Hidden Crowns: A Royal Romance

Chapter 3

Alexander's POV:

My eyes start to become heavy and I know I can't give in to sleep yet. I'm on a time crunch here. If I ride all night, I will reach the river by morning and have enough time to kill Ruben, and still make it home in time for Amara's arrival.

I stretch my body to get some relief from this long ride, and that's when I notice a light shining through the trees. We approach it slowly and I realize it's an old tavern in the middle of a small clearing.

The closer we get, I hear a little music playing, and people inside, no doubt probably drunk.

I decide a drink will probably wake me up some before the rest of my ride. I swing my leg over Atlas and tie him up to a tree. "I'll just be a little while. Here's an apple for getting us this far."

I enter the old tavern and am hit with the strongest scent of beer and dirt. This place looks like it's been through the wringer. Barely held together by a few nails here and there.

I sit on a stool as a woman approaches me from the other side of the bar. She got tattoos everywhere I can see and some dirty old clothes on.

"What's a pretty boy like you doing in a place like this?" She asks with some of the blackest teeth I've ever seen.

I shrug and say, "Just passing through."

She grunts. "All we got is old beer. Hope that's good enough for ya."

"Sounds fine." I reply as she slides a beer pitcher over to me.

I take a swig and almost immediately regret it. It's definitely the most disgusting stuff I've ever tasted in my life.

I turn towards the rest of the people that are here and only notice a handful of them. I wouldn't expect much out of this place, considering how hidden it is.

The door opens and in walks another person. They're in all dark clothing, similar to myself. Their hood is covering their face, but from what I can tell, this person is on the smaller side. Perhaps a woman?

They sit at the bar a few stools away from me and a pitcher of beer is placed in front of them.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you. They definitely just poured it out of an old boot." I say turning towards the person.

I am met by a shadowed face, but I can tell whoever is under that hood has bright blue eyes, as they stare at me.

Delicate hands reach out for the pitcher of beer and hold it up to their nose. Now I know for sure it's a woman. No man has hands that look that soft.

Her nose crinkles up and she looks at me again. "You're right, that smells awful."

Her voice is smooth and easy on the ears.

I stand and take a seat closer to her. "I'm Alex." I extend my hand.

She hesitates for a moment and I can tell she hopes I don't realize it. She takes my hand and shakes it. "Ara."

"That's a nice name. Is it short for something?" I ask.

"Yes." She replies, but doesn't elaborate any further.

I glance at the clock hanging above the bar. I'm running out of time if I'm going to make this mission quick.

"I'm sorry to cut this short Ara, but I've got somewhere to be. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." I say and throw a few coins on the bar. I give her a nod and step back out into the dark.

I'm just about to mount Atlas when I hear voices coming from the trees afar. I grab the reins and pull him behind the bushes with me.

The voices get closer and I start to make out what they're saying.

"Boss says she left and came into the woods. It's up to us to find her. He wants her alive." A deep voice says.

"Well, we better hurry up. He's not going to wait around much longer before he makes his move." Another voice responds.

I watch as the two of them enter the tavern and I can't help but hope whoever they're after, is far away from here.

I stand and put one foot in the stirrup when I hear someone's muffled scream. I look back over to the tavern door and see the same men that just went in, come back out, holding the arms of someone. They have their hands holding the person tightly, covering their mouth to prevent unwanted attention.

It only takes a second for me to realize the woman they spoke of is the same girl I just met, her hood now off and long blonde hair flowing down her back.

I grab my sword from the saddle bag and run towards her attackers.

Before I can reach them, Ara has already pinned one man to the ground with a knife against his throat. The other man is on the ground off to the side, holding a hand over his groin. She must've hit in him there when I wasn't looking.

Smart girl, I think.

"Where is he?!" She yells.

The man below her coughs up blood. "You'll never be able to catch him before he finds you." He snarls.

She darkens her gaze. "We'll see about that."

She turns to grab something and only then does she notice me there. She reacts a little startled and then asks, "Help me tie these guys up?"

I nod and grab a few vines from the trees.

We work quickly and in no time they both are tied so tight that the only way they'll get out is if someone cuts them out.

Before we leave them alone, she grabs her bag and pulls a cloth from the pocket. She holds it under each of their noses and a few seconds later, they both pass out.

I'm so in shock by the strength of the woman before me, that when she looks back to me, I have no words.

"How did you do all that?" I ask. "That's was amazing!"

She gives a small smile and places the hood over her head again, hiding her long blonde hair.

"I've trained all my life for guys like them. It was easy." She replies and starts to walk away.

"Wait! Where are you going? There could be more of them out there." I say.

She turns back to me. "Then I won't stop until every last one of them are at my mercy."