The princess and her guide ambled along the road to the stables in order to retrieve horses. For some reason, the stableman was smartly dressed and ready to greet them when they arrived. It was like he was...expecting them?
"Your horses are all ready for you. I made sure to check their shoes so there will be no issues while you are out." The man said with a cheerful grin.
"What do you mean, Corey? How are the horses ready already? We did not even know ourselves that we were coming until a moment ago," Ethyn did not want Rose to think he had some master scheme. He was suave, but not that suave.
Corey winked at the knight. "Katherine also wanted me to warn you not to go too far. There have been rumors of ruffians about, and she wants you to stay out of trouble."
Ethyn looked down at the overstuffed picnic basket. He suddenly felt very foolish for not seeing it sooner. The innkeeper had orchestrated it all.
'How could Katherine possibly have known?'
Feeling tongue tied, Ethyn stumbled to find the appropriate response. "But I didn't…why would she…did the Guardian…"
Rose placed her hand gently on the knight's arm. He went silent.
"Thank you for all your hard work, Corey. It is appreciated. But which horse did you prepare for me exactly?" The princess seemed troubled.
"Yours, of course. The big beautiful Stallion with which you came." Corey tilted his chin. "That is your horse, isn't it, Miss?"
Rose straightened her back and gave a thin smile. "Fireball needs a ride. It will do him good. Thank you."
Corey brought the pair around the side of the barn where Courage and Fireball were tied. Just as he promised, both stallions were ready to go, even having a water skin poking out of each saddlebag. Ethyn looped a strap around the basket to keep it in place, and then helped Rose mount the large, dark horse.
Dipping their heads in appreciation, the two left Corey and headed out of town. Ethyn peeked over at the princess as they rode in silence through the streets. She seemed suddenly somber. Her riding looked uncomfortable in the seat for someone who should be an accomplished rider. An idea formed in Ethyn's mind.
"You were very skittish about that horse a moment ago," he commented casually. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the princess stiffen.
"Did I?" Rose continued to look forward, barely acknowledging his words.
"I gather that horse is not yours," the man continued.
"I never claimed it was." Her terse answer only intrigued Ethyn more.
"Wait, did you steal Fireball to leave the castle?" The knight gripped his reins tightly as he saw the woman's face go from solemn to hopeless.
She took a ragged breath. "No. On my way here, two soldiers and I were attacked at night while staying at an inn. They died protecting me. Fireball is one of their horses. I took him and fled."
Rose hung her head. Ethyn leaned over and pulled both horses to a stop. He reached for the woman's hand. A tear fell on his fingers from her delicate face.
"Forgive me! I had no idea. I was trying to tease you, and it has all gone wrong. If they died protecting you, then I know they do not regret it. I would have done the same without a second thought." Ethyn tried to catch her lowered eyes.
At last she looked at him. "I feel so much guilt," she admitted.
"Then at least I know you are actually human. For a while I was almost positive you were an angel."
The redhead was relieved when the blonde gave a small laugh.
"The best thing you can do is give Fireball a good ride. It will honor both him and his former master. And I know just the spot to go." Ethyn released the princess's hands and retrieved Courage's reins.
"I am sure Fireball would like that." Rose wiped her eyes. "But please not too fast. This saddle was not made for me. It is far too wide."
"Of course, my lady. We can go as slow as you need. I have a lot of apologizing to do, after all." Ethyn winked and set his horse in motion. The two rode side by side through the trees as the young man described in detail all that had occurred in his time at the palace.
The longer he talked, the more Rose seemed to pull away from her troubles and enjoy his company. She laughed at his folly with the dropped coin purse and the 'stolen' trinket.
The princess gritted her teeth when she heard about Nuall's treachery. Internally she planned to make sure the handsome blond was never allowed at the palace again.
After over an hour of slow, semi-aimless wandering, the knight finally brought his story to a conclusion.
