The Wild Swans (18 page)

“Certain
ly,” Rune said, rallying a smile before he followed Elise out of the bright campfire circle.

“I
have lost track of the days, but it must be summer by now,” Elise said.

“It is. It is still quite cool here
, though.”

“I agree. I knew our country
has a warmer climate, but I still need to cover up when I sleep. At home it’s usually quite hot by now,” Elise said.

Rune shrugged. “Verglas
has been a colder country for centuries. Even its neighbors don’t get the same snowfall and cool summers. Do you want me to lead both of the horses?” Rune asked as they approached the shaky wooden fence that boxed the horses in for the night.

“No
, Falk’s horse and I have come to an understanding. And standing with them doesn’t bother me so much as being on their backs does,” Elise said, reaching for the rope halter Brida had fashioned for Falk’s horse after her arrival. She slipped it on over the gelding’s face and, using a rope, led him from the pen to the pond.

“So what did you want to discuss?” Rune asked.

“Pardon?”

“Brida religious
ly waters the horses; your chore was just an excuse.”

Elise watched Falk’s horse lip the water. “Yes
,” she agreed before looking up at Rune. “I wanted to ask what is wrong.”

“Wrong?”

“You are troubled tonight.”

Rune laughed. “Elise
, I think anyone in our situation would be troubled.”

Elise shook her head. “No
, something has especially bothered you this evening.”

Rune placed a hand on Brida’s horse and stroked her glossy shoulder.
“I can’t help but think that I have failed you.”

“How?”

“You said Toril had you slung over his shoulder. If you didn’t have that whistle…,” Rune trailed off and ran a hand through his gold hair. “It’s not supposed to be like this,” he finally said.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m supposed to be able protect you. I am—I’ve always wanted to be
your
hero. But right now, I am nothing.”

Elise glanced at Falk’s horse to make sure it did not seem particular
ly inclined to walk off before she looped its lead rope across its back. “That isn’t true,” Elise said, warily circling around Brida’s horse—knowing the captain her horse was probably bad tempered and trained to bite—to reach Rune.

“I don’t weigh my affections for you based on the present. Yes
, you didn’t save me today, but there’s at least a hundred other times you
have
saved me,” Elise said, clasping Rune’s free hand between hers. “When I was first moved into the royal wing of Brandis and got lost for half a day, you found me. When I was thirteen and I came down with that horrid cold, you stayed with me until I got better—you refused to leave unlike everyone else so
you
caught my cold after I was better.”

Rune cracked a smile at the recollection.

“The summer before Mother died we went on a family picnic. I accidentally disturbed the nest of two rock griffons. You kept the male from slaughtering me,” Elise continued. “Last year, I nearly turned my office inside out because Lord Huge’s account was short some money, and I couldn’t figure out why. You staked him out and caught him in the act of embezzling. You were the department champion for a full season after that.”

“I wonder if Lord Huge
has recovered from that fright,” Rune said.

“The point is this
: I don’t love you because of what you do for me; I love you because you are steadfast and loyal and
good
,” Elise said.

Rune gave Elise a dazzl
ing smile. “You love me?”

“Not
that way,” Elise was quick to say. “I mean, I do, but not… romantic.”

Rune sighed. “I suppose
that would be too much to hope for,” he said, letting Brida’s horse go so he could graze Elise’s cheek with his fingertips.

“Um
, yes,” Elise said, looking away.

“
I’m sorry about the flirting, Elise.”

“Um?” Elise said
, trying to take a step backwards as she let go of Rune’s hand. (That was a mistake.)

Rune slid his free hand around Elise’s waist as he breeched the new gap between them. “I did it because Steffen ordered me to be pleasant
, but also because I was hoping to make you jealous.”

“C-could you back up a little? Maybe?” Elise said
, using her pointer finger to poke Rune in the chest.

Rune dropped his head until his forehead rested against Elise’s. “I miss you fierce
ly whenever I leave for my heroic duties.”

“Ahaaa.”

“Don’t you miss me?” Rune asked, his breath brushing Elise’s face.

“Of c-course I miss you.”

When Rune tangled his hand in Elise’s wild hair, Elise had enough. “No, no. This is yours, I believe,” she said, unhooking his arm from around her waist and pushing it into his chest. She jumped away from him and semi-violently brushed herself off before shaking like a wet dog.

“What are you smirk
ing at?” she asked when she turned to see Rune grinning widely.

“I
was just thinking,” he said.

“About?” Elise snapped
, angry that she let Rune push her off balance.

“If be
ing close to me makes you blush and upsets you so, you cannot possibly see me as your brother,” Rune said.

“What?
”

“So I’m still a viable marriage option
,” Rune said, his grin turning into a pleased smile.

