The Princess and the Warlock

Chapitre Trois

Prince Grimond's carriages were one of my favorite things about his visits, but not for their grandeur. Because they were indeed grand, with gold spokes and velvet bench seats. But what I most enjoyed was the stallions he lined to pull it along, white beautiful creatures with dark knowing eyes. As he spoke to me, I would peer out through the coachmen's seat, catching a glimpse of the long manes. We were going so fast that their manes were flouncing in the breeze.

And besides, staring out the front meant less time that I needed to look at Prince Grimond, which I found very preferable.

"Are you listening to me, Princess?"

I turned back to the Prince, with his gloved hands resting on top of his knees. He seemed to be as far from me in the carriage as he could without falling out. From here, I could see sweat dotting his brow. I wondered if I should ask Anna for my kerchief for him. "I apologize, Your Highness, I got distracted."

"I know how you are," he replied with a smile. It seemed forced. "I was just speaking of your kingdom and its greenery. It's very lovely. We've nothing like it in Newheart."

My kingdom and its greenery was something he commented on every time, though to him it's never been 'lovely'. He usually used words such as 'quaint' or 'vaguely charming'. 'Lovely' was new. "Your ancestors removed the trees to build more villages, yes?"

He nodded. "And it was a great decision." He picked at the hem of his suitcoat. "The villages were what made us flourish. I plan to do the same here."

I hadn't been listening as close—but his words startled me in my seat. My eyes felt wide with a panic setting on my chest. "But you just said the greenery was lovely!"

"Oh, it is," he agreed, glancing out the window. Though his eyes roamed over what he saw, I wondered if he was looking to the future as he spoke. "It is also, however, very excessive. What do these forests and plants do for the kingdom but hold us back? One cannot build a house when there is a tree every few inches, Princess. I know it might be hard to understand for someone so young."

Anna reached to the side and grabbed ahold of my hand, which had been resting on the seat. One squeeze echoed my father's warning. Mind your tongue. It was too bad that my tongue often did not obey me or my father's wishes, and my mouth opened in encouragement. "You cannot cut down the trees," I told him with a shake to my voice. "I won't allow it."

"My apologies, Your Highness," Prince Grimond replied, finally putting his eyes on mine. "I believe you are under the assumption you have a say once we are married." His scowl deepened, and he decided that I no longer needed to be viewed by him; he looked away. "But you do not. You 'allowing me' to do anything is quite absurd."

Anna was gripping my hand so tightly that my hand ached, but it felt almost numb. Here I was, sitting in front of a man who was so much like my father, with eyes that owned me and a voice that controlled me. Forevermore. Never would I ever escape those eyes and that voice, nor the eyes and voice of my father. I was fated to be a bystander in my own life. And in that moment, the impossibility of the situation was that I could sit still and bear it all. So I didn't.

"Stop the carriage!" My voice was shrill and pitched so loud that I cringed. Panic was making me nauseous. "Stop!"

The horses' hooves scratched the ground as they ground to a halt, the carriage bumping and buckling along the roadway. Prince Grimond grabbed ahold of the seat to prevent himself from being launched into my lap, and Anna's head nearly cracked against the side of the carriage from the abrupt stop. "Your Majesty!"

But I wasn't stopping there. We'd stopped, but the air in the cab was still suffocating. I unhinged the door and thrust it open, collapsing against the dirt underneath me. The road tore at the skin on my knees and forearms, and when I pulled myself up, I had dust covering the hem. "Princess Amora, what in heaven's name—" Prince Grimond pulled himself out after me, but I was already backing away from the carriage. I'd kicked my shoes off in my haste, and they were now laying discarded by the carriage. "Stop right now, Amora."