Page 69 of Quest for her Knights
“She will not be going for a ride,” Draven says sternly, suddenly appearing at my side and startling me.
“What do you mean? Why not?” Jeremiah asks, dropping his hand and taking a step back.
“It’s too hard for us to keep her safe if she’s riding.”
“I can just take her around the pasture, in the fenced area, you’ll be able to keep eyes on her the whole time.”
“The answer is no. Find an activity to do that keeps both her feet firmly planted on the ground.”
Draven rarely speaks, so when he does, it does all sorts of things to me and I have to actively stop myself from swaying towards him. Once again I feel that pang of disappointment that I don’t feel this way about the lords.
After all, Jeremiah has done nothing wrong, he’s just trying to find a way to be close to me. But when he turns to tie the horse's reins back up, I feel relieved.
Draven turns towards me and I whisper, “Thank you.” He nods before walking away, no doubt staying somewhere close by. I wonder if he knew I didn’t want to ride with Jeramiah, or if he really thought it wasn’t safe. I’ll probably never know.
Jeramiah decides to take me inside to play a game of checkers. He’s a little flirty and is nice enough company for an hour, but I don’t feel anything. There’s no spark there, at least not on my end. But so far, if I had to pick between all lords I’ve met, these guys would be the clear winners, for numerous reasons. That doesn’t mean it’s a good choice, at least not in my books.
When I arrived in this realm, the thought of parading around Dyconia, searching for a group of husbands sounded fun, but the reality leaves a lot to be desired for. If only I weren’t forced to marry noblemen, things would be so much easier.
“Princess Elora?” I glance up and realize Rowan’s been standing in front of me, trying to get my attention, and by the sounds of it, that wasn’t the first time he called my name.
“Oh, hi. Sorry, I was distracted for a moment, what did you say?”
“I asked if I could show you something, up in the tower.”
“Sure,” I say, getting to my feet and twisting my torso to stretch out my back. “Lead the way,” I tell him, gesturing to the door. He frowns for a moment but that look quickly changes into a small smile as he moves to the exit.
Jeremiah kisses my hand goodbye and exits out the other door.
I glance behind me and see Arrow and Ranger following behind. Arrow replaced Blaze and Draven while we were playing checkers and I gave him a little wave now I’m not being watched.
He smiles and winks at me and I bite my lip to stop the huge grin from covering my face.
Gah! Why does something as small as a wink make my heart flutter?
I try to pay attention to where I’m stepping as we start ascending a spiraling set of stairs. This must be a tower of sorts. I didn’t even realize this place had one when I saw it from the outside.
After two minutes I start huffing and puffing from the exertion. I stop for a minute and lean a hand on the wall as I ask, “No elevator, huh?”
“Elevator?” Rowan asks, coming back down a few steps to find me completely out of breath.
“Never mind,” I shake my head, remembering there is no electricity here, so there would be no elevators. “I just need a minute.”
He moves down to the same step as me. “Allow me.” He sweeps me off my feet and into his arms as I squeal in fear. The last thing I want is for him to fall down the steps while holding me. “I’ve got you, hold on.”
He marches up the steps and makes it look easy, which I know it can’t be. I should be impressed. Instead I keep glancing over his shoulder at Arrow and Ranger’s frowning faces, wondering what they’re thinking.
When we finally make it to the top, he sets me down and leads me to a large window.
“This is what I wanted to show you.”
I glance outside and from this height you can see for miles. Homes, farmland, and some forested area cover everywhere I can see.
“Wow, that’s quite the view.”
“Everything you see here, we help to take care of.”
“Really?” I ask, not really knowing how things work in this world yet.
