Four

A large timber gate and wall enclosed the city of Rouge from the outside elements. Vivian's thighs were screaming at her to dismount the horse and she pleaded with them to hang on just a bit longer. The knight captain dismounted and knocked on the doors which were at least three times his size. The cracked open with a loud rumble and a stocky man with a long gray beard poked his head out. The knight captain reached into one of his saddlebags and pulled out a small jingling bag - money. It costed money to simply enter the town?

"Kai, are they charging us to enter?" Vivian whispered. She shivered as she felt his warm breath close to her ear,

"Rather, we are paying him for his discretion regarding your identity, my lady."

Kai pulled Vivian's over coat hood over her hair as the gates opened with a sound like thunder. The bearded man was round, and wobbled as if he had a limp. He led the companions off the main road. Vivian watched from under her hood as the man opened a small stable door for them. The four guardsmen remained outside as all of the horses, Kai, and the knight captain shuffled inside.

The stocky man was called George. George led the three through a door in the stable that led into a very quiet inn. A few guests sat at aged mahogany tables spread across the open room. A fire roared and crackled in one corner. They received only a few glances which seemed to be directed at the knight captain with his shiny armor and royal crest. Quiet conversations and the sounds of mugs on the hardwood echoed throughout the room. As the sun was setting, the inn was lit by a few candles and the fire, setting a warm glow and the smell of birch in the atmosphere. It reminded Vivian of the smell the castle held in the winter months and she thought fondly of sitting beside the fireplace.

George led them up a steep narrow staircase and down a hallway lined with closed doors. He unlocked two doors across the hall from one another with a small gold key, then turned to smile at the bunch,

"Pleasure to have you, my lady."

...

Kai and the knight captain stayed across the hall. Vivian's room had a small single bed covered with a red and white quilted blanket that seemed to radiate the same birch smell as the pub room below. She laid on the blanket staring at the ceiling. The room only had a window, table, and chair with a small mirror and a lit candle. She dreaded the candle burning out, as she would be left with only the moonlight and her thoughts.

She stood and removed her over coat and laid it over the chair. Her legs almost buckled under her, sore from the long ride. She sighed in exasperation, realizing that the next day would be another long ride.

A knock at the door signaled the arrival of dinner. She twisted the handle and opened it to see Kai's gentle brown almond eyes as he smiled and handed her a plate. A large baked potato and slew of vegetables covered the plate. She took it from him quickly, almost drooling.

"Thank you so much," she smiled at him. She thought about how if she would've been home, she probably would be sitting down for dinner with Ophelia, listening to chambermaid gossip or chatting about local happenings. Kai placed his hand on the handle and began to shut the door,

"Should you need anything, just call for us."

...

The candle had burned out and the moonlight shown through the window. Various smells floated through the air from the lower levels and in the quiet, Vivian could hear footsteps in the halls and voices outside. Two men were having a drunken argument outside the stable. Her eyes had adjusted and the room held an ethereal blue light as the full moon cast shadows on the wall.

It was a completely different atmosphere to the one she woke up in. Silken sheets were no more. She wore only her white slip under the quilt and it felt somewhat scratchy, though it kept her warm in the cool fall air.

She willed herself to be strong and think of adventure rather than the discomfort. The only reason she knew any other level of comfort was because she was royalty, this was how her people actually were living. She wondered if her father or brother ever slept in a quilt like this, or ate delicious pub food like this.

As she closed her eyes, she felt as if she was still riding on the horse. Though she knew it was not his intention, thinking about Kai whispering in her ear at the gate started her brain down a rabbit hole of additional unsavory thoughts about him that she pushed away. She couldn't think of a time where she had ever before been that close to someone outside her family. She found it difficult to shake off thoughts of his lips on her neck, but the sounds of the creaky wooden hall brought her back to reality.

Footsteps were becoming louder outside her door. Then she heard the handle starting to turn. Her heart rate hastened, and immediately she hoped she hadn't given Kai the wrong idea...

In the moonlight, though, she saw the outline of a taller, broader man slipping in through the doorway. Vivian almost choked on her own breath realizing that this was none of the men from her company. As he inched into the room, the door creaking open, she slowly and carefully slid out of the blanket and onto the cool floor which was covered with a thin layer of condensation. His heavy foot fall was growing louder, and Vivian pulled herself underneath the bed frame just as pulled the quilt up.

Breathing heavily, her heart pounding out of her chest, she looked out towards the man's feet, and saw thick brown boots covered with mud. It was then that she noticed someone else approaching behind the man. Small bare feet tip toed closer behind him. Vivian inched just a bit closer to the edge to see if she could see who it was, fearing the entrance of another attacker.

Then, her heart stopped as the man simply rolled the whole frame on its side, revealing her hiding spot. She attempted to scream but her voice seemed to be caught in her chest. As the man reached out to grab her, she lurched backward into a corner. Suddenly, a crashing sound came from behind the man and he grunted and fell to his knees.

Vivian let out a yelp and looked up, expecting Kai or perhaps George, maybe they had heard the man approach. As the man dropped to his knees, Vivian couldn't believe her eyes. Holding two chair legs, as the rest of the chair had shattered against the attackers back, was the blonde woman from the kitchen. Stunned, Vivian found her voice,

"Lucinda?!"