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Chapter 15
Hunger. I had never experienced hunger like this before. It took over my whole body and soul. Memories of past feasts at the castle, the endless tables of cakes and entrees, haunted me. We had been riding for two days with only a few short stops to let the horses graze and drink. At night, we would shiver, unable to sleep from the drastic temperature drops. Alrick had forbidden a fire the first two nights to avoid giving our location away, but tonight, he promised we would make one.
My stomach let out another loud growl as Fiona carried my weak body through the endless lines of trees.
“It’s been days since we had anything to eat,” Henrike whined before I could. Her horse was trotting right behind mine.
“Is there no life in this godforsaken forest?” I complained.
I had kept my eyes open for animals. But there were simply none in sight. Ever.
“The people living in these parts have turned over every rock in their hunt for food,” Sarolf said. “The rabbit we saw yesterday was a rare sight.”
“God, I want to eat the little thing,” Henrike said.
My lips curled up, realizing that this was the first time I’d smiled at anything Henrike had said or done without being sarcastic.
“How much farther is this town? Are you certain we aren’t lost?” I asked. Alrick was riding ahead of us. He turned on his horse to look at me.
“We should get there by nightfall if we keep up this speed. Although I wouldn’t call it a town. More of a settlement, if that.”
“What will we offer them in return?” Henrike asked.
“Offer?” I asked.
“Of course,” she said. “What did you think? That starving people are just going to take in three more mouths to feed? After all this time traveling, do you still not understand what the war has done to our people?”
The journey north had indeed been eye-opening. The poor souls, begging for scraps of food or anything else we could spare. Their eyes so dull, so tired and weak. For the first time in my life, I truly realized how fortunate I had been. My worries back at the castle were about what dress to wear or whether or not the cook would make my morning eggs to the exact consistency I preferred—soft but not runny.
I threw Henrike an annoyed glance, then focused on Alrick. “Why does my father allow these people to be in such a terrible state?”
He slowed his horse to ride next to me. It was strange looking at him. For some reason, I felt funny whenever Alrick smiled or looked at me. So I mostly avoided his gaze altogether.
“The people of the South are known to have some of the best lives in all the kingdoms,” he said.
“They are?”
“Yes. The noblemen pay little taxes, and those that do pay are allowed to own their land. Your father also continues the traditions of universities and science. I heard even girls are allowed to attend school.”
“I had no idea.” I felt ashamed. Like I didn’t know my own kingdom. How could I rule a land that I knew so little about?
“If the people in the South have it so well, why not help all those poor souls, then? The ones from the North.”
“Because they are not your father’s poor souls to care for. He can’t give every Northerner the same life as his own people. Not like that, not overnight. It would drain all his finances. His own people would suffer.”
“Surely there is something that can be done to stop the war?”
“There is” was all he said.
I dared to look at him now. He was handsome, his eyes like an endless sky.
“What would that be?” I asked.
Alrick rubbed his nose. “Well, Princess, there is one very effective way.”
“Which iiiiiis?”
“Marriage.”
