A Tale of Crown and Country

Lea

Lea smiled for the hundredth time at her own genius. Stealing the horses from the kidnappers had not only cut their travel time in half, increasing their chance of ultimate escape, but had also, as Arlan put it, screwed the bandits over.

They didn't travel too long during the day, and gave the steeds plenty to drink and plenty of rest, nor did they work them too hard. It was no use escaping on a horse if it ended up keeling over from exhaustion before you arrived at your destination, wherever that might be. Lea was in it for the long run now.

In the silence of their travels and the thundering clatter of hooves on packed dirt she'd done a little introspection. She was too far gone to return home. Father would be beyond angry with her, and she'd never have a moment's reprieve for as long as she lived in Aldira, which wouldn't be long. She'd have no say in the arranged marriage, not that she had any now. She was never going back, not as long as King Crolimus commanded the throne. Maybe she'd convince Arlan to help her disappear somewhere. Vastran would be perfect considering her father's aversion to the country. But the hot air did nothing for her skin, and besides, she'd heard the hot was unbearable in the summer, even more so than Aldira. Reightneir was too cold for her tastes. She preferred silken dresses to furs, cool breezes to icy gusts. She supposed Jayakan wouldn't be so bad. They had the strongest ties with Allriya, but then perhaps no one would recognize her. She'd live outside the capital, in a smaller town where Allriyan dignitaries had little chance of visiting. Yes, it was a wonderful plan. Maybe she'd bring it up with Arlan once they were sure to have gotten away from the bandits. Only when she heard that her father had called off the search only a handful of people knew of would she leave. It was more fun hiding right under his nose than miles and miles away.

"Arlan," she asked amongst the silent wind that whistled past her ears. They'd slow to a gentle trot, considering that they were now about half way to Ilane, the next major city. Ikuth, further to the south, was a better option given its insignificance in terms of major Allriyan cities, but it was also a lot smaller; and a smaller city meant a better chance at being discovered. At least in a large city like Ilane she might have the opportunity to hide amongst crowds and lose pursuers in the winding streets as they'd done in Aldira.

"Yes?" he asked from beside her. He kept his gaze ahead, watching for incoming traffic. They'd revert to a solitary line if any carts came up. None had passed in several hours and so Arlan had pulled back beside her. The road from Regros to Ilane was not nearly as well travelled as that between Ilane and Aldira.

"You never told me why you came with me."

"You remember that?" he asked, mildly impressed. "Between everything you've been through in the past two days that's what stuck in your mind."

Lea shrugged. "It's a fair question."

"You didn't exactly answer the question yourself either," he pointed out.

"Fair enough. I ran away because I didn't want to marry a complete stranger and a buffoon at that." She smiled and looked his way. "Your turn."

"There isn't one reason."

Lea gestured to the long road ahead. There wasn't a structure taller than a shrubbery in sight. There was no shortage of time; they had a long ways to go.

Arlan got the hint, but he didn't exactly spill the grain. "I'm not exactly... understood, back home," he said slowly.

Lea remained silent though she wanted to fill the silences between his words. Arlan was a more soft-spoken, careful-spoken person. Unlike most men she'd met. To be fair, most men included soldiers, political leaders, and their sons.

"My father and I don't see eye to eye."

"Neither does mine," Lea chuckled. She looked back over at Arlan, who was staring down at the reins in his hands. Lea suppressed the next words that would have come out her mouth and wished Arlan would speak. She realized that as much as she felt she and Arlan were open to one another, she knew nothing of him. He'd never offered any information himself, only confirming or denying what she supposed.

But Arlan didn't speak again, and Lea grew impatient. They couldn't very well end the conversation there. The opening question had left room for reflection, for deeper understanding, for sharing.

"What's the bag for? And all the jars?" she gestured to the satchel she'd never seen leave the boy's side. It hung safely off Arlan's saddle, bumping lightly against the horse and Arlan as they moved.

Arlan absentmindedly reached for the rough fabric of the strap before answering. He must have been thinking of what to say rather than blurting out an answer, because he took a few seconds to answer.

"They're, a sort of... side project," he said, choosing each word with precision.

"Does your father not approve?" she asked sincerely.

"You could say that," Arlan smiled and chuckled mysteriously. He didn't elaborate.

Lea didn't press further. She could see he was uncomfortable on the subject. He was private person, and she had to respect that. It didn't mean, however, that she had to be ignorant forever. She was confident she could garner the information eventually. It would just take a little more careful prying to get the boy to open up. It wasn't that they didn't trust each other, because they did. Though she didn't know much about the boy–not even his last name–she knew she could count on him no matter the situation. Amiability without trust isn't entirely uncommon, Lea ventured. It was just a different kind of friendship, based on a different kind of trust. She didn't need to know his religious beliefs to know he was a good person, of his preferred colour to know he had a sense of humour. It wasn't that Arlan didn't trust her with the information of his past and future; he simply preferred to keep it to himself. Lea wondered if he had ever shared it with anyone. It was surely exhausting to keep such thoughts, feelings, and motivations bottled up inside. Like smoke in a chimney stack it was sure to explode if proper ventilation was no provided. Lea wanted to be that ventilation for him. Everyone needed to get things off their chest, right? Well, it was handy to have an ear nearby for such explosions of frustration, and Lea was keen on being there. The key was getting Arlan to open up before their paths parted. She would be wholly annoyed if she left without such explanations, never to see Arlan again. She doubted princesses-in-hiding were particularly good at keeping correspondents.