Bonded

Chapter 29

The Princess had flown pigeons to her father as soon as they had settled down from the journey and waited for his reply pensively. Unfortunately the sky showed no sign of the bird's return. Jza's attention was towards the clear skies every morning without fail but she turned back disappointed. She had no way of the knowing whether the troop of escapees had reached King Samuel's terrain. She also longed to know which way the tides of the battle had turned. There was no sign that King Samuel had even received her correspondence to her dismay. The waiting was more grueling than the farm tasks she assigned herself which enabled her to watch Tarquin covertly. 

There was an aggitated silence between the royal pair that weighed upon the atmosphere heavily. The other men noticed the frosty air and avoided conversing when both of them were in the vicinity. Tarquin who had not left the Princess' side for most of the journey now found work to be dealt with as far as he could away from her in their modest surroundings. 

Jza watched him learn a new task with hooded eyes from her hiding place. He was a fast learner but clearly unused to the drudgery of farm life. She had warned her men the prisoner was not to indulge in any manual labour due to his injuries and they warded off his efforts to help them clean up the farm. Hyacinth had managed to wrangle the Lord into milking the cows. He followed her instructions with a very grim expression on his face but kept what he thought of the process behind sealed lips. 

Jza wanted to take him by the arms and shake him into spilling the secrets he hid behind those very lips. She could feel his voice echoing in her head taunting her for her ignorance. She felt the tips of her fingers just right there at the feet of the truth that kept fleeing away from her leaving her chest hollow. 

As she sat in the dark cleaning farm machinery the wooden barn door slammed open leading in very red faced men.


"Is it the Somerlians?" She asked, throwing iron wool at her feet. 

"No, no, it's our banner. They must have come for us."


"It's father," Jza pushed the doors open and ran into the dusty courtyard. The dust swirled around the incoming horses leaving her coughing but she did not care. Even many years after that fated day she did not know how she had guessed it was her father leading the troop. Perhaps she knew the King well enough to be certain that seeing to his daughters' safety was paramount.



"Jza, my daughter. Is this but a dream? I thought I was parted from you forever," The King cried out as he jumped to the ground unsteadily. 

 

Jza's father looked like he had aged many years in a span of a few months. His hair was overgrown and he had hollows under his eyes his vanity would never have allowed before the war. Her eyes raced over his body and found no injuries worth worrying about although the slight limp was unpleasant to see. Jza flung herself into her father's arms. 

"I missed you dearly," Her voice muffled into his shoulders, her eyes dampening his navy shirt. 

"I am unsure what this new update is all about?" King's Samuel's voice was made of iron as he watched Tarquin trail out behind the rest of the group. The royal sword was out of its sheath as soon as the Somerlian reached them while he kept Jza tucked firmly under his chin. The Princess placed a firm hand on her father's sword and lowered it. Her father complied her request as he watched her wan face.
The girl gestured towards one of the empty barns and both men followed her lead quietly. They entered the room which she closed on the puzzled faces of their subjects who attempted to follow. 

Jza was suddenly stricken by how much taller Tarquin was than her father. It was odd how her impression of both men caused the disparity in truth. Her father's strength of character had made him loom all over his subjects while Tarquin's false claim to the throne had made her size him up unfavourably. It did not help the Somerlians were on average a tall race and upon their first meeting she had seen Tarquin alongside with Vladimir who simply dwarfed most men including his Lord.