The short journey

He doesn't tell me where we're going, and I don't bother to ask. Silently, I pull the laces of my boots tight.

The room feels different in the daylight. Less comfortable, and more like a cell. The bars on the window certainly don't help. Dust floats through the light, drifting lazily. I stare at them for a moment longer than I should.

"Are you dressed?" He calls from the hall.

"Unfortunately." I respond, rising from my seated position and tossing the door open. He's leaning against the wall next to the doorframe when I step into the space.

"You took your time." He mutters, a smile plastered on his face. I don't respond, he doesn't deserve a response to his nonsense.

The stranger pushes off the wall and leads me down the hall. I make eye contact with the fireplace once more, "You actually waited for the fire to die."

"I didn't lie."

The corners of my mouth tighten, somehow the fact that he told the truth is harder to swallow than the would-be lie.

I don't like that.

I don't like him.

I especially don't like that I can't figure him out.

Slowly, we reach the stable for what I hope is the last time. Anywhere we're headed is better than this place. Even if it's uncertain, and I am being held, at least the familiarity of travel will calm me.

I happily greet Petalfall. Her ears perk as I bound up to her, she appears to have slept well. At least one of us did.

I look back at the man and note a chestnut brown horse in a neighboring stall that he's saddling up. "He wasn't here last night." I state the obvious. He nods, tightening the straps on the bridle with practiced hands. "I brought him in from the outside barn."

I tilt my head, I didn't explore the estate at all, scared of becoming lost in the unknown. There's considerably more to the place than the handful of rooms I've seen. He approaches my mare and my body tenses, "She's beautiful." He says casually as he grabs my saddle and inspects it.

"She's mine." I respond, narrowing my eyes. "I didn't say she wasn't." He laughs out, and I glare at him. "She doesn't like strangers."

"I gathered as much."

"She bites," I continue. "Of course she does." He laughs in response.

I stare at him. He smiles.

I decide, with certainty, I hate that smile. As any sane person would.

He talks entirely too much, and says nothing of importance. "This trip is going to be really annoying if you stay angry the whole time."

He walks toward his horse and runs a hand along its neck.

I watch the animal carefully. Chestnut coat. Dark mane. One white marking above his left eye.

Healthy. Well trained. Expensive, like the horses kingdom messengers ride. Or the personal guard horses. I've seen those briefly, in passing. Definitely not an army horse. "Where'd you steal him from?" I suspiciously question. A surprised noise comes from him, "He's mine, I didn't steal him."

"What's his name?" I ask, eyeing the stranger as I go to mount Petalfall.

He copies me, mounting his own. "Borne, is his name. And he was a gift."

I wait for him to lead the way out of the stable and note the fact that his has my sword strapped to his waist. That's where it went.

Along with my sword, a satchel is delicately attached to his side. I gather this won't be a very long trip, since he hasn't packed any rations. That or he's very, very stupid. "That's a terrible name." I finally say, and he gasps.

"How could you! He's very offended."

I stare at him, and he bursts into more aggravating laughter. "You aren't funny."

"I'm a little funny." He says, clicking his horse forward. I follow quickly, starting a leisurely following pace.

The doors to the outside swing open as the man put his hand out, the magic makes me anxious. I shift in the saddle, and continue following.

Beyond the doors is the forest, and beyond the forest is wherever he's taking me. I tighten my grip on the reins and sigh.

"You never gave me a name to call you." I speak after a long beat of silence.

"My king calls me Emris." He says, not looking at me. I nod, despite him not being able to see me.

Quiet falls over us, as our horses trot through the overgrown path. Dirt crunches under hooves at a steady pace, I stare at the sword at his waist. Again, my sword. That he took.

Annoyance falls back over me, he has the ability to control people with magic, what does he need my sword for?

The cool morning breeze blows gently past, filling my lungs. The uncertainty once more washes over me. In the army, every journey is mapped out with precision. Every battle with a destination, every detail planned.

Uncharted territory has never been my thing. The scent of wet earth fills the air, the dirt still damp from the storm.

Petalfall's hooves sink slightly into the softened path with every step. She doesn't seem bothered by it. Her ears flick between the forest and me, always listening for something I can't hear.

I envy her.

At least she knows what she's listening for. I glance ahead at Emris. He rides like someone who has spent his entire life on horseback. Relaxed, almost careless, one hand resting loosely on the reins.

"You know," I say, "I would like that back."

He doesn't look at me. He knows what I'm talking about.

"I figured."

"Then why are you still carrying it?"

"Because you have a tendency to look for weapons whenever you're annoyed."

"I'm a solider."

"We established that." He looks back at me finally, "You're also annoyed quite often." I groan, opting to be quiet again.

The forest grows thicker around us as we travel. Branches scrape against my sleeves, dripping rainwater down my arms. Moss clings to the trunks of enormous trees, and tangled roots push through the earth like they are trying to reclaim the path. I keep waiting for something to jump from the brush.

Of course, nothing does. Almost as if nature can sense magic, something that doesn't belong. The creatures of the forest avoid us, birds darting away when we approach. Petalfall snorts, and Borne snorts back, as if they're talking. I smile, it's amusing watching horses.

The path narrows, forcing our horses closer together. Petalfall's shoulder nearly brushes Borne's flank.

Borne doesn't seem to mind.

Petalfall does.

She pins her ears.

"Don't start," I whisper to her, I know in a moment she's going to nip at him. She hates when other horses get near me. The forest continues to unfold around us.

