“Ouch!” Yesleign cried as the comb ripped through her hair.

Her stepmother ignored her cry of pain, running the comb through the mess of dark curls again. Pins were pinched between her stepmother’s fingers, waiting to be inserted into the plait she was attempting to form. Yesleign laughed internally as a curl sprung loose out of her stepmother’s grasp. Yesleign’s hair was as wild as her soul.

“You are the daughter of the Warden of the North.” Her stepmother spoke through gritted teeth as she continued trying to fix Yesleign’s hair. “The royal family is on their way and it is imperative that everyone in this household, including yourself, makes a good impression!”

“I know.”

She did know. Her stepmother had been in a tizzy for weeks trying to prepare for the arrival of the royal family.

“You and your brother’s are always covered in mud, running through the hills, like a pack of wild animals. That will not be the case when our guests arrive.”

Yesleign was one of five children. She had three older brothers and one younger brother. She was the only girl of the family. Her mother had died when Yesleign was a young girl. Her father had remarried a few years ago. His new wife was cold and stern. Yesleign didn’t dislike her stepmother, but they certainly weren’t close.

“Your training is on pause. You will not be caught in pants while our guests are here and if I see you even think about picking up a weapon -.”

“Lady Stepmother I am aware of the expectations.” Yesleign’s tone was curt.

Her stepmother pulled her hair tighter in response.

“You’re older now Yesleign, not a child anymore. You’re becoming a woman and as a woman you need to behave in a certain way. We can’t have you embarrassing us today.”

“Isn’t that exactly why father agreed to let me train these past few weeks? So that when you all ship me off to The Capital, since I’m becoming a woman and all, I’ll be able to defend myself?” Yesleign could feel the anger beginning to boil within her center.

Her stepmother let out an exasperated sigh as her slender, pointed fingers placed the final pin in Yesleign’s hair.

“Yesleign, your father is depending on you. Things have been…unstable lately. There are whispers about the woods. We need to make a good impression. This visit is important.”

They lived in the Kingdom of Driam, one of the seven kingdoms of the continent. Long ago magic and monsters had roamed freely across the land. When the age of men had begun, the magic had been outlawed. Legends told how the magic had been contained within the darkness of the Shadow Woods. Yesleign’s father, as Warden of the North, was responsible for maintaining the boundary between Driam and the Shadow Woods, the border between men and magic. But rumors had been swirling that the dark magic was slowly seeping back into their world.

Yesleign knew these rumors to be true. She knew the magic was not contained completely in the dark shadows of the trees. Thinking about the dark magic sent a cold shiver down Yesleign’s spine. Her breath hitched in her throat and her stomach swirled as she thought about it.

“Plus, once you’re married to a man from The Capital, he will protect you.”

“What if he’s the one I need protecting from?”

Her stepmother didn’t reply. Her bony fingers fell from Yesleign’s hair. Her cold gray eyes appraised Yesleign in the mirror.

“Don’t let us down today, Yesleign.”

Yesleign felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her hair was too tight, her dress too form fitting, her stepmother’s gaze too intense. The talk of magic and royalty and her future was oppressive. She needed air. She needed to get out of here.

“If you’ll excuse me Lady Stepmother, I feel as though I need some air. I might go walk in the garden.”

Her stepmother’s eyes narrowed to watch her in the mirror. “Don’t go too far and be back in time for the royal procession.”

“I promise.”

Yesleign had no intention of keeping that promise.

*****

Yesleign sat on a large rock outcropping overlooking the vast openness of the heathered hills. She had definitely wandered further away than she was supposed to. She sat on the rock reading, enjoying the early afternoon sunshine. Her skirts were hiked up well past what was decent, the sun warming her bare legs. A light wind rustled her hair, splaying dark curls that had come loose from the plait across her face.

Rem was splayed out on the rock next to her, basking in the warmth of the sun. He was one of two white wolf pups that lived in their home. They were both technically Tristan’s pups, he’d brought them with them when he’d come to train with her father. There were rumors that they were born under the twin full moon ascension but Yesleign thought that was probably just nonsense talk. Rem might have technically belonged to Tristan, but he seemed to favor her, he was like her pale shadow, always following her wherever she went. At times he would even blatantly ignore commands from Tristan and look to her for direction. The annoyance it caused Tristan made her incredibly happy.