"And as you know, like a coward I ran back here and let everyone think whatever they like about how my time at the palace went. That came back to haunt me too, it seems." Ethyn shrugged. "I made a big fool of myself at your welcome home dinner."
"I cannot blame you too much for not correcting Conall, at least. I get the impression that he makes up his own versions of stories anyway to suit himself. As for the rest, it was wrong to mislead them, but I understand why you did. You simply wanted those you love to think well of you and your accomplishments."
"Does that mean you forgive me?" Other than unburdening himself, this was the one thing that Ethyn hoped would come from the ride in the woods.
"If you shall forgive me, I would be very cruel indeed not to do the same. Anyway, we both have a fresh start, remember?" Rose took in a deep breath of air. The aroma of summer flowers mixed with the woods was cleansing to her soul.
"Thank you, Haven. A fresh start is exactly what I needed. Though I do not think your father will be quite so understanding. With all the information I gave you, he will have more than enough reasons to never want me near his daughter again."
Rose laughed long and hard. Her musical voice danced along with the wind almost exactly like a Fate's. However, as the princess did not seem to be laughing at him, Ethyn merely furrowed his brow in confusion.
"What's so funny?" The young man asked.
"Nothing, except...if you had seen some of the men that my father has sent my direction, your little mistakes would seem tame by comparison." Rose wrinkled her nose like she smelled bad cheese.
It was Ethyn's turn to laugh. "You are kidding me now. I cannot imagine your father letting anyone less than perfect anywhere near you."
After a baleful glare in the redhead's direction, Rose rolled her eyes. Leaning forward in her saddle, the princess stroked Fireball's mane. He snorted a greeting in return.
"It was that way at first, I suppose." The princess admitted. "Only the most noble and decorated champions were able to get near me, but as I rejected each suitor, Father became less discerning and more desperate. I am pretty sure he thinks I am an old maid."
"Do you not want to get married?" The young man realized too late that his question was impertinent, but thankfully the girl was to far in her own thoughts to notice.
"I think so. It just has to be the right one. And the men that have been coming to try and claim my hand are not him." Blowing out her cheeks, Rose thought of the hundreds of suitors who had come to call.
"What has been wrong?" The young man was not positive of his motivation for asking, but he was quite sure he didn't want to make the same mistakes they did.
"All have had one or more less than amiable qualities. For example, one man committed himself to a seafood only diet to keep himself looking attractive. As a result, every time he breathed near me I felt as if a fish market had invaded the palace."
"Oh."
"Some were rude; others were too interested in pleasing Father. Most all have been power hungry or completely lacking in imagination. Did you know that the last man invited to dinner was shocked that I would bother to read for enjoyment? Or read at all really...'Why would one want to sit and hold a book when they can ride a horse?' he asked me."
Rose felt the horse beneath her rumbled a protest.
"I didn't say there was anything wrong with horseback riding!" She patted Fireball. "I find the view and company most enjoyable!"
"Indeed," Ethyn agreed. "Riding a horse is worthy of anyone's time, but so is a good book and a warm fire. Did you know Silver nurtured my love of reading? We spent many cold nights with me reading aloud to him with books he had...borrowed."
"You did? That's very nice!" Rose imagined the cozy scene. If only she could have been there! She looked off into the distance. "I do hope my brother is ok."
"Silver always comes out alright, I assure you. Anyway, I don't think he is in any real danger. It is very possible he left just to force us to get along." Ethyn flashed a toothy smile. If that was his plan, it had worked brilliantly.
"Even if that were true, we have strayed very far from Rynnlee. I thought we were supposed to stay close." The words came suddenly back to Rose. She had been so engrossed in their discussion, she was not even sure which way was the town.
"Do not worry. We caught the bandits who were causing trouble earlier this week. The worst thing out here is a rabid bunny." Ethyn pulled Courage to a stop. He leapt from his horse and held out his hands. "Good news, Haven! We have arrived at our picnic spot."
Looking around, Rose could clearly see why he had selected this perfect spot.