The sun was just beginning to hug the horizon as the men set up camp for the night. The guards were to do most of the work along with the two drivers. The driver of the carriage set up Flora and Amelia's tent away from where the men would be sleeping. On the other side of the campsite, six tents stood, two men per tent, excluding Lord Garin who would be sleeping alone.
To Flora's relief, the prince and the young baron had disappeared somewhere into the woods. She had heard something about firewood, so they were probably scavenging for fallen branches. Regardless of what those two were doing, the rest were preparing dinner and building the fire up with small twigs around the designated fire circle.
While the men were occupied with their duties, Flora helped Amelia take their bedrolls off of the back of the carriage and laid them out on the tent floor. She stared for a moment, trying not to take in the cramped nature of the sleeping quarters, if one could even call them that. They went through Flora's chest and found blankets that would be able to keep them at least somewhat warm when the sun went down. Each ray of sunlight that disappeared welcomed the chill that was creeping deeper into Flora's bones. Finally, they placed their sleeping clothes on top of a pair of pillows that Flora had managed to shove into her luggage last minute. She was graciously thanking her past self for her quick thinking.
Before Flora made to leave the tent, Amelia grabbed her arm, stopping her. "Yer highness, I have a question." Flora raised her eyebrows, and Amelia took it as a go ahead. "I'm just a little confused as ta why ya were so nervous about that lord knowin' about your powers."
"Ah, well look at it this way Amelia, you remember well how people viewed my abilities in the castle." Flora grimaced thinking of the memory. "People are afraid of me when they see what I can do."
Amelia nodded, but she furrowed her brows, still thinking it through. "But yer highness, he's some magical scholar, right? He's probably seen everythin' an' more, why would he be afraid of it?"
Flora sighed, seeing were she was coming from, but in her experience, interest in her didn't mean positive intentions. "Think of it this way, if someone from a foreign country knew that I could, see things, do you think that they would take it positively? Best case scenario, they try to use me for their own gain." She looked at Amelia intensely, trying to relay her reluctance to anyone knowing. "And for that, you know my allegiance will ALWAYS be to Prana."
"An' what would be the worse case?"
Flora looked down at the ground, sure of herself. "They would try to eliminate the threat."
Amelia didn't say anything for a moment before whispering, "O.K. yer highness, I'll make sure to remember that." She pulled back the flap of the tent, muttering to herself, "I can' let that happen."
The two girls emerged from their tent to a circle of logs around a blazing fire. It was far enough away from their tent that it was highly unlikely for any of the men to have heard them talking amongst themselves. Flora sat down on one of them, glad that she wouldn't need to sit on the ground again. She lifted her feet out towards the fire, savoring the warmth it brought. One of the guards came up to them and handed them both a bowl of... soup. Flora didn't hesitate as she shoved the bland soup into her mouth. It wasn't great, but at least it was hot enough to warm her insides.
The fire burned brighter as the sun dipped below the trees, only a small bit of twilight remaining. The meal was done, and it looked like some of them men were going to be chatting around the fire for a bit. Flora wasn't the least bit interested to hear about their crude interests, so she jerked her head toward the tent, asking if Amelia wanted to leave. She nodded in response, her eyes already weighed down with sleepiness.
Rising up from their makeshift seats, they handed their plates back to one of the guards and headed for their tent. Flora did a visual sweep of the area to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind. Oddly, the logs they were sitting on look charred and were cut in a perfect line. Too tired to think about it much longer, Flora ditched the men and faded back to her tent. Hopefully, they wouldn't be bothered until tomorrow.
As soon as they left the fire circle, Flora missed the heat of the fire. She even weighed the advantage of staying by the warmth for a little bit longer, but ultimately decided that it would be better to prepare for bed. With the sun finally gone, the temperature dropped like a rock, not quite freezing, but still cold. They changed into their nightclothes as quickly as possible, helping each other to shorten the time that their bare skin was exposed to the open air. Flora didn't even give Amelia a chance to comb her hair before she slipped beneath the blankets, burrowing herself as deep as possible. Her teeth chatted loudly as she waited for the blankets to warm.
"If we snuggle in close yer highness, it will help to keep us warm," Amelia said, scooching closer to her. They worked together to close the gap, but their bodies were still racked with shivers. Through chattering teeth, Amelia spoke again, "we'll warm up right quick yer highness."
How were they going to be able to sleep like this? This was the first time Flora had ever had to sleep in such uncomfortable circumstances. Was she just being too sensitive? Flora could barely think between the shaking from the cold and the ache setting in from the rough ground. Why couldn't she just deal with it like everyone else?
