am" I felt a childish laugh find its way past my lips. "It's been some time since I have had the chance to ride."

"Yeah? Think you could go faster?" he pushed

"Are you asking for a race, Achilleus?"

"A race? God's no, that would be reckless and dangerous." He sounded hesitant, but when I looked over to tease him I could see a crooked smile playing across his lips.

"What sort of adventure would it be if we played it safe?" I gave him just enough time to start his response, but I did not stay around for the answer. With a swift squeeze around the horses' ribs, we bolted forward into the night leaving Achilleus behind in a puff of dust.

The prince's charcoal stallion cut through the cloud of dirt beside me. His experience riding showed, his hips rocked and bucked with the horses stride leaving his chest nearly still. He passed me without a second thought. I willed my mount to catch up but even I could only manage so much of the creatures speed.

By the time I made it to the edge of the lake Achilleus was already off his horse. He had laid out a soft pad of blankets along the rocky shore.

"You were supposed to let me win." I called to him as I came up beside a tree and struggled off my horse.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"I thought you did not want that sort of romance out of me." he countered.

"It is not romance." I insisted as my boots finally found the ground once again. "It is chivalry. Entirely different."

"My apologies then, My lady."

Once my horse was tied to the tree I met him on the blanket. There was plenty of room so I took the liberty of spreading myself out like a starfish.

"Comfortable my lady?" he asked, sprawling beside me.

I gave a nod. The blanket had a pleasant texture, and the quilting gave enough padding to handle the rocks underneath without having any thin spots.

"I am." I said, looking up towards the stars. The stars were always pretty. From time to time I would admire them from my bedroom window and trace little lines between each freckle of light with my fingers. My mother told me stories when I was younger of all of the gods and the shapes that they took in the night sky. She never could remember their names, I could never remember the shapes. But I still tried to find them in hopes that I might remember them and they might come back to us. Tonight though, I kept my hands to my side.

"They are beautiful, aren't they?" I asked quietly.

"They are." he agreed. "They say every star has a name..."

"Do you know any?" I asked.

"Only the north star," he chuckled. "There are too many of them, I can't imagine anybody is capable of knowing them all."

"No. Surely not. But it would be nice to know a few. We do see them all the time."

"You know, I actually think I do remember one." he said, pointing to a small faint blue star high above us. "That one marks the tip of Baldus's sword."

"The god of war, I remember, he used his sword to slay thousands in the age of the gods." I recounted, I knew my history.

"Yes, but the star on the tip of his sword is named Ghalene."

"Ghalene, that sounds like a little girls name."

"It was. She was his daughter. The story goes that she was the first innocent life to be taken by battle." He nearly sounded sorry.

"That's cruel, putting her on the edge of her fathers sword." I said.

"It was cruel, It was a punishment from Yessenia, for ruining the beauty of life with such destruction. For every life he claimed in war," he paused "He had to force his daughter to take. Eventually, he stopped fighting all together. He stopped taking side in the battles of man and faded away like all of the rest of them." He placed his hand down to his side and it clasped over mine. "It is a terrible story, but I find a certain beauty in those things. That a god of war could mourn his daughter so deeply that he stops fighting all together."

I nodded along with his story. "I'd never heard that one before. But it is beautiful."

We laid quietly together hand in hand for a while. I kept my eyes on the stars. Every once in a while I could pick up one one of them twinkling as if dancing to some distant music that could no longer be heard.

"Who told you that story?" I asked.

"About Ghalene? My older brother." he said "He stepped away from the throne, if that matters to you." he added.

"Not at all, I'm in no rush to be queen. What is he like? What's his name?"

"Deros. He was brilliant. He knew everything there was to know about anything. He was kind too, he wanted nothing more than to help people and learn about the world."

"Was? I'm sorry for your loss, Achilleus" I gave his hand a firm squeeze, he squeezed back.

"No, It was his own doing. He traveled to the West Lands in search of something or someone from history and he never came back."

"That must have been hard, losing your brother."

"It was, but we pushed on. Plenty to do, besides, He could still be alive."

"Do you really think It is possible to survive out there?" I asked, curious at how anybody could manage such a feat.

"I think that until I find a body, he isn't dead. He is just lost, and he will find his way back home one day." His voice wavered under the weight of the words he spoke. I could tell it was a soft spot and for once, I wished I could help.

