Page 43 of Crown of Hearts
“Oh please, I was only fearing for your sake.” Elara urged her horse into a gallop and they raced away.
I chased after her, the wind swirling past us, my horse huffing underneath me as he pushed forwards. She ducked under a low hanging branch, which almost hit me. The trees moved past us in a blur of green. The sound of our horsesgalloping echoed through the woods. Elara remained ahead all the way through the trees and up the hill.
“Careful that you don’t fall,” I called out.
Her laugh was carried away by the wind until she finally reached the top of the hill. She stopped to catch her breath. “You were right.” Elara loosened the reins, allowing her horse to eat the grass. “It really is something.”
Ahead were hills and valleys of lush green surrounding a long winding river that gathered water from the mountain slopes. My eyes travelled to Elara’s face, and I watched her take in the view.
“Now are you going to tell me why you really brought me out here alone?”
“I told you, I wanted to show you—”
“Cai.” She raised an eyebrow.
“And...” I added. “Because I wanted to apologise for yesterday. I have a lot on my mind.”
“I’m not asking you to drop everything for me,” she said gently. “But don’t you think it would ease your mental burdens if you talked to me about what’s bothering you?”
I shook my head. “I’m not making my problems your problems, Elara.”
She sighed. “I know I’m here on political business. But you’re my friend, if nothing else. A lot has changed, I know. Maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for us to spend time getting to know each other again.”
I glanced her way, to meet her eyes, but she was looking at the horizon.
“Sometimes, I wish there was a way to take a break from being a monarch.” Not many people would understand. But she would. “I’m not blind to the privileges I was born with but...”
“I know,” Elara replied. “I haven’t even experienced this kind of life for long, but a break would be nice.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” I offered.
“Oh?”
“One day, when we’re old and retired, we’ll travel somewhere.”
She laughed. “I thought you only retire from this role when you’re dead.”
“Will you just play along?”
“Fine, so where would we go?”
I thought about it for a moment while trying to keep my eyes away from her mouth. Had it always been so alluring? “Some island somewhere warm and far away.”
“I could work on my swimming in the sea.”
“I thought you could swim?” I frowned.
“I can. I’m just not a very strong swimmer, I’m afraid.” Elara shrugged.
“I could fish,” I added, imagining it. “And we could eat whatever I caught.”
“How very rugged for a king.” She chuckled.
“Well, I wasn’t always king, remember?”
Elara closed her eyes and breathed in as if she could see it in front of her, the warm white sand, the crystal-clear water. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from her.
“It sounds lovely.”
