The Horse in the Prince's Stables

Chp. 21

the art on the side was done by me, and the video is the song i listened to on repeat the whole time i was writing this (which was about ~100x)... kinda reminds me of this chapter a little bit :) i love terry he!!! (ps: the horse eye pic isn't mine, but i did photoshop the guy and tweak the photo)

and, well. i did it. i'm in the watty awards. votes and fanning is appreciated :) I can't do it without your help!

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                                                                                          =21=

=Kaelyn=

          After a few more hours of wandering in the lonely woods, we finally broke through the tree-line and found the river again. With cool water rushing down my parched throat, I could feel the energy strength coming back to me again. The two of us waded in, cleansing ourselves from the dirt and grime. 

          Now that we were back on track, Philip decided that it would be best to just camp out at this spot for the rest of the day, and start up again tomorrow. I didn't want to argue. What's another day in the forest? To express my approval I settled myself in the shade and watched him gather firewood. I wished I could help him, but at the moment my ankle was beginning to throb. Muted pin pricks of pain pulsed from the tiny holes left by the snake's fangs. Worry crept into my contented state of mind. 

          It's nothing more than pain from walking on a injured ankle, I'm sure of it... 

          I distracted myself by counting the clouds floating above me.

***

          Questions and thoughts raced endlessly through my mind. What sort of things would he want to know? Obviously he would ask what my real name was, and why I lied to him about it. I didn't know if I really wanted to answer that, at least, not why I did it. That would inevitably bring up... Alex. 

          What I truly knew of the prince... I felt fairly sure that I could trust him and be completely honest. So far he didn't show any repulsion to me, or reveal any anger emotions. Has he really thought it through yet? Once I bring this whole thing to light... How will he react? 

          I don't think I could handle his rejection.

          But in the long run, would it really matter how he would think of me? It's not as if we would ever have a chance together. Not now. It is just as he said. Everything has changed. We were never destined to have a future together anyway. I knew this would happen. Of course I let myself get carried away. 

          Was it worth it?

          I didn't know.

          Time would tell.

***

=Philip=

          I really wanted to know what she was thinking about.

          She sat there in the shade staring off into space. Hours passed and she hardly moved. I couldn't tell if perhaps our journey had exhausted her, or if she was sorting through the stuff she would reveal to me tonight. It was probably a combination of both.

          Dutifully, I set up the usual makeshift camp. I gathered dead branches for a fire, set up a few small snares not too far away and yet not too close to where we were, and brought back a small collection of berries and three edible roots. They weren't much of a meal, but at least they kept me alive. If luck stood by me tonight, some sort of creature would get itself caught in a snare before the day was done. A bit of meat would probably be good for her.