The Thief and Prince

Chapter 3: Peacock

We ride in silence throughout the day save for the small comments about the landscape that come from Amiri—it's clear that he's the friendliest of the group. I watch as the sun moves from the east, over our heads until it begins its descent into the west. It's all I can do to stay awake, growing bored after the first two hours. To keep myself busy, I nibble on some dried venison until the salt becomes too much for my tongue, leaving it rough and sensitive.

We don't stop to rest, relieve ourselves, or have a proper meal making the day drag by. I'm able to ignore my full bladder for most of the day, but when it comes to be too much I speak up. "Can we stop for a moment?" I ask out loud, wincing as my horse stumbles over a rock causing the urge to relieve myself even greater.

Laria looks to the right me with an amused expression but stays silent. Ahead of us, I see Crispin's brawny shoulders slouch. "And why would we do that?" he retorts without looking back.

"Are you mentally unfit? We have rode all day without a moment to relieve ourselves?" I reply, taken aback by my own tone. Fear creeps through me at the realization that I have not only disrespected royalty, but have done so in the presence of two others. Would he retaliate? Punish me?

I am astonished when he does neither. Instead, he leads his horse off the beaten path and slides off his saddle with ease, landing with a satisfying thud before glaring at me. The others follow suit and quickly disperse, finding a tree or bush to hide behind while I still sit on my stallion, leaving me alone with the prince and daring not to move.

"Well?" he asks. "Are you going to get off that horse are you just going to sit there staring at me?" he asks, his emerald eyes boring into mine.

This brings me to my senses and I quickly scramble off my horse, getting my foot caught in the stirrup and almost falling in the process. I can hear him scoff but pay no mind and duck behind a tree. As I squat, I notice how stiff my legs are from the days ride and know that tomorrow will be even worse.

When I'm done, I rejoin the others and give both my arms and legs a stretch before climbing back on my horse. Amiri and Laria must be in better spirits because they chat for the first half hour as we carry on through the country side. With nothing else to do, I eavesdrop on their conversation.

"So tell me, is everyone in your family as large as you?," Amiri asks outright.

She scowls at him but decides to let it go. "If you must know, Acadian, no. I am not sure where I get it from, honestly."

Amiri nods and tosses his braided hair over his slender shoulder. "If I were as large as you, I'd use it to my advantage," he says simply. He has a strange accent and can only assume that he must be from Acadia, a strange land down south. I've never meet nor seen anyone from Acadia, but from the stories I've heard I understand that they are very straightforward and open, always speaking their mind.

"That is what I'm doing, is it not?" she replies amused, "Acting as your body guard?"

His smile falters and he grips the horn of his saddle. "I have no need for a body guard, especially that of a woman. To say so is an offense to my skills."

Her face twists up and I can feel my own mouth pucker in distaste. What does her being a woman have to do with anything?

"If you weren't hired on as my ally I'd strike you down here and now. We will see just how many times you call for my aid by the time this task is over," she says with malice. She then clicks her teeth and her horse moves up a few paces, leading away from Amir and ending their conversation.

Looking at him, I can see he is utterly confused. "Was it something I said?" he asks me with innocently.

"There are ways to speak to a woman, and that's not it. Especially one like Laria—it's obvious she takes pride in her work and you just insulted her," I say.