Page 17 of Quest for her Knights
She frowns, looking at the ground for a moment in thought before peeking up at me from under her long eyelashes. “I wasn’t supposed to shake your hand, was I?”
I can’t help but give her a half-smile. “No. Princesses don’t shake hands, especially not with men. If the person you’re greetinghas a status lower than yours, which is everyone but your immediate family, you should offer a small head nod in greeting.”
“Thanks,” she grumbles. “This is all kind of new to me. I’m assuming they told you that, right?”
“Yes, I’ve been informed you’re from the same realm as Princess Freya, and that when we travel, nobody outside the five of us is to know that.”
“Elora! There you are! I’ve been searching for you for the past twenty minutes!” Blaze yells as he jogs down the castle steps toward us.
“That’s Princess Elora to you, Blaze,” I remind him.
He looks at me in surprise, then his expression shifts to guilt. “Yes, of course, Princess Elora.”
“Uhh, if it’s all the same to you, you can drop the ‘princess,’” Elora mutters.
“No, I think it’s best we stay in the habit of using your appropriate title, so there are no slip-ups in front of any nobleman,” I tell them both.
“Ranger, we’re going to be traveling together for a while. You can’t call me Princess Elora forever,” she says with an eye roll.
“We’ll see, Princess.”
Before she can respond, I hear Arrow’s voice as he and Draven exit the castle and join us.
“Good morning, Ranger,” my brother says, greeting me with a big smile.
“Morning, brother.” Tilting my head at Draven, I offer him a good morning as well.
“Wait—you two are brothers? I do see the resemblance…” Elora says, her eyes darting back and forth between us.
“Yep,” Arrow says with a grin as he comes over and swings an arm around my shoulders. I’m only an inch taller than him, so it’s not hard for him to do. “This is my big brother, Ranger.”
Her eyes continue to bounce between us, and before she can ask whatever I can see forming on the tip of her tongue, I decide to get our little party moving. “Now everyone’s here, shall we get going?”
“Oh, is… is nobody coming to say goodbye?”
“Like who?” Arrow asks, moving to double-check the ropes securing our luggage.
“I just thought maybe the queen and kings, or my… brothers and Freya, would see us off.” Her fingers twist in front of her nervously as she glances at the door.
“Sorry, Princess. They all had meetings this morning,” Blaze tells her.
“Oh. Okay. That makes sense,” she says with a nod. I watch as she tries to compose herself, rolling her shoulders back and lifting her chin to look around at us, the carriage, and the horses.
“Let’s have two drive the cart and two ride the other horses. Any volunteers?”
“I’ll go on horseback,” Draven says without pause, moving quickly to one of the saddled horses.
“I don’t mind,” Blaze shrugs, glancing between Arrow and me.
“Me either,” Arrow agrees.
I love my brother, I really do. And I know he wishes to spend more time with me, but the guilt always feels more pressing when I’m around him. It’s not his fault I feel that way, he’s just a reminder of it.
I can see he’s trying to hide his hopeful expression from me, and I know I’d be a real dick not to sit with him right now.
“Blaze, you’re on horseback. Arrow, you’re with me on the carriage. Princess, let’s get you settled inside,” I say, opening the carriage door and offering her my hand to help her step in.
She awkwardly pulls the skirt of her long dress up as she climbs inside. I close the door, and the step automatically tucks up underneath the carriage.