All the blood in Elise’s face drained. “Pardon?”

“I still have a chance,” Rune said before patting Brida’s mare and leading her back to the pen.

Elise
was silent for a few moments. “No, you don’t,” she called, suddenly remembering herself as she scrambled to grab Falk’s horse.

“I do
. As sure as the sun shines, I do,” Rune laughed.

“Go turn into a swan and eat a bug
,” Elise muttered.

Rune responded with a joyful
, light-hearted laugh.

Elise and her swan companion sat together and watched Brida perform her morn
ing practice routine.

Elise
was shocked when, as she tied another nettle stem into the shirt, Brida dropped the sword she was practicing with.

“You honest
ly did not know Prince Rune loved you, did you?”

Elise eyed Brida above the
shirt and suspiciously pulled her head back.

“There’s no use deny
ing it. Prince Rune has mooned over you for years. I always thought you were malicious for ignoring his feelings. Did you really never see them?”

Elise absentminded
ly knitted as she thought. Had she ever noticed the way Rune—or Falk—treated her was different? To a certain extent, yes. Falk wasn’t vocally rude to people as he was to Elise, and Rune was kind to all, but even Elise knew she was special to him just as he was special to her.

But
love?

No
, Elise never saw that coming, had never dared to even think about it. From the day she was chosen as a foster child, all she concerned herself with was ways to prove her worth to her foster family. She never imagined any of them would genuinely
want
her.

She
had dared to hope for friendship with Gerhart, and eventually with Steffen once she started to work with him more as she took over the Treasury Department, but romance was never a deep desire of Elise’s. She wanted to be happy, yes, so she would be careful in selecting her marriage partner, but she never thought anyone—Mertein included—would love her with passion.

“
You didn’t know,” Brida said.

Elise
shook her head.

Brida scratched the back of her neck and sighed.
“You understand that he—they, really, I suppose—is devoted to you? Ignoring Prince Rune’s and Prince Falk’s feelings doesn’t mean they’re going to go away. Nor is it fair to the princes to reject them by not even acknowledging them.”

Elise looked pained and gestured at Brida. What
was she to do?

Brida snorted. “As if I would know
,” she said, picking up her sword again. She glanced at the swan and returned her attention to Elise. “But why not give them a chance? Let them both court you.”

Elise stared at Brida with wide eyes and clutched the
shirt to her chest regardless of the burning nettles.

“It’s not like they’re go
ing to eat you,” Brida said.

Elise nodded vigorous
ly.

“You
have got some disastrous notions of love, Princess,” Brida said before slashing the air with her sword.

Elise shrugged and
slowly went back to knitting.

“One th
ing is for sure: you underestimate Prince Falk’s feelings for you,” Brida grunted.

Elise looked up at her with disbeliev
ing eyes.

“I’m not say
ing this just because I admire Prince Rune,” Brida said, rolling her eyes. “I mean it. Prince Rune is your most obvious supporter, but Prince Falk…He has your back.”

Elise tilted her head.

“Well, who do you think is sitting with you right now?” Brida asked, pointing to Elise’s swan companion with her sword.

Elise looked at the swan
, and the swan looked back at Elise.

“It’s not Prince Rune
. He can barely control his swan self. Who else do you think would follow you around like that?” Brida asked.

Elise
was genuinely starting to wish Brida wasn’t so free with her words as she looked away from the swan. She didn’t
want
to know which Arcainian Prince it was that sat with her for most of the day.

“I know we aren’t friends
, and we haven’t been on the best of terms—which I regret,” Brida said. “What I mean is this: could you be satisfied with a Mertein when a man like Prince Falk or Prince Rune would give anything to have you?”

Elise scowled. Even if he
had jilted her, Mertein was still a nice boy.

Brida waved her hand through the air. “Yes
, your past sweetheart was the nicest sort of man. He didn’t have a temper—which is an admirable trait—and he cared for his family. But could you see him loving you so much he would follow you around all day as a big white bird? Would someone like Mertein be upset and disappointed with themselves ‘cause they can’t rescue you?”

Elise looked away from Brida’s pry
ing eyes.

“C
onsider it, Fürstin,” Brida said, walking off.

Elise watched the captain go with wide eyes
, wondering what had gotten in to her… although she did have a point. Elise looked at her swan companion, who was preening his feathers. Which prince was it that stayed with her all day long?

Chapter 9

It
was unfortunate, but Prince Toril was back the day after Elise’s one-sided conversation with Brida.

“Please don’t blow your whistle
,” he said, this time happening upon Elise as she knitted a few feet from the pond shore.

About half of the swans abandoned their usual pursuits and floated near Elise
, watching Prince Toril with coal-colored eyes.

