1938
Hannah sat under a castor oil tree a book in her hands, using the branches of the tree for a shade and watched as a purple butterfly danced above her head.
"Must be fun being free like that, right, Mr. Butterfly?" She said softly, smiling as it landed carefree on her right thumb.
"Pretty little thing." she said on a giggle
She watched it alight and fly away, and then she sighed softly, looking towards the castle.
It had been five years since the whispers of war emerged. Five years since the threats came, since such whispers caused a wild stir, and then, as time passed, these whispers died down. And now she was older, nineteen summers to be exact. And all was still, all was quiet.
But she knew.
she knew, as did her parents, that one brewed, subtly, gently, violently. A slow poison through and through, one that ate at you without living any visibel mark. But it clouded your judgement, your ability to think and reason without fear, without worry. God knew it had been clouding her mind lately.
There had been a time, they had been able to quiet the Athanatoi, but for how long?
How long till they - the Athanatoi- grew restless and sought out once again that which they wanted the most. Her parents had pleaded and cajoled with jewels, begged shamelessly, seeking what of them that might have something akin to sympathy, but it was but for a moment. she knew that, they all knew that.
The Athanatoi were fickle things. Immortal beings, yes. But fickle none the less, as twisted as they came, hell bent on raining down agony and misery. They treated human lives as worthless things, as nothing, and those who traded with them, those who turned to them for help, and believed in them, were damned. Just like her parents. Just like her.
She closed her eyes against the pain that shot through her chest. And though it didn't take it away, she didn't know what could, she reached for the Small sliver of hope she held on to, Sighed and laid her back on the bark of the tree and uttered a silent prayer to heaven,
"God save us all," she said, her voice catching,would he hear? She didn't know, but she hoped, she wanted to believe in something or someone bigger than herself, that which was pure and which brought forth light. And when sleep came, she let herself drift off, into oblivion, into a different place and time.
~~~~
He watched her as she slept. she had a black mane of hair, that fell like pools of midnight around her. He touched the hilt of the sword at his side and drew a little closer, stopping abruptly when he recognized her.
"Now, what would the princess of the kingdom of Brone be doing, sleeping on the floor outside of the walls of the castle?" He whispered to himself. " And all by herself." he said im a long suffering manner.
Her eyes shot open as soon as the words left his mouth as though she had heard him. She arched a brow as though in curiosity before passing a hand over her eyes, then peered up at him with deep brown eyes.
"Hello." Was all she said, but she could have been singing to him. Her voice was sweet and was music to his ears. He mentally pinched himself for his fanciful thoughts. He was a warrior, he reminded himself, not a poet.
" Good day your highness." He could have sworn he saw her wince at his words.
"Are you lost?"
Her brows shot up at his question and her expression quickly calmed.
"No, I am not." And he didn't miss that hint of bite in her words, he tilted his head, mildly amused. Ignoring his small jest, She got up without much fuss and dusted at her skirts, before turning in the direction of the castle.
"If you'll excuse me." She added, a bit more mildly.
"Milady?"
"Yes?" She answered, turning on her heels to face him.
"May I escort you to the castle?"
If the question shocked her, she didn't show it, her countenance was one that radiated royalty. He marvelled at her ability to keep a cool head at the request of a stranger asking to escort her to the castle. But they weren't strangers- deep within they both it- and this wasn't merely just a request of accompanying the princess to the castle, but was wise enough, to keep his thoughts to himself.
"I'd like to speak to the king." He added, as a way of explanation.
"The king." she murmured, " Do you have an appointment?"
"No. But it is of utmost urgency that I speak to him, soon would be good, if you can help me manage that."
She seemed to consider his words before nodding her regal head, at least that was how it seemed to him.
"Follow me then, I'll see what I can do for you," she looked at him and added,
"but I make no promises." Then turning on her heels, led forth the way toward the castle gates, with him following behind her.
~~~~
"Milady! Milady! You were outside the walls? All by yourself? How did you get out? And for the life of me! who is this man?" Said Ànemos, the chief of the king's guards in hysterics.
