A Princess's Sword

Chapter 10

The cooked bird tasted delicious after my long fast, easing my hunger immensely. After ending my meal, I mounted the mare. I was sore since I was not used to such hard riding. I kept a steady pace until I came to a large gorge. At a glance, there did not seem any way to cross it and it seemed to go for awhile in both directions. I stared at the steep walls of the canyon. I glanced down, it was sheer rock all the way to the bottom. It was not too wide of a chasm, most likely fourteen feet across on average. I eyed the horse I was riding. She did not look like a jumper, but I had to try.

Then I saw it. A piece of rock jutted out from the edge of the cliff near us. It closed the gap to an easy seven-foot jump which the sturdy mare did easily. That is when I heard shouting. I looked over my shoulder and observed three riders emerging from the woods on the other side of the canyon.

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The prince gave orders to arrest the company of kidnappers. Then he went to where the ruffians had tied their horses. Here he found a horse's hoof prints leading east.

A man ran up to him, and bowing said, "All the man have been captured, what should we do now?"

"I am going to follow the princess to make sure no more harm comes to her. Tell the men to take these crooks to our country, my father will deal with them there. Oh, and tell Gaithor and Tirgol to come to me." The man nodded and did as he had been told. The two chosen men soon made their way toward their prince.

"Is there anything we can do for you, sir?" Tirgol inquired.

"Yes, both of you will accompany me to try to find the lost princess." The prince followed the tracks, the two brothers close beside him.

It was not long until the prince caught sight of Arilina as she disappeared into the forest on the other side. He commanded Leiyc to jump the gorge, which he did with ease. He headed to where he had last seen the flowing cloak. Tirgol and Gaithor cantered their horses to the place where Arilina had jumped her horse. Then they too, were soon over the canyon and chasing after Arilina.

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I ducked to avoid a low-hanging branch. The hooves of my pursuer's mount sounded close behind me. Then I heard a thwack and a muffled cry as the person ran into the branch I had just dodged.

Someone yelled, "Wait!" But I suspected a trap and so ignored the plea. Suddenly, I came to a tiny clearing where the trees grew so close together that they formed a natural barrier. I looked for a way out, but the trees stood too close for my horse and me to squeeze through them. I turned to face my chasers with my bow drawn and was astonished to find the prince with two men. I let down the arrow and bit back the angry words that I was about to say when I saw the prince's concerned and anxious face.

He dismounted, raced to my side and asked, "Are you alright, Arilina?" I noticed he forgot to put the proper title of Princess before my name. His men observed this as well and exchanged looks behind his back.

Seeing their glances caused me to become aggravated again, so I said, "I am fine." The prince looked crestfallen at my sharp tone, and I regretted my words. But my pride did not let me apologize. He sighed and turned back to his horse.

"We will escort you home, your highness, then be on our way," the prince explained as he swung into his saddle. I nodded and was overcome with an unexplainable desire to know his name.

"What is your name, prince?" I ventured, trying to act nonchalant, and failing.

Strartled, he looked at me but managed to say, "I am his royal highness, Prince Ithagar Haiber. I am the next heir to the throne in the thriving kingdom of Brinderia," he answered. "These two men are Tirgol and Gaithor; they are my esquires, Princess Arilina." He pointed at each man and they dipped their heads.

We traveled for some time in silence before I asked another question. "Prince Ithagar, how long have I been gone?"

"Four days, your highness," he answered. I considered this information. We would travel faster than the band of men who had captured me. So we should get back in three days if we set a brisk pace from dawn to nightfall each day.

When darkness closed in around us, we pitched the tents, and the prince insisted that I have his tent. Since a chilly breeze was blowing through the trees and clouds obscured the moon, I agreed.

I woke, feeling refreshed. After fixing my hair, I exited the tent. The bright morning sun greeted me with its warm rays. Gaithor was attending to the horses when I greeted him.

He bowed and said, "Good morning, your highness." Tirgol sat by a small fire, cooking our breakfast. Ithagar was beside him, gazing at the fire. He motioned that I should come over to him. After a moment of hesitation, I joined him beside the fire. Tirgol handed me a piece of bread with the meat on it. After I was finished with it, Ithagar asked me a question.

"How did you manage to get away from your captors, Princess Arilina? And how did you get caught in the first place?" I told them the story of my capture and escape.

"Your highness, you did a wonderful job keeping your head when things went unexpectedly," Tirgol said.

"Thank you, although I wish I could have prevented that knight from being shot, I hope he can recover from the wound."

We sat in silence for a while, then Gaithor stood and said, "Well, if we want to get back to your castle, your highness, we should probably get ready to leave." After packing everything up, we mounted our horses and continued our journey.

We set a hard pace, and my stout horse had trouble keeping up with the rest. I realized with a pang of sorrow that Leilia would have kept the pace easily. But she was gone.

I glanced at the prince and noticed he was humming a ballad. I had heard the minstrels sing it. It was about a prince who had fallen in love with a princess. Unfortunately, the princess, Gerdia, did not love him and hated everything he did. The prince, overcome with grief, had killed himself. When Gerdia heard of this, she realized that she had loved him, and her heart broke. From that day on, she vowed never to love again. It was a sad, almost haunting melody. If a good balladeer sang it, tears would be on everyone's face when he had finished.

My attention was jerked back to reality when my horse stumbled. She regained her balance and determinedly trudged forward up the path. We were on a treacherous path, but it was the fastest route back to the castle. We crossed countless streams and rode through several patches of woods before the sun shot its last gleaming beams of light around us. After putting up the tents, the prince volunteered his to me. Again, I accepted his offer gratefully. The prince slept on the ground between the two tents.

I woke up in the middle of the night. A wolf howled in the distance, and an owl hooted from a nearby tree. Everything seemed normal, and I wondered why I was awake. I turned over and pulled a blanket over me and drifted back to sleep.