Page 9 of Pawns of Fate

ROSE

T he next day, their departure from Robson Castle occurred with minimal fanfare. Her aunt’s eyes watered up a little as they hugged goodbye, much to Rose’s surprise. Luanna, Hermes, and her uncle were stone-faced.

The thought that Luanna might be jealous crossed Rose’s mind and brought her some satisfaction.

She’d lived in Luanna’s shadow for years.

Being free of it was enough to make anyone feel smug.

Luanna didn’t have to know that Rose would still serve as political collateral, even after marrying out of the Robson family.

The Sharps hadn’t brought an extra horse for the journey back to Onanish.

They had overestimated her uncle’s generosity and assumed he would send one with Rose.

Hector, of course, claimed there were absolutely no horses to spare.

So, Rose found herself sharing a horse with Nicholas for the two-hour ride.

She would have thought sitting behind him, holding tight to his firm torso, enjoying the crisp spring air, and viewing the mountainous scenery very romantic if Nicholas hadn’t smashed all of her romantic hopes the day before.

You knew that this arrangement wasn’t made with your benefit in mind , she thought. From the moment Uncle called you into his office, you knew . Knowing didn’t stop it from stinging.

“Our castle and Onanish Town are on the other side of this mountain.” Nicholas pointed to a large, forested mountain in front of them. It was the first he’d spoken to her, besides greetings dictated by politeness, for the whole trip.

“Will we cross over the mountain?”

“Yes, since we are on horseback. We would have had to journey around if we’d brought a carriage.

It adds a lot of time to the trip.” Nicholas let out an annoyed huff.

It wasn’t befitting for the family of a marquess not to have enough horses for everyone to ride.

Rose felt a little camaraderie with Nicholas.

For once, she wasn’t the only one annoyed by Hector’s selfishness.

“Horses can use this shortcut.” He motioned to a narrow, dirt path winding through the crowded pine tree forest. “The path goes up about a third of the mountain as it trails around. The view is magnificent, but we will have to keep an eye out for ogres. They are rare this time of year, but still. ”

“This is different from the marshes near the Robson estate. Monsters seldom venture outside the borders of the swamp,” Rose replied coolly. Truthfully, the idea of ogres coming near their small party unnerved her. She’d never seen large monsters up close—certainly never been attacked by them.

“Have you been to the mountains before?”

“Yes, I traveled quite a bit for my uncle.”

There was an awkward pause in the already painfully short conversation, punctuated by the clomp, clomp, clomp of the horse’s hooves. Rose had only travelled when she was on ‘assignment’ for her uncle, and she didn’t feel like talking about that subject any more than she had to.

“Have you traveled much, Nicholas?”

“Yes, I travel for family business, and I help with hunting the ogres from time to time. Onanish is a rural province, much like your uncle’s parish.

Still, thanks to several species of rare plants and all of the pine trees that grow in these mountains, there is a lot of trade to manage.

The Sharps don’t involve themselves with the trade directly, but we’re responsible for maintaining and safeguarding all the roads the merchants use, as well as ensuring that the plants and trees are allowed to flourish and are never overharvested. ”

“That sounds like a lot for one family to maintain,” Rose replied curiously. For living so close to Onanish, she didn’t know very much about the region.

“We have a few vassal families that keep an eye on the villages far from Onanish Town and our castle. That lightens the load. And, if we’re facing an overwhelming number of monsters, Duke Talbot has sent us reinforcements before.

The territory of Onanish is part of the Duchy of Kai.

” Nicholas directed their horse around a fallen log.

“Your uncle’s parish is part of the Haigalla Duchy, correct? ”

“It is,” Rose answered. She tried to recall any information she knew of either duchy, but her geographic knowledge was limited. Maps were expensive and therefore hard to access. Still, even she knew that Albion had four duchies. Kai and Haigalla were the southern ones.

Rose hugged Nicholas tighter as their horse started on a steeply inclined part of the path. She inhaled and found that she didn’t hate his scent. It was fresh, with hints of green pine trees and crisp mountain air.

“Do you face a lot of monsters in this region?”

“We haven’t had to ask the Talbots for reinforcements in a long time.

Actually, we sent men to help with their war against the wolf-riders in the northern mountains a few years ago.

As long as we keep an eye on the ogre population, Onanish has a very manageable amount of monsters.

