LATE-NIGHT TRYST

At the break of dawn, Red marched towards Sir Karyk's tent. She was eager to start the day with a discussion. The scent of meals being cooked in the tent-covered make-shift kitchen a few paces away wafted in the air. Red's stomach growled in protest but she ignored it.

She found Sir Karyk already on his toes, and ready for the day's events. First in her agenda was to discuss the matter of the free land, and second was about the deadline of the task that Sir Karyk gave her.

"Remember the lad who appeared out of nowhere and ended up slamming into me the other day?" With a deep breath, she retold the story. At least, this time around, her listener was not giggling. Well, she did not know if it was either good or bad that Sir Karyk kept a semi-permanent scowl on as she went on with her tale.

"Go on, Princess. I'm listening." He urged with his arms crossed at his chest, attentive at her words.

"Uhm, I discovered that the man who chased the boy did not have enough grounds to claim the apples. I have learned that the apple trees grow on land which is owned by the community so the fruits should be for everyone."

"And where did you hear of it?"

"Uh…" Her eyes wandered listlessly on her surroundings, not really seeing, since her mind was busy searching for a fool-proof answer. She did not want to lie, but she also did not want to tell everything to Sir Karyk about Bynarr. Her instinct shoved her to believe that she might put Bynarr in jeopardy if she told everything to Sir Karyk.

"I heard it in the market. Some people were talking about it. Can we look into it more? You know, investigate and all. Can we do something about it?"

Sir Karyk's scowl deepened. "You know very well that at this point, you shouldn't shift your focus elsewhere other than your training, right? We have been tight on the lead time, to begin with, so we should optimize every second we got."

"But Sir Karyk! Are you forgetting that I am also a princess of this land? Do I not have any right to discover about my father's subjects, and their daily lives? It's already disadvantageous that I did not grow up in this realm. I am at the stage of wanting to know more about the place. That's all." She fought back with conviction.

"Apologies, Princess. I have overstepped my boundaries. How about this? If you succeed to complete the task I gave you in three days, I will step into the Torrine Town local government affairs in your name and see what we can do about the community lands. Use those three days to train and improve your skillset, and I will investigate the matter on the side. Sounds fair?"

"Yes! Oh! Sir Karyk! Thank you so much!" Red clapped in glee, then three a loose hug around the knight. It made him stiffen in place, but the gesture also melted the semi-permanent scowl on his face. In its place was a warm smile, 'The emperor has got a sweet daughter he can dote on. She's quite compassionate too.'

Red drowned in euphoria but it did not last long before she gloomily was reminded of the impossibility of Sir Karyk's task. Basically, she had to land a blow anywhere on Sir Karyk's body. However, the first knight of the Royal Swords moved so slickly. He simply slid through her attacks so effortlessly.

It dawned to her soon enough that their agreement seemed just a casual shrug-off by an adult of a child's capricious request. She got maneuvered! 'So sly.' She gulped the lump of sadness that was forming on her throat.

The day sped forward to an end. Red was nowhere near landing a blow on Sir Karyk even if just a soft, weak blow. By sundown, Sir Karyk ended their training session. She slumped to the ground. "You know what, Sir Karyk, if you do not intend to help me regarding the community lands, you can say so explicitly. You don't have to mask it under an impossible agreement."

The knight's lips curled up into a smirk, "A word of advice, Princess. If you get intimidated by a seemingly daunting task, you yourself have already extinguished every opportunity to win. Our agreement is not impossible. That's all I can say. Words are just fuel to the mind. All the rest will flourish from hard work."

He turned around to leave after imparting some cool words, which was, in Red's mind were more of a riddle than advice. She got the gist of what he wanted to say but her reality wasn't reflecting his words at all.

He looked over his shoulders before marched on, hand raised with his thumb, index and middle fingers outstretched and the remaining fingers were folded, "Remember, three days, Princess. After today, you only have two. Don't worry about anything else. I swear by my knighthood that I will honor our agreement. Just concentrate on your training. Read the movements of your opponent. Feel the wind against their maneuvers. In time, you'll be able to do that even when your eyes are closed."

"And what will happen after three days if I do not succeed?"

"We will move on with our journey." He said curtly and left the princess alone.

She gasped. 'So soon? And leaving behind some loose ends too?'

She sighed and kicked the dirt on the clearing. 'But I only have two days. How am I going to do that?'

As usual, after dinner that night, she went ahead towards the brook. She waited patiently for Bynarr to come but he was taking too long. 'Maybe he isn't coming today.'

After what seemed hours of waiting, when in truth, it was only about around fifty minutes, her exhausted body and mind fell into the alluring traps of slumber.

"Red. Red!"

The sleeping princess was awakened by a lad's voice. She groggily sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "You're late."

"Haha. I told you I have other things that keep me busy. You shouldn't have waited for me, and slept in this way." His voice that was initially full of mirth turned to scold her. "What if there are wild animals roaming around in this area? Or worse, what if evil spirits found you in that unconscious state? You aren't thinking clearly for a squire in training." He flicked her forehead.

"Ow! Hey!" Her cheeks flushed red with both embarrassment and a bit of fury. "What was that for?"

"An attempt to bring some sense to your brain."

"Hmph. Have you eaten?" She dug into her pockets and on it emerged an apple. She remembered that Bynarr likes them so she brought one from dinner. "I even brought you food only to get flicked on my forehead. Tsk, so much for my kindness." She playfully retrieved her hand carrying the apple which she laid in front of him.

"That's for your own good!" Youthful agility came to play as he skillfully snatched the apple before she could truly retrieve her offer. "Thanks!"

They chatted about how their day went by while the lad devoured the apple. It was a bittersweet moment as she remembered her life with her friends back home. She was glad she had found a new friend here, but the pain of leaving behind her old friends was still there – ripe and prickly at every memory that brushed her mind.

"Red." Bynarr seemed to notice her sullen conduct. "Is there anything bothering you?"