Into the Land of Valentia

Chapter the Twenty-Third

XXIII

The second path leading to and from Mirror Lake was much easier to navigate. There were no vertical climbs to tackle, but to compensate for the bouts of terrain that the pair had crossed in mere moments when moving straight up, the second trail wound around and around in circles, eating up their time.

"We don't have time for this," Cayden said at one point.

"You're the one who suggested it," Vivica pointed out.

"If I had known—" 

"Which you didn't—"

"—and if you would let me finish a sentence—"

"You're just insufferable!"

Cayden smirked quite a bit at this, as though he had finally won an argument Vivica had not been aware they were having. When he tripped over a rock and almost took a quite ungraceful spill, Vivica had her turn to wear the smirk.

They moved faster when the sun finally crested the ridges of the mountains, properly announcing the arrival of day, as well as the dawn of the sixth-to-last day remaining for the princess. Able to see the roots and stones that marred the route before them, Cayden and Vivica increased their pace and made it back to the ground in good time. Having descended on a different side of the mountain, all that was left was to circle back around to where they had left the horses.

As Vivica had predicted, Garrett and Tansy were waiting where they had been left. Garrett perked up at the sight of her approaching. He jerked his muzzle from the River Silver, shaking it to and fro to free loose droplets of water before trotting over to greet her. Tansy continued to doze after flicking her eyes over the new arrivals.

"You succeeded," Garrett guessed.

"Once we arrive at the castle, and give all the ingredients to the magus, we will have." Cayden was already checking under the bush for their supplies. Opening one of the saddlebags, he held out a hand for the cloth with the fairy blood.

"In little more than four days, this will be over." At the thought, Vivica found a numbness in her fingertips that made it difficult for her to manoeuvre the straps of Garrett's saddle. For all the times that she had prayed for the quest to end, now that it was nearing, she found herself unable to sort her feelings. Cayden would be returning to the princess. What if he told her of his unfaithfulness? His chances of being pardoned were much greater than Vivica's, for the simple reason that she was a woman. Women were too often seen as simple temptresses. At the very least, the king might deny her the money reward. She did not want to imagine the worst case scenario.

Cayden had already finished tacking up Tansy. He prepared the horse with an ease that spoke of the many days of practice he had received of late. None of his features betrayed any sort of worry, though Vivica had come to understand his habit of hiding his emotions until the very last moment.

Which wouldn't be a problem, if he wasn't also in the habit of admitting to emotions of the more forbidden sort.

"Are you planning on cinching that, or will you be riding bareback?" the man in question inquired, inching Tansy forwards.

The answer was obvious. "Cinching." Vivica tightened the strap to illustrate her point, perhaps a bit too tight. Garrett jerked his head in surprised and she hurriedly loosened the cinch, cheeks burning. She hoped this wasn't an indication of how the ride back was going to go; her, distracted, and Cayden utterly complacent.

Muttering a soft apology into Garrett's ear, she slid his bridle onto his head and buckled it on. As she worked, she made an effort to tune out Cayden's presence. Her self-constructed wall was more solidified by the time she secured her saddlebags, and as they rode back out into the meadow, she was able to keep her mind free of any worries Cayden might incite. Those concerns seemed to be the only ones that troubled her at the moment. Without them, she ended up in a much more peaceful state.