Saenar fell silent after she had so bluntly called him a summer boy, but Mynera didn't mind. She welcomed it since it gave her the time to think. When she had gotten up this morning, she barely had any time to stop and think through what she was going to do. Instead, she had been promptly stripped, washed, scented and dressed, leaving no spare time for her to figure out her thoughts.
Now, she had the time but her thoughts weren't going anywhere. Instead of ruminating on what she was going to do with what she heard in the forest, she was too preoccupied with the prince sitting broodingly atop his horse beside her. For some reason she was sure that he felt offended for being called a summer boy but Mynera didn't care much. She only wished he would go farther away from her. His presence was making it difficult to cogitate properly.
They were nearing the exit of the city. Peasants and merchants alike lined the streets, arms filled with flowers, bread and other precious commodities. As they passed by on their high horses, the city folk struggled to give their gifts, some even throwing the flowers when they figured they were going to be passed by. Mynera smiled at every one of them. Her heart swelled with sadness that she was leaving these people, leaving her city men that loved and adored her so dearly, that screamed her name and not the name of the overly handsome prince and their king
It was 'Lady Mynera!' 'Lady Mynera!' Hearing her name brought tears to her eyes but she dashed them away. She would not cry. She was stronger than that, damn it, and she was not going to leave a farewell image of her crying until her eyes grew red and her nose ran snot in her people's minds. She will be Lady Mynera Antarian till the very end.
Lady Mynera Antarian had disappeared for a second, bringing forth the Mynera who had tears ready behind her eyes, when three children, dirty and dressed in ratty clothing, jumped in front of her horse. She reared Bolt, so as not to trample the poor kids. Standing in front of the three was the smallest, a tiny girl unkempt brown hair. She looked to be about four and in her stubby, dirty fists she held a bunch of wildflowers. Mynera peered over at the dirty children with a soft smile.
"Hello," she greeted kindly. "What's that you got there?"
The girl rubbed her toe into the ground, her eyes darting back and forth, between Mynera and the rough stoned floor she stood on. The other two behind her, both boys that looked to be about seven, steadfastly refused to meet Mynera's eyes, looking everywhere but her. The girl sent a quick glance behind her and noticed her friends' silence. With a cute bite of her lips, she bravely fixed her eyes on Mynera.
"It's flowers," she said, her voice a soft squeak yet sounding oddly strong. Her eyes grew a bit dewy and scared but her voice was remained tough and her chin jutted out with boldness. Her hair, Mynera noticed, was actually blond, matted with dirt. "We picked 'em for you."
"Aw, is that so?" Mynera was touched. She jumped off her horse and knelt before the child. Her guards and the others from her castle stopped instantly. "They look beautiful, thank you." She took the wildflowers from the girl. "I love wildflowers."
The little girl smiled, showing a missing front tooth. "We searched all morning for 'em," she boasted. "Joseph even got a rash."
"Oh?" Mynera turned to the boys with a cock of her head. "Which one of you is Joseph?"
"That's Joseph," said the boy to the right, pointing a dirty forefinger on his male companion when it was obvious her question would go unanswered. Joseph duck his head immediately, his sandy coloured hair flopping over his face and obscuring what she was sure was a shy expression. There was a large red rash spreading across his chest and neck.
She smiled warmly, reaching forward to take his hand. At the contact, Joseph looked up and Mynera saw a splash of freckles covering his entire face.
"And I'm Yaiden," said same boy who had spoken. This one had black hair and was a scrawny as a stick. Mynera's heart went out to them. "Her name is Ula," he said, gesturing to the little girl.
Her smile grew even kinder as she faced Joseph again. "Well, Joseph, you are quite the bravest young man I've seen to have endured a rash to get these flowers for me. You must want to be a knight?"
"The bestest knight in all the Nations!" Joseph exclaimed.
Mynera laughed. "With that courage you will be. Thank you for the flowers," she said again. "Now head on home."
"We don't have a home," said Ula spoke up. Her eyes shone brilliantly and those large blue orbs were focused on her.
"We never had a home," added Yaiden.
