M E R E D I T H is a princess without a country. Her family, formerly the royal family of Borgavia, has been exiled from their home, forced to live under the rule of the Empire of Astoria.
A N T O N Y is a prince who doesn't want a crown. Soon to be...
Kade stood outside his tent as the sun rose over the horizon. He took a sip of his coffee, relishing in the feeling of it being morning and of feeling free from wearing the armor and chainmail he wore during most of the day.
He sat down before his fire and set his coffee down, holding his hands out to the warmth, allowing it to penetrate the cold morning air.
He thought of Isabella; he wondered if she was alright, if she missed him. He wondered if Meredith and Antony were keeping her company.
He sighed and picked up his coffee, taking another drink. As he sat, he thought over the situation at hand. There had been reports of small lootings in other towns throughout the empire, but none of them had resulted in fatalities or captures. He had sent scouts out two nights before to search the surrounding woods and towns.
He now looked up as they rode into town. He frowned as he watched them. They were going rather slowly. He stood and ambled over to them, quickening his pace somewhat as he neared them and noticed the small bundle that the soldier in the center was carrying as gently as possible on his horse.
"What..." began Kade. The lead scout dismounted.
"It's the boy."
"Dead or alive?" questioned Kade, grimly.
"Alive," said the scout, nodding. "Just barely. He's unconscious. Found him at what we estimated to be around Midnight and rode as fast as we could to get back here. As you can see, however, we didn't want to go too fast so as to jostle him as little as possible."
Kade nodded. "Any sign...of my father?"
The soldier shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sir," he said.
Kade turned away slightly, hiding the emotions that fought him, threatening to steal his calm. "It's fine," he said, his voice somewhat rough with the effort. "We'll continue to look. For now, we need the medic to take a look at this boy, do what he can, and we'll move him back to the palace as soon as we can. His family is there."
"Yes, Sir," said the scout, saluting.
"Do me a favor and get Captain Landon. I need to discuss a few things with him."
"Of course."
"One more thing: send a message to the palace immediately."
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Meredith awakened the next morning, noticing that Samantha had already gone. As the clock had struck two am, Meredith had finally made her way to bed and fallen asleep, only to woke up what seemed only minutes later by her younger sister seeking solace from a nightmare.
She lay on her back looking up at the ceiling, a small smile crossing her face at the thought of last night. She sighed happily and stood, crossing to her wardrobe and pulling out a simple day dress. After dressing herself, she sat before her mirror and did her hair, pulling it up simply as usual.
