BOOK 3 of The Ostler's Boy Series
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Love. Duty. Valor.
Court & Class.
A pseudo-medieval romance through the eyes of a reckless princess.
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After Svana and her Knight, there was a Princess and her love of adventure.
Eliza Rose, the wildes...
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Find Elías.
Find Elías.
Find Elías, I said to myself.
The closer we came to the Grand Hall, the faster I breathed, but then Askar turned me away from the sounds of the party and toward the other spout off the foyer.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
He tilted his head a little, offering me his wounded hand. "I'm bleeding, and your dress is...."
I followed his eyes to see the splattered mess, a line of careless red spit across the skirt.
"Oh, no!" I cried. "Oh, no! No one can see this!"
"Is any of it yours?" he asked. "The blood?"
I swallowed. "...No."
"Good." He gave a stout nod. "That's all that matters. I am not familiar with the layout here. Where do we go to find your room?" he asked.
"My room?"
"I promise you," his voice lowered. "I only wish to help you change and to clean and wrap my hand."
"Oh. That makes sense." I turned, leading him up the steps to the chamber hall. The blood rushed loudly in my ears. "T-Thank you," I thought to say as we ventured further into the castle.
"You're thanking me?" he asked. "For what?"
"For... I don't know, Your Grace. I just... I'm sorry, I...."
"Don't apologize," he said. "I should apologize. I should have escorted you back to the dance. No. We should not have been where we were."
"I was at fault. I was the one who..." I opened my room for him. "I lured you up there."
"It was not a lure," he said. "I went willingly. You asked."
Inside, his eyes scanned my effects, spending some time hovering on the curtains and the matching vanity seat as he came in. I followed after, closing the door.
"Your room is very pretty," he remarked.
"You sound surprised, Your Grace," I said. "Did you–"
"Askar," he reminded me. He met my eyes. "I'm not mad at you; nothing's changed between us."
I paused. "D-Did you have something else in mind for how my room should look?" I went into the connected bath, fetching a small basin of water and a rag.
"I imagined it less pink and more of a green, to be honest," he said.
"Ah. Then like your room?" I asked.
"Yes, actually." He went to the desk and started to look inside the drawers.
"There are extra linens in the wardrobe," I told him. I went and sat on the end of the bed, holding the bowl.
