A Questionable Quest

Chapter 27... in which I stay past curfew and sleep on the floor

It was pitch black when we left the city square in search of the knight who looked after our horses (and dragon). Somehow, it was even pitch black-er when we rode through the gates and the woods towards our final destination.

Still, both of us were grinning. We'd fallen into a comfortable (and tired) silence as we weaved our way down the wide tree-lined path. We didn't hurry -- Van no longer seemed in any sort of rush to return. With his promise of a future ringing in my ear, however, I no longer found the urge to drag us on every possible detour.

So we walked -- or, rather, the horses walked.

Every few minutes, one of us commented on the trees, or the festival, or whatever else ran through our tired minds. For the most part, though, the ride was relaxed and quiet.

When I would eventually look back on this last stretch of our journey, it would strike me that I'd never before had someone with whom I could sit comfortably. Mordrin came the closest, but only because he tended to become either very loud or eerily quiet when he was working on something. All I had to do was stand in the corner.

With Van, it was more... relaxed. We spoke when we needed to speak. We went quiet when we found the conversation dying out. And I never worried about having to fill that silence.

It was strange. And nice.

It was strangely nice.

That changed as soon as the royal palace of Portsburring came into view. Both of us tensed up. Both of our mount shifted uneasily, sensing our new moods.

What would my parents think when I showed up, after nearly three weeks, without knowing where I'd gone?

You'll be banned from the practise arenas for life, probably. The voice in my head had (unfortunately) returned. Or you'll be locked in your room. Or engaged to a nine-year-old prince.

I shuddered. That, at least, was not going to happen.

Still, I couldn't help the slight clenching of my palms as we drew closer to the wrought-iron gate. What would they say when they saw me?

More to the point... what would I say? "I'm back" seemed rather insensitive. And "hi" was just too simple. Still, I couldn't think of anything else I could say...

Van took a deep breath. I looked at him. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he said, shortly. Then huffed a soft laugh. "I'm just... I don't know what they're going to say."

Apparently, both our thoughts had turned to the same question. "When you tell them you completed your quest?"

"When I tell them I'm not going to marry a woman from Portsburring."

"Oh." I hadn't thought about that. I'd been so elated -- so drunk on the thought that he felt how I felt, and that we were going to have a future. I hadn't even touched upon the idea that we still had to fight against our respective fairy godmothers. And our parents.

My hands clenched even tighter. Marissol shifted beneath me, and I released her reins. "Sorry," I murmured, and patted her neck with a stiff hand. Then I looked at Van. Both of our mounts had stopped, as we stood before the royal gate. "We'll figure it out."

"I know," he said, with a sigh. "I'm just not looking forward to negotiating with our parents."

"You focus on your parents, and let me deal with mine," I told him, then repeated, "we'll figure it out."