Into the Land of Valentia

Chapter the Second

II

Vivica sat frozen in place, eyes locked on the man.

She couldn’t believe she’d made such a fool out of herself. Implying that the king would proclaim her to be amongst the best slayers when this man—Cayden—was going to be next in line for the throne! 

Vivica tried to reassure herself with the fact that it wasn’t her fault. How was she supposed to know the princess was getting married, let alone to whom, when she was in the east slaying dragons for the past month? In fact, her run-in with Cayden had been her first time speaking to a human being in over three weeks.

She slid from her seat, never tearing her gaze from Cayden. If she could slip away from the tavern without him seeing her, she would never have to worry about him ever again. Surely a soon-to-be prince wouldn’t waste much of his time in a village as small as Caverly. He was probably only stopping to pick up some supplies.

Backing up slowly, Vivica never knew someone was approaching her from behind until a hand clapped down on her shoulder. Jumping in fright, she spun around on the balls of her feet to look into a pair of thickly-lashed brown eyes.

“Viv! How dare you not come to see me as soon as you got in? Your own sister! I only found out you’d arrived when I saw Garrett in the stables.” Naleena blinked and then grabbed her sister in a hug. She squeezed tightly. “I’ll have you know that the whole time you were gone, I was worrying. I got a grey hair, I swear it!”

Vivica laughed. “Nal, you’re much too young for grey hairs.”

Naleena merely sniffed. “I suppose you can be forgiven.” She changed topics, batting her lashes teasingly. “Is Prince Cayden not the most handsome man you’ve ever seen? I get why you wanted to come here first.”

“Pardon?” It took Vivica a moment to understand what her sister meant. “No, I didn’t come here to see him: I just wanted a drink. That man is not only a pompous fool, he’s an entirely suspicious one.” The tavern door opened and a handful of villagers walked in, joining those already assembled around Cayden. By now, the man had taken a seat at a table. He was sipping quietly from a tankard, letting the villagers carry the conversation. “Trust me.”

“And how would you know this? No, wait, shush!” Naleena placed a hand over Vivica’s mouth. “Come home and you can fill me in while you change.”

They left by the rear door. Vivica felt weight dropping from her shoulders with every step she took that led her away from the princess’ betrothed. If she never saw him again, it would be far too soon.

The streets were as alive as Vivica remembered them to be: women washing clothes in washbasins, heads tilted up to catch the sun’s warm rays; children running about, pretending to be slaying wild beasts; young maidens talking animatedly by the well. It was only then that Vivica realized just how much she had missed her village and its welcoming familiarity.

Naleena hurried down the street, moving too quickly to appear casual. Vivica could tell Nal was dying to know what she had been up to, and what she knew about the prince. Still, she followed along at a slower pace, calling out greetings to others as she passed by. Caverly was such a small place that everyone knew everyone else, and everything about everyone else. It was as close to being family as a person could get without truly being related.

When Vivica finally turned onto the worn dirt path leading up to their house, she felt a tightening in her chest as though she was about to cry. Home, she thought.

Vivica pulled in a deep breath, filling her lungs with the scent of the many flowers decorating the sides of the small building. She could sense Naleena’s impatience but didn’t hurry, instead savouring the emotions washing over her.