Dan's POV
There was a soft clang on the wall that had him jolt out of the cot. It could have been just a rock, but he was jittery alone in the dark wall. Then there was another one louder this time and he rushed out the door and snuck to the window expecting to see his uncle and a small army firing arrows at him until he came out but when he peeked outside there was just one horse and a tiny blue figure waving to him.
He turned and found a broken arrow with a bundle tied to it. He found food scraps inside and felt guilty she had gone to such lengths to help him when all he needed to do was go home. And she should not be out here all alone. He went back to the room and put on his boots and his stolen brown shirt. Then grabbed the chipped dagger the girl had swung like a sword and tucked it in his belt along with her napkin of food.
He climbed through the window his feet feeling for first one dagger then the other. He very carefully reached one hand down to the first dagger under his boot and once he had a good hold, he closed his eyes and let go of the ledge above, slipping his feet off the daggers. His stomach jumped into his throat at the split second of free fall and his arm felt like it had almost ripped out of its socket. His other hand quickly found the lower dagger and his feet scrambled until they were solidly on the wall.
He ripped the top dagger out of the crack and letting himself drop more. He pulled and dropped the rest of the way down little by little his legs just dangling unless he needed more leverage to get the dagger back out. Even after resting the way down seemed harder than going up, he was relieved when the wall started to slope more making things a little easier. Yet, his arms were shaking and with one more story to go, he decided to risk sliding down the rest of the way, his arms too weak to keep going.
When he reached the ground stumbling only a little the little girl said "Wow, you're amazing, could you teach me how to do that?"
"No. you're too small and it's too dangerous. Being out here alone is also dangerous."
"I'm not alone, I have Smasher, and now you."
"You need a parent. You didn't run away again, did you?"
"No, but I thought you might be hungry."
"Even if I was, you should not have snuck out here you could get hurt or in trouble. No one followed your right?" he asked searching the area.
"I didn't see anyone else."
He sighed, "Well that's good but don't do it ever again ok?"
"Ok. Do you want to eat?"
He sighed again. "Sure, let us sit down under that tree where we will be less likely to be seen. So, they sat and snacked on dried meat and cheese, drank from a nearby stream, and talked some more. She told him what happened when she got back and the lessons that she had to write down. He listened intently admiring her and her father and realizing that the lesson also applied to him. He would go back today and hopefully get to miss one more morning sword lesson but after that, he would face his problems head-on, if the little girl could do it, so could he.
They talked and played all day; it was the most fun he had ever had, and he wished it didn't have to end. But all too soon the sun touched the wall and the talkative little girl soon started yawning and he offered to bring her home. At first, she said she would be fine on her own, but when she could not get on the horse's tall back by herself, she relented.
It wasn't an easy feat even for him as there was no saddle or stirrups to help and the horse's back was taller than he was. After a few tries, he got up and then reached down to pull up the little girl. Also, not easy as she was hard to reach from up there.
They rode slowly threw the grasses to her barn. Luckily, she had pointed it out early in the ride because she fell asleep on the horse. When they got to the barn all was quiet as he snuck the horse back in. He placed the sleeping girl on a pile of hay and put a saddle blanket over her before brushing down the horse and replacing its food and water. He wrapped the long dagger in her empty napkin and placed it next to her.
"Here," a gruff voice said startling him. He turned to see the largest old man he'd ever seen. His arms were largely muscular and his face scared and graying.
"Calm down boy," the old man said, he looked like even at his age he could take his uncle and win. He held out a bowl of stew. "It ain't much but it's warm and it's filling." He added.
"Thank you." He said tentatively accepting the food. This must be Vera's father he realized from her descriptions. He had wondered why the man had let her spend the day with him rather than being angry and forcing her to go back to school right away.
"So will you go home or keep running?" he asked.
"Home." He answered embarrassed and not sure how much this man knew, did he know he was the prince, or did he just think him any runaway?
"Good, you seem like a good kid, and my daughter really needed a friend, and so it would seem you did as well. But I cannot have you putting her in danger by having an association with a royal. So, if you ever run away again, do not seek her out or let her find you. I will not tolerate her being put in danger. And I don't care who you are, I will eliminate anything or anyone I find dangerous to her. Do you understand?"
He definitely knew who he was.
"Yes sir." This man was just as terrifying as his uncle, though his uncle had never threatened to kill him he also wasn't as thoughtful. The stew in his hands was warm and good. He looked over at Vera again, he didn't want to never see her again, he'd never had a friend and she was so happy to spend time with him, that it made him happy too. "What if I found a way to visit without anyone knowing? She doesn't know who I really am, and I like being just Dan. I know I have to go back but what if I got permission to leave in disguise?"
"Could you keep anyone from learning she's your friend?"
"I don't know."
"Then No. We don't need any royal Drama."
"She wants me to help her with reading and writing." He said weakly.
"I can do that." The old man said warningly.
Dan looked at the floor and nodded in defeat.
"Finish that and leave it by the door. It's late, if you want you can spend the night here, but I want you gone by first light in the morning." He said walking over to the pile of hay where Vera lay and picking her up. Then he left carrying Vera and he was alone. He liked the old man, but hated the request that he never come back, he hated more the thought that he could be a danger to his only friend.
He sat alone with his thoughts for a while then slept for a while, waking to the sound of someone's rooster well before the sun and the itchy hay made it hard to go back to sleep so he wandered the streets until he found the ally, he had taken the shirt from and put it back.
He only had to avoid one set of guards out looking for him as he made his way back to the castle as the sun began to rise.