"But you had no idea where we were heading earlier, what changed?" Katherine asked as they found a pathway through the forest to walk along. It still annoyed her that she could no longer walk on the carriage ways due to Tristan now branding them criminals. Yet she made due. She had to. She had to keep strong for Ren's sake.
"With Ren here, she will be safer within her own kingdom rather than this one." Caden replied almost immediately as if he was expecting the question all along. He led the trio as he made his way along at a slower pace, minding Ren's short legs. Even though she is a beastgirl, she is still young.
"Why can't we stay here? Go to the outskirts of the kingdom or something?" She asked with a tone that betrayed her uncertainty of the situation.
"Why do you think the bandits left Ren alive?" Caden asked as he came to a stop and turned towards Katherine. A serious look on his face that was slowly leaking his anger.
"Weren't they going to kill her after her mother?" Katherine asked clearly confused slightly at the question proposed by Caden.
"She is what the fat nobles of your kingdom look for in slaves. Almost all turn towards the fetish way of life." Caden spat with disgust filling his tone and features. "They planned on selling her to either one of those nobles, or a slave driver with contacts with the same nobles."
"They wouldn't that, right?" Katherine asked trying to defend the nobles of her kingdom but failing miserably as she doubted them herself.
"You wouldn't know." Caden said as he swiftly turned around and began the trek once more. "I wasn't even apart of the kingdom and I could tell you were a puppet on strings. I didn't know it was Tristan, but I knew someone who has sway with the nobles was hiding this from you. And you bought every single one of their lies."
"That can't be." She said softly as she tightened her grip around Ren's left hand ever so tightly. Not enough to cause harm but enough to show the pain and emotional confusion that ran through her.
"It is and they have." Caden replied as he continued with the former Queen and his newly acquired slave behind him. Picking up his speed so he can end this sooner. He only hoped that they would find a town soon so they can get better clothes and maybe travel with more comfort.
Suddenly Caden stopped and went still, giving both Katherine and Ren a shock. He turned slowly until he was facing them.
"Do you happen to have any gold on you?" He asked knowing that the money he had was not enough for the three of them to get to the Beast kingdom.
"No, I do not." Katherine said clearly understanding the intent of the question. Since they both knew that Ren wouldn't, they didn't bother asking her. "Didn't you get enough from the bandits?"
"They barely had any on them." He said softly as he brought his right hand up and stroked the back of his neck. Trying to figure how they would get enough gold in order for his plans to work out.
"So what now?" Katherine asked as she stepped closer to him, noticing that he took a step back. Deflated at the motion he made, Katherine's heart sank a little further. She still thought the world of him, but knew that he was far from ever being hers.
"I have to find a source of gold." He said as he placed his hands on his hips thinking of the possible sources.
"Why not the market?" Katherine said with a tone that betrayed some of her sadness as she prepared to do the one thing that she had hoped and thought she would never have to do.
"And what would we sell?" Caden said quickly with a wave of his hand before he added onto his question. "And who would sell to me? It took ages to get that one back at the capital to sell me."
"There won't be a problem if you have something rare to sell, will it?" She replied with a false smile creeping onto her lips.
"And where will I find a rare item to sell?" He asked, knowing full well that he would never sell his own rare items. Not for this.
"I have a necklace that is worth close to two hundred thousand gold that you could sell." She replied as she unclasped the big bright green gemmed necklace that hung around her neck. The gem was oval in shape and the size of a quarter of her palm. Held within a bright golden coloured frame that was void of any obvious designs, but still held an elegant air about it.
"If I am not mistaken, that belonged to your mother?" Caden asked remembering that she had told him when he was still in training. Even if he didn't like the Queen and this kingdom, he couldn't let her give something up that her mother had given her.
"We need gold more than I need sentimental items." She said as a lone tear escaped from her right eye. Holding the necklace in an outstretched hand waiting for Caden to take it.
After a few moments Caden waved her off and turned around.
"I still can't do it. If we can't find something closer to town, I have a few things that I could sell." Deciding to give up his pride and ego, he would rather part from something of his that meant nothing to him, rather than an heirloom to the royal family.
"Why not?" She asked getting slightly agitated. "I just want to help. Why won't you accept it?"
"Because." Was his reply which did not settle well with her.
"That is not an answer. Tell me why." She ordered him getting back into her Queen mode. Which set Caden off. He did not like being ordered.
"Because it is from your mother!" He shouted as he turned to face her. "You should cherish that. At least you have something from her." He added as his voice went quiet. He turned as he ended his sentence.
