Page 29 of If The Crown Fits
“I should start by apologising.”
“For what? Kidnapping me, holding me hostage, tying me to a tree?”
Her tone was teasing, but that didn’t stop the guilt crawling under my skin. “Yes, all those things and more.”
She shrugged. “I can’t exactly blame you. I did attempt to severely injure you... twice.”
I looked at her again. Could this girl really be the princess promised to me? The girl who sat astride on a horse and stole adagger from Jack? She wasn’t at all what I’d imagined, to say the least.
“I have a few questions, as you might imagine.”
“So do I,” she said.
“You first.”
“Why on earth are you travelling like a group of hunters or merchants? Where is your carriage, your royal clothes and your crown?” She looked up at me, pulling the cloak tighter over her shoulders.
“We’d heard stories of dangerous bandits in the forest. We thought it safer to travel unlike royalty.”
“You’re clever.” She seemed half impressed. “It was a wise choice. We were attacked by bandits that night — that much of my story was true — that’s how I came to stumble upon you. I barely managed to make it out alive.”
I looked back at her guards, walking some distance behind us. “It’s lucky your guards found you again.”
She stared at the ground and I could sense an awkward tension between us.
“So what do you propose we do now, Princess?”
“We’ll probably still go to Woodsbrook Manor. We are halfway, are we not? No use in going back now. I could even show you some of my favourite places in the kingdom if you’d like.”
“That would be very nice,” I admitted. “When are we to meet up with Prince Lance?” He had, after all, for some reason, insisted on taking care of many of the wedding plans and the marital arrangements. I wouldn’t exactly feel comfortable until my men and I could keep an eye on him.
“I’m not sure.” Eloisa bit her lip. “Soon, I should think.”
* * *
We left the tavern while dawn was approaching, given that we still had a long ride ahead of us for the day. Eloisa and I rode our horses side by side instead of travelling in her carriage. She appeared much more comfortable than she’d been before.
She wore a dark blue dress and it was the first time I’d seen her in anything royal-looking. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. The princess in a gown riding next to me could not be compared to the wild thing that had tried to fight me in her sleeping clothes.
“Are you ever going to tell me where exactly you’re taking me?” I loosened the reins on my horse.
“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?”
It was different having her act friendly towards me in comparison to her hostile behaviour before. Not that I could exactly blame her... I did tie her to a tree. Still, I hadn’t expected her character would be so strong.
We veered off the forest road and followed a small hidden trail until a lake appeared behind a cluster of rocks. My mouth fell agape. The scenery was picturesque if nothing else and I slowly dismounted from my stallion. Trees ringed the lake, which was surrounded by long green grass.
“Are you coming?”
My head turned towards Eloisa and I followed her to the water’s edge.
“It’s beautiful here,” I remarked and she nodded in agreement.
“I think it’s one of my favourite places in the world, though I haven’t been here in a few years.”
“I used to have a secret hiding place as a child,” I reminisced. “You see, my great-grandfather rebuilt most of the castle and its gardens when he became king. Made it more modernised and secure against attacks and such. A small part of the garden had been cut off, surrounded by walls and overgrown ivy. It’s not asmystical as this, but it was a nice place to be when I needed to think.”
“And no one ever found out about it?”
