What Aizel had hoped, however, was at least a touch of humanity from this ambiguous prince who was hated by her enemy. That assumption had been doused as well. So much for her slim hope of keeping him alive to aid her.
No, she was all alone here.
It was fine. She could handle alone.
However, watching the prince across the courtyard briefly reminded her of the vulnerable stranger she had found sinking in the sea. He was smiling as he talked, waving his arms in enthusiasm and patting the stable boy’s shoulder. Not that he had looked like that when he was sinking. He just looked... more human.
As the stable boy turned to leave, Aizel could see a broad grin spreading across the young boy’s face.
Meanwhile, the prince had turned his attention to a breathless woman who had just dashed out of the far building. She handed him a package wrapped in cloth.
Holding it up to his face, the prince groaned in happiness.
“It smells delicious,” he told the woman, speaking so loudly his voice carried throughout the outside space. “It won’t even feel like I’m traveling with food this good. Thank you.”
He slipped the package into the saddlebags as the woman walked away, her step lighter and less frazzled.
It seemed everyone who walked away from the vibrant young prince was a happier person.
Aizel hugged herself tighter as she tried to remember the last time someone had smiled at her.
It was Turio. The last person who smiled at her was Turio.
She shivered, turning her attention back to the horses to rid her mind of the image of Turio’s parchment-pocked face.
Her stomach twisted. She didn’t want to get back up on the tall, powerful animals.
Seemingly satisfied with the state of the saddlebags, the prince unhooked his horse’s reins from the nearby post and held them in his hand, ready to mount and start their journey.
Aizel was not ready. Her heart had started to race as she tried to think of any way to get out of this situation.
She couldn’t spend another two weeks shivering and miserable on the unsteady back of a tall, terrifying horse.
Nor could she envision herself opening the beautiful vial in her bag and slipping a drop into the prince’s food.
No.
No.
No.
She would never be able to do it.
Her stomach was tight and her fingers and toes were cold and her head was light and her knees were tingling.
She couldn’t get back on that horse. And she couldn’t kill another person, no matter how cold-heartedly they looked at her while smiling at everyone else.
She swallowed. The prince stood by his horse, petting the mare’s long nose and whispering something into her ear. He wasn’t terrified of horses. He even treated the animal with respect.
Maybe, just maybe, there was still hope. If she could somehow get through to him, she would be able to change his mind—about whatever it was he hated her for.
To start, she could try asking him a simple question, something that would be easy to communicate without her voice.
With a shaky breath inward, she took a step toward the prince.
Just then, Turio shuffled into the courtyard. “Were you waiting on me, Your Highness?” he asked. “I am so sorry. These old bones do not like the sea air.”
“Good morning, Councilor,” the prince responded. “We are ready to be on our way as soon as you are.” His words were kind, but Aizel could see the thinly veiled frustration behind them.
