The Princess Wars

Chapter Four

The blue sky had turned a bright blood orange.  Black sillouettes of trees passing by almost completely blocked the setting sun, though its rays still reached through any opening it could find.

The sound of Elizabeth stirring in her sleep broke me away from the breath- taking view.  She slowly opened her eyes and sat up from the window.  As she did, her loose bun fell.  She sighed, sadly looking at the limp hair over her shoulders, then did her best putting it back into a droopy bun.

"May I help you with that?" I asked softly.

She froze, and without meeting my eyes, nodded.  I went over to her side of the carriage.  Taking her unbelievably straight, midnight hair, I ran through it with my fingers, and tied it all up in the tightest, neatest bun I have ever seen her wear.

She turned around and looked at me, it seems for the first time since the day I met her.

"Thank you, miss," she said, her voice a whisper.

Stunned that she could even speak, I said nothing.

"We'll stop here for the night,"  Will said gruffly, opening the door for us.  I looked around.  We had reached the meadows, the edge of the forest was not to far back.

"Out here in the wilderness? What if an animal spots us here in the open and thinks us his prey?" I asked fully knowing that my mother would not approve.

He only shrugged, and went to untied the bedding from the roof of the carriage.

"We won't find a town on this path any time soon, and we have only a little while longer till the sun goes down.  Besides, I've journeyed along here before and I can assure you, there is nowhere better."

He jumped down with a bundle in his arms and threw it down in front of me.  Then set off toward the forest.

"Where are you going?" I called out to him.  He gave a dissmissing wave.  

I let out an annoyed breath and looked over to Liza who stood beside me. 

"Come on, then."  

I picked up the blankets and headed deeper into the grassy plain.  As beautiful as the the vibrant flowers and lush, tall grass was from above,  my feet ached with pain as thorns of some kind stabbed through my slippers. 

Finally, we found an area soft and less prickly enough to set up our beds.  We had just finished rolling out the blankets when Will returned with a ton of wood and a fairly large beaver- like animal.

"How'd you manage to catch that?" I asked.

He pulled out a dagger from his boot and flashed it in the becoming moonlight.

"Easy enough."

Liza took the creature and knife from his hands, sat right down, and began skining the animal.

Will's eyebrows raised, "So Liza's a cook."

He grinned at her, but she kept her head low, concentrating on the animal in her hands.

Will dropped the wood and worked on kindling a flame, and soon we were all sitting in front of a blazing fire roasting fresh meat, courtesy of Liza and WIll.  I felt awful knowing I hadn't contributed to the meal, not that I could have in the first place.  The last time Cook had tried to show me how to bake pasteries, I nearly burned down the whole manor. 

So I watched Liza tend to the cooking meat, while Will used his blade to carve  a small, excess piece of wood, our argument from earlier still pressing my mind.

"Are you still angry with me?" I asked him.

He didn't say anything, he didn't even look up from his work.  After finising whitling the last hole into his creation, he blew into the pipe he had made producing a melodic note.

He then began trying to play an old, but well known song in our kingdom, though it was a little pitchy. It wasn't exactly pleasant to the ear.  Elizabeth looked horrified.  Will saw her expression and stopped.

"What you think you can do better?" he teased.

To my surprise, Liza actually stood up and held out her small hand for the instrument.  Will also seemed a bit bewildered, but still layed the pipe in her plalm.

Neither of us were prepared for what happened next.  As Elizabeth blew on the small wooden pipe, what reached my ears was the most beautiful music I have ever heard.  It was so foreign and up beat I couldn't help but to clap in excitement.  Liza closed her eyes and seemed to let herself go into her music.  Will laughed out loud.

"A master of all trades, who would of thought."

The lively melody was so enchanting, it brought me back to the days when I was younger and Aggie would bring me to the village festivals.  I closed my eyes and remembered the sweet smell of the holiday treats, the colorful costumes of the preformers, the music... the sound of someone clearing  their throat brought me out of my trance.  I looked up to see Will standing over me.

"May I have this dance, my lady?" he said, his voice sounding so much like my father that I had to hold back my laughter.

I took his hand with such relief to see him smiling at me againg and he led me into a dance, twirling me round and round until I couldn't feel my feet. There were sevral ocassions where I stepped on his foot, or almost tripped, but he only laughed and pulled me closer, keeping me upright.

Finally, my clumsy feet got the best of me and sent the both of us sprawling onto the grass.  We both laughed uncontrollably.   

"You need to have those things checked!" he exclaimed between laughs.

"It's the grass!" I lied.

"Of course."

The dark night blanketed the whole sky completely, and our warm fire was now just a smoldering pit.  Liza was already fast asleep and I sat on the soft grass beside Will, gazing at the forest.  Millions of fireflies hovered against the shadowed background, mimicing the twinkling stars above.  I understood why Will was so persistent on staying here.

I let my head fall on his broad shoulder.  I felt him tense for a second, then relax.

"I have never seen anything so beautiful," I said softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful night.

"I have," he said even more quiet than I.  

I lifted my face to his.  Even in the great darkness, I could see his green eyes pouring into mine.

"Maura, I need to tell you something.  I've needed to tell you this for a long while actually,"

"What is it?" I asked, the intensity in his voice starting to scare me a little.

He took a deep breath and took my hand.

"I...  Well I-"

He was inturupted by the sound of Liza's cry.  I quickly left my comforable position and went to her side.

"Elizabeth, what happened?"

"I heard something over there!" she pointed behind us towards the forest.

"It was probably just the wind," I say.

She shook her head and pulled the blankets tight around her, tears welling up in her eyes, "I don't like it here, Maura."

I looked down at the frightened girl and did what I should have done that night she arrived at our doorstep.  I wiped her wet cheeks with my thumb, and wrapped my arms around her.

"Everything is going to be fine.  Just go back to sleep," I told her.  She let her head fall against my chest, but I still felt her small frame shake with tears.

"Don't leave," she cried softly.  Stroking her back, I looked over at Will, whom had decided to retire and now lay under a blanket faced away.  His locks still shone bright gold even under the silver moonlight. I was about to give up all of this, friends, family, freedom, for a crown.  

"I'm not going anywhere," I whispered.