Crimson Princess and Her Fated Lover

Not Speaking

The rays from the late morning sun poured out and began drying out Serenity’s clothes. She let out a huff and heaved herself to her feet. She took notice of Leon’s apprehensive body and let out a small chuckle. “You better not start getting over protective of me now too. I'm just a little damp and a tad bit sore.” She turned to face him and smiled at him. “I’m fine, better then fine, I saved someones life.” She gave Leon a huge smile.

Leon shrugged his shoulders “I’m not the one you have to convince and I am not about to be the target of his next outburst” Leon said with a wink.

Serenity groaned in annoyance and began fixing her hair in a new bun. She swished her hands in the dry dirt and smeared it on her face. She turned to see a soldier tossing her helmet over to Leon which he then handed out to her. She grabbed the helmet and then placed it back upon her head. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. She was still pretty angry with Alex and at the moment didn’t feel like talking it out. She walked back to the road and to her horse. She glanced across to where Alex was sitting and bit her bottom lip. She turned away from him and climbed upon her horse and sat there. There was no need to continue waiting around here, so they might as well continue on with the trip.

Alexander stood up and walked to the front of everyone and hopped up on his horse. “Let’s go.” He said emotionlessly, and kicked his horse forward.

Everyone rode in silence. The gentle clopping of horses feet and the chatter of birds chirping was all that could be heard. On occasion, the company would kick up a deer and send him running or jump up some other wildlife causing it to scurry about. The sound of the river soon became faint as their paths led away from each other. The forest trees hung overhead like a canopy forming a shelter above them.

Serenity’s body was tired. She had a rough night and an exhausting morning. She never said a word and kept her composure. She was getting bored with the quiet monotonous ride. She looked to her side at Leon, who had continued to stay close by. He was like a guard dog and Serenity wasn’t thrilled with the feeling of being guarded. She decided she would feel better if she made friends with him. It was true that, although she had seen him often, they never really formed a friendship. She could see Leon was devoted to Alex, and even talked to him on a first name basis. The guy didn’t look like much to others. He was just a young man of the age of 26 and most people wouldn’t take him as a serious threat. She admitted she wouldn’t have at first glance, but she had seen his skills while fighting. The man was deadly. She was skilled with the sword as well, but Leon’s skills were more than just the sword. He was fast and acrobatic when fighting. She had wondered if he used to be an assassin, since that is what his skills reminded her of. She really didn’t know much about him, except that Alex trusted him, so she did too. “So Leon, why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself?”

Leon looked over at her and shrugged “Not much to tell. I follow the king around all day and then get stuck on babysitting duty from time to time.” He said as he grinned at her.

“I don’t need a baby sitter.” Serenity rolled her eyes, but knew he was trying to lighten the mood as well and appreciated that. “Who were you before becoming Alex’s right hand man?”

Leon furrowed his brows and became quiet. “I was someone who I don’t want to ever know again. I prefer to think of my life as starting about 6 years ago when I met Alex.”

“Alright, well lets go from there. What do you like to do for fun, what are your favorite foods?”

Leon chuckled and decided to entertain her questions. “Well, if I ever have time, I like throwing darts for fun and as for favorite food…..I’d have to say dumplings and roasted chicken.”

“Uggh, that sounds sooo good. I love food, as I’m sure you know and right now I want some good banquet dishes. I am so tired of bread and jerky and can’t wait to be able to scarf my face with good food!” Serenity was all, but drooling as she thought of food.

Leon burst out laughing “You really do love your food huh?”

Serenity laughed with him “It’s probably my biggest weakness.” The two laughed together and began talking about various things.

The noise of their laughter didn’t fall on deaf ears and Alex was getting more and more agitated at the good time the two of them were having back there. Here he was agonizing over the fact that Serenity wasn’t speaking to him and she seemed to be completely unaffected by it and having a jolly good time. He glanced back to see Serenity turn her head up laughing and that was it. He reined his horse around and rode back to where Serenity was. He turned to the other soldiers and said “Take a few minutes and rest here and get the horses some water.” He then turned to Serenity and said quietly “Come with me.” And trotted his horse away.

Serenity sighed and turned to Leon saying “Round two.” Leon gave her a sympathetic smile and she turned her horse and rode to catch up to Alex.

Alex rode a bit down the path and then off to the side in the forest. He rode far enough that they were now out of sight and couldn’t be heard, unless they really yelled. He climbed off his horse and waited as Serenity did the same. Before he could say anything Serenity spoke.

