Prologue~Ch. 1~Ch. 2~Ch. 3~Ch. 4~Ch. 5~Ch. 6~Ch. 7~Ch. 8~Ch. 9~Ch. 10~
Ch. 11~Ch. 12~Ch. 13~Ch. 14~Ch. 15~Ch. 16~Ch. 17~Ch. 18~Ch. 19~Ch. 20
Ch. 21~Ch. 22~Ch. 23~Ch. 24~~Ch. 25~Ch. 26~Ch. 27~
Jessica was enjoying her time with Alexandre so much that it was with surprise she saw one of the servers threading their way through the crowd, lighting thick candles on the tables and torches set on stakes around the perimeter of the tavern.
“I didn’t realize it was getting so late,” she said. “I guess we should be getting back, Ewan’s probably wondering where I’ve wandered off to.”
If Alexandre suddenly plummeted at the mention of Ewan, she didn’t seem to notice. They were both a little tipsy from the amount of mead they consumed, but made it back to Jessica’s tent without tripping over anything – or any one.
As she expected, Ewan was pacing back and forth in front of her tent. He stopped when he spotted them and stood waiting with his arms folded across his chest.
“Uh, oh. Looks like we’re in trouble,” Jessica said with a tiny giggle.
“Mayhap thee art not what thee pretends. Shouldst there be aught to have me believe otherwise, I will with all haste finish what the king began ten years ago,” he said in a clipped tone to Alexandre.
“Forgive me, my lord, I—”
Jessica stepped in between the two men. “It was my fault. I’ve heard of mead before, but I’ve never had the chance to try it. I gotta say, it really packs a punch, know what I mean?”
Ewan looked over her head at Alexandre. “You are dismissed, minstrel.”
Without looking at Jessica, Alexandre bowed and made a hasty retreat.
“Hey!” Jessica smacked Ewan on the chest. “That was downright rude!” She didn’t like the way he was glaring at Alexandre either.
Ewan gave himself a little shake, and the look he gave her was one of complete contrition. He took her hands in his and sank to one knee. “Please forgive me, my lady. I was but overcome with fear for thy safety. Tis perilous times we abide in.”
“I guess I could have let someone know where I was,” she said, just a little grudgingly. “Or at least paid better attention to the passing time. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
“Then let us speak no more of it,” he said, rising to his feet again. “We shalt dine and make merry, and our cares wilt be no more.”
Jessica would rather of spoken more about the way he treated Alexandre, but Ewan was already leading her into the tent and summoning his pages. Maybe it was just the mead, but he didn’t seem quite as princely as he had before.
Sensing something of her mood, Ewan put himself out to be more charming than ever that evening. He plied her with wine and flattery and fine food until Jessica forgot she was annoyed with him and he was once again her shining hero.
At the end of the evening he paused by the flap of her tent and for a heart-stopping moment Jessica thought he was about to kiss her. However he only kissed her hand, as usual. She tried not to appear disappointed.
“My lady, ‘twould give me great joy if thee wouldst consent to accompany me on a ride on the morrow.”
“That would be wonderful,” she said dreamily.
“I shalt sleep and dream of thee,” he said.
He kissed her hand again and closed the tent flap behind him. Jessica sighed, a sappy smile on her face as she turned away to get ready for bed. While she put up with Eleanor helping her get dressed in the morning, she refused to have help getting her nightgown on.
“Did I just hear you agree to go for a ride tomorrow?” Howard’s voice broke into her haze of happiness.
“Yes you did. A ride with a prince.”
“You do know that a ride means horses, don’t you?”
Jessica frowned as she started unlacing her jerkin. “So?”
“Have you ever been on a horse?”
“Sure I have!” she said defensively.
“The pony ride in Harrison Park when you were ten doesn’t count,” Howard said dryly.
“I’ve watched plenty of Westerns, how hard could it be?” Her voice was slightly muffled as she pulled a voluminous nightgown over her head.
“I don’t even know where to start with that one,” he said with a sigh.
“Listen, Howard, there’s something else. I got Gareth and Alexandre to show me the battlefield—”
“You what?” His voice rose an octave.
“Chill! We were perfectly safe. Anyway, it was really weird . . .”
“How so?”
“Well, this monster army everyone’s so worked up about? I watched Ewan lead a charge against them – they just appeared out of no where and cut his army up bad before he finally retreated again. But the really weird part? I could see right through them.”
“What do you mean, see through them?”
“Exactly what I said. It’s like they were projections, or ghosts, or—”
“Or illusions,” Howard said thoughtfully.
“Yeah. But the thing is, no one else seemed to realize it.” Jessica pulled down the covers on the bed and removed the warming pan. Damn, she could get used to this.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m sure. But how come I can see through these things and no one else can?”
“Probably because of your magical abilities.”
“Really? So you think I’d be, like, immune to these things? I mean, I can see right through them so they can’t hurt me, right?”
“I don’t know Jess, I’ll look into it and see what I can find out. Promise me you’ll stay away from them until I do.”
“Sure thing, Howard.” She yawned and climbed into bed. “Maybe we can use this as a way to help Ewan get his castle back.”
“I don’t know about that, Jess. But I’ll look into it.”
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