Elena involuntarily screams from fright. Tears fell on her cheeks as she closed her eyes. The crowd was anxious to see what happened, their heightened excitement from the browling fight suddenly got interrupted by her scream. Their drunken eyes quickly shifted towards her.
"No!"
Elena, who for some reason couldn't control herself, slapped Johan on the face as hard as she could, not realizing it was her husband.
"Elena, it's me!"
With a reddened cheeks, he took her hands and wrapped it around his waist into a lock. With one hand securing her wrist, he looked into her eyes. The maiden had darkened fearful eyes. His face hardened and quickly scooped her up. The hallucination might still have an effect on her— having to see a violent sight have triggered her to respond that way.
With the other two knights fighting with their swords, Johan looked back assessing whether it was safe to leave or not. When he was certain the two Knights could handle it, he turned and said, "You know what to do."
The two knights only smirked and sighed at the same time and both responded, "Yes, Leader."
Johan walked away with Elena in his arms while her consciousness slowly slipping away—-
***
Cold and wet feeling touched her cheeks. Elena flinched and opened her eyes, her sight still slightly blurry. From an expected touch, she turned her head to the side, seeing Johan's face as if for the first time.
"Why are you surprised?"
The man had a calm voice as he sat down on the floor. Elena turned her head again to strengthen her head, the wooden ceilings of the carriage shook heavily. It was the carriage they were able to purchase in Balero. Though not as comfortable as the previous carriage, Elena felt safe.
"What happened?" Elena asked. After losing her consciousness, her memories of what happened looked like a thick fog on the mirror.
"Your father seemed to be hunting us…"
Elena swallowed hard. Suddenly, she felt like something was stuck in her throat. This man is skillfully clever. Though she already knew that it was probably because they had dealt with her father so many times, it was easier for him to quickly understand his situation. The King's hostility towards their Knighthood was because of his conflict with the church, but now that they can become his powerful vessel against the other kingdom. There shouldn't be any more reasons for him to attack them.
But, the situation has now changed.
Elena knew her father would not just let her leave the vicinity of his kingdom— she was the key to control his new and profound vessel. With them leaving his territory, it would be impossible to track these groups of mercenaries who had never once been under a king.
"... it's because of me."
Like a hard pinch on the skin, her heart felt pricked and heavy admitting to her guilt. The man stood up after some time and sat on the opposite side of the carriage. He leaned over, his elbow placed on his knees.
"I can understand why the king would do this."
Maybe Johan Antonov knew of the relationship between her and the king? Her eyes trembled a little, staring at the empty ceiling as she continued to lay her head down. That was delusional— Johan Antonov would have never paid attention to her since she knew him. In fact, the only reason why the man knew her was because she was a "princess". Ironically, The title that she hates was the sole reason she was married to him.
"The king... my father and I… Our relationship, what do you think of it?"
It was curiosity that made her ask. She knew what other people perceived her relationship to be with her father as— those who knew were servants of the Palace. But, do outsiders know about it too?
"I think he's regretting his decision now for marrying off his daughter to a mercenary"
He laughed as if to ridicule himself. His words seemed harsh and bitter to the tongue… "For him to send so many of them to stop you from leaving, the King must have realized that I have no plans on taking you back."
Thought she knew his intention. She didn't know if the man truly understood the relationship she and her father had.
"His precious princess is now married to a Mercenary."
The man smiled, but it looked a little forced. His eyes didn't have the same warmth he always has. With his head lowered, he looked like a small child sitting with his crunched back. Then, he looked at her, his mystifying eyes were now soft and pale.
Is this man blaming himself?
Elena furrowed her brows from such thought. If the man thinks that they were being chased because she was, under his impression, the daughter of the King who is treasured by her father. Then, he was completely wrong-- She was never once loved by him. Even an ounce of attention for her, her father thinks, is a waste of his time.
