Page 46 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter thirty-two

Elora

I t’s so nice to be feeling back to my old self. No nausea, no headaches, and no violently vomiting up blood.

The trip back toward Silverthorn Castle has been more relaxed than any part of our journey so far. I think without the looming visits to meet new lords, all of us are feeling more at ease, at least, I know I am.

The only thing I’m unsure about is Ranger.

I still remember what he said that night when I was sick, that he hadn’t meant what he said, and that he planned to apologize, but then I got sick and it was all sort of pushed aside.

We’ve been on the road for over a week now, and I haven’t ridden with him once. I was hoping he’d ask to take a turn. I miss being close to him. Not that I ever really was before, but I need to know what’s going to happen before we get back to Silverthorn.

Is he going to step back or step up? It’d be good to know so I can feel less worried. I think the weight of the head of the royal guard telling the kings and queen that I don’t want to marry any lords would carry a lot more weight.

But I’m also not sure what will happen after that. Do we… date? Or is that called courting here? I’ve tried to ask the others about it, but they’re a little vague, saying we’ll figure it out and not to worry.

But it’s hard when I don’t know this world. If it was so easy for me not to marry the lords, then why had they been fighting against it so hard for all those months?

I wasn’t sure, but I was excited for our next stop.

We haven’t stopped in a single village since we left Highcrest Castle, as Ranger thought I’d be recognizable.

But he assures me the village we’re stopping in today is far enough away that we should be able to blend in without anyone knowing who I am.

I’ve been starting to enjoy camping with my knights, but it doesn’t mean I’m not excited to spend a few nights in a real bed, and possibly eat something different for a change.

“There it is!” Arrow calls from up ahead.

Blaze tightens his arm around my waist as we trot after him, Ranger at our side and Draven behind us.

As the village comes into view in the valley below, I try to take it all in. Small stone buildings with a clear main street, surrounded by houses scattered amongst the countryside. It reminds me of an old-fashioned village I’ve seen in several movies.

We slow to a walk as we enter the street, and Arrow takes us to one of the larger buildings with a large sign that reads “Inn and Tavern.”

As he dismounts, a teenage boy comes out from the side of the building and greets him. “I can take your horses, sir.”

“Thank you,” Arrow says as the rest of the knights climb off their horses. Blaze helps me down, then grabs my hand and we follow Ranger inside while Draven and Arrow deal with the boy and the horses. There must be a stable behind the inn as they start to lead them in that direction.

We step inside and are greeted by a man around Ranger’s age.

“Good afternoon. Are you looking for a room?”

“Yes, for five,” Ranger says, as I look around the lobby. It’s pretty plain, but exactly what I expected. There’s a large open arched doorway at the side that leads into what looks like the tavern. The smell of something delicious hits my nose and I let out a small moan.

Blaze chuckles. “Hungry, pri—” He cuts himself off and glances at the man checking us in. “Darling?” he corrects himself, obviously remembering we don’t want anyone here to know I’m royalty. Even my knights aren’t wearing their uniforms today.

“Starving,” I tell him honestly as I lick my lips .

“Why don’t you get us a table, and I’ll help the others put our bags in our rooms,” Ranger suggests. He smiles down at me, and I smile back in thanks.

Blaze leads me into the tavern, and we find a booth big enough to seat all of us. A server comes over and he places an order for food and drinks for everyone.

It doesn’t take them long to join us, and soon we’re all eating some sort of juicy bird, mashed potatoes, peas, and corn. It’s the most delicious thing I’ve eaten in ages, and I have to keep telling myself to slow down and not eat like a gremlin.

“I heard there’s a little festival going on in the village square tonight,” Arrow tells us.

“Really? Can we go?” I ask excitedly, turning to Ranger in question.

“On one condition.”

“What?”

“You let me buy you a new dress.”

I frown, looking down at my shortened dress I altered weeks ago. “You don’t like my dress?” I ask in worry.

He reaches over and places his hand on mine as he tries to reassure me. “Elora, I love it. But it’s on the dirty side, you’ve only been wearing two dresses for weeks. I thought you might like to wear something new, something clean. You can pick it out yourself.”

Realizing he’s trying to do this for me and not to me, I nod in agreement. The thought of getting to see a clothing store is actually quite exciting. All my dresses came out of the old Elora’s wardrobe.

