Free Kethril by John H. Carroll Page B

through the woods.
    Anilyia found a rock to sit on. At one time,
she never would have considered sitting on a rock or log. Servants
would bring chairs and there were guards to protect her from
peasants and other dangers. The thought occurred to her that she
was alone at that moment without anyone to protect her. Anilyia
looked at the nearby trees and the clearing across the stream. She
couldn’t see anything, but knew wolves and other dangerous
creatures might be around. Even worse, Vevin might have followed to
eat her. Looking back toward the cottage, she saw nothing.
    A deep breath calmed her nerves. So many
things had changed in her life and it was hard trying to get
everything sorted in her mind. Tathan was the main thing she wanted
to sort out. She loved him. That wasn’t in doubt. The problem was
that she was supposed to get married. She didn’t love Prince
Albrato, but recognized it as a good marriage and wanted very much
to go back to living in luxury. At the same time, living a rogue’s
life with Tathan sounded thrilling.
    Ladies of the court often talked about
living an adventurous life with dangerous men. It was girlish talk,
but here she was doing exactly that. The question of her purity
would arise when she got back to the palace. Anilyia would tell
them the kidnappers violated her. They had wanted to after all, but
their leader told his men to leave her alone. The king would make
an exception considering she was the only royal child available for
marriage.
    Tathan. What was she to do with him if they
did get to Mayncal? Prince Albrato would have a problem with her
keeping a boyfriend. She wondered if her father might hire him as
part of the secret service since Tathan rescued her where no one
else had. Anilyia wondered if her father had even tried to
rescue her sometimes. It didn’t feel like it when she was
imprisoned. She sighed, and then laughed softly. Sighs seemed
catching around Tathan and the others.
    In court, she had to keep up with political
intrigue, but a princess was trained for that sort of thing. Life
on the road was hard. Sleeping under the sky, sitting on rocks and
running away from phantoms and Rojuun all wore on her.
    One of the biggest shocks was when the
peasants wouldn’t let them in town. Tathan had told her not to let
them know she was a princess. It could put the companions and the
townspeople in danger. Anilyia didn’t like peasants anyway. She
didn’t admit it publicly of course, but they always wanted . . .
things. The refusal to help a sick traveler was appalling to
her.
    Anilyia hadn’t figured out what to think of
Liselle. Sometimes she seemed like a country peasant, other times
she was beyond human. They called her a flower child and it was
easy to see the flowers turn toward her when she walked anywhere.
Flowers were pretty, not powerful, yet Liselle controlled vast
power beyond what court wizards back home could manage. Anilyia
decided to be friends with Liselle. It was best to keep it
simple.
    It all came back to Tathan though. He didn’t
rescue her for any reason other than Liselle wanted to and because
he didn’t have anything else to do. Tathan wasn’t doing it for a
reward as most thieves would.
    Tathan was handsome. He was tall, had
entrancing eyes and a mischievous grin. Anilyia took a deep breath
and brushed hair back over an ear. There was more to it than just
his looks though. It was the way he carried himself. People
followed him and trusted him to make decisions. He didn’t laugh at
danger, he snuck up and slid his blade into it.
    Anilyia stood and started pacing, but didn’t
want to get too far from the cottage. If Vevin came out to eat her,
she wanted Tathan to hear the screams. A part of her wondered if
Tathan was evil. His sword looked evil with the way it sucked in
light. He traveled with an evil dragon and there was a good chance
Sir Danth was evil. The knight wore black armor, enjoyed killing
and tended to be moody.
    Liselle didn’t fit though.