The Princess and Her Whipping Boy

Hurt of Heart

Mable looked him over quickly with her sharp eyes. Then grabbing his arm, she dragged him away behind the hound sheds out of sight.

"You darned fool" she hissed as she pushed him down onto a crate and pulled a small handkerchief from her sleeve. She dabbed at his wounds gently, stopping every now and then to pick away a small shard of glass.

Cronan watched her in silence. Though he flinched from time to time, he did not whimper or cry out. For the hurt of his heart was greater than the physical pain that filled his body. He started back as Mable raised her hand to tend to his bleeding forehead. Their eyes met.

Mable was the first to break the gaze, tutting gently as her gentle fingers soothed his hot brow. "Did you not know better than to stand against the princess?"

For a moment Cronan did not speak. He looked down at his hands as he replayed the events from earlier. He took a deep steadying breath. "She humiliated me. It made me feel pathetic and worthless. I felt like...like I wasn't even a person anymore. Like I was just some toy. And...and it hurt."

Mable stopped, lowering her arm and resting her hands on her lap. "Runens don't see slaves as people, Cronan. That is how it has always been. I think it hurt you more because you cared. You are attracted to her, aren't you?"

Cronan flushed, clutching his hands together as he lowered his head. "I thought she cared. She looked at me like I was a person and I thought she understood. I thought that behind the coldness there was a warm heart." He wiped at his eyes, remembering back to the princess's words. Maybe he had conjured up a delusion in his loneliness after all.

Mable sighed. Picking up the handkerchief, she tied it carefully about Cronan's hand where it had been pierced by a large jagged glass. "Don't be mistaken, Cronan. The princess cannot have feelings as we do. She is the future queen of Runen. She must be hard and cruel if she wants to survive. Maybe deep down she is just a child as we are. But her fate is different." She finished tying the knot, but continued holding his hand. "If you get lonely or it gets to hard, come to me, Cronan. Archer too, will care and understand. Do not rely on one who will throw you away in the end. You will only get hurt."

Standing up, she gave him an encouraging smile. Then patting his back, she left him, hurrying to tend to her princess and to the sharp scolding that awaited.

Cronan stared after her. In his mind, he understood what Mable had said, but his heart clung to another memory. "Don't let their words get to you, Cronan. They are not worth it. And he saw those brilliant blue eyes, full of understanding and compassion. And he felt himself slowing caving. The princess had not really meant to hurt him. She had just been a little angry. And he had been wrong for disobeying her.

As Cronan rose to his feet, his mind was set. He had deserved it.