“Am I a friend to you, princess?”
“Yes, Kae.” Loren tied off her pack with a sharp tug on its strings. “I never had friends of my age growing up at the castle. There were children of nobles to play with, and while we got along, I was never very close to them. They were ‘yes men,’ I realized. Probably coached by their parents to say whatever it took to keep me happy. But you, you always said what was on your mind. I treasure that about you.”
“Do you want me to keep saying what’s on my mind, princess?”
“I would appreciate it if you were honest with me, of course. But in the end, its up to you. I don’t want to force you to bow down to me. I’m royalty by birth, but that’s it. Otherwise, I’m no one special.” Loren chuckled. “You don’t have to keep calling me princess.”
“Turn around.”
Loren looked over her shoulder. Kae’s face was inches away from her own, her dark eyes staring into Loren’s. The huntress’s expression was intense, yet there was a layer of vulnerability. Honesty.
“Kae?” Loren’s voice was a whisper.
“I hope you don’t mind. I’ll keep calling you a princess. My princess.” Kae said haltingly, as if having difficulty saying the words. She took a breath, needing to get the words out now or risk them exploding in her chest. “I’d like to keep following you, if you’d have me. I want to protect you. I want to see you take the throne, I know you’ll be a great and kind leader.”
“Kae?” Loren said again.
“I believe in you. You’re headstrong, you don’t listen, sometimes you run off without thinking about your friends. But you do it for a reason. Your heart is in the right place, and I can see that. You care so deeply about your family, your duty, about us even. That’s why you’re doing this, that’s why you’re miles from home placing all your luck on this one chance that if you get to Haedria, get the antidote, everything will be fixed.” Kae spoke, running out of breath as her hands shook. She gestured, she stuttered, she wanted to say everything before she lost her nerve. “You’re powerful, even without the dragon magic. And you’re beautiful! You might not think about it of yourself, but I see it, you’re strong and unstoppable and—“
Loren’s laugh cut her off. Kae leaned back, confusion and a hint of insult written on her face. “Kae! Thank you.”
“Are you laughing at me?”
“What? No, of course not! Never! I’m just…” Loren fell silent. She hid her face with her hand, looking away from Kae. What the huntress could see of Loren’s eyes were tilted, smiling, yet they were wet with tears. Loren tried to keep her breathing even, but her voice hitched in her throat. “I’m being honest, Kae. Thank you. No one’s ever said that about me.”
“But you’re everything.” Kae said softly. “You deserve the throne, the whole kingdom. I can see that. And even if it’s difficult, I’ll be there to help you. At least, if you’ll have me.”
Loren nodded, eyes closed and tears falling. “Please. I want you to be with me.”
The huntress smiled, softly and sadly. “I’ll be right there behind you, your scout and servant. Please don’t cry, princess.”
Loren gasped as if she’d been struck. Her tears fell, hot on her cheeks against the northern morning chill. “Servant? No. No, Kae, I want you to be with me. Not as a servant, not below me.” She grabbed Kae’s hand and held it in a tight grip, desperately, as if it was an anchor. As if Kae would bolt and run from her at any second. Her voice failed her, but her eyes held everything for Kae to see. “Please.”
Kae was taken aback. There was an urgency to the princess, a loneliness that made her feel real. She looked more like a person now than an heir to a throne, descended from heroes. Still, Kae knew her place. “But princess, I’m no one. I’m just a girl that lived in the forest. I smell like wolf and dirt. And you… You’re the crown princess of Aldoran. The Daughter of Dragons.” She shook her head. “I’d be content to be at your side, at your beck and call. Where I belong.”
“No… No, that’s not what I want. You’re so much more than that. You’re so much more to me!“ Loren only seemed to cry more. The princess choked back a sob, furiously wiping at her face with the edges of her tunic. She turned away hastily from Kae, picking up her pack and slinging it over her shoulder. She was shutting down emotionally right in front of the huntress’s eyes. Before Kae could say another word, Loren turned back to face her. The princess’s eyes were hard, cold, and shone with the dragon magic’s golden hue. “If that is what you want, Kae, then I’ll accept. I appreciate your presence in any capacity, servant or otherwise. But if that is what you wish to be, I have no right to order you to be otherwise.”
“Loren!” Kae stood as well, facing down her princess. “I only want you to be happy. All I want is for you to be happy. But your life doesn’t have a place for me in it.” Her face fell. It was if the life was taken out of her just thinking her next words. “What would your court say? Your parents? That you…” she swallowed dryly. “That you chose a commoner? And a woman? What about your line of succession? You’re the only child of the King and Queen — if you’re with me, you cannot bear a child to continue the line. Please, princess. I know your hold your duties to the kingdom close to your heart.”
Loren’s stare pierced right through Kae. Her voice
