"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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"There's an inn. Just past this village."
Aleksander spoke, breaking the tense silence between them. It was almost laughable. They had escaped soldiers, almost frozen in a river, and been injured in various ways yet silence could still build between them.
Even Vasilka had been silent on their way. It was as if the lion cub had only just registered what could have happened. Irina wasn't a fool. She knew what her father would have commanded.
King Andrei would only wish for her to be taken back safe. Vasilka would have been butchered and Aleksander would be killed. Not even her most convincing pleads would be able to save him.
After a few moments of hiding in the cave, Aleksander had ceased in his apologies. Not that she knew what he was apologizing for. If anything, she should be the one apologizing. She was the one who got them into that situation.
They had slipped from the small rock opening and got out of the freezing river precisely at the moment that the sun decided to descend from the sky.
Aleksander had draped his cloak over her shoulders and had taken off without a word. Irina had no choice but to chase after him. He had been acting differently after he had broken down in front of her and she was completely in the dark as to why.
Her point was proven when he had stayed silent for the next hour, not uttering a single word until now.
"Alright. We can stay there for the night and head to the church in the morning." Irina said, picking up her skirts to follow after him to the cozy-looking building.
She could feel the mud sticking to her legs but brushed it off. The warm inn was already nearby and she was sure that inside, there would be a roaring fire and a hot bath ready if she had money. Lucky for them, she had managed to bring enough of her savings to give them at least one night of luxury.
Together, they walked inside. An odd group of three. There was Aleksander whose hair had gone from neat to messy, his raven strands falling upon his head and his quartz eyes shining with quiet anger.
There was Irina whose body was covered in two cloaks, her blue eyes filled with exhaustion and hunger while her hair resembled that of a bird's nest. Not only that but she had a lion cub trailing after her covered in blood and mud.
Fantastic. They definitely looked like the type of guests that an innkeeper would want to see hours after the sun had set.
"Evening." The gruff-looking innkeeper greeted, his eyes looking over at their group suspiciously.
"Good evening!" Irina replied, walking over to the welcoming desk with a smile on her face.
Aleksander walked until he was right beside her, his tone demanding. "We'll need one room with two beds, three hot baths to be drawn for us, and three sets of dinner."
