Chapter 13 - Idynn

The scarred nose, the black hair, that voice—yes, it was Shen!

When I blurted her name, the guard promptly dropped her waterskin. Water sloshed from the open mouth onto the dirt floor, mixing into mud.

'Oh, I'm sorry!' I picked it up and handed it to her. The waterskin was empty and its precious contents seeped into the ground. 'I could refill this for you if there's a river nearby—'

I stopped myself. I wasn't a maid any longer, but these were old habits. 'Sorry,' I said again.

'Don't worry, My Lady. Look.' Shen closed the waterskin and shook it. The liquid sloshed and the waterskin seemed to grow heavy, and she opened and showed it to me. It was full—infused with small magic! Sonera must be wealthier than I thought if such a complex charm was in the hands of a lowly guard.

'And yes, my name is Shen,' she said, wetting the cloth with the newly refilled waterskin.

'I thought you were a Navhëlm guard!'

There was a spark in her eye. 'I would have told you, My Lady, if only you had asked.'

My cheeks burned as I thought about how close we had come, how she had handed me Mirea's tiara.

She looked slightly sheepish at my reaction. 'Though I did nothing to discourage the assumption. Forgive me.'

I nodded, still a little embarrassed.

Shen's face broke into a smile. I blinked, looking at her properly. Her eyes and mouth were like Safine's, so she must be from Yihe. I remembered the scar across her nose, but there was one that cut over the left side of her lip and one, more jagged and uneven, that began on her cheek, crossed her face, and disappeared under her chin.

She couldn't have been much older than me. What kind of fights could she have gotten into to have so many scars?

'My Lady?' Shen cleared her throat and held out a hand.

Ah, right. I let her clean the blood on my forearm. When she was finished, she looked at me expectantly.

Oh, Hells. There was still blood on my face, wasn't there? I touched a hand to my forehead and felt dried blood. But to clean that wound, Shen would have to come closer.

And I was married.

The thought hit me out of nowhere. I felt dizzy. It was nothing to be worried about, but what if the Prince caught us and misunderstood? What if I… 'Um, i-it's alright. If you leave the kit here, I can—'

It earned a shrug from her. 'His Highness insisted, My Lady. I can be gentle. I promise it won't hurt.'

That was not what I was worried about. Still, if it was the will of the Prince, it would be rude of me to turn him down.

I nodded, hesitant, moving closer to the edge of my cot. Shen sat mere inches by my side and adjusted herself to face me.

She was taller than me, even sitting down.

'Forgive me, My Lady. I promise it will be over soon.' Her fingers tucked the loose strands of my hair behind my ear. She reached for the wet cloth.

It was cold against my forehead, and I inhaled sharply.

'Sorry.' Shen stopped and looked at me concernedly. 'How bad is it?'

'It's just cold. Keep going, please.'

Her eyes softened. 'I see. Would this help?'

She reached her other hand up to cup my cheek. Her palms were warm. Heat bloomed through my body.

Within the same day, I'd had my face touched by more people than I had in a year. I didn't mean to, but my eyelids fluttered shut. It didn't feel right to enjoy it.

Shen cleaned the cut on my head. There was no glass in it, and I had probably bumped it against the carriage door when it bounced around. When she was finished, she applied the healing salve and left a layer of gauze on the cut.

'There we go,' came her murmur. Only then did I allow myself to open my eyes. Shen sat back, looking pleased.

She packed up the medicine kit and placed it on the floor. As she opened the tent flap, she stopped, turned around and said, 'My Lady, could I ask you something?'

I tilted my head inquisitively at her.

Shen continued. 'When I reached your carriage, your maid called you 'Idynn'?'

SAFINE. I hid my shock behind what I hope came out as an embarrassed laugh. 'It's nothing, just a nickname she had for me when I was a child.'

'Oh.' Shen nodded, satisfied. 'Rest well then, My Lady. I will leave the kit here should you need it again.'

'Thank you, Shen.' I smiled as gracious a smile I could muster.

Once she left and the tent flap closed, I flopped onto my cot and sighed. That was close. Well, the bright side of it was that Safine at least cared a little about me. Speaking of, she should be returning soon. Maybe I could tease her about nearly revealing my identity.

I meant to stay awake, but the events of the day soon overcame me. I fell asleep to the sound of crickets chirping in the night. The next day brought a surprise. After freshening up and eating Navhëlm rations for breakfast, Shen found Safine and I.

'My Lady, His Highness has requested for you to ride in his carriage.'

Ah. The old carriage had been stripped, all of the cargo it held transferred to the other carriages while any part of it that burned had gone to the roaring campfire of the night before. I thought hopelessly about reassembling that destroyed carriage from bits of charred wood.

There was no avoiding it. Sooner or later, I would have to interact with him for longer than the fifteen minutes we spent together at the wedding.

At least Safine would be with me.

When I told her about the events of the night before, she admitted to accidentally using my real name (which I was alright with, given that Shen believed my story) but completely denied being concerned about me (which hurt, just a little).

Arrow marks pocked the outside of the Prince's carriage, evidence of yesterday's fight. There was a suspicious-looking stain on one of the back wheels.

Shen opened the door and helped me inside.

The inside of the carriage was dark. Drapes covered the windows and kept the Prince in shadow. Prince Adenos propped his elbow on the sill, the back of his knuckles pressed to his closed mouth, and was staring at a gap in the small drapes.

He barely spared me and Safine a glance as we came in.

'Your Highness,' we greeted him. Only then did he nod at us then almost instantly resume looking outside.

It would be a long ride to Sonera. I could not spend all of it avoiding my husband.