Tender - A Disney-esque Adventure for Adults

Chapter 10

When we were deep in the forest, where the canopy above our heads was so thick we were cloaked in an inky blackness, Barnaby waved to us to slow.  "It's around here somewhere..." he muttered, studying the path.

Too exhausted to even ask what he was looking for, I sagged against Marquess' back, watching him while he led us off the track and towards a rock face jutting out of the ground.

We followed the natural wall around, but there was no opening.  Eventually, Barnaby halted, leaping from his steed.  "Here!"  He used his strong fingers to delicately lift a layer of ivy back, exposing a small fissure in the rock face, just wide enough for a horse to pass through.

In single file, we entered the passage.  The slimy walls dripped with algae, and Marquess huffed, "I swear to you, Barnaby, if my coat is stained from this dank grotto, I shall hold you personally responsible.  I am no prima donna, but green spots are not a good look on me!  You shall be required to scrub me until I glow, do you hear me?"

From the front of our line, I heard Barnaby snort, and a muttered sentence that might have been "Make me..."

Finally, we burst from the gloom of the cave into shocking sunlight.  We stood at the side of a round clearing, completely hidden from the outside world by the natural rock walls.  Half a dozen wooden cabins were dotted around the grassy lawns, where a cow grazed and chickens pecked.  At the back of the clearing, a small waterfall tumbled down the rock face and ran in a stream across the far side.  Established vegetable gardens grew nearby, and a cluster of fruit trees swayed in the gentle breeze.

"What is this place?" I murmured, enchanted, momentarily forgetting my troubles as I gazed around the meadow.

"We call it the Prince's Retreat."  Barnaby led us forward across the soft grass, allowing the horses to wander freely.  "It was a gift to him from his father on his thirteenth birthday, not long before the King passed away."

"Does the Regent know about it?"

"No.  It was just between the prince and the king."  Barnaby smiled sadly.  "The king said, 'Us boys have to have some secrets, don't we?'"

"Not that I don't believe you, my dear boy," said Davin, back to his teenaged appearance, "But I'm going to cast a few protection spells, just to be safe."

He wandered off, muttering and waving his hands, the air shimmering around him.  Barnaby continued, "We've used the Retreat as a refuge and a place of rest in the past, whenever Casimir needed to escape the palace.  It's self-sustaining with enough supplies to last a few months, and we've allowed a retired soldier live here to keep the animals and the gardens.  We can sleep twenty comfortably, more in a pinch."

Cheerful smoke rose from the largest building, and two little figures sat on the porch.  As we approached, they sprang up.  "Daddy!"

"My darlings!"  The two children ran into his arms, and the reunion was even more heartfelt than the first one I'd witnessed days before in the palace.  I clapped a hand to my mouth, feeling the exquisite burn of the tears that sprang into my eyes.

Barnaby kissed the tops of their heads, then said, "Run, my children, tell your mother we have arrived."

"Barnaby, I..."  A sob threatened to choke my words back.  "I'm so glad.  I'd wanted to ask you about your family, if they were safe, but cowardice held me back.  I didn't think I could bear anymore sad news today.  I'm sorry."

"'Tis no matter, Princess.  As soon as you disappeared and the Regent dismissed the rest of the palace staff, I feared the worst was coming.  I sent Cassandra ahead, hoping that I would be able to bring the prince here under cover of darkness.  But Casimir fell ill, too sick to move."  Barnaby hung his shaggy head.  "I have failed."