Free The Lord Son's Travels by Emma Mickley

least hoped, she didn't mean the challenge those
auburn tresses issued to all that saw her.    He wondered how involved she was in this plot they had
come to investigate, knowing full well that these ideas were mulling in the
mind of his friend, too.
    Adrien
tended the fire, consciously avoiding any sight of the enigma that had suddenly
entered all of his plans.   The
rules of color had been followed since the time of Legends, very rarely needing
any enforcement.   Certain colors
were allowed to only certain groups, depending on the customs of each
particular kingdom. White belonged to the Kingdom of the Dead.   Red, the color of the blood that gave
all men life, was universally found only on the bodies of those in line to the
succession for a throne or their closest family members.   Adräe was rarely found in any other
color.   For tradition, and his
mother's sake, Adrien usually wore a small red favor on his uniform, but rarely
anything else to signify his place in the royal line.   The concept that a common person could wear red was anathema
to all of their traditions and rules.   To have apparently been born with the royal color was an even greater
offense.   If Elenna had appeared in
town, the first person who noticed her hair would have probably been the one to
take her to the executioner as a threat to the crown and the cherished beliefs
of their world.   If she was some
kind of trap, it was a complex, over-handed one.   He was more likely to believe she was truly lost from her own
place and completely unconnected with their mission.   But he had no idea where her home could be, or comprehend
how she had arrived here.
    Adrien
finally spoke.   He didn't look up
from the wood he was chopping, but tossed his words over his shoulder in her
direction.   "We are soldiers
from Allè-dôn, the land sharing the border behind us.   We travel to Brannon on business for the royal
house."   Brendan grimaced
slightly at the truth of his words.   He wasn't yet ready to trust so much to this stranger.   Elenna nodded thoughtfully.
    "All
right, I guessed you were military men.   I suppose I don’t need to know the details.”
    Adrien
nodded.   "We prefer not to
discuss our duties."
    "That's
fine," Elenna replied with a shrug.   "I have enough on my mind to worry about anyway.   Do you have a map I can look at?"   Adrien nodded, pleased that she seem to
hold little interest in their reasons for their journey.    He crossed their campsite to the
half-empty saddlebag and removed the parchment drawing he had first shown
Brendan.   Both men pretended to go
back to work, but really they watched as she poured over it, holding it first
close than far from her eyes and muttering out loud the names she saw.
    "Do
you recognize anything?" Brendan asked, giving in to his curiosity and
coming to lean over her shoulder.   Adrien remained on the other side of the fire.
    "No,"
she frowned.   "I don't
recognize the terrain at all.   This
must be Europe or someplace I don't know." Subconsciously she bit her
tongue as she studied the wavy lines of the rivers of the land.   "I can't grasp the size of this
place.   How long would it take for
you to ride non-stop all the way across these lands?"
    Brendan
pondered this.   "With fresh
horses and unlimited supplies, I'd say about five weeks,” he finally
responded.   Adrien nodded his
agreement at the figure. This frustrated Elenna, who returned to glare at the
drawing.  
    "Okay,
then this isn't just some county somewhere.   These must be major mountain ranges and rivers, and they
don't look anything like ones in my land.   How on Earth did I get here?"   They stared at each other, no one volunteering an answer to that question.
    Brendan
finally broke the silence.   "Our meal is ready," he announced.    "Come join us."   Elenna nodded, settling down cross-legged as close as she
could to the hissing fire.   The
nights were still cool this close to the beginning of