Errant

Beads of sweat pooled on my forehead. My swollen feet grew blistered as they made contact with the sandy dirt.

I wasn’t one to disobey my parents, but the people of the court were so fascinating to me. Men and women gathered in the courtyard, and regardless of station, they chattered about.

I hated how they treated me as though I was a child. I was in my twentieth year—Nearly married. And yet, I had the same restrictions that I did as a girl.

My motto was that rules were only meant to be followed if the person who made them was watching you. Otherwise, your not living a life that’s your own.

A large tunnel caught my attention. Rusted and tan like the sand beneath my feet, curiosity wasn’t my best trait—so i followed it.

Pale, dimly lit candles rested upon the wall, dripping wax onto the stone ground. I followed them until the sound of laughter and yelling filled my ears. The tunnel had turned into a hidden pavilion. Covered in the same rusted stone as the tunnel, it had no ceiling. Only a few large planks of wood covered in viridian vines.

The air had turned sour. Smells of rotten bread and aged ale filled the room. I covered my nose, trying not to inhale.

A small smile crept up my face. The voices were apparent now. I hadn’t seen anything quite like them. Some of the armored men were punishing their squires. Others peacocked for the attention of indecent women sitting on their laps. They were dressed in fine fabrics, covering the necessities for modesty but showing just enough flesh for purchase.

“Well, What do we have here?” A man said directly at me. He sat on a brick stool, with a woman of similar complexion to me on his lap. His eyes were dark and mischievous.

My heart stopped. I looked behind me to make sure there wasn’t a woman he meant to speak to. The room grew silent. I could nearly hear my heart beating out of my chest as embarrassment crawled up my cheeks.

“Forgive me for the intrusion.” I curtsied. “I fear I’m lost. This castle is quite large,” I said with a nervous smile.

“It is.” He smiled, picking up a cup of ale.

I was a fool.

Simply put, I was curious to see how the Lord Protector of the realm conducted his strategies, and yet again I was clearly in the wrong place.

The air became suffocating. Every man and woman inside the pavilion had turned their eyes on me. I was used to this sort of thing, but not in a foreign land.

“I’ll be going then.” I turned to leave.

“Wait!” The man said softly.

I froze in place. I turned to see the man once more. His body looked as though it was shuddering in place. He must’ve been drunk.

“Well, you don’t have to leave.” The man chuckled, turning to face the indecent woman.

A small smile crept upon my face. I was truly impressed with how kind everyone had been in this country, despite the warning.

“Thank you, sir. I do, however, need to find my family.” I smiled politely.

“Again, you don’t have to leave.” He chuckled, “You can come get a nice warm hug from me, sweetheart.” He grabbed his groin.

The tavern lit up with laughter. It had shifted from complete silence and comfortability for all of us to me being the entertainment of knights.

I would’ve had him whipped for this. But he wasn’t one of my countrymen, and I wasn’t in the Pale anymore. I swallowed.

“Excuse me?!” I snapped. “I am a lady, and you shouldn’t address women as such.” I grit my teeth at the armored man.

I had heard about how impolite this country was, and it turned out that all the rumors were true. In all of my years, I had never been spoken to in that manner, especially by a man with honor.

“Oh, excuse me.” The man stood to bow. “You’re a lady. I’m so very, very sorry.” He chuckled.

Whipped, gagged or beheaded.

He was lucky we weren’t in the Pale. And my tongue was raw from how hard I was biting it.

A small thump on my shoe made my body jolt. The sound of soft metal hit the ground. I looked at my feet to see a small silver coin resting at my toes.

“For your ladyhood, your highness.” The man bowed deeper. “I noticed it was discounted.”

My body froze as the men and their whores chuckled at me as ale spit from their mouths. My face grew hot as the blood rushed to my cheeks. I had never felt so embarrassed in my life.

The sound of clinking armor and thumps on the ground made the men freeze. Their faces grew pale, as though the devil had appeared in front of them. The ground screeched as a chair was pulled across it until a loud thump subdued the sound.

A man at a large wooden bench caught my attention. He pulled out a large flask from his belt and flooded his throat with the substance as though he hadn’t drunk water in days.

I could tell that he was large in stature. Even as he sat, he seemed to tower over the men of average height. His armor was silver, etched with rust, and a blackened head of a wolf made from brass was on his shoulder.

His dark and rugged-looking hair was long for a male but still well kept.

A dull expression clung to his face. He didn’t seem to enjoy the company of the other soldiers, let alone the substance he drank. He didn’t seem to want to be in the room—as though he was perfectly complacent with being angry.

