The guard’s face remained composed. His eyes, though, betrayed his confusion and worry.
He turned to his compatriots. “Gather all their things, and bring them to the coach.” Turning back to Forrest, he gestured for him to follow. “Come, Your Highness. Let’s get you back home so the royal healer can have a look at you.”
Forrest looked between me and the guard, worry etched all over his face. “This doesn’t feel right. I… I don’t want to go.”
I reached down and squeezed Forrest’s hand in reassurance. It didn’t matter that he was technically a prince. I was not going to let him navigate this alone.
The guard pinched his nose and sighed, exasperated by the situation. “Your Highness, you must come home. You’ve been missing for weeks. The king and queen have been beside themselves with worry. Please do them the courtesy of returning home so they can at least see that you are, for the most part, well.”
Forrest’s body tensed next to me, as if he was preparing for a fight. I rubbed my thumb against his, trying to calm him down before he needlessly escalated the situation.
Forrest turned to look at me. “Aurelia will be joining me, correct?”
“Your Highness.” The formal tone slipped, making way for derision. “It would be best to venture back to the palace on our own. We wouldn’t want to cause any undue concern by your sudden change of proclivities.” The guard turned his gaze toward me.
An uneasiness settled in my chest. What did he mean by that, and what did it have to do with me?
“I am not going anywhere without Aurelia,” Forrest protested. “I don’t understand why that would upset anyone. She’s taken me into her home and nursed me back to health. If I am a prince, as you claim, I would think that the kingdom would be thankful to her for her hard work. Without Aurelia, I would have bled out and died in some unknown forest, in another realm, no less. It would seem best to readjust your stance on the decision and let my love join us.”
As soon as the wordloveleft Forrest’s mouth, the guard flinched, like he had been backhanded in the face.
“As you wish, Your Highness. But you will be the one to explain this to the queen. I will have no part in that conversation.”
With that, the guard turned on his heel and headed back toward the forest where they had entered the clearing.
“Forrest, I don’t think I’m very welcome here,” I whispered.
It would be just my luck to be unwanted in not one but two realms. At least where I had come from, I could understand why I was persecuted, even if I didn’t agree with it. Here I had hostility for no good reason whatsoever.
“It has to be a misunderstanding,” Forrest said. “Regardless, I’m a prince, apparently. So they have to do as I say—especially if I tell them that they need to love you and adore you just as much as I do.” He leaned down to kiss me. “Wait a moment. Where are Nocturna and Astra?” He looked around to find the duo.
“I honestly don’t know. They have a terrible habit of running off and doing whatever they want, for as long as they want. I may appear to be the one in charge of them, but I am most definitely not.”
Forrest laughed. “I’m sorry, Aurelia. Who says you’ve ever appeared to be in charge of those two? For as long as I’ve known all three of you, they’ve always done as they pleased. They just let you follow along.”
I smiled at that thought.
“I don’t suppose the guards will let us wait for them?” I asked.
Forrest shook his head. “Something tells me they aren’t very patient or understanding. Besides, the girls have this uncanny ability of appearing out of nowhere whenever you need them.”
Again he wasn’t wrong. The people of my village had always thought it was weird that I let two mountain cats live with me. Even weirder was how they would always manage to find me whenever I was in trouble, which was why I was certain they had been sentto watch over me by my grandmother, despite their predominantly hands-off approach to protection.
“Yeah, I guess they do. All right. Let’s get going, then,” I said, with as much fake enthusiasm as I could muster.
We made our way through the forest to reach the large guard, who was standing beside the most ornate carriage I had ever seen. Shielding my eyes with my arm, I had to look away. The carriage was made of white wood and covered in solid gold trim and accents. It shone like a beacon with the warm rays of the sun bouncing off it.
“After you, my lady,” Forrest joked as one of the other guards held open the carriage door for us.
The guard glowered and wrinkled his nose at me, quickly enough that only I caught it. I returned the guard’s look of disapproval with one of my own and settled into the carriage beside Forrest for the long, uncomfortable trip into the hostile unknown.
The horses’ hooves beat at a steady rhythm as we made our way along a dirt path heading out of the forest.
“How long will it take for us to reach the palace?” Forrest asked the lead guard, who was situated across from us, maintaining an ever-watchful eye.
“We will reach the Citrine Palace in less than half a day,” he responded, making eye contact only with Forrest. “We can take a break at any time, Your Highness. Just give the word.”
Forrest nodded at the guard. He took my hand in his, holding it as he looked at me, smiling, and mouthed the wordsI love you.
