The Escaped Princess

Part 17

The following day we've finally stopped after travelling for another fifteen miles, and I'm sat propped up against a tree watching Pepe and Dav give the horses a bath.

"Hey!"

I look up to see Sam standing in front of me, hands deep in his pockets and giving me a sheepish smile as he kicks at the ground, scuffing his boots.

"I wanted to say sorry."

"Sorry? For what?"

"For the way I acted back in Carrard when we first met. You were right, I made a snap judgement about you and it was wrong."

"It's ok." I say automatically.

"No, it wasn't ok. It wasn't fair, you didn't deserve it and I'm sorry. You were nothing but nice to me and I didn't treat you the same way."

"Well thanks." I say surprised and taken aback by his apology.

Sam nods and starts to walk away until I continue, "You know you weren't entirely wrong." Sam stops and looks back. "I was a spoilt girl from the castle who didn't understand the real world. But I don't want to be that girl any more."

Sam smiles, "You're not that girl. I heard what you did for the Rivelli's before we left. Even battered and bruised you were still thinking of others."

"Oh, well it was the guards. I saw them stealing from the market stall the day before and I know how hard the Rivellis work and I just wanted to pay them back."

"But you didn't steal from them. You're not responsible for the guards actions and yet you chose to go out of your way to help someone else. Made me realise maybe you're not such a bad person after all. Even if you did grow up in the palace" he says with a cheeky smile so that I know he's joking. As he starts to walk away again he calls back over his shoulder,

"One of the caravans has got a leak in the roof, wanna help me fix it?"

"Really?" I ask, surprised at his offer, wryly I add, "you know I don't know anything about tools?"

"I know" he smiles. He has a dimple in one cheek. I've never noticed that before. "Come on, I'll teach you."

Sam is an incredibly patient teacher as he shows me all of the tools, telling me their names and explaining what they're used for. He doesn't make fun of me for my lack of knowledge or get cross when I keep mixing things up. As he talks he ends up sharing stories of various disasters, including the time the stage collapsed mid-performance and he had to crawl under it to fix the broken support whilst they improvised a whole new section on stage. He keeps making me laugh which hurts my ribs but I don't protest too much. I'm actually having fun and the afternoon passes quickly. By the time dinner is ready Sam's finished the roof and we all gather around the fire. Sat out in the open countryside surrounded by people who I care about and who care about me I feel so at peace. Looking up at the sky, it's amazing to see so many stars. With the bright lights of the city, the sky is never clear enough to get a good view.

Each day it is much the same, we travel for most of the day before stopping to set up a temporary camp each night. Sometimes we stop in a village or hamlet and the Gallavanties perform smaller versions of the city shows for the inhabitants. They don't get much money from these shows but the audience's enjoyment and gratefulness is never ending. Thankfully each day also sees the ache in my head and pain in my ribs ease too. The bruises have faded to yellow and the cuts on my head and elbow are healing quickly thanks to Risa's tender care. When I'm deemed well enough Dav insists on teaching me some self-defense moves. He even tries to persuade me to carry a pocket knife in my boot but when I nearly slice my own foot open I decide against it. Surprisingly I spend most of my time with Sam who seems to have completely changed attitudes since we left Carrard. Or maybe more accurately since I was beaten by the Fagans. We often sit together at lunch time and dinner time, and once I'm recovered enough to sit up top on the caravan it's usually Sam who I sit beside.

Just two days from Ameve we're halted by bad weather as a storm hits and we're forced to stop early and shelter in Pepe's caravan whilst we wait for it to pass. Despite the wind and rain everyone is in high spirits knowing we're not far from our destination. I know I'm looking forward to not needing to travel every day and to see Ameve, a place I've never visited before. As we sit listening to the raging storm outside Dav and Pepe are doing impressions of each other's characters that they play on stage.

"I do not sound like that" insists Luis whilst the rest of us howl with laughter at Dav's dramatised version of when Luis plays Prince John.

"You do," I giggle, "You really do, you go all high pitched when you try to be posh."

"Well go on then show us how it's done."

"Alright," I say standing up and thinking of Tutor Zelda who used to lead my elocution and etiquette lessons and had the most ridiculously posh accent which I now copy, "To be truly royal you must pronounce every t in every word. It is of paramount importance to enunciate. One must always be clear and concise and ensure that the one with whom one is speaking understands every word."

The Gallavanties all roar with laughter as I grin and sit back down.

"Alright well that's cheatin, you bleedin grew up in a palace" says Luis still miffed, "Bet you couldn't do an impression of us as good as I can do one of you."

Instantly copying Luis' accent I say, "Course I could, yous are dead easy, jus gotta drop me t's n say everyfin all in one big mad long sentence dun I?"

This makes the Gallavantis laugh even more and even has Luis chuckling, "Yeah alrigh' that were pretty good" he admits.

"That were better than good," Sam says, "You're a natural. You should be up on the stage with us. Don't ya reckon Pepe? We could write a part in for her, couldn't we?"

"Yeah I'm sure we can. Or maybe you could take over from Luis."

"Hey" Luis laughs, throwing a pillow at Pepe.

"Could I really have a part in a show?"

"Yeah if you want one. We always look to change and mix things up, keep the shows fresh you know. Give me a bit o' time to write you a part, and it'll take a few rehearsals mind, but we'll have you up on that stage before you know it."

I grin at Pepe while Risa gives me a sideways hug and Dav claps me on the back. Sam smiles at me from across the table whilst I have to admit I'm giddy with excitement. The idea of going on stage and performing gives me a kind of thrill and I can't wait.

I'm up early the next day and helping Pepe brush the horses down when I have to ask him, "How come you took me in? I mean right from the beginning when you didn't even know me and I kept coming and hanging around, you were so totally open to me."

"I just knew."

"Knew what?"

"That you needed us. That you were lost and alone and looking for a family. I know that feeling. For a long time I was looking for a family and now that I'm lucky enough to have a pretty awesome one I don't take it for granted. Plus as weird as it sounds you just fitted right in. Like it was meant to be."

"You sound like Risa."

"Aye I do," he laughs, "Guess that's what happens with families, you kinda all become one."

"I like being part of this family." I smile. "Thanks for letting me in."

"No problem kiddo" he says, slinging his arm around my shoulders for a one armed hug. "There's no turning back now, you're one of us."

"One of us" I echo looking around at my new family. Nothing has ever sounded nicer than those three words.