SEPTEMBER 16, 2185 - WE BEGIN IT ANEW
Iwoke in a clearing in a forest and it was familiar, but no one was there to meet us. And no Max.
I was up first, having the gold thread on the back of my head, once again thinking I should have given it to Torin.
I watched him sleep and blearily looked around at the trees, but then a sound spooked me. I nudged him, “Torin?”
He moaned. “Aye?”
“Torin, I thought I heard something.”
He lumbered up with his dirk drawn. It looked difficult, but also way faster than I expected. He crouched and looked in all directions, and tugged at his earlobe. “I canna hear anything.” Finally he said, “Twas naething.” He sat down on his rear on a boulder and put his head in his hands. “Och, twas a long jump, m’everything hurts.” He looked around. “Where is Max?”
“I don’t know, I hope he’ll get here soon.” I looked at him holding his head. “I really wish you would take the gold thread.”
“What did ye say?”
“I wish you would have used the gold thread.”
“If ye think after almost gettin’ ye killed, I am goin’ tae take yer thread off yer back, och nae, ye are sorely mistaken.”
I frowned. “I thought you said you’d forgiven yourself, have you?”
“Nae, I canna, not till yer situation has changed, I said I had, but on reflection…”
I joked, “Och nae.”
He chuckled.
I said, “Well,Iforgive you, that’s all that matters because I’m a princess, what I say goes, and you’re my warrior, about to fight a battle for me, for my throne, so you need to get your head in the game, Torin. You don’t want to let your mood make you weak. You need to be strong and ready to fight, got me?”
“Aye, I got ye.”
“You’re smiling, you like that?”
“I do, surprisingly, if ye had asked me five years ago — someday, Torin, a beautiful princess is goin’ tae yell at ye?—”
“I don’t yell!” I yelled, then I said quieter, “I just really needed you to hear me.”
“…going tae yell and boss ye, and demand tae go tae fight with ye, I would hae answered that that person has lost their senses, that I winnaeverlet a princess talk tae me that way, but aye, now I like it verra much. I like ye verra much. I mean, I daena want ye tae do it all the time, but in small amounts tis verra fine. I see the flash of yer royal bloodline, yer bearing, ye make me want tae get down on m’knees?—”
“Really?”
“Aye, but I canna, today, I am too sore.” He pulled at his lobe again. “Ye will hae tae wait until I recover a bit.”
“Your ears are bothering you?”
He nodded, “It sounds as if I am surrounded by bees.”
“You don’t need to get down on your knees, Torin?—”
“Ye daena like it?”
“I mean, kinda, I do, but you don’t have to…”
He stood and gathered the horse reins. “So ye like it when I get down on my knees,kinda,I like it when ye lord over me,sometimes —we will hae a long marriage.” He drew the horses out of the middle of the clearing to the woods. “Grab our bags.”
I said, “For when Max gets here?”
