For King and Country

The Beginning of the End

Chapter 5

"Cora wait!" Micah yelled, storming to follow me outside where Elijah had led me. The sandy haired boy had a pair of horses waiting, and he looked annoyed that Micah was interrupting. "You can't just leave! You're..." His voice broke. "You're going to be my wife." I pulled away from Elijah, turning to him.

"Micah," I said softly, taking his face in my hands as his hands went to my waist. "The seer told me today what I've always known. I was not made for a simple destiny, a simple life. You deserve the sun. And I fear I might be the darkness that fills the space between the stars. I've kept you from your true love, and for that I'm sorry." I whispered.

"I won't let you go. I can't." He snapped, shaking his head vigorously. I ran my hands down his arms, trying to comfort him by grabbing his hands. "You love me. I know you do." I froze.

In that moment, it became clear what I must do. I squeezed his hands and looked him dead in the eyes. "Micah, I do not love you. I never have. I never will, not in the way you want me too." I said, I dropped his hands and turned away, pausing just long enough to say "I'm so sorry."

And as Elijah grabbed my waist to lift me onto the chestnut stead I was to ride, leading me off into the night, I heard Micah's scream of no, his pain filled sob, and my heart broke in two.

No one bothered to speak as Elijah led us down the wide, meandering road through the heavy night. It was just the sounds of heavy breathing, the hooves of the horses, and my stifled sobs. I tried not make a sound other than the slight sniff of my nose, but I couldn't stop the tears that flowed freely down my cheeks. My carefully pinned hair had long since broken free of its pins, and the taupe dress I wore was splattered in mud and who knows what else. My legs had long since grown sore from the hours of riding, and I vaguely wondered if the horses would collapse. Elijah seemed to have no intention of stopping until he suddenly slowed down as the plains and fields we'd been traveling alongside transformed into a wood. We'd passed villages along the way, but of course the man would make us camp in a wood.

He dismounted, walking over to me, "You're about to fall off that horse."

"I'm fine," I said, but stifled a yawn. I knew I must look terrible, with a puffy tear stained face, bags under my eyes revealing my lack of sleep, and hair sticking up in every direction.

"No you're not." He said, reaching for the reins. "We cannot sop; we can reach the capital by mid- morning tomorrow. My men are used to the ride but you are not. This is the hardest part of the journey, the horses will have to take the forest path at a walk." He offered me his hand, his almond shaped eyes sympathetic for the first time. I hated his pity, but I took his hand as he helped me down. He gave my reins to another soldier before picking me up and lifting me onto his own stead. I objected, wondering how my aching legs would feel any better on a different horse. But then he climbed into the saddle behind me, forcefully picking me up and turning my legs so they could rest over one of his, my back leaning half against his chest and half against an arm he wrapped around my waist. "Sleep." He ordered, and as he ordered the horses forward, the gentle rocking of the stead and the darkness of the night lulled me to sleep.

I woke as dawn broke, and I saw that we were out of the forest. I could see how tired the men were as I woke from my fitful sleep.

"You drool," A voice rumbled from behind me. I turned to face Elijah, my back now against his other leg as he had me gathered so my head could rest in his shoulder. I blushed, squirming uncomfortable against him.

"Sorry." I snapped, trying to right myself. "I can take my own horse now." He nodded, motioning for the group to stop. He dismounted his horse, me in his arms before leading the horse to a river that flowed big and wide across the plain. The grass was knee high, and blowing gently in the wind. There was salt in the air, and every where you turned, there was another river. Some meandered lazily across the plains, others rushed forward determined to make it to see. Some looked deep, others rocky and shallow, like the one where we stopped. Constructed over them were little bridges. I'd read about this place, and I'd heard the stories from Micah's father. This was the waterfall country, where every river in the land rushed out to see. It was said the capital city was built among the waterfalls. Looking around the never ending plain, I wasn't sure I believed it.

"We'll arrive at the capital in a few hours. Once we get to the main gate, a carriage will be waiting for you." Elijah said, offering me a canteen he'd filled with some of the cool water. I didn't realize how dry my throat had become until I took a sip of it.

"Yeah, none of your subjects need to see you looking like that." The boy called Jeremiah snorted, ruffling my messy hair. I glared at him.

"You can behead him if you want." Another soldier called out. "You have the power to do that Princess." It was the first time anyone addressed me like that, and it sent a chill through my entire body. My entire life, I wanted something more. But this, this was madness. Who could believe such a crazy story, that a girl from a village was actually a princess. It made no sense. I didn't believe it. Who in their right mind would let me run a country.