Chapter 6
Lorcan We rode every day for several weeks, and I no longer rode behind her, but rather beside her at her request. The few hours we spent together each morning began to carry me through my day. She was a princess, and I a lowborn stable hand. But during that time we were just people. No titles, just a shared moment.
I don’t know why she kept asking me to ride with her. Perhaps she was lonely or enjoyed the escape from her duties. She mentioned when she was with me, she didn’t feel the weight of the crown or the responsibilities to her people. Funny, I felt just the opposite. Like I had stolen something that belonged solely to Prince Raelan-time with the future queen. I imagined every ride would be our last, but she always ended each day with an offering to see me in the morning.
The afternoon following our first ride, I received a bushel of apples sent to the stables with a note that read, I do not wish for you to starve to saddle my horse. It was not a grand gesture, but one I found touching in its simplicity. With a fresh supply of apples and the proper saddle, Incendio did not seem to mind our morning routine.
My mother noticed the change in me straight away. My smiles were too broad, the spring in my step too lively. She joked about me finally having met a woman to settle down with. I didn’t respond. If she imagined me with some commoner from the marketplace that would make a suitable wife, who was I to destroy her fantasy? A woman I could grow old with and hold in my arms at the end of a long and tiring workday. A woman to bear my children and my name. But that could never be with the princess. Our time together was nothing more than a dream. Eventually, I would have to wake up. Still, I savored the moments. The moments of silence where we were content to just sit and watch the sunrise.
Isolde had removed her boots and walked across the rocks of the brook, the water rushing beneath her feet. I swear, there were times she didn’t need the rocks at all. If she told me she could walk on water, I’d believe her. The stream seemed to calm in her presence. Still, I shadowed her, ready to catch her should she slip and fall. She would not return with so much as a bruise under my watch.
“I admit, I find your resolve to protect me to be unwavering.” She spun in a circle, her hair whipping around her like a wave.
Leaning against the largest rock, I didn’t know if she was offering me a compliment or calling me annoying. “I’m the only eyes you have out here, my princess.”
“Yes, a stable boy. How will you guard me from thieves and rapists? Throw apples at them?” She offered a bemused smile.
I felt my ears ignite at her mockery. It wasn’t often that she tossed the words of what I was out in the open, but when she did, it burned. Clearing my throat, I spoke true. “My father was a soldier in King Savio’s army. He was present during the slaying of the dragons. He taught me to fight and wished for me to enlist as well. But when he left for a raid and returned to us as a lifeless body, my mother begged me to reconsider. I was eighteen then and ready to offer my allegiance of protection to the kingdom. I was the son of a soldier, no one would have doubted my intent to protect the king.”
Isolde was looking at me with a newfound curiosity, and so I dropped my gaze and concentrated on the water that bobbed around her. “But the grief in my mother’s eyes held me here, and so I stayed on as a hand in the stables.” I found my courage and looked the princess in the eyes once more as I stood up taller. “So yes, I do feel a need to protect you. I may not have spoken the words that placed me over the watch of the kingdom, but I still know where my loyalties lie. So, fear not.” I winked to lighten the mood, the way I did with my mother. “I’m good with a sword.”
Isolde raised a brow at my words, her gaze falling to my hips. “You do not have a sword.”
I looked down, arms spread in confusion, and pretended to be surprised. Then I crossed my arms and leaned once more against the rock. “No. But if I did, you would be impressed.”
She laughed, and I fell back into that ease I shouldn’t feel with her. Her movements across the water turned into a simple dance. She resembled a nymph as she twirled around on the rocks, her white hair swirling around her like a mist of smoke. The legend of the House of Fontaine tells that thousands of years ago, their ancestors could manipulate water. That is why they married their kin, they tried to rekindle the spark of magic that had left their veins so long ago. I always dismissed it as a story, but seeing her now, I found myself lost to the possibility. She discovered my gaze remained on her and eyed me seductively over her shoulder. “I should hire you as part of my guard. Then your only duty would be protecting me. Not the kingdom, just one simple girl.”
“I’d hardly say you were simple, Your Highness. And I have no doubt, despite my father’s service, the king would not approve of a lowly commoner guarding your chambers.”
Isolde stepped out of the brook and walked over to the rock I was leaning against. “What nonsense it all is. I was born inside the castle walls, you outside. That is all that divides us.”
“That is very kind of you to say, but you know it’s not true.”
Isolde stilled for a moment. Her eyes laced with tears, she turned her face away. “In a fortnight, I shall be married to Raelan. I assume as his wife, I should not be taking morning rides with another man.”
I let out the breath I had unknowingly been holding since she walked over to me. “No, I don’t think that would be your wisest decision.” I forced a laugh to lighten the mood. She had rolled the clouds in with her words, casting a dark gloom over the illusion we had created here.
I untethered the horses and made sure she was on securely before I launched myself on as well. I turned to face Isolde and noticed her cheeks had turned bright pink. If it were not a completely naive thing to imagine, I would have sworn she was admiring me when I wasn’t looking. I shook
the thought away. I was the kingdom’s freak of nature. I should be whipped in the town square for even thinking for a moment that she, the future queen of Borvo, could ever want anything more from me than a man to tend to her steed.
We returned to the stables in silence. Our horses pulled us forward to a world neither one of us wanted to exist in. Despite my ludicrous imagination, I was certain Isolde did not love Raelan. I understood she was simply following orders. Ironic how the highest of nobility can still be a slave to their kingdom.
As for whatever mist of confusion which had settled between us, that would fade away beginning now. I would become a memory to her. A time when she played with a man of low birth and pretended he was her equal. When we returned to the stables, Isolde allowed me to help her dismount, and as I lowered her to the ground, she surprised me with the lightest touch of her lips against my cheek. My instinct was to grab her by her waist and show her how devoted I would be to her if given the chance. I considered asking her to run away with me. I was but a fool, drunk with his first taste of affection. Instead, I simply locked my gaze on hers and searched those deep pools of blue for answers she would not unveil.
“Farewell, Lorcan. I am most grateful for your discretion.” And just like that, she walked out of the stables and into her new role as the future queen.