"You're orphans?" Mynera whispered. Something cracked within her. Those three beautiful eyes staring up at her with such love and admiration broke her completely and she bit her bottom lip to hold back the dam of tears that was threatening to escape. She didn't want to alarm anyone with her sudden crying.
"Come here," she called, stooping, and they crowded her immediately wrapping their thin frail arms around her in an embracing hug. "It will be alright," she whispered.
Ula drew back and wiped at Mynera's face. "Yes," she said with all the wisdom of her years. "It will be alright."
Mynera smiled at the little girl. She hadn't even noticed that the tears had broken loose and was running down her face until Ula had wiped them away. With a small sob, she stood and dried her face. "Thank you for the flowers, my sweets."
"Bye!" they all shouted at her as she remounted her horse. Mynera watched them scurry out of the way and stand to the side, still staring up at her with those heartbreaking eyes, before she trained her head forward and continued to make her way out of the city. As soon as she did, everyone else started forward too.
Why did those kids break her so badly? Tears weren't an easy thing for her but seeing little Ula holding up wildflowers with strength and wisdom in her eyes that child had business having, and little Joseph with the rash spreading across his skin, risking his health to get her these flowers and, little Yaiden who barely said anything except to support his orphan friends, had the tears sprouting back. For that moment she had forgotten the burden she bore and was completely consumed by another's.
Saenar rode silently beside her but she could feel his eyes on her. She was glad that he didn't speak. She didn't trust herself to respond. She needed to slip back into her role as the Lady Mynera Antarian and fast.
After a few calming breaths, the tears subsided and she felt her strength return. As soon as it did sadly she remembered what had occupied her mind for most of the journey out of the city. Lord Gavin.
"Saenar," she called.
"What is it, my lady?" he answered.
"Do you know someone named Lord Gavin?"
It took him a moment to answer. "There are many Lord Gavins that I know and many still that I only know of. 'Tis quite the popular name."
"Is that so?" That didn't help her at all. She couldn't tell her father, especially since he wasn't there at the moment. She couldn't tell the king for she'd learned that he was a chauvinist who took advice from no one. Now, she couldn't even find out who Lord Gavin was. There was only one person she could tell, one person that she felt she may be able to share her thoughts with, if she said it correctly. He was the only person really and beggars couldn't be choosers. She had to take what she was given.
"I have a confession to make," she said.
"You, my lady, have a confession? I'm not surprised at all. You do seem like the one to have many secrets to hold."
Momentarily distracted, she asked, "Do I? Why is that?"
"There is a look about you." Saenar sounded half disgusted, half in awe as he spoke. "A look that says I will smile and curtsy in front of the king, in front of my father, in broad daylight, but when night falls I'm no longer a curtsying lady but one who prowls the street in search of fresh blood."
Mynera couldn't help the laugh that bubbled forth. Prince Saenar may be a rude, unfriendly summer boy but he did have a way with words. "You make me sound like a vampire," she said between giggles.
A grunt sounded behind in throat. "Those blood thirsty creatures. We don't know if they are still around."
"Of course, they aren't around. They have been extinct for years. Before my father was even born."
"Or so they would have you believe."
Mynera shook her head. "And you think I'm one of them?"
The idea itself was absurd. About a hundred years ago, vampires roamed the earth alongside humans and lycanthropes -- half human, half beast. They were wiped out because humans viewed the earth to be theirs and it was not to be shared, especially not by blood sucking vermins and deformed humans. King Francis III, who ruled at that time, hated those creatures with a deep passion, so he led what was called the Puritans War, where they sought to rid the earth of anything that was not completely human, flora or fauna. They have been gone ever since.
"You still believe they exist?" Mynera asked.
Saenar shrugged. "You've got the skin tone for it."
"I- what?" She gaped at him before shaking her head. "We are getting off track. I had a confession."
"You're a vampire? I already know."
"No, I'm not a vampire and will you listen and be serious." Her words didn't seem to get to him because he was laughing. Whether he was laughing at the situation or at her frustration she didn't know but for one split second, the hatred and disgust that usually shone in his eyes when he looked at her was gone. "It's a serious matter."
His laughter died down.
"Right," she continued, gripping the reins tightly in her hand. "Last night I would not have been able to show you around. That was because I snuck out of the castle and into the city."