A book was perched on her lap. She was rereading one of her favorites. It was a story of knights and ladies, love and loss, dragons and demons. She knew each intricate turn and twist of the plot, having read it several times, but it didn’t lessen the impact that the beauty of the words had on her heart. Books were an escape for Yesleign. A place she could go to forget, to not think about the darkness. Her family had an extensive library, collected by the previous women of her line and cared for deeply. She’d read almost the entire library, many more than once. She favored stories like this one, stories of adventure, of far off fantastic places and the heroes that fought off the mythical monsters. She devoured these stories, often staying up late into the night telling herself she’d read just one more chapter again and again and again.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

She wasn’t surprised when she heard the lone rider approaching on horse. The sound of hooves thundered from the hills below her. She’d seen the royal procession of horses and carriages pass on the road below a while ago. She knew that by now the royal family and their party would have reached her home. When she’d spotted the red hooded riders leading the royal procession towards her house, she’d contemplated getting up and running back to the house. She’d decided against it. Instead, she’d continued enjoying her afternoon reading in the sun. Now the sound of a horse was approaching. She had no doubts it would be Tristan riding to find her. He’d know where to look, having come out to this exact spot with her many times. She pulled her skirts down, she might be too wild to be a dutiful and proper lady but at least she could attempt to be slightly modest.

The horse came to a halt down below and she could tell he was sliding from the saddle and walking around the outcropping so he could see her. She didn’t bother turning her head to where she knew he was standing beneath her, she was just reaching one of her favorite parts of her book.

At the sight of Tristan below Rem stood and stretched. He gracefully lept from the rock down to the ground below, landing with a thud.

Traitor.

He sniffed at Tristan’s outstretched hand and then greeted his twin, Rom, the matching white wolf pup.

“Hi Leign.”

“Hi Tristan.”

“You missed the arrival of the royal family.”

She smirked, still not turning to face him. “My book was just getting good. I didn’t want to stop reading.”

He walked around her to get a clearer view of her face from below. Her eyes were on her book but she could see the outline of the man below out of her periphery. Her heart thumped wildly as he drew closer. It took everything in her to maintain a cool and calm composure. She could clearly envision the smug smirk that would smear across his face if he realized how nervous he was making her. They sat in silence for a moment. She could feel his eyes roaming her, assessing her. She wasn’t reading the words on the page at all, but she willed her eyes to move as if she were.

“You’ve read that one before Leign, several times I’m pretty sure. You could have put it down for a minute, instead of using it as an excuse to hide.”

Finally she pulled her eyes away from the pages in front of her and looked up. Her eyes met his. His cool blue eyes were framed with messy black hair. His broad shoulders stretched against the seams of his tunic as he removed his red cloak. It was an uncharacteristically warm day and the thick red wool must have been oppressive. His face was stoic as he took one step closer to her. She felt her annoyance with him bubbling up inside her. He was exceptionally good at getting under her skin.

“I could have put it down but what would have been the point? The royal procession would have still beat me to the house, so I would have stumbled into the front hall winded, late, and disheveled as the royal family entered. Would that really have been better?”

“It would have at least been some effort put into acting like you care.” His tone told her that he was serious.

“And why should I care?” She cocked an eyebrow at him as she said it. An unspoken challenge laid before him.

He dodged the question. “Your stepmother is furious.”

Yesleign rolled her eyes. Finally she closed her book and stood, dusting off her skirts as she did. She looked down, realizing she’d climbed higher up on the rocks than she meant to. Her pulse quickened. The two white wolves were pacing anxiously below, twin sets of amber eyes fixated on her. If she fell it would definitely hurt. The thought caused her to take a step back, stumbling slightly.

“Here,” Tristan started with more sympathy in his voice as she approached the edge of the steep ledge, “jump and I’ll catch you.” He rolled up his sleeves, revealing lean but strong arms, she quickly averted her eyes before he could notice her staring. He held out a hand to her as a show of good faith.

“Absolutely not!” She retorted. However, upon further assessment, she didn’t really see a better plan, and he knew it.

