Dreamwalker

10- Still Warm

Nathan said that they had to leave in the middle of the night once they regrouped at the inn. "Are you insane?" Aysal retorted. "I want to sleep! We aren't in any hurry!"

"The queen wants you back safely as soon as possible, princess. I'm sorry, but I am in charge of this mission, and I say that we leave right now. We will not rest until we return home."

"Nathan, is it really that important?" Li chimed in.

"Yes, it is," he shot back.

"I don't really think--" Emeric said feebly, but Nathan cut him off.

"Emeric, please. Your mother must be worried sick. Now help me pack up our things and we will be on the road before daybreak." Nathan kept it at that and left to help Emeric take their supplies out of their room again. The girls were left in Bell's room. As Li didn't have any possessions and Aysal was kidnapped, neither of them had anything to do, and even Bell didn't have much to pack up besides her book and the cloth she took out for Li. They just sat around while they waited for the prince and his knight to finish up.

"So, you're a princess," Li said after a while.

"That's right. I am the princess of Au'dela."

"What do you do as a princess?"

Aysal adjusted her sash around her waist. "Oh, lots of things. Before I was engaged I helped my father with ruling the kingdom. I mostly took care of civil rights and social issues in the kingdom while father handled foreign affairs. That's how I got roped into this marriage. Father and I agreed that it would be beneficial to both our kingdoms. Then again, marriage seems like a lot more trouble than it's worth if kidnapping is a normal thing."

"Don't you get a choice?" Bell asked.

"I don't know. It isn't so bad, though." She perked up a little bit. "I have access to the royal library and the finest teachers in Au'dela. Everyone in my country is looking up to me to make the right decision."

Li stifled a yawn behind her hand. It was hard to tell if she was bored or just very tired.

"Is Au'dela nice?" Bell said, a little louder, to wake up Li.

"Very nice. Some people don't like it because we have such a temperate climate but I think it's splendid. It's warm and rainy most of the time. I think I'll miss the rain when I move to Harenae. Harenae is in the desert and Emeric told me it never rains."

Bell shrugged. "It might be nice. You never have to worry about the weather."

"I suppose. Still, I'm sure you miss your home, right?"

Bell didn't want to answer this. That feeling that she might never return to Terre Pur was still strong and she didn't want to discuss this with the princess.

"I sure don't," Li piped up. "I've lived in Niege all my life and I'm sick of it. All that snow freezes my bones. I'd like to live in a place like Harenae-- it sounds like a dream."

"Harenae is a luxurious city to say the least. I hear that westerners travel over the mountains and stay there during the winter," Aysal replied.

"That sounds amazing. What's it like there?"

Aysal had to think about it. After all, she had only been there for a few days before she was captured. "Hm... from what I remember, it is very colorful. The buildings are all sorts of bright colors to stand out from the white sand."

"Woah," Li said. This was the complete opposite of western cities. Terre Pur, for instance, was all brown, and Niege was all grey. Harenae sounded like paradise. It was a nice thing to fantasize about while they waited.