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“Thank you, Brida. I wish I had your confidence,” Elise said. “We are leaving tonight, before my brothers wake. They will never let me face Clotilde, and I feel that I must try.”
Angelique smoothed the skirt of her iridescent dress. “I think you underestimate your powers of persuasion over your brothers, Princess. If you tell them you feel strongly on the matter, I suspect they will bow to your wishes.”
Elise felt her heart squeeze in her chest, as if a hand were crushing it. “Perhaps,” she agreed, thinking of the sleeping princes with their soft snores and strewn limbs. “But, but,” she struggled for a moment to school herself. “I cannot risk them again. I almost lost them, and I could not live with myself if Clotilde cursed them a second time,” she said, her voice nothing but a whisper.
There was a long space of silence.
“I understand,” Angelique said.
“You do?” Elise perked up.
Angelique’s smile was painful. “More than I wish I did. You must leave now if you are to have a chance of confronting Clotilde without your brothers. When they wake, I will hold them off as long as possible, but they know you. The instant they realize you have left, they will set out after you.”
“Then we’ll have to make the best use of our head start,” Brida said, handing Elise the reigns of Brida’s tacked up mare.
Elise blinked; she hadn’t noticed when Brida started saddling the horse.
“You will need to go slowly. It is dangerous to ride in the dark. It is your good fortune that tonight is a full moon,” Angelique said, looking to the sky.
“We are a stone’s throw from Loire. Arcainia isn’t far beyond that. What time we gain by leaving tonight should be enough to keep us ahead,” Brida said as she saddled Falk’s horse.
“One can hope,” Angelique said. “If you excuse me, I will take my leave of you here. If your brothers ask, I can truthfully say I did not see you leave. I wish you a safe journey and great luck in your venture.”
“Thank you for everything, Lady Enchantress,” Elise said.
“I am glad I can be of assistance,” Angelique said before she disappeared into the tent/parlor.
“I like her,” Elise announced, handing Brida’s mare off to the captain before she took the reins of Falk’s fidgety horse. (Elise almost wished Brida had chosen another horse, for he was big and flighty as well as fast, but she supposed she may as well end her journey on the same horse it started on.) “She is a good sort of enchantress,” Brida said, swinging up into the saddle.
Elise mounted Falk’s horse and followed Brida when the confident soldier set out at a walk. “Thank you, Brida.”
“For what, Fürstin?”
“For traveling with me, for risking your life for me.”
“You are a person worth risking my life for, Fürstin.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
With Brida leading the way, they made excellent time. They crossed the distance to Arcainia much more quickly and efficiently. A journey that had taken Elise a week (towing swans and mostly walking) took but a few days.
When they reached the Arcainian border, it was early morning, and the sky was still pink with dawn.
“We’ll avoid towns as much as possible, but we’re out of food, and the horses could use some grain. We stop at Trakau for those things. I will make our purchases, but I dare not leave you in the forest. You’ll need to come with me, but do not speak a word and keep your hood up,” Brida said.
“Is it so bad if we are recognized?”
“I don’t expect trouble from the people, but they will be able to tell your brothers what direction we set out in,” Brida said.
“Isn’t it fairly obvious we will make for Castle Brandis?”
“Yes, but if we’re not careful, they will intercept us on the way there. I imagine we were able to keep our lead as your brothers do not know Loire, but now that we are back on Arcainian soil, Prince Rune will be able to lead your brothers on paths that are not common knowledge and are much quicker to transverse,” Brida said, rolling up a map.
“I do not think we, as siblings, give Rune’s intelligence enough credit,” Elise said. “He is the sneakiest of all the princes.”
“Perhaps. Hood up,” Brida said before she rode off.
Trakau was only a few minutes away. Elise stood with the horses while Brida bargained for grain and foodstuff. Elise could see the foul effects of Clotilde’s rule in Trakau, just as Angelique said.
The people were thinner. Arcainia was famous for their chubby, red-cheeked subjects, but everyone living in Trakau looked gaunt, their eyes glassy like marbles. The available market goods were few and expensive. Normally the place should have been overflowing with corn, squashes, and gourds at this time of the year.
Elise nearly jumped out of her dress when a peasant woman touched her elbow, pulling her from her stormy thoughts. “Princess Elise?”
Still used to holding her tongue, Elise stared at the woman and backed up into Brida’s mare.