Page 8 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
It’s not fair.
They’re all leaving me.
Rainer senses my despair and whispers softly, “Hey, I’ll visit as often as I can.”
Often.
I know what that means in these warring times. Years…
I chew my inner cheeks and lay my chin on Rainer’s shoulder while he settles down on an armchair to sign his documents. My heart is inconsolable at the thought of being left here. I hold Rainer tighter. It may be years before I get to hug him again.
“Cheer up, Princess. We’ll be here with you,” Loren mutters, approaching us slowly. The old guy is one of the few people who dares to speak so casually in front of Rainer.
He blows another puff of smoke and gestures to the side. “Maybe you can help me lift Oscar’s spirit up. He failed the qualification for the battlefront.”
I lift my head to look at Oscar. He’s sitting on a crate, staring blankly at the ground. A sheen of sadness covers his features.
I understand how you feel, Oscar.I keep a brave face but the sorrow is wrecking my insides like a storm.
“Oscar…” I reach out to him.
The young knight answers my summons quickly, heedful and wary to be so close to my uncle. “Yes, Princess?”
I hold out my hand to pass one of the precious hairpins from my hair. He studies my gift silently, reading the name engraved on the pin.
“Jessica?”
I nod. “She likes you.”
There’s an awkward pause from both of us.
The knight’s face brightens almost immediately. Oscar wears his emotions on his face like people wear clothes. “She does?”
All his sadness from earlier disappears. Even his fear of my uncle is long forgotten as he retrieves a bundle of letters from his satchel. “Can you pass these to her, Your Highness?”
“I’m not a pigeon. Send it yourself,” I mutter, shrinking into the nook of Rainer’s neck to hide.
Captain Loren places an arm around Oscar’s shoulders, dragging him to walk away, “Just confess to the girl already.”
The captain winks at me before leaving.Good job, Princess.
I smile as I watch them stride across the camp, Loren filling Oscar’s head with love advice.
Eww.
But I think Jessica will be happy with Oscar. He is the third son of a noble and wealthy house in Völundr. His family is the keeper of one of the magnificent libraries back home. That way, she won’t have to borrow my books anymore. I don’t mind loaning them, but Jessica didn’t even read the ones I gave her. She just stared at the cover and smiled. I don’t understand her sometimes.
Rainer sketches a brow. “See that? You have friends here. The twelfth division will accompany you.”
I just nod, defeated and tired.
“Your mother’s campaign will annihilate the dwarven stronghold soon. You must be brave a little while longer,” he says, shifting to look at me better. “Promise me you’ll be good?”
I stare at him without words and uncertainty passes over his face. I can tell my uncle is anxious about leaving me in this place. Good, he should. I hate it here. But I don’t want to be a distraction for him in battle.
“I will,” I vow to ease his worry. “I’ll cultivate in the temples and earn my blessings from the gods.”
That pulls a laugh from him. “You’re too young for that.”