When we finish eating, we head into the street after getting directions from the innkeeper to the local dress shop.

Luckily, it’s only a few doors away, and when I step inside, I feel like a bit of a kid in a candy shop.

It’s filled with beautiful fabrics and garments and I wish I could spend weeks here, creating my own outfits.

The shop owner is an older woman named Dorothy, and we start talking about patterns and fabric choices while my knights wait patiently by the door.

Except Arrow, he follows me around pointing to everything he likes, which is almost everything. When we finally start talking about what she might have for me to wear tonight, she takes me to the ready-to-go section. There isn’t a lot, and even less in my size.

Arrow points to the emerald green dress, “That one will make your gorgeous sunset hair stand out even more.”

“Sunset hair?” I ask with a laugh.

“Yeah.” he grabs a piece of my hair and examines it. “It’s like a sunset, filled with yellow, orange and red and it’s breathtaking.”

He looks at me and smirks. My cheeks heat and before I can respond, he dips his head and kisses me. It’s the first time anyone has kissed me in public, and the fact that he doesn’t care who sees warms my heart .

He doesn’t linger, unfortunately, but when he pulls back he looks at the dress and asks, “So? What do you think?”

“Perfect,” I say, not taking my eyes off of him.

He laughs and turns to Dorothy as he tells her, “We’ll take it, and she’ll wear it out.”

I squeal as Arrow spins me in a circle. He chuckles and dips me, giving me a quick kiss before pulling me back up against his chest. He’s a bit of a wild dancer, I never know what he’s going to do next, but dancing around the village square with him is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.

“Can I interrupt?” Blaze asks from the side.

“Of course.” Arrow kisses my hand and passes me off to him with a wink.

Blaze moves with a steady pace, and while it’s not wild and fun like it was with Arrow, it’s more sensual, allowing our bodies to press together as he sways us back and forth.

“You look like you’re having fun.”

“I am. Now that you’ve finally stopped treating me like the princess, I feel like I’m finally getting to spend real time with you, instead of just being protected by you.”

“You know we’ll never stop protecting you, though. ”

I smile up at him. “I know. And I love you for it.” He dips his head and kisses me slowly, my whole body humming in approval.

“You’ve been dancing a while. Would you like a drink?”

“Yes, that’d be nice,” I say as he leads me to the table where my other three knights are sitting.

Ranger stares at me as he takes a long drink of his ale. When we reach them, Draven drags me into his lap and nuzzles my neck, humming in approval.

“You smell good, kitten.”

“Mmm, good enough to eat?” I ask, turning my head to smirk at him. He leans forward and gently bites my lower lip, grazing his teeth across it until it slides free.

“Definitely.” I swallow nervously. If we weren’t in a public place, I’d be tempted to turn around and make him take me right here on the table.

“Elora?” I glance over at Ranger in question. “Are you alright? You’re looking a little warm.” He looks genuinely concerned, so I don’t think he realizes I’m just turned on. I nod quickly.

“Yeah, just hot from all the dancing.”

“Do you want to go somewhere quiet for a minute to cool down?”

I hesitate for a second. I’m not sure if he means with him or with all of them. But I decide it doesn’t matter, the answer is the same either way .

“Sure.” Draven helps me stand, but he stays seated as Ranger reaches out a hand to me.

I bite my lip nervously as I place my hand in his and he starts to lead me away.

I look back over my shoulder at the others.

Draven nods at me, Blaze smiles, and Arrow gives me a huge grin with two thumbs up, telling me they knew about this, whatever this is.

We walk down the street until we reach a manicured path that leads into the forest. “Forest” might be the wrong word. Everything’s been well-maintained and cut back here, it’s more like an elaborate garden.

“What is this place?” I ask as we walk between two rows of square hedges.

“This town is known for its beautiful gardens. And when they have festivals, they hang lanterns throughout them so they can be enjoyed at night.”

I see what he’s talking about. It should be hard to see out here, but lanterns hang from the branches, casting enough light for us to see and enjoy the gardens.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Just wait. You haven’t seen the best part yet.”

We continue along the well-groomed path for a few minutes until I start to hear running water. When we round a bend, I see a huge fountain. No, not a fountain, a waterfall. It’s about seven feet high, cascading into a small stone basin about five feet wide .

It doesn’t look man-made, but it seems too perfect to be natural.

“Wow.”

I let go of his hand and lean over the edge to touch the water.