He grew so pink with every word, Hannah had to wonder that he didn't turn purple next and simply faint. But she did feel guilty. He was older than the other guards and tended to be paternal towards her. He truly cared for her, and she hated to worry him.
If it weren't for... For? She mentally pinched herself. She did not even know his name. However, if it weren't for him she would have taken the way by which she left, a secret passageway she had discovered when she was a little more than eight years old. But Ànemos didn't need to know that.
"Ànemos, it's okay. I'm fine, look!" She did a little twirl in place, so he would see for himself that she was alright. " perfectly fine.Just dandy."
He seemed to calm down a bit, after taking a careful look at her.
Jasper seemed to think, she looked fine too, more than fine. when she did twirl, he had a premonition-not really- that she was born dancing.
"And the gentleman?" He asked, gesturing towards the man who had been standing, quietly watching their exchange.
She turned to him and tilting her head subtly as if saying 'go on, explain yourself, get us out of this mess.'
He seemed to understand her because he drew himself to his full height and turned to Ànemos.
"I am Jasper of province Moline and I am here to speak to the king. It is urgent, of upmost importance. I wouldn't press this matter otherwise" Ànemos looked taken aback by his words before quickly gathering himself.
"I hope for you sake it is as urgent as you say." He said gravely and turned to Hannah. "Well then princess, show him the way."
"What? Oh yes, yes. Alright, have a good day then." He seemed like he was going to say something, but simply smiled and said, " you too, princess." And then excused himself when one of the guards called out to him.
"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Now that we've gotten you within the walls, we just have to find a way to get you to speak to my father." She said In something a little bit more than a whisper, before grabbing his hand. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" He asked, looking down at their linked hands, and back to her face.
"To the stables, I know a secret path we could take to avoid eyes spotting you. You can hide out there, while we think of a plan, we'll need one to enter the throne room unannounced, at least you will, and a good one too." She said, seeming to be enjoying herself, which she was. He resisted the urge to chuckle as he looked down at her, a gleam in his eyes that mirrored the one in hers.
"I see, lead the way then, princess."
And she did, a quiet giggle leaving her lips, as though for his ears alone. He thought the sound was sweet as he followed her, Her hand in his. And he wondered, somewhere deep within him about the little princess at his side, if she was as sweet as the sound that escaped her lips.
"We're almost there." They'd crawled and stuck to tall hedges for cover, but so far, true to her word they hadn't been spotted." there, right there." She said, pointing to a brown small builing that resembled a barn, which stood only a small distance away."I don't think the caretakers are in there right now. In fact, I think they should be done for the day." She said when they got to the door. She opened the door quietly and raised up a hand, gesturing for him to wait before poking her head and surveying the surroundings."All seems quiet in here, come on in." She said, before leading them in,stopping at every stall to greet each horse.The woman, he thought, had a word for each one of them. He wasn't sure if to Marvel at her when she made each stop or simply stop her and remind her of why they were there in the first place. But after horse number three, he realised that, he didn't want her to stop. He found her endearing, the way she would stroke
What do you mean by that?" The king's voice was steady, not hinting at the tremor growing within. He knew this day would come. when the Athanatoi would come seeking, threatening, calling. but he didn't expect it to be this soon. Dear God, he didn't want to be this soon, when he was so unprepared."Her." Hannah stared at him with wide eyes. She'd gone pale from the moment he'd opened his mouth and spoke his words and now she could all but feel herself suffocating, choked up by her own growing fear."What- but what could they want with me?" She asked, He didn't say a word, he only stared at her, his expression unreadable."That's enough. Hannah, you may leave us."It was the king who spoke, he managed to look steady and strong, but he could feel his fingers begin to shake, he didn't like where all this was going."This is about me, I'm not going anywhere. please, Don't make me leave just yet. please, papa." The king turned to her and some
