Page 29 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter twenty-two

Elora

T he next morning, when I join the lords for breakfast, I feel a little more relaxed than the day before. They all seem happy to see me, and it makes me feel welcome. This is the longest we’ve stayed at any of the places we’ve visited so far, which probably helps ease my worry.

Last night, Arrow and Blaze had snuck into my bed to snuggle with me as we slept.

I know Ranger is aware of our nightly cuddles since we usually do it out in the open, around a campfire, and I can’t help but find it strange that he doesn’t seem to have a problem with that, yet when a lord, who is supposed to be courting me, touches my knee, he gets angry.

Ranger is a confusing man.

Since he wasn’t mad at me, I told myself I was going to try to relax around the lords more today, to try and be myself.

And that started with my attire. Ranger and I had a brief argument about it this morning, but I refused to cave.

I did, however, compromise with a dress I’d shortened to mid-calf.

I’d changed the sleeves too, so instead of big puffs, they were now split and trailed behind my arms when I walked quickly.

It made me feel like a fairy… a fairy princess.

And the fact that the lords had complimented it when they first saw me this morning gave my ego a boost. I even managed to stick out my tongue at Ranger over my shoulder in triumph. His eyes had narrowed at me, but I turned back to the lords before he could say anything.

“Would you like to go for a walk, Elora?” Edwin asks as their staff clear away the dishes.

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Honestly, going for walks with them sounds kind of boring, but I’m not really sure what else there is to do. Is walking really how they court women in this world? I suppose it’s a good way to get to know one another, a stroll gives us plenty of time to talk.

When we step outside, I glance behind me and realize Edwin’s brothers haven’t come with us.

“It’s just us,” he says, answering my unspoken question.

I nod as he offers me his elbow. I link my hand through it, not wanting to be too close. Glancing around, I notice Blaze following behind us, Draven further away on our left along a parallel path, and Ranger doing the same to the right .

They’re all far enough away not to overhear our conversation unless we speak loudly. Edwin begins pointing out different plants, which I immediately forget. Except for the ones with bright flowers, they all seem the same to me. I try to feign interest, but I’m really not into plants.

I think about how Blaze likes to collect herbs and how he showed me how to find them, what they look like, and what they do.

Huh. Now that I found interesting. I even spot a few of his herbs in this garden.

It's probably because I knew those herbs had a purpose.

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the man giving it.

I glance over my shoulder and catch Blaze’s eye. He gives me a tight smile, which I return before tuning back into Edwin.

“This is the orchard,” he tells me as we step off the path into a large area full of small trees. I can see tiny apples forming on most of the branches. “This row here is the honeyblush apple, the rare one I told you about.”

I release his arm and use my feigned interest as an excuse to get a little space as I slowly roam the trees. I feel bad. This should be interesting. But it’s not.

Edwin starts spouting off facts about the apple like it's the most fascinating thing in the world. I make sure to react at the appropriate times while scanning the orchard’s edge for my knights.

I’d much rather listen to Draven talk about knives or hear Arrow talk about archery .

I internally groan and chastise myself. I need to stop romanticizing the knights.

They’ve made it very clear nothing can ever happen between us.

My hands squeeze the sides of my dress in frustration, and I take a deep breath to calm the uncomfortable feeling I get every time I think about that, and how they have no problem watching these lords court me.

I step around another tree and spot an unfamiliar man pruning a branch.

“Oh! Hello,” I say, surprised.

“Oh! Your Highness! I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize you were coming out here,” he says, alarmed, stepping back and bowing.

“It’s fine,” I say, hoping he’ll relax. His nervous energy makes me uncomfortable. “What’s your name?”

“My name, Your Highness?”

“Princess,” Edwin says, coming to my side. “He’s just one of our gardeners.”

I glance back at the man, who now eyes us both nervously.

“I realize that, but I wanted to know his name.”

“Why?” Edwin’s question surprises me so much that I don’t know how to answer. I stare at him in confusion, trying to figure out if he just doesn’t care or doesn’t want me talking to him.

“He obviously tends to your precious trees, I wanted to ask him about them,” I say, quickly coming up with something.

“I can answer any questions you have.” He turns to the gardener. “You’re dismissed. ”

I hold my tongue, feeling bad for making the man uncomfortable and hoping he doesn’t get in trouble.

I ask Edwin some made-up questions about the trees, and we continue the tour. We run into a few more gardeners, and I greet each of them, much to their surprise. Do Edwin and his brothers really not converse with their staff? He doesn’t seem mean or condescending, more like a very firm boss.

A little while later, I spot some emberroot, a rare herb Blaze once showed me. He said it was great for making healing balms but difficult to find.

“Oh! Emberroot!” I exclaim, squatting down to examine it.

“Yes, I’m surprised you recognize it,” Edwin says, standing by my side.

“Would I be able to take some?” I ask, glancing up at him.

He frowns at me for a moment, then nods.

“Thanks,” I say with excitement, picturing Blaze’s face when he sees it. I glance around for him and find him twenty paces away, scanning the area for danger.

I’ll give it to him later, it would probably seem strange to do it here, in front of Edwin. I gently pull a small batch from the ground and place it in my pocket. After wiping my hands on my dress, Edwin offers his hand to help me up.

When we reach the end of the path, we find Jeramiah waiting for us. I’m passed off to him after Edwin kisses the back of my hand goodbye .

“Did you have fun, princess?” Jeremiah asks as he guides me down a path, away from the gardens I’d just visited.

“Yes, your brother is very knowledgeable about gardens.”

My hand is hooked in his elbow and he grabs it and pulls in closer, so we’re linked at the elbows instead. It brings us closer together, our sides touching as we walk. It feels a bit too close for comfort but I’m not sure how to pull away without being rude, so I just laugh nervously.

“Something wrong?” Jeremiah asks.

“Just a little nerves,” I answer honestly.

He pats my arms and smiles at me. “No need to be nervous around me, Elora.”

I try to smile as I nod, then decide to change the subject. “Where are we going?”

“That’s a surprise,” he says, sounding pleased with himself. I barely know him, so I have no idea what would constitute a surprise from him and it makes me unsettled.

Eventually we round a corner and I see a huge fenced pasture with a few horses roaming around.

“It’s the stables,” I say, looking around at the different horses.

“Yes, you said you like riding so I thought we could go for a little ride.”

Uh oh. I definitely wasn’t skilled enough to ride on my own, was I going to have to admit that to him? But a princess would definitely know how to ride in this world. She’d probably be very skilled at it, too .

As we get to the entrance to the stable, we find a single large horse saddled there. I scan the area but only see the one horse. I look up at him in confusion and he smiles in excitement.

“I thought you could ride with me,” he says as he releases my arm to grab the horse's reins and guide it out of the stable.

“Oh.”

Hell's bells, how do I get out of this?

I am not okay with riding with him. That feels strangely intimate, and even though I’ve done it with the knights, the thought of Jeramiah’s arms around me makes my skin itch.

I take a small step backwards when he speaks. “Come here.” He beckons me towards him but I freeze, my mind spinning to come up with a good excuse.

“I’m actually not feeling up to it right now.” I place my hand on my stomach for good measure as I look between him and his horse nervously.

He takes a step forward, his hand outstretched towards me. “Elora—”

“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.