Royal Escape

Chapter 11

"How about this one?" I twirled a little to let Heath see the gown. It was simple really, nothing to write home about, which meant it was perfect.

"No, you're a princess. You shouldn't be caught dead wearing that." Heath sat in the corner of the little store as he examined my gown.

"Heath, be serious. The whole point of all of this is to not stand out. If I walk around telling everyone I'm a princess, that will certainly be standing out,  don't you agree?" I huffed as I stood In front of the dozens of dresses that I had already tried on.

"A lady of your status shouldn't be waltzing around the common folk anyways." Heath held a small blade in his hand and twirled it around skillfully.

"These are my people, Heath. What kind of ruler doesn't take a step into their world to see how they're living every once in a while? It's as if I'm saying I'm better than them." I grabbed yet another gown and hid behind the closed curtain to change.

"But you are better than them. There is a reason why you have the title princess and they are called commoners." Heath spoke freely on the opposite side of the curtain.

"No, I'm not. And just so you know, you should stop referring to me as princess. It's just Gwen out here." I pulled the curtain after I finished. "And no, I'm not changing again. I'm getting this one whether you like it or not." I took out my coin purse and set some coinage on top of the counter. "Now let's leave before she comes back with another boat load for me to try on."

"As you wish, milady." Heath chuckled and held the door open for me. I gritted my teeth as I walked past him and into the busy street.

"I told you already, it's just Gwen. How many times am I going to have to say that to you?" I pulled the hood over my head for more reassurance that I will go undetected.

"Until I learn my lesson I suppose." Heath swung his leg over the saddle and lent me his hand. "Come now, your highness. We have little daylight left and we need to get as close as we can before sunset."

"You're impossible, Heath." I sighed but relunctantly took his offering hand.

We stayed on the outskirts of Laith before slipping back into the woods. Luckily, we went undetected, thanks to the newly bought chaperon.

"We were lucky this time, your highness, but how exactly do you plan to go unnoticed for the rest of our trip? We are in your kingdom, after all." Heath struck up a conversation after riding for a little while.

"When Ian took me out, he always made sure my face was hidden unless it was one of the closer villages. And even then, that was on rare occasions. The townspeople don't really know what I look like necessarily. I'm sure only a few would recognize me, if even that many." The soft ground crunched below the stallion hooves as I spoke.

"So I suppose it was a good idea to limit interaction between you and your people then. Ian seems like an excellent guard. He served you well." Heath spoke freely as we rode.

I smiled to myself in reminiscence of the times I had with Ian. How selfish I was to drag him everywhere and get myself into trouble when he was only concerned for my well being.

"He certainly was. Though he truly deserves to be a knight. His father was my father's right hand man, his first knight he ever appointed. Ian looked up to him in hopes of being just like him. My, how the time flies." I watched the scenery begin to flush with the sunset.

"You and Ian must've been close even when you were young."

"Oh we were. Though it was always the same situation. I was bullheaded and made sure that everyone knew I was going to do as I pleased, even with being told not to, and Ian saved me every time I got myself into another state of affairs." The sunlight continued to fade as we talked.