Young Writers Society

Rana grudgingly found herself in the carriage before dawn the following morning. She sat tensely with her jaw clenched and arms crossed, alternating between staring out the window at the sunrise and glaring at Father. He pretended not to notice as he chattered endlessly about how charming the prince was and how nice his palace was sure to be.

By lunch time, Rana wanted to rip her own hair out. The effort it took not to scream at Father for his foolishness took every speck of energy she had, yet she knew that telling him what she really thought would do nothing but garner abuse. There was no point in provoking him this early in the trip.

She stiffly climbed out of the carriage after Father at lunch time. She stood for a moment stretching, cracking her back and neck, and then decided to take a short walk as the soldiers prepared a fire to cook their midday meal. She wandered down the road a bit further, breathing deeply, appreciating the sense of freedom it brought.

The road was narrow and lined on either side by a thick stand of trees. They’d made decent time but were still within the bounds of Algnes, so the woods were safe. But she knew the closer they got to Gnamrey, the closer she would have to stay to her guard.

There was no way to get to Gnamrey without passing through the forest of Swaltou. She imagined that once upon a time the forest had been a nice place, like the forests in Algnes, but now they were inhabited entirely by outlaws and bandits.

Father was sure to bring the head of his personal guard, Denton, along with an escort of five other soldiers to protect them on the journey. Rana turned and watched as one of the soldiers brought several branches to the clearing for Denton to use in the fire. She forced herself to breathe deeply, to clear her mind of the frustration and anxiety that this trip already inflicted.

Rana continued wandering about the area until she smelled the savory scent of roasting beef in the air. She took another deep breath, bracing herself, then strode back towards the clearing. She took a seat next to the fire.

“Oh, there you are,” Father said contemptuously. “Not about to miss a meal, are you?”

Rana clenched her jaw, refusing to answer. There was no answer that would make that conversation end well – a fact she knew well from experience. The only way out of an argument was silence when he decided to mock her weight.

Denton met her eye and gave a sympathetic smile, rolling his eyes at Father’s absurd behavior. Rana took another deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. There were six days yet to this journey – there was no point in making them any more miserable than they had to be.

“Roast beef!” Denton said brightly, bringing two plates around the dancing flame to Father and Rana. He busied himself with serving meals to each of his men before he fixed his own plate– being sure to make enough noise that Father would be too irritated to talk over him.

They ate in silence, then got back into the carriage. As soon as they were in private once again, Father resumed his rattling on about the prince and his castle. By the time they stopped for the evening, Rana felt like ripping his hair out.

She didn’t understand how anyone could be so naive as her own father. She was barely half grown but seemed to be a better judge of character than he ever would be. He was so blinded by wealth, both his own and that which belonged to others, he couldn’t see anything past it.

They ate a quick dinner and immediately retired to bed. Rana laid in the tent for what felt like an eternity, staring into darkness and listening to Father snore. She couldn’t sleep. The anticipation of the journey and the frustration of the day had her wide awake. Eventually, she pushed herself up and grabbed the cloak she brought in place of a robe.

She silently crept from the tent, being sure that she didn’t wake Father in the process. She hesitated a moment just outside, not sure what to do with her freedom. The fire from their evening meal was nothing more than a pile of glowing ashes. The guards were sleeping in a semi-circle around it.

Rana turned away from them and slowly walked along the narrow path that lead deeper into the woods. She silently cinched the cloak around her shoulders and followed the path to the river, using the light of the full moon to be sure she didn’t step on any branches or get caught on any briers.

Before long she reached the bank of the river. She sat on a small boulder overlooking the slow-moving water and watched the broken reflection of the moon. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, letting the burbling of the stream soothe her.

A twig snapped just behind her.

Rana’s eyes snapped open just as a large hand clamped down on her left shoulder. She whirled around, punching at the man behind her. He knocked her fist to the side. She was on her feet in an instant, bringing her arm up to smack his hand off her shoulder.

She advanced, fist raised. The man hurried backwards. “Whoa there, it just be me. Calm yer young-self down.”

Rana glared at the dark figure in front of her, fist still raised and ready to strike. She could make out a rough outline of Denton standing in the darkness before her. He smirked. “There’s a good lass.”

“Denton,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. Her heart was racing, body tense even as she slowly pulled her fist back down to her side and uncurled her hand. “You startled me.”

“I done seen that, miss,” he answered with a chuckle. “It’s na’safe for ya t’ be out and about by your lonesome like this, y’know.”

“I know,” Rana answered, crossing her arms. “I just… why are you awake?”

“I be on th’ first watch, miss. We don’t all sleep at the same time. That’d jus’ be silly,” Denton answered. “But I could ask ya the same, miss.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Ah,” he answered gently. “Could’na or would’na?”

Rana looked at him for a moment in silence. His Shirrian accent was endearing. Father found the way he spoke irritating, but he was highly regarded by Aldik so Father tolerated it. Rana thought it was sweet. Denton was one of the few people who acted like he had time for her.

“I don’t know,” Rana admitted.

