Page 51 of The Abandoned Princess

“Was there really a treasure cave?” I asked quickly, changing the subject.

“Two actually,” he said after only the slightest hesitation at my abrupt change of topic.

“Oh yes, of course! Cassie found one too, didn’t she?” I sighed in delight at the idea of a magic cave full of untold riches. “How come she got a treasure cave and I only got a tower?”

“Maybe she didn’t go plunging headlong into danger at every opportunity,” Lori grumbled, and I winced.

“I really thought I’d learned my lesson after all those years in the tower,” I said sadly. “But apparently I can’t help wanting to rush into situations.”

Xander smiled down at me so warmly that I quickly looked away, trying to remember my earlier concerns about him.

“I’ve always preferred action myself,” he said. “So I hope you never change.”

“Lori might not agree with you.” I fervently hoped my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt.

“I’m not saying it wouldn’t make my life easier,” Lori said in a calm voice. “But that’s hardly a reason to change who you are.”

I blinked at her, taken off guard by her words.

She continued on in the same matter-of-fact way. “I’m not saying a little extra maturity wouldn’t be helpful, mind you. There’s nothing wrong with having a desire for action, though—just as long as you’re not leaping into that action without thought. As a child and a royal princess, you had layers of protection to shield you from the consequences of youthful rash behavior. And for the last five years, the tower has kept you from almost any action at all. I just hope you realize that there’s no one to help us now but the three of us ourselves. Getting trapped in royal bedchambers might be the least of your worries.” She gave me a warning look.

I hugged her, trying to hide the tears in my eyes. “I promise not to sneak into the bedchambers of any more sleeping royals.”

“Somehow I’m not sure you grasped the point of that speech,” she muttered, but as always I could hear the overtones of her affection.

Despite my words, however, I did understand, and I felt simultaneously both more free and more burdened than before. I could stop feeling guilty about the return of my old nature. I could be myself. But I had to ensure the delight in my new freedom didn’t make me forget the lessons of the tower. I could feel joy at the adventures in front of me, but I had to make sure I didn’t rush foolishly and unnecessarily into danger.

CHAPTER 17

My thoughts on the matter kept me subdued most of the morning, so I was caught off guard when Xander put up his arm, blocking my forward progress. I was about to indignantly question him when I absorbed his posture and expression. I stayed silent instead.

“Back up,” he whispered, and I instantly obeyed, returning around the sweeping bend we had just followed, Lori ahead of me.

Once we’d made it some way back, he relaxed. “I don’t think she saw us.”

“Was Eulalie stopped? Did we catch up to her?” I asked in a whisper.

“She’s either moving a little slower than I expected or has taken a longer break for her midday meal,” he said. “Either way, we should eat now too.”

“Oh thank goodness.” I flopped onto a soft-looking patch of grass beside the dirt road and lay with my arms spread wide. “I’m exhausted and everything hurts,” I groaned. “Including my pride. I may have been confined to the top of a tower, but I can climb up and down its side with relative ease, and I spent a lot of time developing and carrying out complex exercise routines. I thought walking would be a breeze.”

I expected Xander to tease me, but he looked sympathetic. “I’ll confess my feet are hurting as well. I’ve done all my travel mounted since before I arrived in Northhelm, so my feet aren’t used to it.”

“We’ll all have aching muscles,” Lori said. “Regardless of our usual level of activity, we aren’t accustomed to using these specific muscles so repetitively for such a prolonged time. Eulalie has the advantage on us there. I wonder why she doesn’t ride herself.”

“Maybe because she couldn’t as easily remain anonymous then?” I asked. “Her second enchantment hides her identity and makes people forget it as soon as she’s out of their sight, but it probably wouldn’t work on her horse. If people could describe her as the woman on the chestnut mare with the white stripe, she would lose her anonymity.”

“I don’t care why she doesn’t have a horse,” Xander groaned, “I just wish we could have them.” He sat down on the grass beside me. “What if we did find horses? Would they be invisible while we rode them?”

“They might be.” Lori pulled out packed food from her bag. “But they wouldn’t be when we weren’t riding them, so camping inconspicuously would become a problem.”

“I suppose so.” Xander sighed and accepted some food. “Still, a man can dream.”

Getting back up to continue walking proved more difficult than I’d expected, as if the break had convinced my body that it never wanted to engage in that particular activity again.

At least I had Xander’s stories to distract me from the discomfort. He described each of his siblings for me, his descriptions matching the pieces of their lives that the godmothers had shown me. He had far more stories than the ones I’d seen in my dreams, though, including a whole childhood full of outrageous escapades in the company of his twin.

“You must miss him,” I said as the light started to fade.

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