A Tale of Crown and Country

Lea

Lea had been to Ilane many times before. This time, however, she was not staying at the centre of town in a nobility's extravagant home, nor was she arriving by royal carriage for all to see and notice. No, this time she was arriving in the dead of night astride an exhausted horse beside a boy she'd met only four days earlier. They arrived by the eastern gate to find four inattentive guards gossiping about one of their wives.

    Arlan hopped off his steed first, and Lea followed suit. They walked the last few steps to the gate, pulling the horses along with them. It gave the guards enough time to return to their posts, and for Lea to pull her hood back over her head. She didn't think this far from the capital many people would recognize her, but among guards and soldiers she wasn't going to take any chances.  For all she knew her father had sent word of her apparent kidnapping to every corner of the country. Hopefully these four men, assigned to the worst shift of the day, would be too distracted to pay her any mind.

    "Little late to be travelling just the two of you," one of the guards noted. Probably the most senior of the group.

    "Didn't want to spend another night out on the road," Arlan commented. They'd made a mutual decision that it was best if Lea didn't speak. Not only was she more likely to be noticed if she spoke, but even Arlan had pointed out sometimes her words were more formal than need be. Lea couldn't very well disagree considering her limited experience with the wide outside world she'd thought she knew.

    A younger guard, presumably the greenest of the group, piped up. "Right you are, those bandits gettin' more cocky by the day." He seemed content with himself.

    "And whose fault is that?" Arlan asked casually.

    The young guard's face fell. The senior man shot him a look before returning to Arlan. He smiled grimly and asked them to wait a moment. Soon enough the large wooden doors that Lea had never seen closed crept open. Regros's doors hadn't been closed during the night. They'd slipped out past the pair of guards who leaned against the old stone walls, chatting.

    Once inside the city walls, the guards slid the door back into place. Lea gulped. It was if she'd walked into a trap. It was another part of the adventure, but she was starting to feel like she didn't want to be a part of the adventure anymore.

    Ilane's darkened streets spread out like crawling vines from the square they alone occupied. The horses clopping hooves on cobblestones echoed grimly through the still night air. A few lamp lights shone on the wider streets, but as they walked further into the city Lea peered down alleyways and was greeted with blackness. Despite knowing they were on the outskirts of town, a shiver ran up Lea's spine at the emptiness of the streets. Not a soul passed them. Shadows followed them along store fronts as Arlan guided them to the centre of the city.

    "Are the doors always closed like that?" she asked Arlan in a low voice.

    "Around here they are," he said calmly.

    "Why?"

    "Princess, that's a question better suited for your father than me."

    Lea recoiled. What did he mean? Arlan's casual tone had begun accusatory. A hint of bitterness tinged his words.

    "What do you mean?"

    He turned on her. "If the king were harsher with the bandits and robbers along these roads the cities around here wouldn't need to lock their doors at night."

    "That's not my fault," she defended. Lea dropped her voice as a large man in a leather apron wandered past them. He tilted his hat at them and Lea smiled insincerely in return. She unconsciously pulled the hood of her cloak further over her face.