He turned his attention back to the forest. The princess had slept for a few hours but there were still no signs of anyone coming to reclaim her. Why weren’t they following? She seemed scared to death in the castle so surely there was some imminent threat she felt she needed to escape from. It stood to reason that guards should have been right behind them but the trees were not alarmed, the forest hadn’t been breached. Maybe the guards thought they would flee to the town outside the castle and try to hide there. Clay had considered that exact plan and decided against it. They would just get penned in if they stayed within the city walls. No, the only escape would be the forest.
He stood up and stretched his limbs, stiff from sitting for so long. It was time to get moving again so they could get somewhere secure enough for him to rest. He walked over to the princess to wake her but found that she was laying there with her eyes wide open, staring at him angrily. Such a temper. His movement must have been enough to rouse her. Well, she was half elf so she would have pretty good hearing. He’d have to remember that.
“It’s time to go, princess,” Clay said calmly, not ready to rile her up again just yet. He turned to put out the fire and gather his belongings. It was going to be a long walk to get to the other side of the forest and into the plains and he wanted to make it by sunrise.
Clay turned back to her and she was on her feet, brushing off her skirts. The dress was ruined but would still fetch enough to buy provisions and some traveling gear for her. He wondered how she’d like tromping around in pants. He chuckled at the thought of stuffing a princess into pants and she glared at him.
“Let’s go,” he called to her and started walking.
She followed and after some time finally spoke up. “Why isn’t anyone following us?”
The question had been asked without that tone of command so he answered. “I wish I knew. I wonder if they thought we would try to hide in the city.”
She frowned, considering that. “Perhaps.”
They had walked for an hour and the princess was starting to lag behind. They stopped so she could rest and she pulled off one of her slippers to rub at her feet while leaning against a tree.
“We need to stop at a town soon,” Clay said. “Those clothes are too fine for the places we’re going, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Not only that, they aren’t fit for travel and we have many miles ahead of us.”
“I care not for finery,” she said haughtily. “It means nothing to me. Do what you must.” She put her shoe back on and started walking again.
“Yes, princess,” he said mockingly.
She spun around suddenly, glaring at him. “Lana.”
Clay raised his eyebrows at her, not sure what she was trying to tell him.
“That’s my name,” she said. “Lana. Not princess. Not anymore.”
“Hello, Lana,” he said, sweeping her a bow. “Pleasure to meet you. My name is Clay.”
“Clay…” she said, trying the name out. “Nice to meet you, Clay.” She executed a perfect curtsy. “Now, will you tell me where we’re going?”
“There’s a small town backed up against the forest. It’s called Briar Glen. We can sell that dress and those shoes of yours and it should fetch enough to get a horse, some traveling clothes and provisions for the journey.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lana responded, frowning. “You are kidnapping me but you haven’t told me where you plan to take me.”
Clay decided that the best thing he could do was to lie to her and put her mind at ease. It would make the journey go much more smoothly if she wasn’t too resistant.
“I said I was kidnapping you but it was actually a rescue mission. I don’t know who wanted you taken from that place but you seemed happy enough to go. I was not told why, I was only given a job to do and so I’m doing it.”
She was silent, absorbing that new information.
They continued on walking for a time. Clay felt a little disappointed that she was playing nicely. He rather enjoyed seeing her temper flare.
“What did you mean yesterday, when you told me not to hurt the tree?” Lana asked suddenly, ducking under a branch. They were walking slowly now, not rushing, trying to conserve their strength.
“Why do you ask that? Surely you know,” he responded, shooting her a quizzical look.
“No,” she said, pausing to look at him. “I truly don’t. You were really that concerned about a tree being hurt?”
Clay considered for a moment that perhaps she didn’t know. Lana was only partly elf, commonly called half elf but that only meant she had some elven blood not necessarily that she was actually the product of an elf and a human. She may have been born without the nature sense.
He stopped walking and drew close to a young fir tree nearby, gesturing for her to come closer. She shot him a distrustful look but complied and waited in silence. Clay placed his hand on the trunk and said, “Every part of nature has a voice. It has a spirit. It can feel things and if you listen closely enough, it will speak to you. Not in words, exactly. It’s more like emotions. Plants usually don’t live long enough to find their voice but trees do. They’re the easiest to talk to.”
“The wind and water are in constant movement and they’re very hard to communicate with, there and gone,” he continued. “Stone, rock and earth are so old, they usually forget they have a voice and are always
