Hiding Royalty

7

Emma rushed to Liam and wrapped her arms around him, breathing in his scent and being thankful that he was unharmed. Lyra also came over to him and gave him a small hug as well.

"I am so glad you are unharmed," Emma said, sobbing lightly.

He wrapped his arms around the girls, thanking the gods that they made to safety. He would gladly have given his life to those wolves if it meant they would make it to safety.

"I am just glad you two made it to safety," Liam said, looking at both girls.

He started blushing at the thoughts he had containing both the girls, he put his hand over his face to try and hide it.

"What's wrong, are you not feeling well?" Emma said smiling inwardly at the thought of Liam fantasizing about her. She looked over at Lyra and caught her staring at Liam with a small blush creeping on her pale face. She instantly frowned at her, Liam belonged to her not Lyra.

"Okay, enough with the pleasantries, how about some drinks?" Liam suggested, and the girls agreed.

They found a table at the back of the tavern, with Liam drinking the strongest ale the tavern had, and the girls drinking water. Liam tried to drink away the horror he just witnessed in the forest. He almost lost his life, and then he wouldn't get to see his loved one ever again. Liam emptied the first two glasses of ale quickly, lost in thought.

"Liam, I think you have had enough to drink for today," Emma said putting her hand on his wrist to stop him from asking for a refill. His face darkened as he looked at her, he yanked his wrist free from Emmas grip.

"I will decide when I have had enough to drink," Liam said, waving the waitress over to their table.

"What do you need, sir?" The waitress asked. Emma was about to say that they were done but Liam interrupted.

"I need a refill, please," Liam said pleadingly. The waitress smiled and walked off. Emma glared at Liam, who returned her glare. The air was tense with the two childhood friends staring each other down, neither backing down.

"I have to agree with Emma on this. Liam, you have had enough to drink, if you keep drinking you will make yourself sick," Lyra said, finishing off her water.

He turned his gaze towards Lyra, who tried to withstand his gaze but ultimately failed.

"This does not concern you, princess. It also doesn't concern you either Emma," Liam spat as the waitress placed his third glass of ale down.

"Why are you so angry at us Liam?" Emma asked worryingly, looking at Lyra for support, she nodded. He ignored her as he took a big drink of his ale, only stopping because Lyra and Emma touched his hand. He slowly put his drink and stared at the two girls longingly.

"I am not angry at you girls," Liam sighed, "In that forest my life flashed before my eyes. I kept thinking of you two," the girls looked at each other and smiled, "You two are what kept me strong, even when I faced down the wolf pack."

"But how did you survive? There were many wolves after you?" Emma asked curiously.

"Who did you think about the most?" Lyra blurted out the question, startling both Liam, and Emma. They both looked at her with mouths agape, "What? I'm curious."

Liam felt a blush creep upon his face, as he looked from Lyra to Emma. Liam couldn't think of a response, so he reached for his cold ale taking a long drink. He put the glass down and stared at the girls.

"I--" Liam started to say but was interrupted when there was a hand firmly planted on his left shoulder. He turned and saw one of the hunters that rescued him. He stared blankly at the man, he had long blond hair that was pulled back into a small ponytail, with a scar across face. It began on his right eyebrow and went to about his left jawline.

"Ladies, this is one of the hunters that saved me," Liam stammered as he introduced the man.

"The name is Connor, do you mind if I sit?" Connor asked politely. The girls nodded and he sat between Liam and Lyra.

"I want to thank you again for saving my friend. I am Emma, this is Liam, and this is my sister Lyra," Emma said, beaming at the hunter.

"It was no problem, we were nearby anyway and hear the howl. We looked towards the source of the noise, and that is when we saw Liam cornered by those wolves," Connor explained.

"So why are you here?" Liam asked a little too defensively.

"We are actually here for a proposition. For you three," Connor said smiling for the first time.

"What is the proposition?" Liam responded.

"We are unfamiliar with this terrain, my friends and I were on route to the capital but got sidetracked by one of the villages nearby. There was a big massacre in their woods, apparently some 'animal' found an infamous bandit gang and tore them apart. They asked us to track it and hunt it. The trail went cold around where we ran into Liam, so we decided to take the chance and see if it was the animal," Connor explained putting emphasis on the word animal.

As Connor explained more of his hunts, Lyra stared intensely at him, studying him. She could tell he was lying about something, she felt it in her bones. She had learned how to study people's body language from growing up around the corrupt people that were trying to take her father's throne. She noticed also that his hands were coarse, even more coarse than a normal hunters. She got the feeling that he hunted more than just animals. She didn't want to bring up the suspicion around Connor, and besides Emma would probably be dismissive about it, like she always was towards Lyra.

Her blood ran cold when he briefly caught her looking at him, his eyes so sharp, she felt like they were piercing her very soul. He quickly looked away and smiled brightly at Emma.

"There are four of us; Alistair, Theo, and William and me. We were wondering if you could escort us to a nearby port town, so we can replenish our supplies," Connor explained, "We will protect you three in exchange for guidance."

The trio thought about it and agreed to it.

"Thank you so much, you three are a blessing," Connor said. He waved at three other hunters. A broad man with a think beard and short brown hair. The next was a smaller man, or boy because he was practically a boy- he was too scrawny. The last one was older than the others, evident by the grey hair and mustache, he also wore an eyepatch on his left eye.

"I will go tell them the good news," Connor said, practically jumping up.

When Connor was out of earshot, Lyra tried to raise suspicions about the hunters.

"They are hiding something, I think we should call this off," she whispered, looking seriously at Liam.

"Oh please! Knowing how you acted so far, you most likely think everyone is suspicious," Emma dismissed her claims with a wave of her hand. Lyra looked hurt at her words. Surely, Emma would at least give her the benefit of the doubt.

Connor smiling evilly as he walked towards his group.

"They agreed to it. What fools! I underestimated them, they actually believed me. So you know what to do when I give the signal," he looked at his companions, they all nodded quickly. Connor smiled gleefully, this was going to fun but boring, predicting they wouldn't put up much of a fight. Especially the princess, she was their main target.

What have our trio got themselves in for! What will happen next?

-TheHowlingWolves