Damn him. He was an arrogant asshole. She was stuck up on this rock and unless she wanted to look like a fool climbing down on her own while he sat behind watching and laughing then she’d have to jump to him. She was stuck and he knew it.

“Don’t you trust me?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her, hand outstretched further still. An unspoken challenge was laced in his words, payback for the challenge she’d thrown his way a moment ago. “You’ll have to jump Leign,” he urged.

“You swear you’ll catch me?”

“I’m not going to let you fall.” She could have sworn the corner of his lips twitched, but he shoved the smirk back down.

She sighed, breathed out slowly, steadied her nerves. The wind whipped her hair around her face again. It was further down than she’d remembered climbing up. She bent her knees and lept, unintentionally snapping her eyes shut and she fell into the empty air. She braced for the inevitable impact of her body crashing to the earth. Instead she felt the impact of hands tucking tightly into her waist, absorbing the impact of her leap from above. Instinctively her hands rested on his shoulders. They were strong and reassuring against her thundering pulse.

She snapped her eyes open to see he had indeed caught her. His eyes met hers and for a moment she thought he was leaning in towards her. She quickly pulled away.

“We better get back. The sooner I get this over with, the better.”

“And what’s that?”

“The inevitable cruel and unusual punishment that stepmother dearest will come up with for me. She is going to be very upset that I’m late.”

“Leign, we need to talk. The reason the royal family is here…they’re not just here for a visit but -.”

They both heard the horse at the same time. Someone else was riding this way. From the sound of it, they were right around the bend.

“Did you bring someone else with you?” She asked Tristan. He shook his head, confusion knit between his brows.

“No.” His hand went to his sword reflexively. “Here, get behind me Leign.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh calm down, I’m sure it’s nothing.”

She walked around him, trying to peer beyond the hill to see the rider as the sound of the horse grew louder. A huge black beast of a horse was riding towards them at full speed. A mountain of a man sat on the horse.

“Fuck.” She groaned. “It’s Morhold.”

Her older brother Regald’s friend Mordhold was the last person she wanted to deal with right now. Mordhold was a giant of a man. A year older even than her oldest brother, he was several years her senior and he loomed larger than any person she’d ever seen before. His head was barren of hair, a jagged surface of uneven bone covered in tight, hairless flesh. Thick, bold, dark eyebrows and a rough, scraggly beard covered most of the rest of his face. Rumors swarmed that he was the product of a forbidden relationship between a local woman and a giant of the Shadow Wood. Yesleign believed those rumors to be false. He was just a giant ass of a man, both literally and figuratively, as far as she was concerned.

He came to a stop a few feet from her. “Your brother sent me to find you, My Lady. I was to inform you that the guests had arrived but I see you’re already privy to that fact.”

“And now I’m found so you can leave Morhold.”

A sneer spread across his face, making him look even more monstrous. “I’m to return you promptly so you can properly greet all of the royal family.”

“I can get back just fine on my own thanks,” she replied through gritted teeth, pulling back on he stockings, slipping toes into shoes. She’d left them at the bottom of the rocks so she could climb up easily.

He scoffed. “I am to return you promptly,” he repeated.

Rem bared his teeth and growled at Morhold who shot the wolf a dirty look in response.

“I’ll bring her back with me.” Tristan stated from behind her. He spoke with authority.

She was not in the mood for this. She didn’t want to play the rope in their game of tug of war. She got herself out here, she was perfectly capable of walking herself back if these two would just leave her alone.

“No need to trouble yourself.” Mordhold retorted as he grabbed her roughly by the arm and lifted her onto the horse to sit in front of him. She grunted in discomfort but it didn’t seem to be of concern to him.

She felt his dark gaze from behind her, traveling down her neckline. She squirmed against his presence but he held tight around her waist.

“You’re hurting me.” She spoke through gritted teeth but the giant behind her merely laughed.

When she looked up she saw Tristan watching the scene on the horse in front of him, blue eyes flickered grey with anger. She hadn’t seen him look this way before, with that twisted anger curling through his irises. Something about his look unsettled her. She jerked against Mordhold as the horse backed up, then they turned and headed off.