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And all Archie could do was nod.
His new boots might pinch, he might be fighting for breath in a flood, but his life with the princess was still better than anything he had without her. There was only one solution. He went into town and stopped at the outer-row dress shop, searching for the support of a certain brown tabby-cat. Sure enough, Leo was there with Tabitha, and with her encouragement, the cat followed after Archie again. “Goodbye, boys! Have fun on your next adventure!” Tabitha waved with the air of a doting mother sending her young children off to play. The girl was perhaps a bit mad, but Archie was starting to see why the cat should favor her as much as a sunrise.
After a bit of wheedling, Leo showed Archie where he had stashed his fur-lined boots and cloak—because as much as the cat seemed to think it was necessary to forcefully remove Archie from the rest of his peasant attire, it was becoming clear that Leo would never allow for anything made by Tabitha to be ruined. And when they finally made it the rest of the way back to the castle, all the stewards and guards who used to push them off into unassuming side-rooms now ushered them directly to the courtyard and the royal stables.
The familiar smell of hay and manure almost put Archie at ease, though it was countered with more perfume and polished silver. Ainsley was waiting for them with her main guard, gesturing him toward one of the purebred mares. “Over here, Anderdolf. Can you ride?”
Archie could ride Harris’s piebald donkey.
He could ride a plow horse.
This dark beauty wasn’t a plow horse. She had far more spirit in her eyes and power in her hooves.
It didn’t matter. Archie still wanted to ride her. He reached out his hand to pat the horse’s velvety nose when he heard a familiar meow. More like a yowl. Leo had gotten into a dispute with one of the hounds assembled for the hunt.
Would that be a problem?
Archie looked back at the princess. “Do you think the horse will mind if Leo gets on too? I don’t want the dogs to get at him, and I haven’t hunted much without him. He’s . . . good luck.”
Ainsley smiled indulgently, but then the king’s voice boomed over the stable yard. “Ainsley, what are you doing here?”
That’s when Archie noticed Ainsley was also wearing her bow and a wider riding skirt.
She turned to her father and brightened her smile. “Well, I have to be here, don’t I? Sir Callum signed on as Archie’s sponsor last night, so I have to come so he can see to us both.”
What?
The king turned to frown at Ainsley’s guard. “You signed?”
Sir Callum nodded, though he looked a little embarrassed. At least Archie wasn’t the only one who had trouble keeping up with the energetic princess. “I’ve been impressed with the boy’s commitment to the trade, sire, and your daughter can be very persuasive.”
“I can shoot,” Ainsley insisted. “And I can help keep Archie from stepping into a faerie circle. You know I can.”
The guard started in again, his voice a little lower. “Her Highness has been wanting to join one of these hunting parties for a long time, sire. Send her away, and she’ll find a way to do it behind your back.”
Archie expected the king to refuse at once, but he didn’t. He just looked . . . sad.
And then Ainsley seemed to understand something Archie didn’t. She ran up and hugged the king with the force of a tide. “I’m so sorry, Father, but you know this isn’t like Leo. You’ll be with me the whole time. I promise.”
It wasn’t like Leo? Archie turned to find the cat had already rebuffed the hounds and sat perched on the horse’s saddle like he had been born to ride. Everything seemed to be happening too fast again, and Ainsley was smiling even before the king started to pull away.
“All right, get on the horses,” he said, facing a small crowd of guards, knights, and noble huntsmen. “All of you.”
And that was it. Ainsley winked back at Archie before finding her own mount, and he quickly smiled for her. Though really, he wished she would have told him what her plans were before all this. Following blindly after Leo was one thing, but Ainsley could have spoken to him if she chose to. Not that Archie really thought he could have refused her, but he was starting to wish he could. Accepting so much help from the princess made him feel a little slimy.
The fact that he liked her only made it worse.
He could have finished paying for his charter his own way. He might have even found his own sponsor. And for once, he wished Ainsley was a goose girl, someone he could pick flowers for, take a walk by the river with, and not feel so unbalanced and . . . small.
* * *
Leo wasn’t sure why he kept following after Archie. The boy had already served his purpose. And no one could deny that Leo had fulfilled his side of the bargain—perhaps even to Leo’s own detriment. Now that the cat knew he was Crown Prince Leopold, he wasn’t entirely certain he wanted a lowborn miller boy pawing after his sister.
If Archie married her, he might even take the crown that should have been Leo’s.
His own creation could lead to his ruin.
But that was just it. Leo had pointed Archie toward Ainsley. He had pushed the boy toward archery, better fashion, and now even the king. Leo hadn’t known at the time that he was trying to piece together his memories by recreating another twisted, counterfeit version of himself, but he still had done it and only had himself to blame.
