Cassendir groaned again, and Loren rushed over to his side to free him.
“You know, princess.” Kae said from the inn’s door, chuckling. “We might as well stay here the night. Cassendir looks like he could use a proper bed. You do too.”
The princess looked to Cassendir who was struggling to stand. He kept a hand to his sore middle, and soft blue light flowed inside his mage markings as he tried to heal himself. In the inn, the men were getting their bearings and stumbling out of the door. A merchant passed out in the mud, and a rat Beastman in expensive silks with a chunk missing from his ear flipped him over and began to drag him to the side and out of the way. Loren sighed. She took one of Cassendir’s arms and put it over her shoulder to help him walk.
“Please negotiate two rooms for us, Kae.” She said. “I’ll pay whatever gold the innkeeper asks for.”
The innkeeper gave them their rooms for free. The innkeeper’s wife saw the entire encounter with Danna and told her husband that it was because of the two young ladies he could drink beer in peace again. Out of gratitude, although it was more because his wife told him to, the innkeeper offered Loren and her friends their rooms for free, with dinner and lunch to be brought up to them. The two girls set up Cassendir in the room beside theirs. They were supposed to take only one room instead once the innkeeper offered them for free, but the scholar launched into his protest. He insisted that it would be improper for him to share a room with two unmarried young women. Again. The girls rolled their eyes and left him in the other room with Ma’trii to watch over him. The two retired to their own room.
“Hey princess,” Kae said with a laugh. “This is the exact same room we took the first time we came here, except its all clean. Do you think the innkeeper remembers us?”
“I don’t know if he does, but he will now.” Loren replied. She busied herself with removing everything that she had packed in the castle and sorting them all out on the now mercifully clean floor. She had packed several sets of linen underwear, tunics, one pair of riding trousers and one pair of soft leather trousers, and a bag of provisions. There was hard bread, dried meat, fruit, and cheese, a flask of water. If she ate sparingly, what she had right now would probably last a full week. But that didn’t account for her friends. She looked over to Kae, who had spread herself on the soft bed, and smiled. The huntress could take care of herself, she knew. She could find food and water, and Loren would have to rely on her skills. All the princess really had was gold and not much else in the way of useful survival skills. Kae was rough around the edges, but she was loyal and had a good heart. And the way she looked at Loren back in the forest, how worried she sounded that they would never see each other again…
“Loren?” Kae said.
“Yes?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Loren blinked in alarm and quickly looked back to her pack. She realized that she had been staring at Kae, smiling even, for quite some time. Her hands flew as she repacked her bag hastily, her heart racing in her chest, her pulse in her ears.
From where Kae lay, looking at Loren upside down, the princess could hear the huntress’s laugh. Loren’s movements slowed. What did Kae think of her? Was it all just good fun? Did she see the princess as a good friend and travel companion only? She knew the huntress lived alone in the forest with only a wolf for company; she never really went on adventures as the daily struggle for food was hard enough. Was she only tagging along with the princess’s mad schemes because she was bored? Was it pity?
Loren sighed, and shook her head. “Nothing, nothing. I’m tired, just lost in thought. Will you be going to sleep soon, Kae?”
“Yeah. That was a lot of walking and talking.” Kae answered. The huntress flipped over onto her stomach and watched Loren unpack all her things a second time. Loren started folding all her clothes and packing them meticulously again. “I have to admit, kicking Cassendir was fun. I hope I didn’t break anything though.”
“I’m sure you didn’t. And he had enough magic to heal himself, I’m sure he’s fine. Ma’trii is in his room with him right?”
“Yeah. Ma’trii will alert us if something’s gone wrong with Cassendir.”
Loren sighed and stood. She was finally done with her pack. “Thank you, Kae.”
“For what?”
“Well…” Loren looked back at her. Her expression was unreadable. “For everything. For following me this far, for tolerating my ideas. I do not understand why you’re still with me. I mean, everything you said about the Plaguelands—“
“Loren.” Kae said with such finality that the princess stopped. She looked up at the huntress, realizing that while she was rambling, Kae stood and approached her. The huntress was a little taller than her, with a frame muscled through hard work and a rough life. She smelled of earth, sweat, and wolf. Her dark hair was tied back out of her eyes, those sharp, dark and intense, hunter’s eyes—
“Loren!” Kae said again. She chuckled, and Loren realized she was staring at her. Again.
“You keep staring at me. Maybe we should just head to bed.” The huntress continued. She turned away, but Loren saw a slight blush on her cheeks. “You did say we have to hurry and find the prince, right? Gonna need all the rest we can get if we have to
