Page 8 of Quest for her Knights (The Lost Souls of Dyconia #5)

Chapter seven

Elora

I gaze out the side of the carriage at the beautiful forest surrounding us. The scenery is lovely, although the ride is rather bumpy.

I’m not sure why I was surprised that Ranger closed me in here on my own. For some reason, I assumed at least one of them would ride with me. It definitely would’ve made the ride more interesting.

The carriage looks exactly like something I’ve seen on historical shows on TV, a wooden carriage with a plush interior.

The top half of the doors are cut out like windows, and there are curtains pinned back on either side.

I guess I could close those if I wanted privacy or to sleep.

As if I’d ever be able to sleep through this bumpy ride .

These roads clearly aren’t maintained at all, just a dirt trail through the forest full of bumps and dips.

I wonder how long until our first stop. What had Ranger called it? Drysdale? I wonder what awaits me there. I really wish one of the knights were in here with me so I could ask a few questions. Maybe if we stop for a break, I could ask if one of them would join me.

Were there lords for me to meet at our first stop?

Or was it just a stop along the way to them?

It’s kind of exciting to think I’ll soon be meeting sets of brothers who are actually interested in marrying me.

I’d been fired by a matchmaker only a few days ago, and now here I am, on tour to see multiple harems of eligible men!

Boy, has my life changed. If the lords are half as good-looking as the knights and princes, I’m not worried about physical attraction. Everyone I’ve met has seemed pretty nice, too, so hopefully that’s also a common trait in this world.

Growing bored with the scenery, I grab my small travel bag from the floor. I pull out my canteen and take a few sips before fishing out my book and smiling at the cover: Hiding for the Holidays. I flip it over and read the blurb on the back.

This Christmas, all she wanted was to disappear. What she found was three men who refused to let her.

Rosalie

I came to Silent Pines with nothing but a fake name, a heart full of grief, and a suitcase full of fear .

I wasn’t planning to stay. I wasn’t planning on being seen. And I definitely wasn’t planning to walk into a rundown gym and meet three men who see straight through me.

“Well, Aribella. Looks like you knew what you were doing when you gave me this,” I mumble to myself. It’s got one of my favorite tropes, a traumatized heroine.

Opening the book, I start to read and quickly get lost in the story. I get so engrossed that I don’t even notice when we stop, or when the carriage door opens. It’s only when Arrow snatches the book from my hands that I jolt out of my book coma with a gasp.

“Arrow! Give that back!” I demand, cheeks heating with embarrassment as I reach for the book. It had to be that scene. Of course it was.

Quickly gathering the skirt of my dress, I jump out of the carriage after him.

“Watcha reading, Princess?” he laughs, turning the book around.

“No! Don’t read that, you’ll hate it!” I plead, trying to snatch it from his hands.

He just holds it up out of my reach, laughing as his eyes scan the page. I know the exact moment he actually starts reading, as he freezes, eyes going wide.

“Oh, Princess,” he says, his gaze lifting to mine, a heat in his eyes I wasn’t prepared for. “What have you been reading?”

“Arrow, give it back to her,” Blaze scolds, walking up to us .

“I was just kidding,” Arrow mutters, frowning. Whatever he sees on my face makes his teasing vanish. He immediately hands the book back. It’s probably my sheer mortification.

I snatch the book from his hands and hurry to the carriage to shove it deep into my bag.

I seriously just want to dig a hole and bury myself. Why couldn’t this have happened when I was about to be stuck in the carriage for hours, giving me a chance to cool off and calm down before I had to face him again?

“Princess Elora, would you like to come with me and stretch your legs?” Blaze asks, motioning toward the trees. I spot a wide path leading to a stream and happily agree, anything to get away from Arrow for a few minutes.

“Yes, thank you,” I tell him, taking his offered elbow as we walk along the slightly uneven ground. I really miss my running shoes, but at least these princess shoes don’t have heels. They’re more like ballet flats. Not totally uncomfortable, but definitely not appropriate for forest travel.

It’s also annoying to have to constantly hold up my dress so it doesn’t drag in the mud. “Ugh, this dress is so annoying. I really wish I had a needle and thread so I could fix some of these dresses to be more practical.”

“I, umm, have some for you, actually,” Blaze says, surprising me.

“You do?” I ask, looking up at him in surprise as he pulls a small bag from his pocket .

“Here.” He offers the bag to me, and we stop walking.

I open it and find several bobbins of different-colored thread, a tiny pair of scissors, and a piece of card with half a dozen needles. “Blaze, this is amazing, how did you know?”

“You asked the queen about it yesterday, so I made sure to pick some up for you. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable all the time if you don’t need to be.”

I can’t help but wrap my arms around him in a big hug. “Thank you, Blaze.”

He seems surprised by my actions, but eventually hugs me back gently. “You’re welcome.”

“Get moving, you two!” Ranger yells from the road behind us, making me jump. I grab Blaze’s elbow again and we start walking toward the stream.

A small giggle slips out, and Blaze looks down at me, a smile playing on his lips as he asks, “What?”

“Dad’s mad at us.”

He throws his head back, letting out a loud laugh, which makes me giggle even more.

When we reach the stream, I let go of his arm so I can stretch my arms over my head. “It’s nice to finally be able to stand up. How much longer do we have to go?” I ask curiously.

“It’ll be a few hours still. Is it uncomfortable back there?”

“It’s not terrible, but it’s a bit lonely. I was reading, but now my stomach hurts from motion sickness,” I say, rubbing my belly .

“I might be able to help with that,” he says, his eyes scanning the ground. I watch curiously as he wanders along the edge of the stream, then disappears briefly into the trees.

After about five minutes of silent searching, he calls out, “Aha!” and I watch as he bends down and plucks something from the ground.

He heads back toward me, plucking a leaf from the plant and shoving it into his mouth to chew. “Here, it’s mint. It’ll help with your stomachache.”

“Really?” I ask, taking the offered leaf and giving it a sniff. It definitely smells like mint. I shove it into my mouth and start chewing, and surprisingly quickly, it eases my stomach. “Wow, it’s working!” I exclaim. “Thanks, Blaze.”