“Erm
, yes. I remember I made an acquaintance with your swans last time, in addition to your bear-like maid,” Prince Toril said, jumping backwards when one of the swans hissed at him.

Elise
stood and planted her hands on her hips so she could properly stare the prince down.

“I brought food this time
,” Prince Toril said, holding a cloth bag. He reached inside to pluck out a loaf of bread.

Elise pinched the whistle between her lips
but didn’t blow—Brida would be back shortly. She was exercising her horse at the moment. The bread was very tempting, since her arrival at the pond, Elise had lived on nothing but fish, berries, and whatever vegetation Falk found.

Prince Toril broke off an end. “Don’t you want some?” he coaxed
, offering the piece to her.

Prince Toril did not strike Elise as be
ing smart enough to poison and/or drug food, so she cautiously took the bread, inspecting it for any odd smells or colors worked into the dough.

“By the heavens
, what have you done to your hands?!”

Elise almost dropped the bread in surprise. She glanced down at her hands
, which Prince Toril stared at in morbid fascination, before tucking them behind her back.

Although Falk’s pastes and plants lessened the pain when Elise
was not knitting, they did nothing to improve her hands’ appearance. Her long, slender fingers were marred and swollen—her nails broken and cracked. The tops and palms of her hands were covered in oozing welts, and the skin of her hands was tinted red—whether it was from the nettles or the constant pinpricks that leaked blood, Elise didn’t know.

“
Has that bear-maid of yours been mistreating you?” Prince Toril demanded.

Elise shook her head and ate her first bite of bread
before she motioned to her knitting materials.

Prince Toril brief
ly crouched and prodded the green, prickly shirt Elis was working on. “You’re knitting with
nettles
,” he said before hopping upright to avoid getting nipped by a swan. “Maybe Ludger was right. Are you crazy?”

Elise shrugged at Prince Toril
, picked up her knitting, and walked further up shore with her flock of swan chaperones.

Prince Toril trekked around her for a few minutes
, until Brida returned.

“You
,” Brida said, narrowing her eyes as she slid from her horse’s back.

“Good day to you
, madam. I have returned as promised, and I brought provisions,” Prince Toril said, holding the bag of food out in front of him.

Brida ignored the offer
ing. “Has he been bothering you?” Brida asked Elise, sliding her sword out of its scabbard with an ominous swish.

Elise shook her head and held up the hunk of bread she still
had left.

Brida took the bread and sniffed it
before she handed it back to Elise. She frowned at Prince Toril. “Leave.”

“Madam
,” Prince Toril protested. “I have come here to offer you sanctuary and protection. It is clear that the two of you are travel companions of a sort. But living in the wild is not safe for two innocent ladies.”

When Brida extended her sword at him
, Prince Toril hastily added, “Even one as dangerous and well-armed as you.”

Brida sniffed in contempt.

“The invitation is genuine,” Prince Toril insisted. “But we are leaving tomorrow, so you shall have to make up your mind quickly.”

“We’re not leav
ing,” Brida said.

“These woods you live in belong to my father. He won’t suffer your presence very long
,” Prince Toril said.

“The on
ly way he’ll even know of our presence is if you or that big-mouthed hunter mention it,” Brida said.

“
That may be so, but I still insist that you return home with me. Both of you will be very comfortable in the palace. You can go on knitting with prickly plants and… being prickly in general,” Prince Toril said.

“I think it is time for you to return home
, Prince Toril.”

Prince Toril braved the swans to pass Brida the sack of food. “Very well
, but please think about it. That is all I ask.”

“Oh
, sure,” Brida dryly said. She muttered under her breath as Prince Toril hurried back into the forest. “Prancing do-gooder. We will mention it to your brothers tonight, Fürstin, but I can’t see them agreeing.”

“I think it’s a
wonderful idea,” Steffen said.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

“Think about it for a moment,” Steffen said.

Erick reached for his miss
ing glasses before he made do with rubbing his temple. “Elise would be safe, fed better, and given more comfortable quarters to work in. She’ll have Brida with her to talk on her behalf, too,” he listed.

“
But everyone knows the King of Verglas is off his rocker,” Nick said.

“Verglas is the on
ly country with an organized, accepted guild for assassins,” Mikk said, exhausting his supply of words for the day.

“She’ll be liv
ing with a madman,” Nick said.

“Wouldn’t
that bring less attention to her actions, though?” Gerhart asked, sitting next to Elise. He blanched and turned to her. “No offense; it’s not like you want to do this.”

Elise smiled. “I know what you mean. If the k
ing really is mad, the people will not think my knitting is at all noteworthy.”

“Madmen are unpredictable
,” Falk said, his voice chilly with disapproval.