"What were you doing in the city?" Saenar's voice sounded thick. She recognized shock and disbelief but there was something else there that she couldn't quite place. "Don't you know how dangerous the city is at night? There are thieves and drunkards everywhere. It's no place for a lady, you should know that--"
"Of course I know that. I'm not stupid. A naked woman even asked me to have sex with her for a shiny penny."
"W-what?" he sputtered. "What did--?"
"It doesn't matter what I said. The point is, I didn't leave the castle to go into the city. I left the castle to go into the forest on the outskirts of the city."
"Why did you go there?"
"I, uh, have a hobby I like to practice out there."
She was hiding something, Saenar knew. Her sentence stumbled a bit and Saenar saw that she wasn't answering his questions truthfully. She's a liar, he reminded himself. She lied all the time. Even her tears were lies when she had cried in front of the orphan kids. He told himself that all her lies had a reason behind it, but he couldn't find the reason for this one.
Mynera continued, not noticing the way Saenar fell silent and watched her. Her mind was back to last night. "Anyway," she said, "I was in the forest practicing my hobby when an arrow shot of nowhere and almost went through my head."
"Now, yes, Your Highness," she continued without giving him a chance to speak. "I know I should have gotten out of there as soon as I could but before I even thought of it I heard talking and, instead, I hid. There were two voices. I heard them talking about someone named Lord Gavin."
Mynera stopped, thinking on how she should proceed. "One of them said that he heard there was going to be an army and the other one said that there was an army but it wasn't in Typena. It was in Cyrello and that as soon as I was gone, they could leave too and inform their Lord Gavin."
"An army?" Saenar asked. "What does he mean by that? What army?"
"I don't know. They started complaining because one of them thought he had shot a wild boar but it turned out to be a rabbit and then they went on their way."
"Did they know you were there?"
"If they did, do you think I would be here right now?"
"Considering that they were waiting for you to leave for the capital, I presume that even if they did know they wouldn't have done anything to prevent you from leaving."
"Well..." She hadn't considered that. "Well, yes, I suppose. Wait, does that mean you believe me?"
Saenar didn't know how to answer that. He had been asking questions without even thinking about whether she was telling the truth or not. She is a liar, he shouted at himself in his mind. But even so, what was there to gain from lying about this? What she spoke about sounded like treason. If what she said was proven wrong it could only end badly for her.
"That sounds serious," he said finally. It was the truth. It did sound serious. "They plan to attack the capital?"
Mynera nodded. "Yes, that's what I believe."
"Why didn't you go to the king?"
"You and I both know that he would never listen to me, no matter how much he likes me. He's a chauvinist who doesn't like advice so it would be like talking to a brick wall. Makes me wonder why he has all those advisors in the first place."
"'Tis standard. Why didn't you tell your father then?"
"My father is a fool." Saenar's head whipped around at the slander. She was looking straight ahead, her calm expression proving the conviction she had behind those words. "He is, really. He believes nothing can touch Typena. Look at me, his only daughter, and I've managed to sneak out of the castle time and time again without anyone noticing. His guard is always low and so the castle's defenses are low too."
"Then do you not think telling him might have been the better option?"
"It might have been if he had any inclination to listen to me. He hates me, you know."
Saenar looked away and into the back of his father's head. He didn't know hate but he didn't know love either. It was neither here nor there for him. "Why tell me?"
Mynera's eyes shifted to him. "Do you not like that I told you?"
"That wasn't what I asked."
"I had no one else to tell and I couldn't keep this information to myself. What if it turned out to be something big, like a full scale war? It will be all on me for not informing someone sooner."
"You think this will be a full scale war?"
"I don't know what to think, Saenar. I don't know what's going to happen but I'm not risking anything."
"There are a lot of Lord Gavins and those are only the ones I know personally, as I said before. If this is true then we'll have to look into every one of them to make sure there isn't any plotting."
"That could take months!" she exclaimed. "And what do you mean by 'if this is true'? You think I'm lying?"
Saenar looked at her then, his eyes locking unto her face with intensity. They roved over her, a small crease appearing between his eyebrows.
"I don't know what to think about you," he said finally and pushed his horse forward, leaving her behind.