Queen of Ashes │ Season 1 │The Journey

24 │Spitfire

From the moment Freya basically choked the answer out of him, Leander felt their relationship would take a turn. He knew he messed up. He knew that he should've told her sooner. Maybe not instantly after meeting her, but perhaps spending a week on a damn ship was the perfect opportunity for that? Now, who was the clever man?

Fucking hell. He was an idiot...

Standing there, in the middle of the wilderness, with dead and drained pheasants around him, he watched her walk away. She was in shock, which was as clear as the mountain water. She was definitely in shock and wanted nothing to do with him.

Great, he suddenly became one team with that Qadir pissant of a person of all people.

He gathered the birds and followed in his future queen's footsteps. The morning rays were already there, so he had to be painstakingly careful not to step in the full light. The last thing he wanted was to get a rash. On the other hand, Freya would've said that he deserved it, and she'd be right.

He arrived at the camp almost at the same time as Freya. He caught up with her much sooner but decided to keep a distance so she could have some space. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel crowded and pushed into things. He watched her approaching Giselle, her mouthful maid, and whispered something. Then she drew away toward the makeshift bed made of furs. Her maid followed her movements with a gaze worthy of an eagle.

One look at their surroundings told Leander that Qadir probably found a place for himself in the bushes nearby, just as he usually did. The Prince couldn't catch his scent so the distance was probably safe enough for them to talk freely without the worry that the fucker would spy on them. Not that Leander had any suspicions that it was in his set of capabilities.

Leander put the birds near the bustled Giselle. She looked him dead in the eye, which made him almost shiver at the sight. That woman had one hell of a gift for making people uncomfortable around her. Or maybe it was only adequate when vampires were mentioned?

"What?" He asked, having an impression that this conversation won't be easy.

"Nothing." She shrugged and took the birds with a sharp force, still looking angry or even furious, like she wanted to say more, but decided to keep her mouth shut. He guessed some self-preservation instincts were at work there.

"Tell me, Giselle. What's on your mind?" He sighed, sitting near the combative-natured woman.

"I said nothing, didn't I?" She spat.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "You did, and I'm not buying it. Say what's on your mind. I'm not biting, you know." He smirked, showing a bit of his fangs. The hell, he was going to behave all prince-likely around this woman. However sorry-ass of a title it was in these circumstances.

She ignored his antics and started cleaning the birds, huffing from time to time. Finally, she snapped. "Okay Prince, you want to know what I'm thinking? All right, I'll tell you what the hell I'm thinking."

"Go ahead," he encouraged her. Leander already had noticed what a spitfire this woman was. Freya was fierce, yes, but Giselle was on another fucking level with her temperament. He didn't tell them that he eavesdropped on their conversation at the inn when Freya warned her maid to keep her thoughts to herself. Leander considered it then a wise decision. Giselle's mouthful nature would cause her a lot of trouble at the court if she went on with that, although right now the curiosity with her observations ate him.

Despite their act of trying to fool people, he had already noticed that she and Freya were certainly close friends. Qadir seemed to buy the lie completely, being the oblivious jerk he was, but Leander got to know the Princess too well by now. He saw that attachment, respect, and love toward the maid in her eyes.