I inhaled, taking a deep breath before calling out to him, “Ser!”

“My name is Lyra; I’m trying to find my family. Lord Edmund is my Fath—”

“Lyra,” he sniffed, “Why would I care?” He faced me.

My skin tried to jump off my body as I looked at him. Half his face was handsome, with sharp angular features. The other half—mangled. Half of him was covered in burgundy scars, as though something tried to claw his face off—and yet to his neck there burns.

I jolted in place, carefully taking steps backwards. I didn’t want to offend him—Hell I didn’t want to hold a gaze with a man who looked like he traveled from hell and back himself.

The scarred man averted his eyes from me, exhaling. He seemed troubled by my response. Guilt filled my body as i began to feel for him. I was rude.

“I’m sorry, sir. I was just—”

“Learning why a knight of the kings guard get’s all the pretty ladies” The man from earlier interjected. He stuck his tongue out, rallying the men in the pavilion to laughter.

I had enough of his rude behavior; I turned around, walking back to the tunnel opening. The sound of gurgling made my body freeze in place. A chill rushed up my spine.

I turned around to see the large scarred man across the room. Towering over the vulgar man as he held him up by his throat. His feet dangled in the air as he tried to catch his breath. The scarred man muttered something to him, causing the vulgar man’s eyes to widen before he was thrown to the ground.

I swallowed.

The scarred man walked towards me, grabbing his flask.

He firmly gripped my arm, dragging me along with him, “You’re welcome.”

“Sir!” I protested, trying to yank my arm back.

“Sir?” His lip curled into a snarl. “You must be the Palehart girl,” he groaned.

“I am Sir, but I—”

“You don’t belong in a shit-hole like that.” He dragged me farther through the tunnel.

“I’m sorry, I was just lost. I—”

“You don’t tell people that you’re a Lady here.” He spat on the ground, “you’d be giving them an open invitation to do something you wouldn’t like.”

My blood ran cold as those words escaped his lips. I exhaled; I was foolish, and I knew it. Father gave me one rule, and i broke it immediately. I shouldn’t have traveled the palace alone.

The sun shone on my face as the yeasty stench from the pavilion left my nose.

“I just wanted a break from my father; I didn’t know that it was so.” I paused, carefully arranging my words to not offend him.

“Dangerous,” He finished for me. “Aye, it is,” He said sternly.

The scarred man loosened my grip as we arrived in the courtyard. The men and women busy with their conversations had now shifted their eyes to me and the scarred man holding me hostage.

A lump formed in my throat. I knew father would yell at me until my ears bled.

“He’s going to kill me,” I muttered under my breath.

“Your father?” He almost chuckled for a moment. “Aye, He’s a good man. Too good of a man.”

Blood rushed to my face. My palms got sweaty as I imagined different scenarios of how this would’ve played out with my father. The scarred man was right; he was honorable—but not honorable enough to respect my own wishes.

The scarred man’s gaze dropped to mine for a moment. He lifted his brows before letting go of my arm completely.

“Ah, I see,” He chuckled sarcastically.

“You see what?” I snapped.

He ignored me.

I stopped myself in my tracks, and yet he kept walking. I was delayed by three seconds too long, quickening my pace to catch up with his long strides.

“Answer me!” I demanded.

A small smirk crawled up the scarred man’s face. “Nothing, little dove.”

“It’s not polite to make judgments about people you don’t even know!” I snapped.

His eyes shifted to mine again, the same smirk plastered over his face.

“I don’t need to know you to see that you’re Rafe’s new woman.” He spat, “I heard more counsel meetings about you than bottles of ale i would have drunk in a week.”

“You must not drink much, then.” I shrugged.

The scarred man scowled at me. He took the large flask from his belt, filling his throat with the liquid.

“Are you always so unpleasant?” I hissed.

“Here,” He pointed.

The entrance to the throne room was grand. The metal door was stained a vibrant red with inanimate roses etched into it. The scarred man, with one great pull, forced the doors open.

“Wait!” I yelped, calming myself for a moment.

“What now?” He huffed.

“Please, don’t tell my father that you found me at—”

“A pavilion filled with sell swords and whores?” He chuckled, “And why would i care enough to do that?” He waved his hand for me to enter the room.

As belligerent, rude, and vulgar as he was—I appreciated his ability to keep his lips sealed.

