Chapter Eight: Rose

With no other choice, Rose followed the bandit deeper into the cave. When the cavern widened out, they came upon a gathering of supplies tucked under a boulder. ‘Good fortune. Everything is still here.’ Shen picked up a leather sack, removing two apples and a hunk of crusty bread. ‘Ha! And no insects got to it this time!’

Rose’s stomach growled. By now, she was so ravenous she didn’t care that the bread was starting to go stale and the apples were small and mealy. Shen pulled out some tough pieces of dried meat and bit into one with gusto. ‘Lamb strips are my favourite. They taste great and last forever.’

He offered one to her.

‘I’m surprised you didn’t say it was made from special desert lambs.’ Rose held the piece of lamb between her thumb and forefinger as she inspected it. ‘When you say it lasts forever, exactly how long has this piece of meat been rotting in that bag?’

‘Just try a bite.’

She nibbled a bit. ‘Chewy but … very flavourful. I’ll give you that. Though I don’t think I’ll be requesting it from the Anadawn cooks any time soon.’ Her face suddenly fell. ‘Oh. The cooks. They’ll be missing me. Most evenings, I go down to the kitchens to try a bit of Cam’s newest creation. He’s the most wonderful baker. He’s always trying new recipes. Lately, he’s been working on a Gevran ice cake, and oh, the trouble he’s having with it.’ She smiled at the memory. Some of Rose’s happiest days at Anadawn were spent in its warm kitchens, laughing away the hours with Cam and Celeste. In bed at night, her hair often smelled like icing sugar and she would fall asleep dreaming of sweet spices from faraway villages. ‘He’ll get it right though. He always does.’

Shen frowned. ‘I’m surprised Gevrans even have desserts. Doesn’t their brutal king hate everything?’

‘Watch your tongue,’ said Rose, hurtling back out of the memory. ‘I’m betrothed to the brother of that brutal king.’

Shen spat out a piece of lamb. ‘You’re BETROTHED?’

‘Goodness me. Calm yourself, bandit. Of course I’m betrothed.’ Rose tossed her tangled hair, with mild frustration. If only she had a brush with her to make it shine. ‘Do you really think me so ineligible?’

Shen looked as if he was about to keel over. He sank slowly to the ground.

‘I’m a princess,’ she went on, smoothing her hopelessly wrinkled nightgown. ‘Marrying ourselves to other nations for the betterment of our own is what we do.’

Rose had long known that youth and beauty were her true power. Willem had taught her that early on. He had been planning her betrothal for as long as she could remember, rifling through potential suitors who would be kind to her and to her kingdom, preparing for the day when she would marry for the good of Eana, and have a strong consort by her side to help her rule.

‘Wait.’ Shen was still trying to make sense of it. ‘Who exactly are you marrying?’

‘Prince Ansel Felsing, brother to the king of Gevra.’ Rose perched on a boulder, relishing the sight of Shen’s deepening frown. Though she couldn’t quite figure out why, she sensed she had gained the upper hand. ‘I am very lucky to be so well matched.’

She smiled to herself, thinking of the prince. How his blue eyes widened whenever he looked at her – as though she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Rose had loved his easy warmth on their first date and how gingerly he’d held her hand, asking questions about her childhood and laughing at her jokes. She had suspected from his letters that he would make an amenable match, but now that they had finally met each other in person, Rose could imagine them having quite a nice life together.

‘I didn’t even know the king had a brother,’ said Shen. ‘Why aren’t you marrying Alarik?’

‘Because I am in love with Ansel,’ said Rose, hotly. ‘The prince is a prize in his own right. And anyway, Alarik has made it quite clear he is not seeking a bride. His thoughts are on other matters.’

‘Such as war, no doubt.’

Rose ignored him. ‘With the might of the Gevran army at my beckoning, Eana will be the strongest it has ever been.’ She watched Shen squirm, smiling like a satisfied cat. It seemed he was finally starting to regret kidnapping her. ‘And Ansel and I will live happily ever after.’

Shen kicked his legs out, disturbing a cloud of golden dust. ‘You seem very certain about that.’

‘The moment I met him, I knew we were destined to be together.’

‘Have you even met any other men?’

‘Of course I have, you brute! I am not as cloistered as you seem to think.’

‘Name someone you’ve met outside the palace walls,’ said Shen. And don’t just make up a name.’

Rose threw him a withering look. ‘Marino Pegasi,’ she said, primly. ‘And I assure you, he is as real as my disdain for you. Marino is the brother of my best friend, Celeste. A wealthy merchant sailor, and quite a handsome one at that.’

Shen snorted. ‘And what does that have to do with anything?’

