My Princess

Chapter 7

Narcissa and I spent three days following the river, camping out under the stars once night had fallen. Neither of us had the slightest idea of where the fast moving water would take us but at least we were moving and could at least pretend we had a purpose.

I estimated that we had walked nearly 40 miles west of the Kingdom during our time out here and surely had to be getting out soon. The trees couldn't go on forever after all.

Nights were still the scariest, although we were acclimating to the strangeness of it all. Smaller animals no longer frightened us and actually became a great comfort as it meant no larger predators were lurking nearby. However, last night the forest had reminded us of its true nature in the most wretched of ways.

Flashback to the night before:

"It's getting cold and my feet hurt. We've been walking for ages. Can't we just go ahead and stop for the night?" Narcissa whined, making me snort at her childish behavior.

"You're such a little princess you know that?" I teased, flashing her a grin over my shoulder that she returned with an unamused glare.

"Yes. I am. So I get to say what we do." She sounded triumphant and I just rolled my eyes, looking around to see if this was in fact an adequate place to spend the night.

"Well I'm sorry to have to tell you this Princess, but out here I'm in charge. If it wasn't for me you'd have either starved, dehydrated, or been eaten by something with exquisite taste." I heard the other girl release a puff of air angrily, knowing I spoke the truth.

"Fine. You are my glorious knight. Here to protect little old me from the big bad monsters. Happy? Now can we stop? I can't take these bloody rocks poking into my feet any longer." I glanced back to see her slightly limping and my expression softened in pity.

"Fine. I brought along an extra pair of my work shoes. They have a thicker sole than your flats do." I dropped my bag on the ground underneath a tree and started rummaging through it.

I tossed Narcissa the pair of basic, brown shoes I used to do the outdoor chores at home, earning a look from the other girl that said, 'seriously'?

"It's those or nothing Princess." She huffed and replaced her own black flats with the hardier work shoes, smiling to herself when they were a perfect fit.

"You couldn't have at least gotten them in pink?" I rolled my eyes again and let out an exasperated sigh. Princesses.

We had grown closer over the last few days, becoming much friendlier with each other and more expressive. I had taken to calling her "princess" when she was acting like a prude, and the girl didn't seem to mind, even finding it amusing at times.

We had also taken to subtly flirting, both knowing exactly what we were doing. She had made it quite clear she liked me back at the royal ball, and I had grown to like her as well. Narcissa had a much bigger personality than I would have expected from her as the others never showed anything more than a scowl or minuscule smile depending on the situation.

She was also quite beautiful. Sure I had known that already, but as with everyone in the Kingdom I had only admired her from afar. Never would I have thought that I would get to feel how soft her porcelain skin was, or see the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed.

Narcissa had always been the put together, perfect little daddy's girl she was supposed to be when the royal family had visited the village. I would have thought they were crazy had someone told me I would get to gaze upon every inch of this beautiful young woman's body and meet her authentic self as well.

The girl was certainly not as modest as I would have expected her to be either, considering her upbringing. After that first day we shared a short bath in the river she had not hesitated to show herself off every chance that she got.