The throne room was airy—spacious even. The walls were laid with a dark grey brick, with viridian vines and perfectly trapped red roses cascading down its walls. A grand noir throne with a sickly man sitting in the middle of the room. He was frail with golden blonde hair. Next to him was a younger man, equally identical to him in hair shade—muscular and average height. They contrasted against the woman on the opposing side of the throne. She was thin but full-figured, with locks that looked as though she was kissed by fire.

“My king.” The scarred man kneeled beside me.

“Rise, bastard.” The king coughed.

“You found the girl. Bring her.” The king gestured us toward him.

I walked side by side with the scarred man. His metal clanking every step of the way.

“Oh, Heavens. Lyra!” My mother called out.

I rushed to her embrace. My father standing beside her gently tucked a strand of my dark hair behind my ears. His face was laced with worry. Im sure I did a number on him and my mother’s nerves.

“Thank you sir, for returning my daughter” My father smiled at the scarred man.

“I hope she wasn’t too much trouble for you” My fathers eyes met mine.

“Even if she wasn’t, the beast would have brought her back on time.” The younger man said from the throne.

“Prince Rafe” I whispered to myself.

Quickly stepped down the stairs to the throne, Rafe’s eyes locked onto me. His green eyes scanned my face as though he was putting together a puzzle. His lips turned into a michevious smile.

“I’ve heard tales of how beautiful you were—” He smirked, “You portraits do you no justice, My lady. You are truly—”

“Rafe, don’t scare the girl off already. She’s barely arrived.” The woman with fiery hair said.

“That’s Queen Alys,” My mother whispered.

My face grew hot. I forced myself into a deep curtsey, “Your grace.”

“Nonsense, Lady Lyra” Alys chuckled, “I’ve heard many tales of your beauty as well.” She smiled.

“Thank you, your grace” I bowed my head.

“I will be your Queen mother, Call me Alys” She hummed.

I turned to my parents for approval. They were concerned early on in the day that this would have ended terribly because of my reluctance. They were wrong.

The Prince’s eyes remained glued to my face. He looked as though he wanted to see what was underneath my skin.

“Such a shame the bastard got to witness your beauty first” He said plainly.

“Bastard?” My mother questioned, “You speak of him as though he is some animal!” She laughed cautiously.

“Well he is partly,” Alys shrugged, “I could point at the largest man in the world and say kill him, and he’ll obey me.” She smiled.

My mother grabbed my hand, giving me a tight squeeze.

“Enough about the bastard,” Rafe interrupted, “When are we to be wed?” He turned to my father.

“Well, King Edwyn and I have discussed the celebrations taking place this summer. That way we have time to—”

“I do not wish to wait until the summer. I want to wed her today” Rafe snapped.

Rafes eye’s grew dark, as he challenged my father.

The air grew stale again. My mothers grip grew tighter. I didn’t know that princes were this—abrasive.

My father exhaled, calming himself before resting his hand on his sword. “I’m afraid if you wed today, it defeats the purpose of us celebrating our houses becoming one.”

“If I am not wed to her by—” Rafe swallowed, “My father will be dead by the end of the month. I cannot ascend the throne without a wife.” Rafe said confidently.

“So I will wed Lady Lyra and you’ll just have to—”

“A week” Alys interrupted, “My apologies to the Palehart house for rushing this, but my son is right. Would a week be enough time to have invitations sent out?”

My father jolted in place, thrown off by her proposal, “Well yes, but—”

“Perfect, then” Alys clasped her hands togther, “They will be wed by the end of this week.”

A lump formed in my throat as i turned to both my parents. Frustration grew as neither of them fought back.

“Father, I—” My mother squeezed my hand, letting me know that now wasn’t the time.

I pursed my lips. My heart began to thump under my skin. I wanted to crawl away and hide.

“I will see you tomorrow Lady Lyra” Rafe took his hand in mine, planting a soft kiss on me.

“Tomorrow then, ” I curtsied.

“The bastard will watch over your family—”

“That is not necessary we have our own men from the Pale” My father interrupted Alys

Alys’s lips turned into a crooked smile. She cocked her head to the side smoldering the small chuckle fighting to escape her lips.

“Bastard” She pointed to my family. “And Sir main, please escort the Paleharts to their chambers” She finished before taking her leave.

A short man with armor, extended a hand to us as we were escorted out of the room.

As I walked behind my parents, the scarred man’s loud thumps echoed behind me.

“Be careful little, dove” He whispered in my ear.

I could only wonder, did he mean be careful of the country?

Or the family I was about to marry into.