“Prince Dimwit doesn’t know Elise is the princess of Arcainia. He isn’t go
ing to invite her to the royal table or anything. In fact, I would say it is safe to assume that Elise will never see King Torgen,” Steffen said.

“We’
re gambling that Elise will be safe in the palace of a tyrant. King Torgen is not known for his kindness. It isn’t safe there,” Rune said.

“It isn’t safe for her out here
, either,” Steffen snapped. “I don’t revel in the idea, but if she’s separated from Brida, Elise is an easy mark for anyone.”

“We could protect her
,” Rune said.

“We’re
swans
, in case you’ve forgotten,” Steffen said.

“We
have been unusually lucky that no one has discovered Elise before now,” Erick acknowledged.

“I believe I
have done a suitable job of protecting Princess Elise since my arrival,” Brida stiffly said.

“Of course you
have,” Nick said, quick to defend her.

“Brida
has done a fantastic job,” Elise said, “But there is truth in what Steffen says. I have no defensive skills. I could rip a country to shreds or build it up to the sky if I had access to its treasury, but I am not learned in any kind of weapon.”

“You
want
to go with Prince Toril?” Rune asked, looking as betrayed as if she had stabbed him in the gut.

“No. Truthful
ly I don’t know which option is better. I am merely acknowledging my limitations,” Elise said.

“Elise should stay here
,” Rune said. “Only Erick and possibly Gerhart are siding with you, Steffen. We have no real reason to move Elise.”

Brida shifted uncomfortab
ly on the log she sat on.

Falk flicked his eyes in her direction. “What?”

“Prince Steffen may be right,” Brida slowly acknowledged.

“Why?” Mikk asked.

Brida rearranged the stack of firewood placed next to her before she replied. “Soldiers from Arcainia have been dispatched to find Fürstin Elise.”

“
What?
” Nick yelped. “How?”

“How do you know
,” Mikk asked, his eyebrows sinking over his eyes.

Brida bit her lip.

“Captain Meier,” Mikk said.

“
I met one of the squad captains while exercising my horse today.”

“And you didn’t think to tell us
before now?” Rune demanded.

Brida winced
but did not defend herself. “None of Arcainia’s soldiers would willingly look for Fürstin, much less bring her back to Arcainia, but Clotilde smartened up. She sent a squad of soldiers only after she took their families captive.”

“And this fellow captain just volunteered this information? You don’t find
that suspicious?” Falk scoffed.

“The captain said he trusted no harm would come to the
families—before his squad left, Princess Gabrielle contacted him to let him she would free Clotilde’s civilian captives. They aren’t really looking for Fürstin Elise,” Brida said.

Steffen sniffed. “At least Gabi is manag
ing to do
something
useful,” he scoffed.

“
But?” Mikk prodded Brida.

Brida looked at the ground. “
But the captain expected soon Clotilde would send forth a squad who would eagerly search out Fürstin. Apparently she has been working her magic arts on a few soldiers, and they are just as besotted with her as King Henrik is.”

“Well
, that changes everything,” Erick said.

Nick cracked his knuckles
. “Elise will have to go with Toril.”

Mikk nodded.

“Maybe we could follow Prince Toril and ditch him at the outskirts of a large city,” Elise said.

Steffen scowled. “No
, it won’t work out well. By inviting us to the palace, he will place us under his protection, and as scant as that protection is, even besotted soldiers would think twice before dragging you back home. Besides, we do have a grip on Verglas, should we need to use it.”

“A grip?” Gerhart said.

“Two years ago, I bought a large portion of Verglas’s governmental debt,” Elise said. “We could force their good behavior by making the debt due. All the same, I would like to avoid such a confrontation. It would be easy enough to silence us as
we
are in
their
country.”

“I still don’t like it
,” Rune said.

“Of course you don’t. We’re lead
ing Elise into the den of a man who could very well be a marriage prospect,” Steffen said.

“
You
and
I would die before we handed her over to that idiot,” Rune declared.

“As we keep ponder
ing, Verglas does have a legal assassin guild,” Falk smiled.

“
I am not excited about it either, but Elise’s safety is our top priority,” Steffen said.

“So is everyone in agreement
, then? Elise and Brida should accept Prince Toril’s invitation?” Erick asked.

Six reluctant males chimed in.

“Aye.”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“If she must.”

“Agreed.”

“Yep.”

“So it is settled. When Price Toril returns, Brida will tell him they accept his offer,” Erick said.

“Provided she can br
ing us with,” Gerhart was quick to add.

“Very well
,” Brida said.

“In
that case, we need to start packing Elise up,” Rune said, heading for her shelter.

“We must also plan out acceptable behavior
,” Erick said.