Kae brushed herself off, patting out the dust that clung to her trousers and tunic. Shaking out her hunting furs took quite a while. Cassendir was just as meticulous as Loren was, but with his scrolls and notes. After putting on his riding clothes, he set right to scribbling notes about Rhodia into this notebook. Come to think of it, Loren recalled hearing the scratching of a quill or coal stick in the middle of the night. She chuckled to herself. They made an odd team.
Loren led the way down the dark and dusty hall of the inn, and down the rickety stairs. The innkeeper was by the tables. He was speaking in hushed tones, and gesturing about with shaking hands, but Loren could not see who he was talking to. She saw the innkeeper’s ears perk up, saw him turn to her on the stairs, and raise a gnarled finger to her direction. The princess was almost at the last step when she saw the other speaker, and her blood froze.
“Loren!” a deep voice boomed with an authoritative tone.
Kae’s hand flew to her knife belt in alarm, and Cassendir’s mage markings flared in response.
Loren’s eyes were wide, and her face drained of color. With a deep breath, she descended the last few steps and faced the speaker. He was a tall man with a broad chest, clad in heavy plate armor adorned with the blue and gold of Aldoran. Loren found her voice, and found it to be meek even in her ears. “F-Father.”
King Jorrne strode closer to the princess, his heavy boots shaking the creaking floor with every step. With barely a bend in his knee, he scooped up Loren into a tight hug. “Loren! You’ve had me worried sick! I’ve sent men halfway up the Kilrough range looking for you! What did you think you were doing, going out on your own? Again?” He set her down, and saw the ragtag group still cowering on the stairs. After hearing Loren call him ‘father’, the three of them respectfully bowed their heads. “And who are these?”
“They’re my friends.” Loren said, finding her voice. She approached them, ready to defend them if King Jorrne found them unfit to be travelling with a princess. “This is Cassendir of Kespia, and Kae—”
“Yes, yes Kae, I remember. The huntress from the forest.” King Jorrne said. He stood back, stroking his rough beard as he appraised her friends. “It seems you have a knack for finding strange fellows, Loren. I see they have not hurt you in anyway, and I do trust you’ve kept to your wits and your training with Sairus and Isran.”
Loren breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, father—”
The King’s laugh boomed in the small space of the inn. “Thank you? For what? I’ve said they were strange, that’s all! I have not deemed them worthy to escort you all around the world! You are going straight home, Loren. This is the worst possible time for you to have run off, and I will not let you out of my sight a second time!”
The king turned away, signaling to his guards that they would mount up and leave soon. He knew that Loren would follow without question. “Your mother was stabbed! Poisoned! And you decided to run away and hide out in Rhodia? And with this situation with Doreos and the Beastmen! Humans are not exactly welcome here under Doreos’s rule. But the king is fortunately out at the moment, and some of his guards are lenient. Still, it does not give us much time. We have to return to Aldoran and to Katarina’s side immediately!”
He was almost out the door when he realized he did not hear an extra pair of boots clacking on the inn’s wooden floor. He turned, and saw that Loren had not moved. The princess was stubbornly rooted to the spot. Her knuckles were white in her clenched fists, and her expression was set in stone. She had her eyes screwed shut.
“Loren! Did you not hear a word I said, stubborn girl?” King Jorrne’s voice began to rise. “You are returning with me to Aldoran this instant!”
“No.”
The king was livid. The two companions hurriedly ran up the stairs, only peeking from the very top in relative safety. “No?” he said through gritted teeth.
“No, father.” Loren said. Her voice shook slightly. “I won’t go home with you. I can’t, not yet. I know I can fix this, father! You taught me diplomacy and war. If I can find Kaiten and restore his rightful claim to the throne, the Beastmen will be ready allies to us again. With their help, we can storm Sagna, take the antidote to the poison, and defeat the Red Sisters!”
King Jorrne was taken aback. “Defeat the Red Sisters of Sagna? Loren—“
“I want to kill them, father!” Loren suddenly shouted. Tears began to fall from behind her closed eyes. “They poisoned mother! They killed Gaturr, skinned him, and threw his pelt onto our floor like garbage! I know they are behind Kaiten’s kidnapping, and Doreos on the throne! I want them dead!” Loren looked up, her normally dark eyes flashing a glittering gold. The dragon pendant hanging from her neck swung from its chain.
“Loren!” The king said again, but his tone was more urgent. He grabbed his daughter by the shoulders with his large, gauntlet-clad hands, and knelt to her level. The king embraced the princess tightly, and Loren began to sob. The gold in her eyes dissipated as Loren threw her arms around her father’s shoulders, burying her face into his neck and letting hot tears fall onto his armor.
“I know, my child, I know. But please, listen to me.” His voice was soothing. “Return to Aldoran with me, for your mother.