“Come on,” Denton said, gesturing towards the boulder. He took a seat, and patiently waited for her to sit down next to him. She pulled her feet up onto the boulder in front of her and hugged her knees close to her chest, staring at the water rather than looking at Denton.

“Tell me abou’ it.”

“I just…” she sighed, trying to find the words. “I don’t want to go to Gnamrey.”

“I know,” Denton cooed. “But it’s na’ so bad there. I’ve been a time o’ two myself.”

“For the purpose of having your father raffle you off to a man you don’t know?”

“Canna’ say tha’ I have,” Denton answered thoughtfully. “Then again, I canna’ say tha’ I ever had a rich pap who would wanna do tha’ t’ me.”

“Yeah,” Rana answered, hugging herself even more tightly.

“You’ll be alrigh’ though,” Denton said, gently resting his hand on her back. “You’re a strong lil lassie. There’s na’ a prince in this world tha’ can make ya do what you don’ wanna.”

Rana smiled sadly. “Well, we can hope.”

“Right, miss,” Denton said. “There’s hope for ya yet. You canna’ be lettin’ it get t’ ya.”

“Mm, yeah,” Rana answered, finally looking towards him.

“Now, I imagine a bit o’ distraction might be welcome, mm?”

“What do you…?” Rana trailed off as Denton pulled a book from under his cloak. She slowly extended her legs in front of her and took the book as he held it out to her. She angled it towards the moonlight but couldn’t make out the writing on the front.

“I brought it with me for a bit o’ reading stuffs,” Denton said, shrugging. “When I heard yer pap bein’ all nasty t’ ya earlier, I decided I want t’ loan it t’ ya, if ya want it.”

“What is it?” Rana said, a strange warm feeling creeping into her chest. It was odd to have someone caring for her – someone who seemed concerned at Father’s treatment and harsh words.

“It’s a bit o’ war talk,” Denton said, shrugging. “Milit’ry coups and all tha’. It’s written in Shirrian, but you remember how t’ read tha’, yeah?”

“I do,” Rana answered, slowly running her finger across the rough edges of the pages. He’d taught her to read in his native language many years before. It was a challenge for her, but she enjoyed trying to figure out all the words. “But I can’t accept this.”

“Sure ya can,” Denton said, pushing it back towards her as she held the book out towards him. “I checked earlier. It don’t have no pictures in it, so yer pap won’ know what it is. He can’t read Shirrian as far as I know, so he’ll have t’ trust what me an’ you tell him… and I ain’t gonna tell him what it’s about.”

Rana hesitated for a moment longer, then pulled the book close to her chest, smiling. She’d not been allowed to bring any interesting books with her on the trip. This would be a welcomed distraction from Father’s ramblings. “Thank you.”

Denton smiled and inclined his head. “Come on, then. Let’s get ya back t’ yer bed.”

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

The days that followed seemed to Rana to be the longest of any in her life. Father began talking the moment he woke in the morning and wouldn’t stop until he fell asleep in the evenings. She did her best to ignore him. His ramblings just upset her further.

The book Denton gave her was fascinating. Father was initially suspicious, but after both she and Denton assured him that it was simply romantic fiction from his country, he grudgingly allowed her to read it. She was surprised he wasn’t suspicious that she knew how to read Shirrian, since her tutor never taught her, but was grateful that he didn’t demand an explanation.

Many of the strategies she read were the same as the Algnesian books she’d gotten from Aldik. Various war tactics, battle formations, pointers on strengthening soldier loyalty – but much of it was new, and she relished the information. She spent her days reading the book, and her evenings discussing the ideas with Denton after Father fell asleep.

At long last, the heart of Gnamrey suddenly appeared. It started as a dark and ominous city in the distance, but soon opened into an intimidating fortress that towered above them. Rana watched fearfully as the carriage made its way through the city and up the hill to the castle.

All the commoners looked miserable. Rana noted the hollow look in their eyes as they blankly stared at their carriage. They barely seemed alive. All happiness and spark of excitement was devoid in the city. She couldn’t help but feel like she was a calf headed to the slaughter.

Father was giddy as the horses went prancing through the metal gates that barred the path to the inner courtyard of the palace. The carriage hesitated briefly before the gates swung open and they continued up to the palace doors.

The Prince was waiting for them.

Rana took a deep breath, trying to still the trembling that suddenly sprang into her body with the appearance of the prince. Father hurried out of the carriage as fast as possible. Rana reluctantly followed behind him.

She irritably met Prince Synakrein’s gaze as he offered her a hand to help her out of the carriage. She hesitated a moment, then resentfully placed her hand in his own and climbed down. He bowed slightly. “Welcome, Lady Elstan.”

“Thank you, Prince,” she answered icily. He regarded her for a long moment, gaze harsh, then finally looked towards where Father was rattling on with compliments.

“It’s delightful to see you again,” Synakrein interrupted.

“And you as well, your majesty,” Father answered, bowing low.

“Indeed,” Synakrein answered. “If you please, I will have my men escort you to your room to get settled before dinner.”