Six

Kai returned at the break of dawn. Vivian pulled her hair back into a braid in front of the small mirror, redressed in the royal blue gown and overcoat, and met her companions in the hall. Lucinda was wearing full plate armor again, minus her helmet which she held under her arm. They exchanged glances for a moment and Vivian felt her stomach drop. Lucinda simply gestured for Vivian to walk in front of her.

Vivian had an inner argument with her legs as she forced them back onto the horse. She elected to sit behind Kai, so as not to be distracted by her brain's problematic attraction to a man she just met. Her arms just fit around his lean waist. She sat back away from him and held on just enough to stay on the horse. She felt as if she could cut the tension between her and Lucinda with a knife.

They began down a forest path, two archers in front and two behind them. The trees seemed to grow denser the further they rode away from the palace. There was a light chill in the air signaling the summer was ending. Occasionally, merchants passed them on the road and waved. Some seemed to stare at Lucinda. Vivian wasn't sure if it was because she was a female wearing plate, or if it was because she wore the royal seal on her back.

Lucinda and Kai talked freely. They seemed to share a number of mutual friends. She made him laugh a lot, which made Vivian begin to wonder if there was something romantic between them. She remembered Lucinda kissing Mary, though, and chalked the thought up to her young brain being particularly inventive. Lucinda didn't once glance at Vivian, which for some reason frustrated her. Given that she was the royal, she knew she would have to be the one to apologize.

"Uh... captain," she broke her hour long silence. Kai looked back at her for a moment with an eyebrow raised. Lucinda slowed up so that she was evenly aligned with Vivian.

"Luci," she corrected.

"Right, um, Luci. I wanted to apologize for the way I reacted last night. I am grateful for your protection and I hope you'll continue to watch over me," Vivian said, doing her best to sound official though her heart was pounding in her chest.

Luci's eyebrows shot up in surprise and Vivian watched her share a look with Kai, who looked away immediately.

"Sure," she said, flashing a big white smile as she trotted back ahead of them. That's it? Vivian thought. She started to wonder if Kai had also spoken to Luci, somehow working behind the scenes to repair their fractured introduction. Knowing him the short time she did, she felt this was something he would do.

"If you're feeling so grateful, maybe you'll give Kai's horse a break and ride with me after lunch," Luci said, looking back at Vivian with a wink. Vivian felt her face flush as Luci's grey gaze met hers playfully. What a strange woman...

They stopped when they reached a clearing out of the forest around midday. Luci's horse laid down to rest and she sat leaned up against the mare. Kai pulled a saddlebag off of his horse and retrieved two leather canteens of water and a tightly wrapped bundle. Opening the cloth with care he handed Vivian a roll, still warm. It must've come from the inn. He also handed her one of the canteens.

"Thank you very much," Vivian said smiling. He nodded, his eyes were kind again. It was a relief to see after the night before...

He walked over and dropped the other canteen in Luci's lap. He sat cross legged a few feet away from her and tossed her a roll before handing the rest to the archers, who spread out around their small perimeter.

Vivian absorbed the sunlight on her pale skin and cozied into her coat as she ate. Her stomach didn't seem very happy with the size of the meal but she figured that she'd get used to it after more travel. As soon as she began to feel her legs relaxing, Kai and Luci stood up and dusted off their pants.

"Will you be going with Luci then?" Kai asked, reattaching the saddlebag to his horse. Vivian looked at Luci, who gave her a thumbs up.

"It would be good to give your mare a rest," Vivian said. At least I'll be able to relax my brain... she thought.

Vivian approaches Luci, whose mare was just standing and whipping its tail side to side. Vivian patted the gentle giant on the side and began to place her hands on the saddle. She felt firm hands on her waist, thrusting her over the side of the horse, making her startle.

"All set?" Luci asked, nimbly hopping on the horse behind her.

"I suppose," Vivian said, disgruntled by her handling.

Vivian had to sit closer to Luci in order to be steady, as her shoulders were slightly thinner in breadth to Kai's. Luci wrapped her left arm around Vivian's waist, holding her tightly as she fixed her right hand on the reins.

Kai was looking at Luci and rolling his eyes, to which she chuckled,

"I'm not as graceful as you, fancy pants, just making sure we don't let our princess fall off!"

Vivian pursed her lips into a line,

"I'm right here!"

"Only because I'm holding you!" Luci laughed. Vivian could barely feel her laughter due to the hard plate in between them.

"At least we can ride faster now," Luci teased Kai, who chuckled,

"I was only going your speed before!"

The two picked up the pace and Vivian gripped the horse's neck for dear life.

...

KAI

At sunset, the party stopped to set up camp. Vivian looked exhausted. They rode quickly enough that stray strands of hair stuck out the sides of Vivian and Luci's heads.

Luci blew them from her face as she hopped off the mare. Her eyes were still afire with life. Kai could never seem to keep up with her sheer energy level. He sighed in his sleepiness,

"Let's have two guards rest for now, two of you guard the perimeter from the trees. Take some food with you."

They all nodded, and discussed amongst themselves how they would divide their posts. Kai reached into his saddlebag for some apples - one for him and one for Vivian.

Luci was already clearing grass away from the forest floor for a fire. They were a ways into the woods to minimize visibility. Kai listened to the forest around him, noticing the sounds of life in their vicinity. A small river ran just east of them, owls were beginning to coo, forest creatures skittered over the woodland floor.

"Hey fancy pants," Luci's voice broke his concentration. He looked in her general direction. She was pointing at Vivian, who was sound asleep against Luci's horse, laying peacefully under a tree. Kai smiled as he put the spare apple back into the bag.

He leaned against a tree trunk, his feet near the fire, as the sounds of the forest changed. There was the new sound of the crackling fire, crickets, frogs, and creatures settling in for the evening. Under normal circumstances, Kai guarded the castle at night and often slept in a nocturnal fashion, but his eyelids felt heavy after the day of travel.

Luci sat across from him. She had removed her chest piece and wrapped one of the quilts from the inn around her shoulders.

"If you sit next to me, you might be warmer," he said softly, meeting her eyes through the blaze. Her eyes were mesmerizing, grey with hints of blue from the moonlight and orange from the fire, like a mirror. She rolled them at him,

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Kai put up his hands in defense. He would be lying if he said he wouldn't enjoy her company, though he had made his suggestion in earnest. Kai has known and served alongside Luci for several years and he still found himself constantly running into her hard exterior in every conversation.

"What do you think of her?" He asked, nodding his head toward Vivian.

"Truly?" She looked over at Vivian as well and Kai had a strange feeling as if they were somehow parenting her, as they watched her sleep. The moonlight shone through the trees illuminating dust particles floating from the fire.

"Truly," Kai replied, hoping for honesty, as always. Luci looked thoughtfully into the blaze,

"I may stay with her in the Northern kingdom."

Kai was physically taken aback,

"Why? You've served the king for so long, he will need you in the war."

"I love to fight, I do," she met his gaze playfully for a moment, "She's different than the other royals. That was some odd behavior last night, and this morning. I'm just interested."

She looked perplexed. Kai too, was perplexed by Vivian's behavior. Her insistence that her protection come second to the welfare of her people was something he hadn't seen in her father or brother...

"I'm interested too," he mused.

Both of them sat up straighter as they heard a familiar sound in the distance. An arrow had been fired. Kai listened to the whistling of the wind around the arrow, and as it came flying towards him, he whipped a dagger from his hip, stood into the shot and deflected the arrow. It snapped and lay on the ground beside him; but that was only the beginning, their location was now compromised.