I blinked at him, unsure what reaction he was expecting.
Ignoring my stupor, Cassian glided past me with all the regal elegance of a king.
"Catch." He unhooked a bridle from a hook and tossed it at me.
I caught it – thankfully.
"You... you wish to go riding?" I stared at him.
There it was again. An almost smirk crossed his face. "It was your idea, Aurelia."
His tone was emotionless though I could have sworn, even from this distance there was something like amusement dancing in his eyes.
Was this his subtle attempt at a joke?
I wasn't sure, but at least he didn't seem angry at my failed midnight excursion. Or was that all part of his 'be nice to Aurelia' act?
Not meeting his gaze, I began tacking up the horse I now knew as Stella. Cassian, too, fell silent.
Once I'd finished, I glanced once again in Cassian's direction. He was watching me. Our eyes met. He did not look away.
"May I be of assistance?" He held out his hand.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Your horse" — he gestured toward Stella — "May I help you get up?"
Surprised, I merely nodded. He pushed off of the wall where he leant and started forward. He bent down. Well, knelt down, actually, one knee on the dusty ground.
"What are you doing? The ground is filthy."
He frowned up at me as if I had asked a stupid question. Had I? He made me doubt myself.
"Giving you a leg up. Here. You may step on my knee."
I glanced down at him. It felt good, I realised. Having the higher ground for once, usually he was a good head or so taller.
Sighing, I placed one hand in his and held the reins with the other. Trying to place as little weight on him as possible, I swung myself easily up onto Stella's back. The mare shifted, but ultimately didn't seem to mind my added weight.
It was only then that I realised I only had one free hand. Cassian still held the other. He was waiting, I knew he was. Waiting for me to look at him – I could feel his eyes burning into the side of my head.
Glancing to him, I saw that I was right. Blue eyes bored into mine.
"You are still holding my hand," he said.
Excuse him... he was still holding my hand.
I couldn't help it; I glared down at him. "Or is it that you are still holding my hand?"
His eyes seemed to narrow almost infinitesimally. "That is the question, isn't it, Aurelia?"
"Well hadn't you better let go now?" I hissed.
There! I didn't miss it; I was sure of that now. The corner of his Cassian's mouth twitched upward, ever so slightly. Was he finding this funny?
Still holding my gaze, he replied coolly, "Well, if you cannot, I suppose I must."
And with that infuriating final statement, he released me and stepped back, mounting his own horse with practised ease.
The warmth of his touch still lingered on my fingers – they seemed to tingle with the remnants of it. I shook it off, clicking Stella onward.
Out in the snow, the cold hit me again, washing away any warmth I had just felt. We trotted along, once again in silence.
I pulled Stella into step with Cassian's horse, unsure where we were going.
Did I dare ask any questions of him? It wasn't like with Wrynn – his annoyance, I could at least manage. But Cassian, I didn't want to do anything that might set him off and shatter this almost pleasant interaction.
Eventually, after a while longer of silence, I plucked up the courage, opting for something that I assumed would not cause any offence.
"What's his name? Your horse?"
Cassian glanced at me; I kept my attention straight ahead.
"Quinn," he said finally.
I was about to follow this up with another question, when Cassian surprised me by offering up more information of his own accord.
"He was a gift. On my eighteenth birthday."
Eighteenth birthday... so how old did that make Cassian now? 28? 29? 30? Older?
"How old are you?" The question slipped out from my musings before I could stop it.
Eyes wide, shocked by my own forwardness I looked to Cassian. He smirked at me. At least he didn't seem offended.
"I am 29."
29... 9 years older. He seemed older somehow. Lines etched his face; his silver hair blew gently in the breeze – time had not been kind to him.
I fixed my eyes on the trail that stretched on before us. Snow covered it, but small tracks of dirt could faintly be seen as though something like a cart had traveled it recently. Supplies maybe?
We approached a cluster of trees. Huddled beneath them was again another of those creepy angels. Had Cassian ordered them? I decided to ask, after all he did seem in a relatively talkative mood.
"What's with all the angel statues? They are everywhere."
Silence.
For a long while.
Then: "I like to think of them as guardians. They watch over those of us who are left."
Of all the cryptic answers.
"Did you put them here?"
"No."
"Then..."
"They appear."
I frowned, before commenting sarcastically, "As if by magic?"
Cassian caught my eye. "Exactly."
He did not look away. I shivered almost instinctively. There was something about the way he said it. Almost as though he were trying to say something else.
Unsure what to make of his explanation, I glanced away, out into the snow-covered fields, deciding not to read too much into it. After all, magic didn't really exist.
He must have been speaking figuratively, in that round-about way that both he and Wrynn seemed to employ.
Occasionally, on our journey, I snuck glances at him, through lowered lids. Sometimes he or I would make brief conversation about something trivial, but neither one of us breached a topic that caused upset or offence and for that I was grateful.
But one question still plagued my mind: how long would it last?
And another: where were we going?
Suddenly, I realised that all this time, I'd been blindly following him, but I myself had absolutely no idea where we were headed.
It seemed that I trusted him – at least a little.
An hour must have passed by now. Or two. I couldn't be sure. It wasn't like back home, where one could always use the position of the sun to determine the time. Here, the eternal snow clouds, blocked out the heavenly timepiece.
As if he had read my mind, Cassian who had seemed in silent contemplation for the last five minutes, now spoke. "It is only another ten minutes from here."