‘Well, if I were the type to simply fall in love for no reason, which you are implying, I surely would have fallen for Marino for his good looks alone.’ She lowered her voice, as if she were telling Shen a secret. ‘I think many women already have. Celeste has seen them up at Wishbone Bay, parading along the dock in their best dresses, waiting for his ship to come in. It drives her mad, of course.’

‘I’m sure he enjoys it well enough,’ said Shen, thoughtfully. ‘But we aren’t talking about this dreamy Marino. We’re talking about your prince.’

‘I assure you, Ansel has many virtues.’ Rose smiled as she recalled the prince’s bright blue eyes and long lashes. ‘Firstly, he is very well mannered,’ she said, pointedly. And he understands what it means to be truly royal. To grow up with a hundred pairs of eyes on you at all times. To feel lonely, even when you’re surrounded by people. He cares very much for me. I can’t imagine I’ll ever meet anyone who makes me feel so adored. And he loses graciously at chess.’ Shen was infuriatingly silent, waiting for more. Rose frowned, trying to think of what else she loved about Ansel. ‘His hair shines like gold in the sunshine. And … and he dresses impeccably.’

‘Hmm,’ was all Shen said.

She huffed a sigh. ‘Not that I even care what you think, but what do you know of love, Shen Lo?’

‘Clearly not as much as you, Princess.’ He rolled to his feet. ‘My best wishes to you and your groom.’ He muttered to himself as he paced the cavern. ‘Gevra … Gevra … Good luck with that, Wren.’

Rose’s ears pricked up. ‘Who is Wren?’

Shen spun around. ‘Shen,’ he said, quickly. ‘I said, “Good luck with that, Shen.”’

‘Are you feeling frightened, bandit?’ Rose revelled in her sudden rush of triumph. After all, it’s no small task to face the entire Gevran army on your own.’

He stared down at her, a smirk twitching on his lips. ‘I suspect they wouldn’t last a day in the desert. They’d surely melt.’

Exasperated with his smugness, Rose threw her piece of lamb at him. ‘Take your rotten mutton meat. I don’t want it.’

Shen caught it with ease. All the more for me,’ he said, tossing it in his mouth. And perhaps I was being too nice by sharing. We’re not friends. Better for you to remember that.’

‘You forget yourself, Shen Lo of the Desert.’ Rose’s words hung heavy with scorn. ‘I may be dependent on you now, but it would behove you to remember who truly holds the power between us.’

She fixed him with a stare so withering, he broke eye contact.

He began to rifle through his pile of supplies. ‘We need to sleep. It’s too hot to ride.’ He tossed her what looked like ragged bedclothes.

Rose batted it away from her. ‘What is that supposed to be?’

‘It’s your bedroll, my lady,’ said Shen, with an exaggerated bow.

‘It’s Your Highness,’ Rose corrected him. ‘And I’m not sleeping on a bunch of rags!’

‘It’s that or the cave floor, Your Highness.’

Rose was certain that nobody had ever hissed her title at her quite like that and she found she did not care for it. She cleared her throat. And where am I supposed to lay my head?’

‘You’ve got your pick of any spot in the cave. I’m going to go right here though.’ Shen unfurled his bedroll. A spider skittered out of it. Rose bit back a shriek.

She couldn’t sleep close to the bandit; it would be entirely improper. But she didn’t want to stray too far from him either. She couldn’t be alone in a cave that was covered in witch markings.

‘I’ll go … right here.’ She unfurled her bedroll on the other side of the boulder. Witch markings stared down at her from the wall. She shivered and sat up.

‘Actually, I’ll go here.’ She scooted back around to where she could see Shen but was still several feet away from him. She felt grateful for the cloak now. As smelly and rough as it was, it worked perfectly as a blanket.

‘Sleep well, Princess,’ said Shen, with a yawn.

Rose had no intention of sleeping. She was going to wait until he fell asleep and then she would take his horse and return to Anadawn, leaving him to his stale bread and stringy mutton. She could see the map of Eana in her mind, the rolling Ganyeve wide and golden in its centre. Rose didn’t know it the way the bandit did, but if she chose a direction and rode for long enough, she knew she would find her way out eventually.

She rolled on to her side and made a show of yawning and stretching. She would use this time to calm herself, she thought, as she closed her eyes and softly hummed the tune to her favourite Eana waltz, imagining herself dancing with her darling Ansel. Step, glide, twirl … She ignored Shen chuckling to himself across the cave. He’d be asleep in moments and then she’d be gone, back to her palace where she belonged. Her humming quietened … Step, glide, twirl, one more imaginary waltz and then surely Shen would be asleep … Step, glide, twirl…

Rose jerked awake. The cave was lit up in dusty pinks and oranges, which meant that somewhere outside, the sun was setting.

