The Princess's Secret [completed]

6: An Old Friend.

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Isidro.

“Isidro, the king does not look very well, and neither does the lady. I don’t think it would be wise to continue to the city.” Jamaal said quietly, so that only his leader could hear.

Isidro glanced over his shoulder at the group. The young warrior looked fine, but the other two did look very tired, and their faces were pained.

He glanced at Hiram, who scanned their charges, then back to Isidro. His eyes confirmed Jamaal’s observation.

Isidro nodded and turned his horse towards the nearest village. He knew exactly the right place.

Soon after, they broke through the bush and a small village came into sight. Isidro led the group into the narrow streets, heading directly towards the market place in the middle.

Along the way, he saw villagers on their way home, stopping to watch as the band went by. Finally he spotted who he was looking for.

“Greetings!” Isidro called out to a huge man. The man smiled broadly.

“Isidro, my friend! What brings you to this humble village?”

“I wanted to talk to you about that, we’ll be staying here for the night, and would appreciate some protection.” He answered carefully.

The man glanced over the knight’s shoulder at the king, who had pulled a hood over his head to avoid too many recognizing him.

The man nodded slowly. “I’ll get some of the others together and set up a guard. You staying with our friend?” Isidro smiled. The retired knight had figured it out. He nodded, and the man bowed.

Glancing over his shoulder to see who was watching, he noticed Caspian nod to the man. Even exhausted and injured, his king did not miss much. Isidro led the group past the man, towards a small home.

Dismounting, he gestured the others to wait on the horses and went to the door. It was answered before he had time to knock a second time, an older woman’s face peeking out. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.

He bowed. “Matilda.”

“Isidro, what-” She stopped when she saw the group with him, eyes landing on Tamar, whose head was bowed. He couldn’t tell if it was from her journey, respect, or fear, but something softened in Matilda’s eyes. Then her eyes moved to Caspian. Alarm registered.

She turned and called over her shoulder. “We have visitors!” A servant appeared beside her. “Take care of their horses.” She instructed as Isidro turned to help Hiram get Caspian down.

A low moan told him he had made the right decision by stopping for the night. The knights grabbed their king, supporting him as his legs nearly gave out.

“I’ve got the lady, go.” Jamaal ordered, behind them. Herschel appeared, leading two of the horses towards the barn. Isidro turned his attention to getting Caspian indoors, shocked by how weak the king seemed.

Matilda held the door open for them. “Bring him to the bed.” She pointed at a bed in the corner of the small home.

“I didn’t know ruling a kingdom was a physical weight, you’ve gained some.” Hiram grunted as they lowered Caspian onto the bed.

“You’d be surprised how much kingdoms weigh.” Caspian gritted, clutching his side.

Isidro shook his head. Their dialogue was worthy of a beheading in any other Kingdom. “Hiram, remind me to put you back in training when we get back.” He said, still shaking his head.