C11 Chapter 11

Sunlight infiltrated Kit’s chambers as one of her ladies flung the curtains open, and the princess groaned in protest. She’d stayed up far too late the night before, dancing, drinking wine, and carrying on like a silly girl with her friends at the festival that followed her Proem Ceremony, and now that morning was here, her head ached, and she’d rather bury her face back beneath the downy pillows of her bed than acknowledge the day’s arrival.

“Katrinetta,” Avinia’s voice beckoned as her shoulder was shaken, gently at first, and then a bit more violently. “Open your eyes. You need to get up!”

Kit couldn’t think of a single reason in the world why she would need to get out of bed. She hadn’t slept well these past several weeks in anticipation of the ceremony, and now that it was over, she longed to make up for all of that lost time. But Avinia was insistent, so Kit opened one eye and looked at her incredulously.

“Kit! You must get dressed. It’s Eliason. He’s leaving! You’re not meant to know, and if you don’t hurry, he’ll be gone before you can bid him farewell!”

The words didn’t fully register at first, but once Kit went back over her cousin’s statement in her mind, her body shot up of its own accord. “What’s that?” she asked, her eyes wide despite the bright sun searing into her painful head. “He’s leaving?”

“Yes! Your mother ordered it! Hurry!”

So many questions filled Kit’s mind, but there was no time to ask any of them. She allowed Avinia to start dressing her at the same time that Isla began to comb out her hair. There wouldn’t be time to pin it if he was actually leaving. In fact, the way Avinia spoke, she’d have to run to catch him at all.

Once she was presentable, though not at all looking her best, she asked, “Where?”

“Go out the far east door, back by the barn. He and a few other guards were saddling up a few moments ago. I saw Blankka coming inside, weeping, so I asked her what was the matter, and that’s when she told me he’d been sent away again.”

Kit hardly caught the last part of the sentence, though she did want to know why in the world Blankka would be so upset. Her feet were moving in the correct direction, her hand scooping up the tail of her dress.

“Princess, is something the matter?” Galter asked as she went flying down the hall. He and another member of her guard fell into step behind her.

Without turning to face him or slowing her pace, she shouted, “Eli—he’s leaving?”

Galter was quiet, and his silence answered her question. Apparently, her mother could command members of her own guard to keep secrets when they were aware of the queen’s trickery. She imagined if she turned to look at Galter now, she’d see a familiar patch on his shoulder indicating he was now the commander, but she didn’t have time to look.

It seemed like she’d run for miles by the time she reached the large wooden double doors on the east side of the castle by the stables. She had many memories of Eli sitting on these steps, but she couldn’t pause to reflect on those either. Her feet carried her down them, though she nearly stumbled before she reached the bottom. But she could see him, off in the distance, leading his black stallion, Aeros, across the open field near the largest barn. There were two other men with him, and they were all dressed in the familiar steel gray uniforms of the army.

“Eli!” Kit shouted, thinking he might get on his trusty steed and ride away at any moment. He paused, as if he’d heard her but wasn’t sure whether it was in his best interest to pretend he had not. As she continued to run in his direction, he slowly turned to face her.

His expression was one of relief laced with concern. Perhaps he was afraid her mother could do worse than send him far away; perhaps he feared she may suffer some sort of punishment for seeking him out when it was obvious her mother didn’t want her to know of the plan to send him away until after he was already long gone. At any rate, he did not smile at her as he took her in, but his eyes were the same kind, emerald green wells she’d fallen into too many times to count.

He said something over his shoulder to the other two, and they moved on ahead, walking slowly. Likewise, Kit realized the members of her own guard were no longer keeping pace with her, which she appreciated. Once she caught up to him, she would be able to speak to him in private for a moment—if she recovered her breath enough to speak at all.

“Eli!” she managed to get out as she nearly doubled over, her side aching, inhaling in sharp, short spurts. “I’m so glad I caught you.”

He put his hands out to steady her as she did her best to suck in enough air to formulate complete sentences. “Kit, darling, you shouldn’t have come. You know your mother would prefer for me to go without issue.”

“But there is an issue,” she countered, finally standing up and grabbing hold of his forearms. “She can’t just send you away without letting you say goodbye. It’s bad enough she didn’t let you attend the festivities last night, and now, you’ll be gone… for who knows how long.” Kit felt angry, frustrated tears building up in her eyes. It would be just like her mother to send away the one man she cared about when her Exploration was due to start. She was certain this was done on purpose.

“Kit, she’s the queen. She can do whatever she likes.” He was smiling at her, but she could tell he didn’t wish to leave. Her heart slipped deep into her chest, as if it might begin to crumble and break apart.

“Why?” Kit asked. It was the simplest of the questions she had on her mind, and one she knew he couldn’t answer. It was no secret that her mother did not care for him, despite his accomplishments and service to her and the realm. Kit still didn’t understand exactly why that was. Whenever she questioned her mother, she was reminded that Rona was the queen, and it was no one’s place to ask her reasoning.

He didn’t answer her inquiry, perhaps because there was no answer. Instead, he brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face, and she imagined she looked more than a little disheveled considering how quickly she’d left her chambers. “Are you at peace, now that your Proem is complete?” His voice was gentle and soothing, and the feel of his fingertips brushing against her face calmed her spirit, despite knowing this might be the last time she saw him for years.

“I am,” she said with a nod. “It wasn’t as awful as I’d feared.”

He smiled. “I thought it wouldn’t be. I’m glad. Now, you can go off and enjoy your Exploration.” His teeth were clenched as he spoke, and she wondered if it pained him to know she would be with other men. Or was it the fact that he wouldn’t be there to take part? All these months of worrying about whether or not she should proposition him, and now, she wouldn’t even have the opportunity. Her heart began to ache again, and she reached up and clasped his hand in both of hers, drawing it to her chest.

“She forbid you from coming last night?” she asked, not caring who may see her holding his hand so close to her heart she imagined he could feel the uneven thumping beneath her gown.

“I was asked to secure the grounds,” he replied, his way of staying true to his queen yet still answering her question.

“And where do you go now?”

“Ironton, for the short while. Perhaps further south once the conflict on the border there is resolved.”

Kit’s eyebrows grew together. “Is it serious?”

His smile was easy once again. “No, nothing to worry about. Difficulties arise from time to time with the miners who operate just on the other side of our realm’s border, in Kingston. Land disputes, things of that nature. But it never lasts, and hardly ever is blood drawn.”

She pursed her lips and said nothing. Kit knew he could handle a sword better than anyone else she’d ever seen, not that he was ever allowed to participate in any of the jousting tournaments or other sports reserved for noblemen who had not been disgraced, as his family had been, but she’d seen enough to know he would be safe so long as he kept his head about him. Nevertheless, he would be in more danger out there in the world than he would be here at Castle Wrenbrook, here with her, in her arms.