The path we've traveled is already disappearing beneath hanging branches and mist.

My stomach drops.

"Emris."

"Hm?"

"If you expect me to trust you, you should probably stop taking us somewhere I can't find my way back from."

"I never said you had to trust me." He laughs out loud.

The path dips sharply, and Petalfall carefully picks her way down the slope. Loose stones roll beneath her hooves, disappearing into the undergrowth with faint clicks. "Careful girl." I say, holding tight to her.

The path curves around a cluster of enormous stones covered in moss. Beyond them, I catch a glimpse of something silver between the trees.

Water. A river.

The sight makes me sit a little straighter.

We haven't encountered anything resembling civilization since leaving the estate.

"Are we stopping?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We're making good time."

"Good time for what?" He doesn't answer. Of course. I stare at his back.

There has to be a limit to how many questions a person can avoid before it becomes physically exhausting. Apparently, he hasn't reached it.

My sword is still strapped to Emris's waist.

I watch it sway with every movement. "You're holding it wrong."

He looks down.

"My sword."

He raises an eyebrow. "I know how to carry a sword."

"Clearly not." His mouth twitches.

"How am I carrying it wrong?"

"You're letting it knock against your leg."

"Is that a problem?"

"It'll damage the sheath."

I glare at him, he smiles in return.

"I don't like you."

"I've noticed."

"I mean it." I finish the conversation. A branch snaps somewhere ahead, and both horses tense. Emris's expression changes. The joking stranger disappears so quickly that I almost wonder if I imagined him. He looks toward the trees.

"Stay behind me." I almost laugh. He looks at me. The command in his voice is different from the teasing I've become accustomed to. I listen, against my will, years of conditioning have made it impossible to argue with commands like that.

A large black wolf bounds out from the brush and latches itself to Petalfall. My mare screams and rears, her front hooves striking wildly at the air. I lose my balance, grabbing desperately at the saddle as the world tilts beneath me.

The wolf clings to her side. I don't think.

I move.

I throw myself from the saddle and land hard against the animal, wrapping my arms around its middle. My hands find coarse fur, and I drive my weight into it, trying to pull it away from her. Emris is yelling wildly, but his words sound distant, I can't make out what he's saying through my own adrenaline. The animal jerks violently, trying to throw me off.

"Get off her!"

I scramble backward just as the wolf turns toward me.

For one horrible second, we're staring at each other.

Its eyes are bright. Not the dull, instinctive stare of an ordinary animal. Something is wrong with them.

I hate the NeverFree forest with a passion. I hate magic. Magic isn't supposed to exist.

The wolf lunges.

I throw myself sideways.

Its claws scrape against my shirt as I roll through the mud. Then just as the conflict started, it stops. The wolf freezes, and Emris is holding out his hands towards it.

With a dramatic wave, the wolf is forced away into the distant woods. I pant wildly. Petalfall is still trembling. I scramble to my feet and rush toward her.

"Hey. Hey, it's okay." She backs away from me at first, eyes wide. "Petalfall." I reach slowly for her reins and she recognizes my voice.

Her head lowers. I press my forehead against hers. All four of us stay there for a long moment, breathing.

"....Thank you." I say to him. He doesn't respond, just mounts his horse silently. "It shouldn't have come that close."

"What does that mean?"

"It means it was hunting." He looks back toward the trees. "It wasn't hunting your horse."

The words make my stomach drop.

"Then what was it hunting?" His eyes meet mine.

"You."

The words hang in the air as I get back onto my mare, thankfully the wolf didn't do anything more than surface level damage.

Borne is mostly unphased by the whole ordeal.

"We have to hurry and get you to the palace." Emris says, clicking his tongue to start the pace again.

"Are we close?" I ask. He almost smiles, but it vanishes quickly as he nods. The hair on the back of my neck stays raised as we continue on.

The forest looks exactly as it did before the attack, but I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched.

For the first time since leaving the estate, sunlight reaches the ground without having to fight through layers of branches.

I blink against the brightness. Ahead, something rises beyond the trees.

At first, I think it's another hill. Then I realize it's a wall.

A massive stone wall stretches between the forest, disappearing in either direction farther than I can see.

"That's the palace?"

Emris looks back at me.

"No."

He pauses.

"That's the city."

My stomach sinks. A city. I haven't seen one in years.

The kingdom I come from is mostly military camps and small settlements. Anything larger was usually considered a strategic target. Cities meant supply lines, fortifications, politics.

The wall grows taller as we approach, its stone darkened by years of rain. Towers rise above it at regular intervals, each crowned with flags I don't recognize.

I stare at them.

Deep red fabric.

A silver emblem stitched into the center. I swallow my nervous energy, and try to calm myself.

There are soldiers stationed along the walls, armored in dark metal. They don't raise weapons when they see Emris.

Instead, they straighten.

One of them steps forward. His gaze immediately falls on me. Then Petalfall. Then back to me. The gates begin to open. An invisible gate, that blends in with the wall, it startles me when it slides up.

Stone grinds against stone, the sound echoing through the morning air. Beyond them, the city waits.

And somewhere inside it is a palace. Somewhere inside that palace is a king. The same king my kingdom has spent years teaching me to hate.

And the moment I cross beneath the stone archway, I realize I have been brought willingly into the enemy's kingdom.

And no one here seems to think I'm a prisoner at all.