“You know what's funny? If I would have been ahead of you and you were the one who saw the little boy first, it would have been you who dove into the river to save him. That would have been fine, right? It’s okay for you to risk your life, but it isn’t okay for me.” Serenity raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms.

“Damn it, Wren, I was terrified! The thought that you could have died right before my eyes and there was nothing I could do…..I was so scared and angry that I could have lost you.”

Serenity stared at him and sighed loudly “So its okay for you. It’s okay if you risk your life and have me worried, but not visa versa.”

Alexander realized the point she was making and looked down. That was exactly how he was thinking and he realized that it wasn’t fair. He looked up at her and pulled her into his embrace for a hug. “I’m sorry for reacting like I did. You’re right, I would have done the same thing.”

Serenity wrapped her arms around him and smiled. She was glad that he was always someone who could admit when he was wrong. She leaned in to his warm embrace “Thanks, Alex.”

Alexander rested his chin on her head and smiled. He was sure that to many they had an odd relationship, but it wasn’t to him. Sure, at one point he tried to pursue a romantic relationship with her, but this was how he felt the most comfortable. He liked being her loving, overprotective brother. He would give his life for hers and knew that she felt the same way about him. She was right, if the situation was reversed, she would have been the one filled with worry, but she never would have lashed out at him the way he did to her. With that thought, he felt horrible. “I really am sorry for yelling at you.” He had always been overprotective of her and when she ended up in a situation where he was completely helpless to save her, he lost it.

Serenity squeezed Alex tightly. She really hated fighting with him and was relieved that they made up so soon. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not so fragile that I can’t withstand your tantrums.”

Alexander chuckled and then let one arm drop while keeping the other around her shoulders. “Come on lets head back. If we push it we may still make it to the Shadow Kingdom’s castle today.”

Serenity nodded and let Alex lead her back to their horses. The both mounted back up and trotted back to meet up with the others.

Leon stood up as he saw them approaching and motioned for the other soldiers to mount back up on their horses. Leon smiled as they approached and asked “So am I still on babysitting duty?”

“Unfortunately, yes. You don’t have to babysit me, but your stuck watching Alex.” Serenity joked out making Leon laugh.

“Hey now little Wren, you still need to keep character. It’s your highness, if you don’t mind.” Alexander grinned.

“No one is around. I’ll keep character when people are around. Besides….you broke character too I mean…. What king hugs another soldier?” Serenity slyly grinned. Leon burst out laughing and saw the embarrassment wash on Alexander’s face.

“Alright let’s move on. Leon take the lead.” Alexander ignored that last remark in order to save face.

Serenity and Alex continued to talk and carry on like normal. Clearly, their relationship was unchanged and their happy moods improved everyone’s morale. Hours went by, but the two of them never ran out of things to talk about. Leon halted his horse and motioned for everyone else to do the same. He reeled his horse backwards and trotted back to Alexander. “There’s horses ahead, Sire. They look to be soldiers. What do you want to do?

Alexander sighed and tried to peer ahead towards the soldiers that Leon was talking about. They were too far ahead to see what kingdom they belonged to, but they were deep in the Shadow kingdom and almost at the castle. More than likely, they were soldiers of the Shadow kingdom. “Well, in all probability, they have already noticed us. Everyone, be on guard and remember that Wren is just another fellow soldier. No matter who they are, I promised King Jordan that I wouldn’t reveal her identity until we were safe within the castle walls.” Alexander then turned his focus to Serenity “Don’t forget that you’re a guy….so no crying if you see a snake or something.” He joked.

“Pfft the only thing that would make me cry is if you ate my pastry or something.” Serenity joked back about herself.

“I’ll be taking the lead again….Leon you’re back on duty.” Alexander gave Leon a small smile and then gave him a certain look and a nod. Leon seemed to understand exactly what the look meant and answered him with an affirmative nod of his own.

Serenity watched, as Alexander rode to the front of the soldiers and continued their trek forward to the unknown soldiers. She surprisingly didn’t feel anxious over the situation and actually felt excited, knowing that they were almost there. She looked over at Leon about to start up a conversation with him, but stopped. She could see that he held a serious expression and was in an all business mode. She turned her attention back forward as they approached the soldiers. One of their soldiers rode towards them and his banner on his arm came into full view. It was that of the Shadow kingdom.