Suddenly, her misery hit her like a ton of bricks. She missed her bed, she missed Rose, and she even missed Felix, that bastard. Flora had thought about how she might never see Prana again when she left the capitol, but it really hit her now. Feeling utterly hopeless, she forced back tears. This was the worst. The combination of exhaustion, cold, and pain seemed unbearable. Could she actually handle this? Flora bit her lip in hopes of stopping herself from crying, but a soft sob still escaped her mouth. She was unable to stop the tears from flowing as her frustration mounted.
Amelia turned onto her side, facing Flora in the dark. "Are ya O.K. yer highness?" Flora didn't answer as she continued crying, trying desperately to keep quiet. The blankets rustled as Amelia nudged Flora's shoulder gently. "Would ya like ta talk about it?"
Flora drew in a deep breath as she placed her forearm on top of her eyes. Clenching her fist tightly, she tried to gain a bit of composure. "Amelia," Flora mumbled under her arm, "this is terrible." Amelia hummed in agreement. "I just, I feel so deflated, and honestly just thinking like that is so awful. I shouldn't be feeling like this."
"Why?"
"Because... I'm a princess, and I should just do my job without complaint. I should be able to endure something as stupid as this." Flora wiped at her eyes roughly, trying to rub away her shame. "Prince Andrei was right, I'm just a spoiled girl who doesn't know anything."
"That's not true."
"But it is!" Flora whispered harshly. "I'm so pathetic I can't stand it." Her whole body tightened as she grunted in irritation. "It's just so damn frustrating. I feel like a child, and I hate it. I've been trying so gods damned hard to not be that stupid girl I was before, but I've failed terribly. It feels like I'm never going to be useful to anyone." Amelia wrapped one arm around Flora, hugging her tightly. She rubbed Flora's back in slow circles in an effort to comfort her. "But that's the thing Amelia. These problems are just so stupid compared to everyone else's. When I think of your struggles or those urchins in the street, this all just seems petty."
Still massaging her back, Amelia responded softly, "anyone would be upset right now. I'm uncomfy too, because this stinks. Jus' cause yer a princess doesn' mean ya aren't allowed to have feelin's. Everybody's got their own things, and that doesn' make yers stupid." Flora sighed, not quite believing Amelia. "That's part of the reason I like ya so much yer highness; ya got a big heart, but I think ya are bein' hard on yerself."
"I don't deserve you-" A twig snapped close to their tent, causing Flora to bolt upright. She listened for a moment before she asked, "did you hear that?" Amelia nodded, a frightened look on her face. Flora raised her voice so someone outside could hear, "is someone there?" There wasn't a response. They looked at each other, not sure what to do. Flora reluctantly laid back down and covered herself tightly with the blankets. "It was probably just a bird or something." Neither of them were convinced, but as they laid there, they began to warm up despite the climate. It wasn't long before Flora drifted off into a deep sleep.
* * *
A low rumble came from a peak not far from where they were. That low rumble quickly became a harsh roar as rock plummeted from the top of the mountain into the pass. The horses bucked in their harnesses and they tried to run away from the danger. Men's voices rose up in alarm, calling for a retreat to safety. Through it all, Flora was confused more than afraid. Looking around, she wasn't even in the carriage but instead...
Flora opened her eyes, the ceiling of the tent replacing her dream. The canvas had a dull glow from the first bit of sunlight. Rubbing at her temple, she sat up while blinking away the sleep from her eyes. It felt like she had rested, but her mind was still tired. Whatever that was, it didn't feel like a dream to her; it was almost as if it were real. Was it a vision? She reached out an arm to wake Amelia, but there was an empty space where she would be.
The tent flap flipped open as Amelia entered, fresh underthings in tow. "Ah, yer awake yer highness." She knelt next to Flora and began combing her hair before helping her get dressed. The whole process was rather awkward in the tight space, but they made it work. "A guard told me that we are leavin' soon, so we need to eat and pack up." Amelia set to pack up the blankets and the pillows, and Flora got the bedrolls. They placed their stuff in the chest and made of to get breakfast, which was eggs and an apple.
As the men were packing up what was left of the campsite, Flora searched the place for the prince. She had decided that he should know about her dream. It was frightening enough without actually living through it, that Flora was determined not to make it a reality. After walking around and asking where the prince was, she found him tacking up his horse for the day. Hesitantly, she approached the horse, being careful not to spook it and cleared her throat, alerting him to her presence. Prince Andrei whipped around, a leery look on his face. As if in answer, Flora spoke, "I have something to tell you your highness."