Queen of Ashes │ Season 1 │The Journey

21 │Forladrin

The company spent the next few days traveling through the vast territory of Forladrin. As Freya expected, the first night was so hard for her and Giselle, that as soon as they stopped at a roadside inn for the day-stop, they almost immediately fell into bed and slept so soundly that Leander spent a good quarter of an hour waking them up. In retrospect, the situation was rather amusing, although the Vampire Prince still seemed to scowl in derision at the thought of being forced into the role of an alarm clock. Freya was secretly having fun, seeing for the first time the man's irritation directly related to her. Nothing serious, that's probably why she enjoyed it so much.

"Stop smirking. I swear, even your queen status won't help you from watching me drooling for a quarter one day." Just a few hours after the unfortunate awakening, Leander caught her red-handed on her obvious facial expressions.

"I wasn't drooling!" Freya exclaimed, not being entirely sure about that, though.

"Tell yourself that," he bickered.

Fortunately for the sensitive pride of the Vampire Prince, the following days were more kind for the women, so the problem with waking up did not occur again.

Leaving the main trail, they entered a calm area. Outside the road, nature was left to its own, triggering an immense longing in Freya's heart. At that point, she wouldn't mind redirecting toward the forest. She would probably regret it later, but a week on the high seas made her longing for the sense of oneness with the wildland. Her bow, strapped tightly behind her saddle, was itching to be used. Maybe later, she reassured herself. As soon as they entered more desolate areas, there would certainly be hunting opportunities...

With each subsequent day of the journey, they saw another face of the kingdom neighboring Carda. At the port, it was not so tangible, but when passing through smaller towns and villages, one could notice the widespread poverty and desperation of society that followed. The contrast to the Carda was plain to see. It couldn't be said that poverty did not exist in Freya's homeland, but it certainly did not reach such proportions. Large cities, little towns, villages—the Princess had the opportunity to travel through them more than once. Therefore, the difference was quite palpable to her eyes.

A few times, the company also encountered quite a persistent begging. While the attempts of men in their prime did not arouse such potent emotions in her, the first time a woman with a baby in her arms approached them, Freya couldn't bear the sight. Then, for the first time, she reached for her purse.

"Are you kidding me?" Qadir huffed, disgusted.

"What is your problem, this time? A little piece of humanity, perhaps?" Freya scoffed.

"You can give them all the rest as well and let it be over with. These pests won't stop until they drain you to the bone."

Freya couldn't believe her ears. At this point, she was unable to contain her anger. However, she spoke the next sentences firmly, filling them with a tone cold as ice. "Are you referring to them being poor, or to them being human in general, Qadir?"

He frowned. "To them being good only for walking blood bags."

"What about a human vampire queen then? Will I also be good only for my blood? I'm curious what does about that peculiar position, the king's very own personal adviser think?"

"Your purpose is different," he simply retorted with a scowl.

"Care to elaborate?"

"No."

And that was the end of the conversation. Qadir may not have been eager to elaborate on his thoughts, but the few words he managed to choke out made Freya feel strangely uneasy. She wasn't naive. She was very well aware of the fact that she was not going to the vampire court just to be praised and bathed in the Vampire King's vastness of love.