The Last Princess

Chapter 46

I groaned.

Really, Aiden was terrible. He was impossible to wake up. Then again, given what he said about me being hard to wake up, we were quite a pair. The only difference was that I actually got up. His family members were also right about him not being able to wake up early to save his life.

I shook him again. So far, I'd tickled his feet, shaken him roughly, shouted in his ear...all to no avail. I flopped down.

 I was actually contemplating leaving him to go find someone else.

"Aiden!" I yelled.

He grunted.

"Aiden, wake up!" My hand lingered over his hair, because I was wondering if I should try pulling it out. Luckily, I did't have to. He groaned, and his eyes suddenly shot open. "What's going on?" "We have to go! And you really can't wake up." I responded, exasperated.

He stood up and yawned. "Well, let's go then." He started striding forward. "Wait! Where are we going? And how long are we going to be in here?" I asked, tired of him not telling me anything. "Just a bit more, then we're back on the ground."

Sure enough, I felt the ground sloping back upwards.

An hour later, he turned back. "Here we are, Princess!" The tunnel opened up at the top to bright sunlight. I was sweaty, muddy, and tired. "That was your definition of just a little bit?" His grin disappeared. "It wasn't that long, you know." "So you say." I hoisted myself up and out of the hole, though my poor arms could barely support me.

I heard him grumbling behind me as he pulled himself up. The sun showed it was late afternoon, and there were trees all around. It was a relief after being cooped up in that stifling tunnel. Without a word, Aiden pushed past me, walking forward, with no indication of where we were going. Again.

"Can you at least tell me how long it'll take now to reach?" I called after him. "Probably another day or so." He answered, without turning back. I groaned inwardly. Another day? We'd already been going for...three and a half days, by my calculations. Almost four days. And Aiden was not exactly the ideal partner to take on a journey. Yes, he'd looked after me, and protected me, but he didn't think it was worth his time to give me any directions. He just expected me to follow him blindly.

I walked faster, catching up to him, so we were walking side by side. The least he could do was at least walk with me, right? We walked in silence, and it was a long time before I spoke, in an attempt to break the silence. "So, Aiden, can you use anything more than air? You know in the kind of magic the rebels do?"

He glanced at me once, like he was wondering whether to stay angry or let it go. He must've decided it wasn't worth holding the grudge, because he answered. "Of course, I can, but air is my best. The easiest thing for me to use."

"Like water is for me?"

"Yeah, I guess." "Because I wasn't able to move that leaf or anything when your father tried to teach me. But I could use the water easily." He grunted. "Is it hard for you too?" I asked, trying to get his attention off of his family, who I could tell he was thinking about, and I could also tell that it saddened him.

It worked.

"Nothing is hard for me, Princess." He said, grinning at me. I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, sure." We spent the time teasing each other as we walked, and I felt my irritation slipping away.

Aiden was quite funny when he wanted to be.