Rose had thankfully selected the correct road from the start and been able to make up time. Despite her mistake in falling asleep, it had actually made it much easier for her to leave without being questioned.
The princess had not exactly considered how she would get herself and her horse out of the palace gates if Cole and Philip refused to help. While she could possibly duck past the sentries or climb over the wall, her horse was not so talented.
In that respect, the young woman had received an unexpected gift. She neither had to seek acceptance by those sent to Silver nor did she have to find an excuse to leave that would arouse suspicion.
'The Fates must be looking out for me,' Rose thought to herself with a contented sigh. She only hoped her luck would last.
Rose had only a rudimentary map in her room from her geographical studies a few months earlier, but from it, she knew that a main roads went in four directions from the capital of Burke. As long as she found the western road, the princess believed she would be able to catch up with Cole and Philip before they got too far.
If not, then she would rely on strangers to give her directions. Rynnlee housed a famous Guardian; surely most people knew where he was located. At least that is what Rose believed.
Belle, the lovely chocolate mare, moved almost effortlessly with the princess on her back. The young woman never seemed to be a burden to the steed. In fact, the horse was possibly the only being other than the king who did not seem to have a weight of some sort on their shoulders when she was around. Which was ironic because she was a literal weight on Belle's shoulders most of the time they were together.
After a short ride through the king's forest, Rose was able to find the thoroughfare to get out of town. The first people she met were an older couple ambling along in the morning air. They were well dressed, but not on horseback.
"Good morning," Rose said out of habit. She had no idea how commoners acted, but she assumed they would be polite.
The woman's eyes flew to the princess's face and opened wide as she stared. It was almost as if the elderly lady had seen a ghost. "It cannot be!" she cried.
"Forgive her," the old man said. "She is not in her right mind. Good day." The husband took his wife's arm and dragged her along, averting his eyes from the princess in embarrassment. Something in his mannerism made Rose think there was more to his words.
The princess wondered if the outburst was because she was very dirty or not dirty enough. Or was it just strange to see a woman riding a horse alone? Rose felt a new horror grip her. What if the old woman actually recognized her even in her disguise? That would be humiliating.
Although the princess did not recognize the lady, she could not say for certain that the woman had never worked at the palace. People came and went all the time, and so it was possible the old lady had simply passed through unnoticed by Rose. But if the strange woman had known her, it was possible others would as well.
Although it was still early, there were quite a few people awake inside of Burke. The next three people Rose saw likewise shot her questioning glances, but did not exclaim at her presence. Their looks were more of mild interest, but not confusion. The attention, however, was becoming unnerving.
Rose sped up Belle's gait and around a half-hour later, thepair had exited the city. There were fewer homes here, sparsely dotting the landscape. Pulling over to the side of the road, Rose dismounted and took stock of herself.
She had tied back her hair so that only a bit of her golden locks were showing, so that was not the issue. Her dress was dirty from the horse stall, and she imagined her face was also. With a sigh, she pulled the kerchief from her hair to clean her forehead and cheeks.
A shower of hay rained down her back as she released her hair. "Just perfect," she mumbled. "I probably looked like a garden scarecrow."
She lifted the cloth to her face, but stopped suddenly. It wasn't the simple white kerchief that she had thought she was wearing. It had the royal crest on it!
While such an item was unusual at the palace (they were only given as special tokens to nobility or on rare occasions a servant), the chance of some random commoner having one was next to zero. She had practically been announcing her own importance. 'I must have grabbed the wrong one when I got ready in the dark. So foolish!'
Rose stuffed the handkerchief in the bag and pulled out her cloak. It was a dark brown and thick, though a bit too warm for the weather. She took her back up scarf and looped it around her face so that only her eyes were showing. It made it difficult to tell if she were male or female.
"I'll look like a bandit," the princess shook her head, "but at least I won't look like a helpless royal."
Remounting Belle, Rose dug in her heels and hurried off down the lane. Belle was swift of foot, and after a time of letting the wind blow through the hair, the pair slowed to a more manageable pace.
"At least it is nice weather," Rose told her horse. "I am not fond of storms..."
Belle only snorted, unable to reply further. Just then they passed another group of people, they completely ignored the horse and rider, much to Rose's relief. The less people noticed her, the safer she was likely to be.
Midmorning, Rose finally spotted two men on the road ahead of her in soldier's uniforms. One was dark headed and sat straight as a stick in the saddle and the other with light brown hair was much more comfortable as he rode along.
The princess got very close to them to confirm it was Cole and Philip, but one look from Philip's forbidding gaze over his shoulder caused her to immediately fall back.
There was no way he would let her join them willingly, she realized. That idea had always been little more than a fantasy in her head. That left her with only one feasible option.
Follow them all the way to Rynnlee.
Rose let up on Belle. For the rest of the day and into the evening, she followed the two men, keeping them just within her eyesight. 'Hopefully they don't notice,' she grimaced.
Other than a short break for a meal, the men did not really stop their forward march toward Rynnlee. It felt like forever that the princess had been in the saddle. She was not used to riding for so long and her rear end hurt considerably. And there was still a whole other day of travel too, she realized. Rose began to pity her sore muscles.
She looked down at her legs and wondered how hard it would be to walk once she got off. Rose could almost guarantee it would not be fun.
But even worse than her muscles was the fact that she was extremely bored. 'I bet Cole and Philip have something interesting to talk about...' she thought as she continued to stare downward. Unused to being alone the princess became envious of the pair in front of her.
However when she looked up toward them, the men were gone. The princess's heart stopped.
'Where did they go?'
Riding up to the last place she had seen the soldiers, Rose looked around frantically for any sign of them. A tiny branching path went off to her left and a few branches near the ground had been freshly broken. After a moment of hesitation, the princess surged forward.
The overgrowth was very thick and the girl's cloak kept catching on reaching branches. Rose was so distracted that she did not see the path about to come to an end.
Belle stopped, unsure how to continue. A whistle rang out, but before Rose could register its location, a huge creature leapt at her from above. He grabbed her, and another figure took hold of Belle's reins. Escape was impossible.
Flung to the ground in a rib-bruising landing, the princess and her attacker struggled until he pinned her to the ground. Her hood fell back from her head, revealing her long blonde hair.
Cole stared in awe, and, releasing one of her captured wrists, he pulled away the scarf covering her mouth and nose. At that moment, Philip looked around Belle to gaze upon the scene.
"P-p-p-princess?" Cole stuttered, all the color draining from his face.
"Hello, Cole," Rose answered as innocently as she could. "Fancy meeting you here..."