"Maybe one day he will. Maybe he has found something amazing over there and is just trying to bring it back." I reassured.

"Maybe. I will take knowing that he is okay as good enough, to be honest."

I nodded and rested my head on his shoulder. "I am sure he is fine" I insisted, but even I wasn't entirely sure.

The lake was peaceful even through the fading fog of the Deros' disappearance. The breeze carried the scent of the ocean all the way up river. The flowers and bushes smelled as pure as ever, and the warmth of the prince under my face made me drift towards sleep like a drunk man drifting up a street.

A shifting of bush leaves and the cracking of a branch was all it took to pull us both up into a seated position.

"You heard that too?" he asked, taking his bow in hand and notching an arrow as he stood.

"that way." I pointed towards a spot just beyond my horse, where the lake gave way to tall grass and a few outcroppings of rocks that may have been a cave at one point.

I stood and patted around for my sword before realizing that it had been left on my saddle.

"Who's there!" I called out.

"Hush." Achilleus said harshly, starting to creep towards my mount.

I saw the yellow glowing eyes from behind the bush. The shadow of the tree hid the creature. I could see its teeth bared. Its eyes were locked on the prince.

"Achilleus." I started to warn but everything happened at once.

The arrow flew from Achilleus' bow. The creature bolted past my horse, spooking it so much that it snapped the thin rope to flee.

I saw the yellow eyed predator break through the grass like a streak of red. The prince notched another arrow and waited.

I felt naked. My sword and transportation had both run away without me.

"Where did he go?" I asked quickly.

"Towards the rocks, keep your eyes open. wolves rarely hunt alone."

I did not have to be told twice, I stood with my back nearly to the prince and scanned the grassline.

I froze when another creature's eyes met mine. A grey wolf, much larger than the other with eyes the color of moonlight. My tongue caught in my throat as I tried to warn the prince. I reached my hand back behind me. I didn't dare break eye contact. I wouldn't risk being pounced on.

It was strange, locking eyes with the wolf. His eyes read me like a book, plotting an attack, finding our weaknesses. He sank lower to the ground and tried to disappear but I could still see him.

"Achilleus." I finally said when my hand found the prince. He whipped around and found the wolf quickly.

I nearly saw fear in the creature's eyes as the arrow whistled past my ear and the string twanged back into position. The wolf howled out in pain and turned to flee back towards the tall grass. Achilleus fumbled in notching his next notch. Even though the wolf was wounded, with a thick shafted arrow pierced through his thigh the fumbling bought him enough time to find his strength and duck into the rocks, just like his friend had.

I was still stunned by the creature when Achilleus grabbed me by the collar.

"Horse. now." He said sternly.

"Ran away."

"My horse." he pulled on my collar, and helped me up onto the mount before he swung himself up in front of me. He started the horse into a gallop, but with the two of us we could only manage so fast. He kept his bow ready at his side with the arrow held notched against the string. He was not going to risk fumbling a shot if they came after us on the horse. After a few minutes, It was clear that they didn't plan to.

He finally laid his bow across his lap and we both took a few breaths of relief.

"I've never seen a wolf in person before." I confessed quickly. I could feel my hands trembling as the adrenaline faded.

"I have a few times. There are plenty in the woods around my kingdom. We are okay though."

I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Barely. That grey one was half the size of the horse. If it had jumped, I don't think your arrow would have stopped it."

"It didn't want us. That pack was likely after the horses. A shame about yours, but I can buy another."

my stomach twisted at the thought of a pack of wolves picking away at the poor horse who had done nothing wrong but carry me to the lake. I couldn't help but feel just a little responsible. I could have tied the rope better, or tied them closer to us.

"I'm sorry that he broke loose Achilleus."

"Don't be." He reassured. "A panicking horse is very powerful, there is nothing you could have done."

I tried my best to breathe and regather myself on the way home. The big wolf had burned his eyes into my brain. The vibrant silver did not look at me as if I was a threat. They hadn't looked at me as a meal either, not like the red wolf had looked at the prince. It must have been an awfully smart creature the way that it sank low to hide and started to run when the prince turned. It was like the creature understood what was happening in that moment.

"Do you think the wolf will live?" I asked.

"No, with a wound like that, his pack will leave him behind. He will die of starvation eventually. You're safe." I nodded and wrapped my arms around the prince’s waist to rest my head on his shoulders. This was plenty of adventure for one night.