Crowned

Chapter 25 - Derrick

Derrick breathed in the fresh air and let the sun warm his face.

It felt good to be out of the dungeon, after two weeks of imprisonment. His release date coincidentally landed on the day before the mace round. Either that or Katherine had convinced the king to release them both before she was forced to marry a random stranger.

The cut to Derrick's arm was scabbing over, leaving a faint pink mark where Lord Bedivere's sword met his flesh. Derrick had long since discarded the smelly bandage that the physician gave him and did his best to keep it clean.

Damon made a beeline for the city immediately after his release, instead of basking in the sunlight like his dungeon mate.

It made no difference to Derrick, so long as he wasn't hovering around Katherine.

Should I train for tomorrow's mace round? Probably.

However, knowing he should and actually acting on that thought were two completely different things.

Five minutes later, he found his feet planted right in front of Katherine's bedroom. Accidentally, of course. His knuckles sounded dull against her heavy door.

"Who is it?" She asked. She didn't wait for a response. "I'm almost dressed."

Before Derrick even had time to formulate a smart response, the door swung open wide, revealing an impeccably dressed Katherine and a maid who looked down at the floor.

"Derrick?" She greeted him with a tentative smile.

A maid quickly scuttled past them, leaving them to gaze at each other in silent longing.

Why had he shown up at her doorstep? He was supposed to be practicing for tomorrow. There were hundreds of other things that he should have been doing but all he could think about was this brown haired angel in front of him.

"Let's go to Faylen?" He half stated, half asked.

She nodded enthusiastically.

Derrick took off his cloak and draped it over her conspicuous apparel. Her regal manner of walking could not be hidden, but at least her pristine dress could be.

He offered her his hand. She smiled and tentatively took it.

They all but ran through the castle corridors and hoping and praying that the King wasn't roaming the halls that day. Unfortunately for them, Cedric was just entering the castle as they were exiting. "I say! Where do you think you're going?"

Derrick had no intention of heeding him. He didn't slow his pace, even for the King's son.

The continued running all the way past the stables, past the castle bakery, past the blacksmith, until they were outside of the protection of the castle walls.

"What if you get into trouble for abducting the Princess?" Katherine asked Derrick, breathlessly.

Derrick grinned, also breathing heavily. "It's only abduction if the Princess is unwilling."

Katherine decided that was suitable answer and smiled down at her slippers. Running all that way had disheveled her appearance, but Derrick found that he liked the look of her windblown hair and rosy cheeks.

They continued towards Faylen at a much slower pace, choosing to enjoy the crisp air. The sun peeked through the red, orange, and yellow leaves and foliage carpeted the forest floor.

Derrick never tired of the smell of autumn. There was little more that he wanted in life than to spend his days with Katherine exploring in the great outdoors.