The Lost Mirror

Chapter 7

Jade dared to glance back at the closing wooden doors into the Kingdom as they left. The Kingdom had been built in the middle of three large mountains. One on its left, the other on the right and one behind it, cattle filling all of them. A strong and natural defence but one that could be breached by an army of arrowmen who simply had to stand at the top of one of the mountains, fire their arrows and let gravity do its best work. Still the Kingdom seemed to ooze wealth. There was a 30 foot high wall extending from one mountain to the next. If she focused for long enough she was sure she could make out a few knights pacing back and forth at the top of it. She sighed thinking about how incredible uncomfortable she was and how hard she had to try simply to not fall off. Ethan was a few paces in front of her, guidung her horse. She noticed him glancing back every now and then, probably just to check that she hadn't fallen face first into the ground. Jade looked to the dark figure on the large black horse several feet in front of them. He hadn't said a word, hadn't even looked back to check that they were following him. Almost as if he didn't care whether they were or not. The tension between her male companions was making her uncomfortable, it was suffocating in the silence. The only thing that provided her with some relief was the slight wind blowing through her hair. For the first time she had woken up in her confused state the morning before she could just think. Take in everything around her, everything that had happened and everything in the near future. She was still scared, still unsure if the whole thing was even real but in that moment she was feeling calmer. Her horse huffed underneath her and Jade gently patted her neck to calm her down. She had never ridden a horse before. She has always thought they were beautiful, she loved animals. She had always had a connection with them that her friends and family admired her for. She seemed to understand their wants and needs in ways that others didn't. Her connection with animals reminded her of her Mum's connections with people. She seemed to be loved be everything she met, she could calm the angriest person simply by talking to them for a few minutes. Her Mum and the Queen although genetically identical couldn't have been more different. Though she had seen glimpses of the Mother she had come to know in those few moments in her bedroom before she left. She began to wonder what 'Princess Jade' was like. How different was she from her? The Queen had described her as someone who was loved by everyone but then again a Mother's judgement of her child is often clouded.

"Ethan." Jade called out breaking the deafening silence. Ethan looked around at her.

"Yes my lady?"

"What is the Princess like? Is she anything like me?"

"Honestly I could not say. I have not spent a lot of time in her presence, my job is to watch from afar. Only a select few are allowed to approach the members of the royal family, even if you are a member of the 10 knights." Jade noticed Zachariah slowing down, he waited until the other two had caught up and then for the first time since they left the kingdom he spoke.

"I can tell you that she's a brat." He said bluntly as he rode just in front of Jade.

"How dare you speak about the Princess like that." Ethan shouted through gritted teeth.

"I can speak about whoever I want however I want. I do not abide by your rules." Zachariah sounded almost bored as he spoke to him. The two continued to stare at each other. Jade could feel the hatred coming from Ethan and the cold, lifeless expression from Zachariah. It was like watching a stand off between fire and ice.

"What makes you say that?" Jade blurted out, trying to diffuse the situation. Zachariah took his eyes off Ethan and looked towards the road ahead. Ethan huffed and turned his head away from the wizard in disgust.

"She's spoilt beyond reason. She's the only Princess in the land and sort after by many suitors. She is used to having the best of everything. Do not get me wrong she does her duties as a Princess and she does them well but behind closed doors the Princess is an entirely different person."