Being the intended mate of a royal is the duty of a lifetime.
To Princess Peregrine duty is everything. From the day she was born she was groomed to save her realm from extinction. With a lineage like hers, she was destined for one thing and that is...
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We are two days into our journey toward the edge of the Sky Realm. Apparently King Raven had a hunting lodge that he would retreat to there. He had told his advisors that is where he was taking me. Apparently we needed to have some time to get to know each other better without the stress of the kingdom.
When I had asked him if he thought they actually believed him he had shrugged. To him it did not matter because any excuse was better than what has actually happened. He was not wrong with that thought at all.
Before we had left the inn I had tried to probe him into telling me just what he had meant when he understood Timber and my circumstance. His gaze had turned hard and he had changed to subject, seemingly not wanting to delve into the matter farther. That was okay though, my mind had already been made. I was leaving with him regardless of what he had been through or not.
Timber and I had agreed he would stay in our room, knowing it would be hard on both of us if he watched me leave. As per his usual self, Timber had not listened. He had come to the door and leaned on the frame like a mortally wounded creature as he watched us depart.
The deafening howl I had heard just moments after that has replayed over and over again throughout my mind. I had caused him that pain; caused the pain of my mate. A part of me had broken after that.
Through our trek through the Mountain Realm I have stayed quiet the majority of the time. King Raven would try and make small talk here and there but I was hardly able to reciprocate. We had rode day and night, only stopping to let the horses rest as I could not find any myself.
When King Raven had told me we should make camp I refused. I just wanted to be as far away from the Mountain Realm as possible. I wanted to be away from the cold, dead feeling inside of me. The arctic temperatures barely affected me compared to the inner despair I was feeling.
My inner-bird felt locked in a caged, like she would never be set free again. And she mourned her freedom desperately, as I did. We mourned the loss our mate together woefully as well and it did not go unnoticed by the king.
Though King Raven said nothing about it at all he would give me a sympathetic glance every now and again. It had made me curious as to why. He had hinted at having his own similar experience and maybe that was why he was so forgiving. Any other king would have had Timber and I imprisoned for the rest of our lives.
"We are nearly there. We have made great time since we have barely stopped." I do not say anything in response. "See there, that is the edge of the Sky Realm." I remain silent still as our horses continue to make their way toward it. "You know, at some point it would be nice to have a real conversation with you."
"What would that entail would you say?" My words are aimed at his back as he rides in front of me. "Would that entail you telling me how you are going to destroy the bond I have created with the man I love again or would it be more along the lines of trying to impregnate me repetitively so that our kingdom will have heirs?"