"What does that mean?" She asked not understanding why he would turn after going quiet. He had never spoken about his mother during the two years they knew each other, and she didn't pry, knowing that he didn't like the topic. But today was different. She didn't think about stopping now. "Explain that last sentence." She added as she stomped over to him and stood barely a half meter from him. Anger shown on her face.
"I am warning you. Don't go there." Caden warned as he didn't take any steps back. He was meeting her face to face.
"And why not?" Katherine let out with a wave of her arms. "We are in this together! We are a team! Tell me!" She shouted as she stomped her foot once. Showing the spoiled side of her.
"At least you had a mother!" Caden shouted as he turned suddenly with a wave of his hands he took a few steps away towards a large tree to his right before leaning against the tree with his hands.
"What?" Katherine let out surprised at the confession Caden had made. It was true that he showed sadness in the past when the topic of mothers came about, and would quickly try to change the topic to something else, but she never thought it would be like this.
"I never had a mother, she died at childbirth." He said as sadness filled his voice. "I survived but she didn't.". He added as his head hung low.
"I didn't..." Katherine started but trailed off when she realised that she didn't have anything to say.
"I need to be alone." Caden said as he disappeared instantly from where he was standing, leaving a shocked and saddened Katherine with a surprised and shocked Ren.
"He's fast." Ren said as she watched Caden disappear. She tried to ignored the conversation between Katherine and Caden, but inevitably she heard it all. Yet she tried to play it off cool with a comment on his speed. Trying to give Katherine some comfort after what she had made Caden confess to.
With no idea on the length of time that he would be gone, Katherine merely sat next to Ren who was playing with the endings of her dress. Silence filled the air as the waited patiently for Caden to return.
After close to thirty minutes, Katherine broke the silence.
"Ren, why don't you tell me about your mother?" She asked trying pass the time with a good conversation.
"She was amazing. Very pretty. Even amongst the multitudes of women within Roaren Flear, she is counted as one of the prettiest." Ren began with a bright smile on her lips. "She was very smart, always teaching me about the location we were in. How to count. How to tell animals apart. She was also a good fighter long ago. She was one of the best but got injured. She couldn't hold a weapon anymore. She didn't move as well anymore either.
"Father always had nice things to say about her and he always brought a smile to her face. They loved each other, even I could tell. Although they kissed way too much, it was nice to see them smiling." She ended as a few tears slipped from her eyes.
"She sounds like an amazing person." Katherine said with a caring tone in her voice that covered her sadness at the moment.
"She was." Ren said as she stopped playing with Katherine's dress and leaned into her left side, holding onto her left arm tightly. It would seem that the loss of her mother was finally hitting her and she wanted comfort. Apparently she found it in Katherine.
"She sounded like a brave warrior." Katherine commented as she softly nudged Ren. A smile on her lips.
"Daddy said she was the best. Number one in the whole Beast kingdom." Ren said with a wave of her arms emphasising the 'whole'. "But she was injured protecting him. She was praised for her merits and although some shunned her for loving a human, they couldn't deny the love they saw between them. We were coming to this kingdom to make a fresh start. To live on our own with our family." Ren said cheerfully.
"Your parents sound amazing." Katherine said with a soft laugh. "I wish I could have met them."
Ren spoke more of her short past as well as the times she spent with her parents. Both relaxing and learning. Her stories made Katherine's heart grow and sink with the knowledge that Ren was loved so much, but now her parents were cruelly taken from her forever.
Relishing in the moments of the memories that were shared between them time passed fluidly. Two hours went by without them noticing as they continued to talk and reminisce in the past. Both jumped, slightly startled, when they heard a crunching noise behind them. Katherine immediately pulled Ren behind her as they stood up.
"What do we have here?" A deep gravelly voice sounded out from the middle aged man soft light brown animal skin trousers, and a white tunic that was stained from use. His muscled arms hairy giving him an air of unease. Katherine immediately knew that he was up to no good, and that they needed to escape before anything happened. But she swore to herself that she would keep Ren safe, even if that meant she had to die. The mans face had a scar from just below his right eye to his lip. His dark brown hair speckled with white. The look in his dark brown eyes betrayed his thoughts.
Katherine and Ren slowly backed away as the middle aged man approached. Without a plan, Katherine only knew that she needed to protect Ren. Her eyes never leaving the tall muscled tanned man.
The man lunged forward and grabbed a hold of Katherine's right arm tightly. Causing her to scream from the pain. His hands were rough and held strength that did not hold back. She pushed Ren back and heard her begin to run before the man shot out his left hand, grabbing onto Ren's golden hair. He pulled back roughly causing her to scream in pain.
"It seems like it's my lucky day." The middle aged man roared and then laughed darkly.
Caden, where are you? Katherine asked in her thoughts, frightened at what this man had in store for them.