She had wept with her mother, and had tried to be strong for her father.But now, she needed to let out the storm She'd kept locked within when she was with the both of them, the storm that had quietly been gathering while she was in the throne room, the storm that was threatening to wash over her.Her father, before she left his chambers, had sworn to keep her safe.But she didn't feel safe. She felt like all hell was breaking loose, like the fires it threatened to unleash were going to come down on her, and she had to run... run very far away.She walked hopelessly to the stables, holding back her tears. Not yet, she told herself. She walked past the horses, not stopping to greet them as was her wont, her heart in her throat, her spirit downcast.She walked to the old supply room and opened it, not caring to close it behind her, not expecting anyone to be around as it was well after dusk. She walked to the corner of the room and dropp
He stared at her like she'd grown a second head, at least that's how his steady, searching gaze on her made her feel."Your parents must know. You can't leave without them knowing." He said calmly, before looking away from her, staring into nothing and then looking back at her.He tilted his head- she found he did that when he had something worth wondering about on his mind- He reached out for her hair and held a handful of curls in his hand."Some of the hair will have to go." And she was right, about the crazy.Her eyes grew wide as she took in his words. He might as well have asked her to her to cut off a finger. Perhaps it was vain, but she took great joy in the long length of her curls."Why?!" She shrieked."Because, hair like this will be noticeable wherever we go. Any one will be able to spot you easily. We don't need you being noticeable. Not that you're very hard to notice." He added the last p
It was well after their breakfast before they spoke of why he was there with her in the first place."Why did you need to see me?" She asked after successfully biting and swallowing a blueberry."We need a plan. How do we convince your parents to let you come with me?"She had been shocked that he used the word 'we' and not 'you.''We' as in, we are in this together. But she didn't say as much. But it touched her, it mattered."Well, I guess we would have to convince them that leaving the castle would be the safe and right thing to do for me."He cocked a brow at her,"How do we do that?"There was the word again, we."Come with me. They'll listen to you. If you tell them that leaving would be safe, safer than it could ever be in this castle, they'd listen to you.""And if they don't? If they refuse and state the obvious, that there are more than a hundred guards in the castle to keep you safe, K
They had walked for several hours with very little stops. From time to time, he would stop to let him catch up with him, or when she needed to catch her breath. She was sweating profusely and was definitely grateful she had opted for a tunic and trousers instead of a gown."Are you tired?" He asked without looking at her. She looked up at him as she tried to keep up with his strides, stay by his side, which took much effort. His legs were long.She actually was tired, but she was not going to admit it. not now. Not yet."Naw." Was all she could say, she was literally trying to save her breath, And was glad beyond words when he stopped, though she wasn't about to say it.It was a small clearing with wildflowers and rocks that were big enough to sit on."Let's rest here a while." Jasper said, looking at her. Her cheeks were red and he was scared she was going to faint on him. She hadn’t complained since they started moving at dawn, he found it
Panic gripped at her and made her knees weak, but she managed to stay on her feet, although she no longer felt steady.She darted her gaze from left to right and looked, and turned around on the spot where she stood, before finally lookingback to where he had laid several minutes ago, and that was when shenoticed that both his sword and it's scabbard were gone too.But Where could he have gotten to? She wondered."Japser!" Her voice caught on the pronounciation of his name as she turned once more on her heels looking for signs of him or what could have happened. She walked to the rock where she had left him and was overcome by another wave of panic."Jasper!" she called out, this time louder than the first. She heard the sound of water and took slow unsteady steps toward the stream and she could have sworn her heart sighed in relief.But her relief was soon washed away with anger.
They made it to the tavern with no trouble and Jasper sighed a deep sigh of relief when they had their plates of food in their hand along with their jars of juiced fresh berries.They ate in silence. But then, Silence had been their company since the kiss they had shared earlier. Neither of them had wanted to bring it up, didn't know how to.They broke camp that morning and spoke at intervals, and even then, their conversation centered around what paths they would be taking, and since Jasper was the man with the map, he did most of the talking while she nodded. she mostly nodded."Good food." He said trying to break the ice. But He didn’t succeed.She nodded again and went back to her plate of fish and chips.He wanted to groan in frustration, but decided against it. it didn’t think it would yield any good.In any case, it was for the better no one heard her voice, regardless of the sweet femininity