I said we needed to be careful earlier, but it is rare to see ogres at this time of year. ”

“Do the ogres live close to the castle?” Rose asked, thinking of the tiny goblins and sludge rats she’d dealt with when she lived at the orphanage.

Nicholas barked out a good-natured laugh. “Gods, no. Even if they did, you’d never see them if you didn’t want to. Castle Sharp is very well-fortified. I promise to keep you safe.”

Rose clenched her hands and felt her limbs grow heavy. She liked the idea of Nicholas keeping her safe, but given what he’d told her yesterday, she wasn’t sure she believed him.

They continued on the meandering mountain path, maintaining a pleasant conversation.

“That’s witch hazel.” Nicholas pointed to a small, viney plant with deep, green leaves. “Healers use it in a variety of medicinal tinctures. And those are moonflowers—moon wildflowers.” He pointed to a plant with silvery leaves and a tightly puckered bud.

Rose wondered why such a small, ordinary plant was Nicholas’s favorite.

“They only bloom in the moonlight,” he added excitedly, answering the question before she could ask it.

“How unusual!” Rose replied, then accessed her magic for just a brief moment.

Plants with unusual properties—such as only blooming at night—often had a unique life force.

She looked at the flower with her senses now tethered to the aural plane.

It had the prettiest glow surrounding it, like a little moondrop fallen to the earth.

“Your hands are pink! Is that your magic?” Nicholas exclaimed.

“Sorry,” Rose replied sheepishly. She had forgotten that her hands were wrapped around Nicholas’s waist; he could see her aura. “I should have warned you. I wanted to see what the plant’s life force looked like.”

“You have nothing to apologize for. I was just surprised. Do you use your abilities a lot?”

Rose thought carefully about her answer. It had always embarrassed her that she didn’t have complete mastery of her aura, but she didn’t see much point in hiding it from Nicholas. He’d find out sooner or later.

“I like to practice with it. I’m not particularly skilled, though.” She decided not to add the reason she wasn’t skilled; her uncle had prevented her from learning.

Nicholas let out a low, thoughtful hum, then said, “That’s how magic is for me, too. I can use it, but I’m not nearly as talented as York.”

A wave of empathy found its way into Rose’s heart. York’s talent as a lightning mage was famous even outside of Onanish. But she’d never heard anything extraordinary about Nicholas’s abilities.

“I can only wield a few low-level spells, and my mana flow is weak,” he continued, shocking her as he shared a vulnerability.

“I didn’t even bother to have any spell runes tattooed onto my body.

I just channel with my sword most of the time.

” His voice perked up with pride. “I am a decent swordsman, though.”

The horse broke into a trot as they reached a flat portion of the path. Rose decided to open up a little more to Nicholas, since he’d shared a lot with her. “My uncle only hired etiquette tutors for me. He said learning magic was a waste of time for a girl like me.”

“What an ass. You might have stronger talents than you realize!” Nicholas’s voice rose with excitement. “Would you like to learn more? We have a few excellent teachers in Onanish Town.” Another thoughtful hum escaped from Nicholas’s lips. Rose was beginning to find that little quirk endearing.

“I’ll have to think about it,” Rose replied. But internally, her mind spun with happy possibilities. She’d never dreamed about having a mage tutor.

Then, the horses turned a corner in the path, revealing Castle Sharp and the large village below it, which she assumed was Onanish Town. She let out a small gasp at the incredible sight.

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Nicholas stopped the horse so that Rose could take it all in.

Castle Sharp sat close to the top of a large mountain forested with emerald green pine trees.

It looked like a mighty stone dragon watching the peaceful town in the valley below.

Even at this distance, Rose could tell that it encapsulated quite a bit of land, at least twice as much as her uncle’s castle had.

She could just make out guards patrolling the walls of the solemn and defensive structure, like ants marching around their hill.

“It’s beautiful,” Rose said, slightly awestruck.

“I’m glad you like it,” Nicholas chuckled, then urged his horse forward and into the path of an ogre’s bludgeon.

The wooden weapon was about the size of a grown man and hit Nicholas’s horse with enough force to send it sprawling. Before the horse fell entirely to the ground, Nicholas grabbed Rose by the waist and rolled them both a few feet away, narrowly preventing them from being crushed.

“Are you alright, Rose?” Nicholas yelled as he unsheathed his sword. His glance darted to Rose, then immediately back to the ogre.