Chapter 16: To New Destinations!

Lily had been unfortunately correct in her guess; they only began to move out of the keep’s distance long after the sun had risen. She saw Thorne better under the morning light, he really was a dark gray colour, a cloudy day in the middle of an open field.

‘So how long have you been living for, then?’ she poked at him.

If he had eyes, she was sure he’d roll them at her.

‘I don’t even remember dying,’ he said, groaning.

‘Do you at least remember living?’

‘Of course,’ he answered, ‘Otherwise we wouldn’t be here in the first place.’

She breathed. The morning air stung; it was damp against her throat.

‘Where will you go after this?’ she asked, looking over his shoulder. There was no road this time, they were making their own path to the nearest one.

‘You’re my guide, you tell me,’ he shrugged. His shoulders were padded out nicely, Lily wondered what she’d find if he took off his armour.

She smiled; just the answer she’d been looking for. Her very own knight to travel with.

‘Well, I was thinking for one thing, we could travel the country for a bit…’ she sparked up, thinking of all the places they could go.

‘I wouldn’t mind that.’ he answered, ‘There’s some friends I’d like you to meet.’

‘But wouldn’t they all be…’ Lily said nervously, ‘You know, like you but… less moving?

Thorne laughed a little at this,

‘Not all my friends were human.’

‘Ohhh,’ she nodded, ‘That makes sense.’

‘Mhm.’

‘This hill is really big, don’t you think?’ she piped up, ‘And my feet are soo sore…’

‘Don’t think I can change either of those two facts,’ Thorne joked.

‘You can change one of them,’ Lily pleaded, wrapping her hands around his neck, ‘Please.’

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He obliged, bending down. She jumped onto his back, wrapping his legs around his body. He made her feel so light.

The rest of the trip he carried her like this, even when she complained that her legs had gotten numb. The hill was a hard climb, Lily had been expecting him to slip at some point but he kept his footing firm.

‘Tell me more about yourself,’ Lily gently beat her hands at his back, craning her neck to look what was ahead of them.

‘There’s not much to say,’ Thorne sighed sadly and Lily felt a shift in his tone, ‘I was a knight and now I’m nothing.’

‘Nothing?’ Lily felt him stumble.

‘I was supposed to defend my lord with my life, what am I supposed to do after I’ve outlived even his successors?’

‘You could be my knight,’ Lily suggested, taking his mind away from his fallen kingdom, ‘I need a great deal of protecting.’

That got a small laugh.

‘That depends, are you a princess?’ he humoured her.

‘I could be,’ she laughed. She was no princess; her mother hadn’t been a queen. Just a diplomat of some sort.

‘Let’s say you are.’ He said, his tone getting lighter, ‘You could be the last princess of this ancient place.’

She smiled, that was sweet of him. A small, nagging question lingered in the back of her mind: then who would be her prince?

But she didn’t ask it.

‘Then I’ll be your princess.’

They reached the top of the hill and the world seemed to spread out at their feet all over again. Without the fog blocking her view, Lily could actually see their next destination up ahead. Sojourn, the silver capital of the eastern side of the country glittered in the sunlight.

Thorne let her stand on her feet, she stumbled around a bit, finally grabbing onto him for support.

‘We’ll be heading there next, you know?’ she told him, pointing towards the city.

‘Fine by me.’

He began to walk towards the edge of the hill, mindlessly taking a few steps forward, Lily’s eyes widened, she held out her hands to grab at him, ‘Thorne!’

He disappeared before she could catch him. She sighed as he rolled and slid down the hillside, collecting bits of grass and disturbing at least a dozen rabbit burrows as he fell out of her view.

She jumped down, trying to keep her balance as she fell after him. There was no use in travelling down the hill normally if she was going to be by herself, or so she figured. Lily barely kept her balance as her surroundings blurred into a haze of green.

When she reached the mountain, she rolled over and hit the ground, bumping into something distinctly metal.

‘Ugh…’ Thorne groaned from beside her, ‘That hurt…’

‘You can still feel pain?’ Lily asked.

‘Mostly,’ he sighed, turning his head to look at her.

‘You wouldn’t mind lying here for a while longer? She asked him lazily, stretching her legs. She had definitely bruised something on the fall but didn’t mind it much.

‘Please.’ He answered her.

They lay there for a while; she listened to the sound of him breathing. She wondered if he even needed to breathe or if he just did so out of habit. The trees dappled the sunlight, casting out small gentle dots that danced against their bodies.

‘Hey,’ Lily shifted her body against his, ‘I don’t think you’ve ever said my name before.’

‘I’m sure I have.’

‘Miss Lily doesn’t count.’

‘Huh’ he breathed.

Birds chirped overhead; the leaves rustled in response. Lily felt the sunlight glare against her eyes.

‘I think I’ll save it for a rainy day.’ he finally said.

‘Then that’s fine by me,’ she grinned.

She hoped it would rain soon.

The sun mocked her, Sojourn glittered in the distance.