The Archer's Legacy

★彡02|09 - "What else is there to do?"彡★

Thomas arrived back at the new cottage by the next day's lunch. This time, only Arthur was outside, sharpening his sword with a serious look. "Any problems?" he asked, standing up.

"Everything went without a hitch," Thomas answered, hopping off of Misty and taking off his gloves, finally able to enjoy the freedom of being with the closest people he had to family.

"And you weren't being followed?"

"I took a detour every five minutes, no tail could've stuck through that," Thomas assured, proud of his achievement.

Arthur nodded. "Good. If there's even a suspicion that somebody may know of our whereabouts, we'll relocate immediately and we'll have to cut off all communication."

"I'll make sure we haven't got to tell Princess Y/n those news," Thomas promised.

And indeed, the man kept true to his word, the letters that marked three months and four months of Y/n's absence being delivered to Auradon and back safe and sound. But even without having to cut off the communication with her friends, Y/n was slowly going insane.

For starters, she couldn't stop worrying about her mother. In fact, she had no idea at all about the country's situation.

And in addition to that, being stuck in a small area with only four other people for months on end was bound to drive one mad, no matter how good the other people treated the person in question. Thus, Y/n's changing behaviour had started to worry those around her. She was daydreaming more, moving less and whenever she ate, she ate so little that even Agatha, who'd seen the girl through all her growth spurts, was getting worried.

On another one of such days, when it had been nearly five months in the woods and Y/n was just lying on the grass, Thomas joined her. "What are you up to, Your Highness?" he questioned, his hand positioned under his head and his gaze fixated on the clouds far above them.

"Nothing," Y/n mused, the answer ending just there.

Thomas hummed. "Are you alright?"

That made Y/n pause and think. Was she alright? No, no she wasn't.

With a sigh, the girl said, "No, I guess not."

Thomas smiled a bit, not because of the answer but because the girl was honest with him. "How so?"

"I just feel stuck," Y/n confessed, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I mean, I haven't been out of the woods for months, I don't know how mom's doing or what the future will look like and if it does all go south, I'm afraid I won't be able to protect Ewan."

"And your solution is to lie in the grass?" Thomas asked, trying to get the girl to see how ridiculous she was being.

"What else is there to do?" the princess asked sadly. "I could practise day and night but I've already learned you and Arthur's patterns. I won't get any better at fighting if I go on like this."

"That is true," Thomas admitted with a sigh. "But isn't there anything I — we — can do to ease your boredom? Like I could play chess with you or something."

Y/n smiled at the young man's effort, her mind screaming at her to keep lying where she was while her heart gave in to the desire of some kind of entertainment and social interaction. "Sure, that would be nice."

From the window above the two, Arthur looked at Thomas as he pulled himself up and offered Y/n a hand, pulling her up from the grass where an imprint was left, for she'd been there the whole morning. The older man smiled. Good job, Thomas.

As soon as Arthur finished that thought, trumpets sounded. Alarmed but also curious, the man glanced out the window towards the soily trail that led to the cottage. There stood a royal messenger of the North and it was obvious that both Y/n and Thomas had spotted the man, too.

Agatha looked at Arthur from where she was at the stove in alarm. She knew that a royal guard showing up could mean one thing — the conflict had ended. But what the solution was was still unclear.

Arthur gave a serious nod to the maid and exited the house to join the crown princess and his fellow guard. The royal messenger hopped off of his horse and bowed. "Your Highness, Arthur, Thomas. I bring news from Queen Merida."