I shouldn't have thought anything of the kindness Julian had been showing me as of late. After what Naida had told me about him and what he confessed himself, he probably couldn't help being a flirt with women.
I shouldn't have let it get to me.
But it did.
To the point where I was avoiding any sort of physical contact with him. We'd only had the briefest of touches in the morning when he helped me on my horse and that was all. I didn't let myself dwell on the way his hands lingered on my waist even after he helped up into the saddle. He didn't let me go on my own until I was absolutely confident enough on my horse and I could gently steer it where necessary. He still stayed close on his own horse and wouldn't let me out of his sight.
Just like the Mother Hen he was.
I tried not to think of Julian too much as we continued our ride down the lonely, cold roads of Tartus. It was just as he said, the more time we spent on our journey, the more desolate the road became. There were no longer any trees, the green countryside gave way to grayish and black rocky terrain, the fog of the morning seemed to linger throughout the day. Even the sun seemed to disappear fixed behind the clouds.
I practiced my magic as we traveled spectering objects, glamouring myself and, with Julian's permission, him. At one point, I even gave him a long white beard making me laugh so hard I almost fell off my horse.
"You think this is funny, do you?" He asked raising a very long haired white eyebrow.
I nodded, laughing until I snorted, holding my sides. "You look like Gandalf!"
He rolled his eyes. "You're hysterical. With your size, I would say that you're a hobbit then?"
I shook my head and with barely a thought, I released the glamour he had on.
I smiled as I thought of the time Damien and I first watched those movies together. How we'd get the popcorn and soda, and settled on the couch in my parent's living room. We would watch those movies time and time again.
My horse Maiko nickered beneath me silently. I gently rubbed his back as he continued down the gravel road. Maiko was tall and strong, with a beautiful silky brown coat. At first, I found him intimidating with his large stature and large black eyes. My fears were for nothing. He was more gentle than I thought and only wanted affection.
I looked at Julian who looked to be deep in thought. "What's wrong?"
"Maybe we should use this time to help you build a physical defensive barrier. Should something happen."
I raised an eyebrow and watched him as he steered his horse away from the road and into a small rocky plane directly next to it. "What do you mean? What's going to happen?"
He shrugged. "It wouldn't hurt to be prepared."
He swung his leg over to one side of the saddle and jumped off his own horse. Grabbing the reigns, he led his horse to the side. I watched him all the while. "Prepared for what?"
He shrugged again. "You know, stuff."
Anger rolled through me. "Stuff," I scoffed angrily. "Damien always said 'stuff' like it was no big deal. Then it turned out he was going to lose his throne if he didn't get married." I sighed. "Don't you at least respect me enough to tell me the truth?"
