Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Lambert - Chapter Nine

"Argh, why are we traveling on foot?!"

"I am sorry your Highness. As the mission's commander, you choose to take this route." Cath explained to the Princess. She donned lighter armor than usual and wasn't wearing her helmet either. She wasn't any less intimidating in my eyes though. She tried her hardest not to confront our so-called commander, but it wasn't her forte. Having the same conversations every day did not help.

Our Princess walked no more than ten minutes at a time before, but at least we convinced her to leave those frilly dresses behind. She wore clothing more fitting for a prince than a princess now but not less overdecorated.

Three days in, even I started to get tired, and more than half of the route was still in front of us. She slowed us down considerably, and I had no high expectations to make it within a week.

I just hoped that nothing bad happened in the meantime.

"I simply picked the shortest route." She answered a bit later. "Why couldn't we take a cart, or at least horses though?"

After a glance at the paladin, I deduced it was my time to explain. We had this unspoken agreement to take turns entertaining the Princess. I had to do it way more often than her, but she wore a huge falchion to protect us, so I didn't want it to become my demise instead.

"Your Majesty choose a route that cuts through the Cyreneian pass. It is not accessible by cart." I said, probably for the tenth time already, adding. "Horses might have been able to climb it, but neither of us are good enough riders. It would be too dangerous. And there are no maintained stations along the way either. Or pastures to feed our mounts..."

"It's boooring. My legs hurt. They are all sore..." She kept at it. "Why not take something that flies then? Don't we have griffins or somesuch?"

"I didn't know your Highness could ride them." I tried to sound impressed to shut up this spoiled brat. "I'm too afraid to go anywhere near them or to fly in general. Princess Elizabeth must be brave if..."

"What are you, stupid?" She interrupted me. "As if Papa would let me do that... I wouldn't go near those smelly animals anyway..."

"We only have gargoyles in Sanctuary now, they don't smell," Cath added, rolling her eyes. I tried to silence her but earned a glare for myself instead. "But they need a skilled magician to fly them, and are too valuable to risk in a mission like this anyway."

"I don't think they count as animals either," I added but was ignored.

"Cath. Ugh... Carry me. I'm tired." The Princess demanded, wobbling after barely an hour of walking. This wasn't anything new either.

"I'm sorry, your Majesty. I can't carry you and protect you at the same time." Cath tried to defuse her. Her expression told me how she got fed up playing her mount in the last few days. Now that we got further away from Sanctuary we had to keep our guards up. If anything, we had to be prepared to run.

We packed food in the few Bags of Holdings we found and tried to travel as lightly as possible. If a group of monsters attacked us, our best bet was to evade them, and our gear was assembled with that in mind.

"Ugh, and I don't want that filthy coward to carry me..." The Princess jabbed at me now. "Who knows where he would try to touch me."

"I am most certainly unworthy to carry your Highness," I confirmed, trying to ignore the insulting parts. I got used to them in the last year.

"Sigh. There is nothing I can do then." She seemed to give in. "I'll walk a bit more on my own. But I hope we will stop for the day soon."

"We barely set out, your Majesty." I had to disappoint her. The only reaction I got was a disgusted glare, but I added some further explanation anyway. "We must press on as long as the sun is up."