Sovereign's Sacrifice

Chapter Four

It was early the next morning when Siridean managed to track down Eliora again. To his dismay, she wasn't alone. Prince Demir was allowing her to lead him around the castle, talking the entire way. She'd been doing the same every morning over the last two weeks.

The history and detailed accounts of the ins and outs of the city was endless, but Demir endured it. At times he even probed for a deeper explanation and she was more than happy to explain more with him. On this morning, they had been going over the dangers that Demir believed lurked in the town after Eliora had mentioned going shopping.

"I've been there since I was born, there is nothing for me to fear," Eliora insisted. They stopped in front of a window where the morning sun glinted off their thin gold circlets on their heads. "I won't even be gone long enough for you to worry."

"I'd be worried even if you left for five minutes. The streets of this town are no place for a queen," Demir said. "These people are desperate for food and money and I fear what they could resort to in order to get it."

"My people, and yours as well soon enough," Eliora snapped, chin raised defiantly.

"Your people, our people, I still worry," he said. Seeing that there was no changing her mind, he squeezed her hand on his arm and nodded. "Fine, but take someone with you."

"If my lady needs an escort, I would be happy to oblige," Siridean stepped out from where he'd been waiting half hidden by a tapestry. Now that he stood in front of it, he could see it was new. The crest for the kingdom of Savirnoss stood out across the blue material, embroidered with deep purple thread.

Demir eyed him warily, noting the way Eliora had quickly pulled her hand free from his arm. The warm smile they shared only deepened his frown. However, there was no denying that the knight was the perfect choice to escort a queen to be. "Don't be too long."

"I'll be back by noon," Eliora promised. She curtsied quickly and hurried to Siridean's side before he could attempt to kiss the back of her hand as he'd grown accustomed to doing.

The prince watched them leave through the window, noting how closely they walked together. It had taken every bit of persuasion he had to convince his father to allow him to accept the marriage proposal. After all, there were half a dozen other kingdoms, each full of eligible princesses he'd yet to meet. Surely one of those would catch his eye and eventually his heart.

His father had never believed in the idea of marrying only for an alliance. The tradition was archaic and he'd done away with it after seeing the loveless marriage between his own father and mother. Of course he wouldn't oppose his children marrying someone who was able to better their standing in the world, but he'd always insisted that they marry for themselves above all. A true ruler would reflect their happiness on their kingdom.

That was why he had been so against coming to Savirnoss's aid in the first place. A desperate kingdom could only be bad news for his son. Demir had been relentless in his pleading, pointing out every opportunity that awaited him. He had no plans to let a lowborn knight ruin his hard work.

The market place was not the bustling hub of activity Siridean remembered. It was one of the few warm days they'd seen in a while and yet most of the stalls were empty. The sellers were quiet, doing their business with blank faces.

The stands that were open were decidedly lacking in wares. Vegetables lay limp on the tables, more fitting for the scrap pile than a dinner table.

Eliora didn't blink an eye in picking through the meager choices. The people mustered small smiles when she deposited more than enough gold to cover what she chose.

"This is different," Siridean mumbled to her between stands.

"Not for me, not anymore," Eliora said back. "King Drusen has done what he can to bolster our stocks but he can't fix crops that won't grow."

"Now that our people are back we won't need him," Siridean said.

Eliora scoffed and waved her hand to the dark clouds looming in the distance. "Spring is still a long ways off, Dean. If he's offering his leftovers to keep us going I'm not going to turn my nose up at them. You saw the farms on your way in, didn't you?"

"Those can be mended. Farmers are returning to their fields and once they're back to what they know they'll be producing hand over fist."

"Not all of our farmers returned," she pointed out. "And some of them have returned to barren soil that would sooner sprout gold than crops." Eliora paused to drop coins into a woman's hand.

"You seem happy enough to hand out gold to placate them rather than do any real work," he said.

Eliora's back stiffened as she straightened herself. The woman, her face hidden from Siridean's, looked at her princess for guidance. She saw anger on the girl's face quickly replaced by a forced calm. "The traders are coming soon sir," she said. "This coin alone will buy enough seeding to restart a farm." She held up one of the gold coins. "Two will line my shelves with preserves to last me to the first harvest. The third will put clothes on my children's backs while they work the soil in the cold."

"And in the spring I'll know where to go for a proper pie," Eliora winked. "I remember sneaking off with a full pie once when Giana dared me to."

"That was you?" the woman sputtered. She stifled a laugh and wagged a finger sternly at Eliora. "Very unbecoming of a princess."

"You should mind your tone when addressing the princess," Siridean warned her,

"You are insufferable!" Eliora turned back towards the castle, basket swinging wildly on her elbow. She'd nearly reached the courtyard before he caught up.

"Your storming off has greatly improved in its effectiveness. When did you get so fast?" He took her wrist to turn her to face him. "There was a time I could have caught up to you in a second."

"My legs grew longer and my patience thinner," she said. "And running away looked more and more like a viable option."

"Do you remember when we planned to run off together?" Siridean slid his hand down her wrist to lace their fingers together. "We were going to go so far that we'd find places no one had ever been."

"I remember," she whispered. The basket on her other arm hung heavy but she paid it no mind. His hand on hers took all of her attention, until his eyes met hers and she could look nowhere else. "And you were going to marry me."

"I still could."

She pulled her hand away from his, clutching the basket to her chest. "No, we can't." Siridean reached to pull her back again but she stepped back. "I think you need to leave."

He watched her run inside, rubbing roughly at his face when he was sure she was out of sight. Things had been going so well until then. For a moment, he'd even seen the girl he'd left behind.

A cold wind whipped his cloak back, stealing the meager warmth from the sun. Now that he was dwarfed by the castle's long shadow, the cold was invading every bit of him. Siridean looked to the open doors of the knight's quarters.