Oath of Rings

Chapter 9

Are you sure we can trust them? The concerned question came to Charlotte through one of the air bubbles she kept sending to the other elementals, and she knew it was from Sasha before she even put it to her ear.

The plan to rob Castle Flair was still very much a work in progress, so Bex, Bayley, and Sasha were keeping their distance from Charlotte's entourage. Bex's shield-fire had kept the elementals' boat from sight across the channel so well that Charlotte couldn't even spot it when she knew where it was. Being separated from the others bothered her more than she wanted to admit, even more so because she knew on the elementals' boat, she would be treated as an equal. Sasha would tell her to refocus the winds before the sail fell, Bayley would be asking her all sorts of questions about the horse stables at Castle Flair, and Bex would probably still be talking about the damn swords.

After a tedious portage—made all the more difficult by the other three elementals trying to stay hidden—both groups were now back in the water, this time a river that would take them most of the way to Castle Flair. Charlotte thought the forest where they would disembark would be a good camping site for Bayley, Bex, and Sasha: there was lots of natural coverage, they would have access to the well, and they would be close to their boat if they needed to make a quick getaway. From her days training with Reid, she knew some of the guards and knights had a tendency to attack with impunity. Dana, Alexa, Carmella, and Lana have all been my attendants for years. They've helped me out of a lot of hard situations. Yes, I trust them, Charlotte murmured into the bubble, launching it back towards the other elementals before any of her attendants noticed.

"What's wrong?" Still rowing, Dana looked back at the princess. "Are you still thinking about which prince to pick? Theodore seems nice."

Alexa rolled her eyes. "Randall would be a much stronger choice. Imagine the Flair line combined with the Orton line! No other legacy would even come close."

Listening to her attendants debate the strengths and weaknesses of her more popular suitors—including some speculation about each man's sexual prowess—Charlotte was struck by how much she missed the other elementals. Even Sasha, she thought, much to her surprise. Between their time at Paige's castle—which the English queen graciously extended if only because the elementals' antics amused her—and their current voyage, they had only spent a few weeks in each other's company, but she felt closer to them in many ways than some people she had known since she was a child. They had seen some of her ugliest flaws and weaknesses and, when confronted with them, they either reminded her of her formidable strengths or turned her insecurities into jokes in such a way that she could laugh at them too. It was the kind of bond she wished she had with her sister, but the rigours of being princesses—and specifically King Ric's daughters—had made Megan feel more like a workmate than a sister in many respects.

Charlotte felt a slight tug in the air, the signal that the elementals had a reply ready to send. It was an imperfect system and she was sure her attendants suspected something, but she hoped they would assume she was trying to sneak a lover into the castle, not three women about to attempt one of the most daring thefts she had ever heard of. Fidgeting with her fingers as if petting a kitten, Charlotte reeled in her next message. From the warmth of the air, she could tell it was from Bex, which made her smile. The fire-forger's accent was often befuddling to her, but she loved listening to it all the same. Is the rest of the way that difficult? Maybe we should hold back. Sasha's getting impatient at going so slowly. . . . Charlotte could almost imagine the water-weaver's indignant glare at that, and how Bayley would hide her chuckle behind her hand.

They're only using oars. You're using the river. When Charlotte glanced up, Lana was giving her a strange look, so she let the bubble linger by her side for a few moments. "How much longer until we reach the forest?" she asked, injecting a note of imperiousness into her voice. Once upon a time it had come naturally, but after spending so much time with the other elemental women, she found she was speaking more comfortably, more casually. "My legs are getting cramped. I would like to stretch."