My Dear Damsel

Chapter 14

"What's he look like?" I ask Cherry. 

"Hm?" I guess she wasn't listening. 

Her spirits seem lifted, though—there's an extra bounce to her step that hadn't been there before, and her eyes are glittering like twin stars. 

You could get lost staring into those eyes. I was wrong—they're not just stars. They're entire constellations. 

And I am lost. She's looking at me funny now, though. With this weird smile that makes me feel all jittery. 

"Um." I say. Eloquent as always. I hate pretty girls. "Uh." 

What was I going to say?

RIGHT! Thank you, brain I previously hated. 

"The mage. What's he look like?"

Cherry winces. "Scary. He's hard to look at—always kind of... blurry? He's tall, I know. He wears a silver cloak. Blond hair. Huge scar that ruined one eye." 

"Creepy," I say. I now have an idea of what Cherry's captor looks like. "When did you learn he was evil?" 

Cherry sighs. "I don't really know. He always just seemed dark. It was like he radiated it, you know?" 

I think back to my mother—how I can recognize her footsteps and sense her coming before I see her, like that sense in your bones hinting at a coming storm. How my would-be husband, Edward, made me feel so uncomfortable. The think, sweltering presence of the man on the balcony who had intended to fo me harm.

"Yeah," I nod. "I know." 

"Can I ask you a question?" Cherry asks. 

"Sure." 

"What's the world like?" 

"Huh?" I look at her. There's hope etched into her face, wonder and longing. 

I don't know. I don't know how to explain what the world's like. It's so huge, so vast, so divided... 

And it's cruel. Not necessarily to me—I'm a princess. If  was back at the palace, anything I wanted would be a command away. But I've seem the poverty in my kingdom and others. Some people are born with nothing, live with nothing, die with nothing. 

But how do I tell Cherry that? She's spent her entire life contained within not more than a couple square feet. 

"It depends on where you are," I tell her eventually. "Some parts are different from others. The part where I'm from... it's a nice place, for the most part. Just not great for me." 

I cut myself off before I reveal too much, which is definitely a problem. I want to trust Cherry. I want to be able to tell her about myself. But she doesn't even know my real name. And I don't want to tell it to her, because...

Well. I don't really have a single justifiable answer. 

I mean, I'm into her. Definitely, one hundred percent into her. Which is... not great. But there's no way she's into me. There's absolutely no way she'd be into me if she finds out that I'm a girl. 

Girls aren't supposed to like other girls like that. I'm supposed to get married lovelessly and squeeze out some old creep's children. Which is dumb, but how this world works. 

"Where is your place?" Cherry asks. 

I frown. I don't like that question. I... "I don't know," I answer truthfully. "Not everyone has a place, I guess."

"Oh," Cherry says. She's quiet for a bit. 

The forest's gone from evergreens to birch, oak, and apple trees. We rest for a couple minutes and pick the red and yellow fruits from the low, canopy-like branches. 

I bite into the crisp apple, juice bursting across my tongue. Even relaxing for a couple minutes, anxiety's starting to creep up on me. Rustling from the wind or small animals stirring up the leaves send shivers up and down my spine. I close my eyes, and when I open them I nearly have a mini heart attack because there's a stick lying in the path. 

My back still hurts, bad. I can walk normally if I ignore the pain. I dunno how much of the damage is magical versus physical, but both of those suck. 

"You okay?" Cherry asks me. 

"Oh. I—yeah." I take a deep breath. That's the other reason I can't enjoy relaxing anymore—relaxing means alone time with thoughts, and right now my thoughts are less than friendly. 

"Does your back still hurt?" 

"A bit." A jolt of pain shoots through me, causing me to wince. She looks at me, accusing. "Okay, fine. A lot." 

"You seem on edge."

"We're being tracked by a pair of snakes that you had to pull out of my spine." I reply. A thought occurs to me. "You don't..." 

I don't like these words. They taste bitter. "You don't need me. The snakes are tracking me, not you. You'd be fine without me." 

Her mouth opens. Shuts. There's an expression there... I don't know how to decipher it. 

"No!" She says, and I'm knocked a bit off guard by the emotion in her voice. What does it... 

"Arion, I can't—you can't—we have to stay together! You rescued me, and you have the sword, and I still need to learn how to live life, and—"

"...and?" I ask softly. Tentatively. 

Sparks? Electricity? There's something here. I don't know exactly what it is, but it's simultaneously terrifying and exhilarating. 

She shakes her head. "You're not going anywhere." 

"Okay," I find myself agreeing. Even though it's the wrong move. Even though it's the dumb move. Even though it's the move that could very easily get us both killed.

Though... I don't really have a set future anymore, do I? Home's no longer an option, and since they're no Ree either, I'm alone. Except for Cherry. 

So we're two lost beings twined together by circumstance and panic. That's less lonely.

The sparks fade, and I go from a being of pure energy to a regular human girl who's been awkwardly stuffed into men's armour. 

Silence again, but it's different this time. Maybe the sparks didn't fade. Maybe they're just a bit subtler now. Either way, I can't stop looking at her. We both look and smell like death, but that doesn't make me want to put space between us. 

Cherry clears her throat. "We should probably get going," she says. 

"Yeah," I agree. 

So we continue walking to nowhere.