40

The horses whined, their reigns being tugged hard to get them to halt all of a sudden. The evening sky has long turned dark and soon the sun would rise again illuminating everything and making the two travelers take their first break of the night. Since leaving the inn they had gone without a stop till they crossed miles and miles of lands finally coming one stop nearer to their destination.

The town of Kareem was a small insignificant location that they had decided to take refuge in. Thankfully they had arrived here on time as per Eliana's calculations.

"Look for the blacksmith Ryes." Eliana had instructed while packing things to take for the trip. "Ask anyone for his shop. They should know."

Izabelle thought. ?

The prince got off his horse first, Stretching and cracking his bones and walking around a little. The horse too neighed as if to agree with the rider that the journey had been tiring.

Izabelle followed the prince's lead and got off. Within her view was a regular small village yet to awaken, not a soul in sight. The light would soon cover the dark sky signalling their time to wake. For now they had had to take refuge in on the border of the jungle and the small town.

"I shall stay up for a while. You should sleep. Once the hustle starts we will ask about Smith. "

Izabelle, too tired to argue, made her bed on the rough ground, putting a cloth over it, and dozed off.

*

The next time Izabelle woke up, she felt something wet and cold poking her arm. She shifted her arm, a little drowsy from sleep and not fully aware of her surroundings. A few seconds more and the poking came back.

"Clay!" A voice called out from a distance. Izabelle snapped her eyes open and shrieked when she saw a huge dog nudging her. She tried to roll away but the dog barked at her sudden shriek and she froze on spot.

"Clay!" The voice said again, no figure had yet appeared in Izabelle's vision to put a body to a voice.

"Woof!" The dog barked excitedly calling his owner over to where Izabelle was. She looked around but was disappointed. The dog moved a few steps away towards where his master was. His golden coat shined softly in the sunlight. The distance gave her a chance to sit up straight. Quickly her hand went to grab whatever she could find lying nearby, a handful of pebbles.

Carefully, not knowing if the dog would attack or not, Izabella tried to stand up.

A few feet away two horses were tied, both awake now because of the noise. Yet the prince wasn't in sight. Seeing two horses gave her a little courage. The prince mustn't be that far away, she thought.

"Why do you always run ahead without me you troublesome boy?" The dog finally left Izabelle and rushed towards the trees. Her frantical heartbeat calming down with each passing second as she took in deep breaths and sighed slightly relieved.

Her gaze followed the dog. A young man appeared from behind the trees and the dog wagged his tail happily. The man gave golden haired creature a few pet before he noticed Izabella looking at the two.

"Why, hello there," The man said with a smile. "Did you scare the poor lady Clay?"

The dog said nothing and wagged his tail looking in her direction. Izabelle studied the man ahead of her. Tall, she thought, built but not scary. Golden brown curls, much like the dog's, sat atop an angular square face with green eyes and slightly pointed ears. He wore a white top, one that had seen hard work and was greased with small holes as if from embers, paired with brown trousers and similarly worn out boots. The fact that he had seen the sun quite often showed in his face, a golden tan showed through the unwashed face marred with soot.

"I am sorry for the boy's brash behavior my lady." The man bowed and spoke in a refined tone for a commonly dressed villager.

"I wouldn't deny, he did scare me. My heart is calm now. He does not look frightening anymore." Izabelle said studying the golden creature wagging his tail oblivious to the scare he gave her. If he was human she was sure he would have been an ever smiling kid. Innocent and adorable.

"If you don't mind me asking what may you be doing in these forest all alone? It is not safe for a maiden to travel unaccompanied." The man looked at the two horses following her gaze," or in this case stay alone unprotected."

"My companion is just gone for a walk. He'll be here soon." Lying was not one of Isabelle's forte however it seemed like an appropriate response. Something she hoped was the reason for the prince's absence.

"Are you planning to come into the town Miss?" The man questioned.

"Well yes, we hoped to departure after a quick rest. We did not want to startle our host by arriving untimely." The host who was not expecting them, Belle added mentally.

"Who is your contact in the town?" The man asked curiously. Probably not used to people coming to the town often to meet someone here. Belle paused a moment wondering if she should answer the question or not. What harm would there be? Maybe the man would know his location.

"It is the Blacksmith Ryes. Would you happen to know him?" Izabelle questioned. The expression on the man's face changed, his eyes widening a little in surprise.

"Aha! You are here to meet master Ryes? No one comes to Kareem to meet him. No one usually knows of his place in Kareem to begin with. Are you a friend of his?" The man stood taller, his green eyes sparkled with with curiosity. A bright smile lit his face.

"Our friend is someone he is acquainted with. She told us where he would most likely be." Izabelle answered truthfully.

"Would you like me to take you to his workshop?" Izabelle thought for a moment at what the guy offered. The guy looked harmless and she would have the prince with her soon.

"It would be wonderful if you could lead the way. Would it not be out of your way?" The man smiled and hook his head.

"My apologies for not mentioning. I apprentice under Master Ryes. After collecting wood his workshop is where I would be headed back to." Izabelle noticed a couple of wood pieces he carried with him.

"What a pleasant surprise. I did not expect to find someone so soon who could lead us the way." She stated.

"Your companion is not back yet?" The man question. The lack of the prince was starting to to worry her too. The prince rarely wondered off alone.

"I am afraid not." Belle said looking around.

"I am yet to collect the required amount of wood. Shall I meet you back here again once my work is done? You companion would be here by then." Izabelle gave it a thought for a moment.

"Yes, if you could do that." She replied.

"How rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself," the man said annoyed at himself. "Warren Aryn at your service Miss."

"Its a pleasure to meet you Warren, I am Izabelle Edwards." Izabelle curtsied. Clay barked. "Pleasure to meet you too Clay" Izabelle said laughing

"I'll see you here again in a while Miss Edwards. Until then, farewell." Izabelle stifled the urge to giggle.

"Fare thee well too Mr. Aryn. You too Clay"

*