The Keepers of Eternity

XV

Like a dog on a leash, Blaise dragged the Princess through the pine forests of southern Rvyn. To his surprise, she didn't complain, and walked a few paces behind him—as far as the rope permitted her. Again, her compliance scared him. She had started off yesterday actually wanting to fight her way to freedom, and now she strolled along like she was actually happy about being his prisoner.

He would have left her tied up near the wagon, but with her unusual behavior lately...it was safer to just bring her along. Hunting--using his methods--wouldn't be much more difficult holding a rope. Really, all he needed was one hand.

"Do you truly think this is a humane way to treat a Princess?" she asked suddenly and smugly.

"Actually, no. You're not a Princess right now. Right now, you are my bloodhound. Go on, sniff out all the little forest critters." He tugged on the leash.

That earned him another ten minutes of silence. Maybe it was wrong letting her know that she was a princess, she was sounding entitled now.

Blaise forced his thoughts away from the girl and carefully walked deeper into the woods, his boots crunching over a blanket of browned pine needles. Insects hummed in the tops of the trees, a sure sign that the sun was beginning to dip below the faraway horizon.

It was strange to be up during the day, but his mission demanded it now. The Princess needed to be guarded all hours of the day, which meant he had to up up when she was, less she try to escape. However, for him it was torture. Without the darkness of the night, Blaise felt so exposed and out in the open, like having a target painted to his back. The sun even burned his eyes sometimes, a reminder of a horror in his past that even a thousand years hadn't been able to wear away.

Thoughts spun around in his mind. Thoughts about Eternity Discs, and thoughts about Thadan and his Rvyni wife. As the days passed, he had begun to grow warier of the couple. They were a strange pair...how had they met? How had Thadan come across a disc that could repair Eternity Discs? What in the hells were they planning? Sometimes, Blaise's efforts didn't seem worth it, but he had to get the Indelina. It was the only thing that mattered, and after that, his life's goal would finally be complete. Blaise could have cared less what they did with the Princess.

The Princess. Even now it was difficult for him to wrap his mind around the fact that—posssibly--Regnine's child was standing right behind him. Five hundred years after he had killed the Esk Cheiftain in a rage for murdering Regnine, Blaise was handing over her legacy to murderers. He had avenged her, but was now betraying her memory--the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to be sick. But, Regnine was dead, and so was the Last Kingdom.

It doesn't matter, as long as I get what I want in the end. Blaise told himself. The Princess means nothing to you. She is just a means to an end.

Hunting. For now, he had to focus on finding food. So far, Blaise hadn't spotted anything, except for maybe a squirrel. Squirrels, however, weren't that tasty. There had to be a deer or a rabbit hiding among these trees.

Blaise paused, noticing something strange up ahead, and walked over to the tree trunk. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine. The tall pine in front of him was covered in white, jagged streaks, as if long, dangerously sharp claws had sliced into its bark. The marks looked fresh...nearly a few hours old. Perhaps, a bear had been here. Or, perhaps something bigger. This wasn't the most convenient time for him to get attacked by a Giant.

Warily, Blaise reeled in the Princess's rope, bringing her closer. From out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted movement out in the underbrush. Small movement, thankfully.