She swallowed, trying to rid the tightness that formed in her throat. The urge to tell the man he was wrong was burning in her chest. Yet, the fear that she would add another thing to make her less desirable paralyzes her tongue— A woman hated by her own father was just added to the trouble of these former mercenaries.
"Does the princess regret marrying me now?"
Her eyes widened from the inquiry and without hesitation, she shook her head, denying his gloomy allegations. The man smiled, but his eyes didn't convince her it was genuine. Her persuasion must have been lacking for him to look dissatisfied.
"There were many bachelor's that suited the Princess more… I didnt think a mere mercenary like me would be given a chance to marry you."
At his words, her heart, thumping to the tune of his voices, rose and dropped in the motion of a ball falling to the ground. She felt his own resentment like his words were blade pointed to his chest— it was apparent the man hated the fact he was a former mercenary.
"Why do you say that?"
If you knew how much I wanted you, you wouldn't be saying that. But I can't tell you that, a woman cannot be too straightforward.
Elena rose to sit properly, the weight of her body felt heavy going against gravity. She reached out and touched his swollen cheeks. His cheeks had become a little rough.
"Johan, I'm sorry…"
The man took her hand that was cupping his swollen cheeks and closed his eyes, "why are you apologizing?"
She furrowed her brows and bit her lips as the thought of her being the reason why all of these were happening to them entered her mind. Both of them were slowly drowning in guilt, she realized.
The man kissed the back of her hands and gently said, "I'm not blaming the Princess with anything. Please don't apologize."
"I'm not blaming you either. So, please stop saying that because you're a mere mercenary. That's a former statement." With her other hands, Elena lifted Johan's face by the chin to meet his eyes and smiled a little as she carefully said, "...You, Johan Antanov, are the Captain of Saintsheild, who, I've known, bows to no king."
The man's cheek slowly turned red. His face didn't change from a serene look, only now, he cannot deny the hint of a blush on his face. All of a sudden, their little session was promptly interrupted by a knock on the door. With four taps on the wooden carriage, Johan rose as if it was a signal, a coded message, only they could understand.
"We will be camping here tonight… from Balero to Credon, there are only mountains and forests. Going to the road, leading to another town, will make our journey longer. To avoid the King's eye, we will take a different route. "
After a brief explanation, Johan opened the door and told her, "stay here, we'll set up camping. I'll come back when it's ready." Within a second later, the man was gone and she was all alone with nothing to do. Elena looked outside the carriage, trying to see if she could find a few familiar faces on the view. All men, including Johan, had started moving without speaking to each other.
It must have been determined early on where they were going to stay and who's doing what, seeing how they were silently interacting with each other, the group of five men naturally moved as if it was their second nature. One man gathered wood to start a fire and two men went to a corner, the horses' temporary stable, to provide care for the animals, while Johan and Biel stood on the other side, appearing to be in discussion.
The fire had started and water was quickly boiled. Elena, who had been feeling left out all along, finally stepped out of the carriage. Johan, who did not notice she had left the carriage, moved on to work on building a tent for them after discussing the plans moving forward.
Elena looked around, hesitation and awkwardness started crawling under her feet, once again feeling out of place. Maybe it was wrong of her to step out of the carriage when these men were not even familiar with her. The man beside the fire pit noticed her. He was the man who came in the inn earlier. Seeing it as an opportunity to interact, Elena smiled, expecting the man would invite her to sit near the fire as she assumed his friendly nature earlier in the inn was a sign. But, the man stared at her, only for a second, and went back into boiling the water and preparing the food as if he didn't see her.
She frowned, a little disappointed. But she could understand that approaching a royalty could be somewhat intimidating even though she, herself, doesn't think she was royal enough. She looked around, but couldn't find anything that required her assistance. These men were capable enough to take care of themselves, having her there was just another burden for them to take care of and that can't continue...
Maybe I can help with preparing the food?
Driven by tiredness and hunger, she followed the direction of the fire, feigning ignorance of her growing anxiety.
"Did you need help with anything?"