𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 | 𝐄𝐫𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫

IV

Three days. That's how long it took to travel to this friend's house—three whole days.

So, now, Eren has two-and-a-half fortnights to bring you home, and he is three days further away from seeing his friends.

If you weren't so social, constantly stopping to chat with ladies, throwing snowballs at children, and singing off-key with strangers each time you stopped at an inn, it wouldn't have taken so long. It should have taken a day, maybe two, if you needed to walk a little slower, but it took three days.

Eren doesn't mind spending time with you, of course, as you completely demolished his expectations of what a princess would be. You were not snooty, selfish, or self-important. As a matter of fact, when no one is on the brink of death, your spirit is light as air and as intoxicating as liquor. It also fostered fonder feelings each time you footed the bill everywhere you brought him and were a kind companion.

Nonetheless, Eren still would've appreciated a warning about how blistered his feet would become and how cold the air is in this part of the Realm. Snowflakes flutter from the heavens often here, but it's barely warm enough to keep from sticking to the narrow forest trail. Just barely.

You pulled out a cloak before you left the tower, but all Eren had was the clothes and leather armor the tiny man provided for him. On their own, they weren't thick enough to hold any real heat. Thankfully, you had the bright idea of buying a comforter from the innkeeper where the two of you last stayed. Without it, Eren is sure he would have frozen by now.

But even with the blanket, his bare ankles burn each time the wind blows. There's nothing worse than a cold snap in the early spring, and today is the worst Eren remembers experiencing in his entire life.

"How much further does this Niccolo guy live?" Eren whines once he feels another gust of wind and another one of the many blisters in his shoes turn wet.

"Not much further," you answer. "Maybe another two hours."

"Two hours?!"

And he has to be outside in this shitty weather for two more hours.

"Two hours isn't so bad when you look at it in the grand scheme of life," you told him. "Think of it this way: we've already traveled for about... seventy hours. So, if you add the two we still have to go to all the hours we've already traveled... We're more than ninety-five percent of the way there! See? Not so bad!"

"Do all princesses rattle off random numbers to confuse their subjects?"

"No," you say with warmth coloring your voice. "And my numbers are not random. And, if you must know, I didn't learn anything about numbers in the palace. Princesses learn how to curtsy and read poetry and coyly flirt. Everything I learned about numbers, I learned from Hange. Geometry, algebra, calculus... portions of a much larger parasol that is math. Not all princesses learn math, but all are accustomed to being just parts of a much bigger picture, so math comes easy."

Eren's sass gets the better of him as most of what you said flies over his head. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not as well educated as you, Princess... But don't your feet hurt?"

"No. Should they?"

"Yeah. I've busted three different blisters already."

"And how many did you have this morning?"

Eren counts all the bubbles he remembers inspecting that morning. "Ten?"

"So, then you have seventy percent still intact. Not so bad. And, after we finish up with Niccolo, I can take you to some better shoes, so you'll never have to worry about blisters again."