Chained Princess

Chapter 8 - The Guilty Prankster Pt. 2

Syran dropped his hand, "It will have to do. We move out tonight."

~~~~~ ~~~~~

Anastasia woke up on a soft bed, her eyes burning from all the crying she had done earlier. Sitting up, she looked around the small room. There were two small beds, including the one she was laying on, with a wide window between them. Not much else though. Her eyes met Tacra's green ones and the female soldier offered her a small smile.

"Where are we?" Anastasia asked.

"In an inn. We needed a place to rest for the night," Tacra's gentle voice replied. Anastasia looked around the room again. She could hear faint voices. They seemed to be coming from outside the room.

As swift as a thieving mouse, she jumped from the bed and tip toed her way to the door, pressing her ear against the wooden grain.

"I don't think you should be doing that," Tacra whispered frantically. Anastasia waved her hand at the woman to keep quiet. She had found herself quite the interesting conversation to spy on.

"Miss Asa! Please! You mustn't eavesdrop!" Tacra protested once more, tugging on Anastasia's arm. Just as Tacra was about to pull Anastasia away, Anastasia used her free hand to throw the door open.

"I want to help!" she declared to two shocked faces and one completely stoic female soldier. She had to tilt her head to look up at the three giants standing with slack jaws in front of her.

The king was the first to compose himself. "Absolutely not," he said, shooting Tacra a glare that could stop any beating heart.

Anastasia's nap had put her in a good mood, so she didn't even feel angry at the king's obvious reaction. "Nonsense, you need brown hair and I happened to have just that!" she said, a wide smile on her face as she picked up two bunches of her wavy, long hair and held them out.

"I said no," the king growled out, shoving past her to sit on the other bed.

"Oh come on! You need bait and I'm all you've got," she argued back. She had no idea why they needed bait at all, but she found herself not sweating over the details. If anything, she felt a little giddy at the idea of danger. Ha! What a ridiculous thought. Her and danger were about as compatible as oil and water. Yet, the excitement brimming in her chest contradicted what her mind was telling her. This was it. She had finally gone and lost any bit of sanity she had left.

"I need bait that can protect itself. You would only get in the way," he said, dropping his white blonde head into his hands. Anastasia didn't understand why he was being so difficult.

"I can protect myself just fine! See," she said, snapping her fingers over her hand to create a little flame. Plus, Rowan had made sure she knew at least some self-defense. If it came down to it, she could fight off a lone attacker. Well maybe. Her track record wasn't exactly in her favor at the moment, but she wasn't going to mention that.

The king looked up at her, to her flame, back to her grinning face, and back again to her flame. He let out a long sigh and dropped his head, "The answer is still no."

Anastasia let her little fire die as her smile fell with it. Frustration bubbled up from the pit of her stomach. She just wanted to help! But wait, why exactly did she want to help? She should be trying to escape again. This could be the best opportunity to do so, while the king and his soldiers are distracted with whatever it was that was going on in this town. But Anastasia felt no conviction behind her thoughts. Instead, she found herself wanting to prove her worth. There was a feeling of uselessness that had been gnawing at the back of her mind ever since Cesare had saved her in Gamaliel. Crossing her arms over her chest, she let out an angry huff as she dropped onto the edge of the bed, turning her face to look out the window.