"Lady Holmen, why are we here?" Bjarte asks, a little confused.
"My... apologies, Your… Your Highness." Siv stammers. Her whole body is shaking in fear.
She was hoping that bringing the prince all the way to the rooftop would give her enough time to think of a believable explanation as to why she was just in Brandt's room. However, her brain is fried from all the cluttered thoughts.
'Colby better save me if this gets out of hands.'
Siv's throat goes dry all of a sudden. She has no idea what to say, where to start. She swallows hard.
"Your Highness… about earlier… about me… was in…"
'What the hell? Can you freakin talk like a human being?'
"I mean...what you-"
"Lady Holmen, please." Bjarte interrupts.
'Oh God, here it comes.'
"I am not interested in knowing what my brother and his fiancee do in his bedroom, in the middle of the night."
'Ouch, those are some harsh suggestive words. If I were the real Lady Siv, my whole reputation would be tarnished with just those few words. Thankfully, I don't give a crap about those things.'
"I am more interested in what you are ready to do for me in order to keep your little secret."
'Huh? This little bastard.'
Siv studies the boy in the little light the stars are casting over them. He is calm and has a poker face on. This kid knows exactly what he wants.
'Guess they teach them young.'
"What is it that you need from me, Prince Bjarte?" His grin scares Siv a bit, but she tries not to show it.
"You are going to help me go to town to see Tove." She stares at him for a while before registering his words.
"How do you suggest we do that when your brother doubled the guards everywhere in the palace?" She waves her hand toward the garden. "Your Highness." She adds, a little too sarcastically. Bjarte smiles.
"I will leave that to you, Lady Holmen. Meet me tomorrow morning at the stables, at dawn."
"But I have training." The prince just shrugs and walks away.
'Ugh'
Obviously, Siv can't sleep a wink. She spends the night debating which situation is worse, Brandt finding out that she was in his room or that she helped his brother leave the palace after what happened last time. The second one is probably the one that would get her killed, if not by the girl's brothers then by Brandt.
'Maybe I should just come clean and tell him that I sneaked into his room and that Bjarte is trying to visit his lover.'
***
Against her better judgment, Siv finds herself sitting on one of the horses, disguised as a man, and staring down at the gate's guards.
"Why the second horse?" The taller man asks.
'God, how many questions is this guy going to ask?'
Sweat is running down Siv's back. She is so nervous the horses are starting to feel it.
"Captain Erling's orders, man. Maybe she wants to go for a ride after her walk. I have no idea how women think." One of the guards chuckles but the taller one nudges him with a glare.
"Fine." The serious guard says. "Since you're new, we'll let it slide. But next time, the orders have to come beforehand."
"Yes sir. Thank you." Siv bows to the three men and hurries away while trying to control her shaking hands.
'I pray that there won't be a next time.'
As planned, Bjarte is waiting for her along the outer wall of the gardens. It was fairly easy for him to sneak around the patrolling guards and jump over the wall.
"I am quite impressed, Lady Holmen."
'Me too buddy, me too.'
They both gallop to town as the sun makes its way up the autumn sky. Bjarte does not initiate a conversation and neither does Siv. She is just trying to convince herself that if anything bad were to happen, she can use the sword she 'borrowed' from the armory.
'Hopefully, nothing will happen.'
When they arrive at the outskirts of town, they hide their horses and continue on foot so that they don't attract any unnecessary attention. Although, two short men wearing capes and covering their faces scream attention.
Bjarte seems to know his way around very well, so Siv just follows him. The town is just starting to awaken as shop owners are opening their stores and cleaning. The market slowly comes to life.
The prince guides Siv through an alley before they find themselves in front of a bakery. He pulls her into another alley facing the shop to hide. Not even five minutes pass before two young girls are walking in the direction of the bakery. Siv feels Bjarte tense next to her.
'So, that's the girl.'
She is probably his age, a cute and energetic brunette with beautiful blue eyes.
'Sadly, I doubt there is a future for these two. From the shabby brown dress she is wearing, one can tell that she is far from being a noble. Not to mention that her brothers looked like gangsters.'
A chill runs through Siv's back when she remembers their encounter with the girl's brothers. The other girl with her is probably her older sister. They have the same eye color but her hair is a little lighter. She is probably Siv's age if not a couple of years younger. The sisters seem to be close as they joke and laugh with each other. They enter the shop and get a few loaves of bread.
"So what is the plan, prince." Bjarte is silent for a moment.
"I will call her here when she leaves the bakery. You stand guard while I speak with her."
'Nobody seems to be following the girls, so this should be easy enough.'
The girls come out of the shop holding a few bags each. You would think they got enough bread for a whole battalion.
"Tove." Bjarte calls and both sisters turn our direction. Then they exchange a look and both walk to us. When they reach the safety of the alley's walls, the older sister drops her bags and throws her arms around the prince's neck.
'Huh?'
Bjarte hugs her back squeezing his eyes shut and caressing her light brown hair.
'Huh?'
Siv is so shocked, her jaw is wide open.
'Isn't she like six years older than him, if not more? Is this even legal?'
"There you are, boy." One of the brothers appears at the entrance of the alley. "I have been waiting for you."
'God damn it, can this get any worse?'
Of course it can.