Hours had passed.

Oh, crumbs!

She must have been more exhausted than she’d realized. But that was no excuse. She had almost squandered her only opportunity to escape …

Thankfully, Shen’s snores were rattling through the little cavern. The bandit was still fast asleep.

I’m a fool but a lucky one.

Rose scrabbled to her feet. As she crept past the slumbering bandit, she noticed he had taken his shoes off. Well. Only a fool would venture out into the desert without shoes. She bent down, and then paused mid-reach. She was already taking the horse. It would be cruel to leave him to wander the desert barefoot. It was the queenly thing to do, she decided, to leave him his shoes. And she’d spare his life as well. A fine trade for a fine horse.

Storm was sleeping near the cave entrance.

‘Wake up,’ Rose whispered in the horse’s ear.

Storm snorted, and kept sleeping. Rose prodded her in the side. Storm’s eyes flew open. She whinnied in alarm.

‘Shush, shush, don’t be frightened!’ hissed Rose. ‘You know me, remember? I’m your princess.’

Storm only whinnied louder.

‘I watched you consider taking my shoes,’ came a voice from behind her. Rose’s heart dropped. ‘I’ll admit I was surprised when you left them. Rather polite of you. You know what isn’t polite? Horse thievery.’

‘Neither is kidnapping,’ said Rose. And you can hardly blame me for trying to escape.’ She looked out at the desert, where the sands shifted like golden waves.

‘So, you were attempting to steal my horse and run off while I was asleep.’

‘You are mistaken on one crucial point.’ Rose turned to glare at him. ‘I’m soon to be Queen of this land. I don’t need to steal anything.’

‘You Valharts do have a tendency to just take what you want and claim it for your own.’

‘I am Eana,’ Rose reminded him. And Eana is me. I could no more steal from my own country than I could steal my own ear.’

‘Yes, yes, so you’ve said. It all belongs to you. Except this horse. This horse belongs to me.’ Shen whistled and Storm was instantly on her feet. He leaped on to her back in one fluid motion and twisted to look down at Rose.

‘Well? Are you coming?’

She scowled at him. They both knew if she stayed in this cave she’d die, and she couldn’t roam the desert on foot. ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’ll tell you when we get there.’

‘That’s hardly a compromise.’

Shen’s smile was lazy. ‘I’m the one on the horse. I don’t have to compromise.’

Rose’s scowl deepened. ‘Perhaps I’ll feed you that same line when you find yourself in the Anadawn dungeons.’

‘Well, as we’re not currently in Anadawn, I don’t need to worry about that, do I?’ He clicked his teeth and Storm began to amble away from the caves. He looked over his shoulder, his brown eyes molten in the setting sun. ‘Last chance to join me.’

Rose knew she would be safer with the bandit than on her own in the desert. And surely they would reach some sign of civilization soon. Once they did, she would leap off the horse and scream for help and then, oh, then, Shen Lo would be sorry.

She started after him. ‘I will return to my throne. And my beloved.’

‘Not tonight, Princess,’ he said, the horse slowing.

But soon, thought Rose, as she clambered on.

‘You know,’ said Shen, once Storm began to pick up pace, ‘you’re more spirited than I thought you’d be. Especially for a princess.’

Rose glanced at him over her shoulder. ‘How many princesses do you know?’

He laughed, the sound rumbling through his chest and into her. It made her heart flutter in a way that was not entirely unpleasant. ‘You’re braver than I thought, too. Or at least you’re trying to be.’ His voice was close to her ear, his breath warm on her skin. Rose swallowed. ‘I can’t help but admire that.’

‘Oh, to be admired by a shameless, kidnapping bandit,’ she said, dryly, and when he laughed again, it sent another burst of warmth through her that had nothing to do with the heat. ‘Then again, I suppose you’re not as awful as I expected.’

‘Does that mean you find me … tolerable?’

Rose could hear the smirk in his voice. ‘I’d like you a lot more if you took me home,’ she huffed.

‘Since we’ve already established why I can’t do that, how about I promise to make the rest of our journey as tolerable as possible?’ He dropped his voice to a whisper. ‘You never know, Princess, you might enjoy yourself.’

Beyond the caves, the setting sun painted the desert in a blaze of colours, the shifting sands shimmering like an ocean of violet and gold. It was not a soft beauty like the manicured gardens of Anadawn. Or even a wild beauty like the woods beyond. It was a sharp, fierce beauty that pierced Rose’s heart and reminded her how big the island of Eana truly was, and how little of it she had seen.

‘I most certainly will not,’ she said, grateful he couldn’t see the smile that belied her words.

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