What was?
Cassian deigned not to speak on the matter any further. So, I stayed silent too. The only sound the whipping wind and the soft crunch of snow underfoot. Small white flecks still floated steadily down, making the reins slippery beneath my fingers.
Trekking out like this reminded me of childhood days. Celia and I had used to ride out for miles – along the valleys.
Celia. I wondered what she was doing now. Was she fighting off suitors as she always had to? How was she faring without me by her side? Or had she replaced me already?
Where have that thought come from? Of course, she wouldn't have replaced me. We'd vowed to stick together until the end. I would find a way to see her again. Maybe, if I became familiar enough with Cassian, I could convince him to allow her to come here. One day...
"Here we are." Cassian's voice shook me out of my wistful daydreams, its deep cadence carrying across the barren expanse.
I glanced up, my gaze had drifted down as I'd reminisced.
My eyes were met with a small collection of ramshackle houses built out of wooden planks, that could have resembled a village.
On our journey here, I had noticed several cottages and huts, but none had looked as inhabited as this collection did. A couple of village folk wandered between the houses, glancing up at our arrival. Surprise turned to annoyance as we rode closer.
The two men watched us warily. Shooting a glance toward Cassian, I could see his jaw was tight. Was this what he wanted to show me?
"This ain't no place for kings. Come to see 'ow the other half live 'ave yer?" The first man spoke, a harsh accent distorting his voice.
He looked bedraggled, clothes thread bare, hair matted and unwashed. I felt very sorry in that moment that I was dressed in finery. It was wrong.
I dismounted, holding Stella by the reins. Cassian watched me as I approached the man, extending to him my hand, smile bright on my face.
"I'm—"
He cut me off wagging his finger. "Unless yer got food to feed us, I'm not interested in who yer are, lovey. Go on with yer." He made a shooing gesture.
I felt Cassian step up behind me. "That is no way to address a princess. You might also be interested to know that this is your future queen. Show some respect."
The old man spat on the ground. "I'll show yers some respect when we've got food enough to live on. We're starvin', don't yer know."
I glanced to Cassian, his jaw still set into a firm line, he glared at the man. "You will learn to respect your king. Now, tell me what has happened here?"
The man snorted. "Oh, that's right. Things have really changed since the last time yer bothered to show yer face 'round 'ere. We can't all hide away in fancy palaces, now, can we?"
Cassian held the man's gaze waiting for him to continue.
"Yer see what's happened to yer kingdom, yer majesty. And now yer'v dragged this 'ere poor lass with yer. Well, there's not much to see, I'll tell yer."
Whilst Cassian continued to argue with the disgruntled villager, my eyes wandered about the village. By now, the man's complaints had become so noisy, that several curious faces were beginning to peer out of windows and around doors.
I tried to smile politely, waving to a few children scampering across the path.
There were a couple of points to note here: firstly, that Evenspire must be in trouble too, if its villages were so poor – even this close to the capital. And secondly, that Cassian seemingly had no idea about the state of things.
I wasn't sure which was worse.
As I looked on, Cassian appeared to be getting more and more annoyed with the villager. For a king, his methods of diplomacy seemed to be seriously lacking. I cast my eyes upward, gazing into the silky grey. Was it just me, or was the snow heavier now?
The frozen flakes hurtled down to earth, adding to the eternal blanket of white beneath my feet.
"'scuse me, Miss?"
I turned.
A woman, older in years, stood before me. Dressed in a pale blue frock, she watched me closely.
"Yes?"
"Might yer be in need of a place ter stay? I can put the two of yer up for a night. 50 gold coins, it'll cost yer. And that's proper cheap for folks round here."
My gaze returned to Cassian. He'd stopped arguing with the man now – eyes cast skyward as if he'd just noticed the heavier snow. His eyes flickered to me.
Holding my gaze, he strode over, standing between me and the older woman. "That won't be necessary. We will be leaving shortly."
The woman snorted. "All the way back ter the castle in this weather. Yer must be mad. There's a storm coming, Son. Yer don't want ter get caught in it. Camping on the road is no good either. Bandits roam these parts" — she leant closer — "not to mention yer know what."
I frowned.
"The beast, lass. Gotten some of our village folk it has. All those with nowhere ter stay – no roof over their 'ead's. It got 'em. And it'll get yers too."
I glanced to Cassian. He looked... worried? He hadn't even made mention of the fact that the woman had called him son.
It was a good hours ride back to the palace. They wouldn't make it before nightfall. Not with all this snow. For it was heavier still, covering my cloak with a layer of white. I shivered.
Cassian noticed. He clenched his jaw. His eyes narrowed.
"Fine." He rummaged in his pocket pulling out a drawstring bag. It clinked as he placed it in the woman's eager hands. "60 gold coins. I'm feeling generous."
"Oh, a good choice, lad. Follow me!"
The woman disappeared through the snow, weaving between huts and houses alike. Glancing at Cassian, he gave me a tightlipped almost smile – though he didn't look pleased to be doing it.
"This was a foolish idea," he mumbled.
Unsure whether I was supposed to have heard, I said nothing, leading Stella by the reins behind me.
How bad could it be? We'd stay the night, wait out the storm and ride back tomorrow...
What could possibly go wrong?
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Thank you so much for reading!
See you in the next chapter!
Kalli x