Call of Ring(Compleled)

20 Unlikely Friend

Blake cautiously approached the stream, trying to conceal himself as much as possible behind surrounding bushes, one at a time. As he came closer, the voices grew louder. It sounded like a small party of three, four, maybe five at the most. One voice was definitely a woman’s. Blake stopped, knowing he couldn’t get any closer without being detected. He decided to listen in on the conversation, hoping to glean some clues as to whether he would be in danger or not.

“We’ll have to find a place to spend the night within the next two hours, unless you want to spend the night here, my esteemed Princess?”

“No, we must continue the journey. We’ll find shelter later on,” came words from the woman.

“A princess?” Blake almost said out loud.

His thoughts once again wandered. “Why does her voice sound so familiar?”

Blake had miraculously received mercy from royalty before at the hands of King Adelai. Maybe he would also receive mercy at the hands of this unknown princess if he surrendered. Blake decided this was the best course of action.

Slowly, he emerged from behind a large bush, only a few yards from the water, and from the voices whose faces he had not yet seen.

“I announce my presence in peace,” he said as confidently as he could.

A young man with white hair instantly raised a wooden staff in reaction to Blake’s arrival. The situation did not look good. Blake fixed his gaze on him, not letting his eyes wander toward the face of the woman or any of the others.

“Lower your weapon!” yelled the princess.

Still not letting himself breathe, Blake directed his eyes toward the woman.

“A gorgeous young woman worthy of the title princess,” was his first thought.

Then it suddenly hit him. She looked surprisingly similar to Sadie. But her white gown was a bit longer than the one the servant girl had worn from the castle. She also wore a white cloth belt around her gown. The effect of this belt shaped a beautiful figure of a body, revealing what he imagined would be a flat stomach. And as if her legs and stomach weren’t distracting enough, the belt tucked in tightly the upper portion of the gown accentuating her breasts, perfectly forming them in her elegant white gown. As he tried to move his eyes from the body to her face, he was sure that this woman bore the same simple smile of Sadie. Even the dimple was the same. The only thing that was different was her hair. This woman’s hair was a blonde so light it almost looked white. And her hair was not braided, but instead, it was loose and free. Long flowing blonde hair moving with the gentle breeze in a slow-motion rhythmic dance that was mesmerizing to Blake. On her head, she wore a simple tiara with what he assumed were precious stones of great value. Beside her was a white horse. The horse was helping himself to a meal of grass, but even the animal seemed to be sizing up Blake as a threat of some kind.

Looking quickly to see the eyes of the men that accompanied her, she secretly raised her right index finger to her pursed lips, an action that went undetected by the men around her. She was asking him to stay silent on his recognition of her identity.

“My name is Sophie, Princess of the Ice Race.”

“My name is Blake. It’s an honor to meet you,” he said bowing slightly and falling to one knee.

“Please rise Blake. You must tell us what business you have here. But I assure you that you will be safe in our company.”

As she said these words, she glared at her party of three in a way that was more of a threat than a command.

Blake began to breathe more easily. Although he was no longer in fear for his safety, he now began to feel the nerves of a different kind. Sharina had been a beautiful red-haired lady from the market. But no one in this world had matched the beauty of the servant girl Sadie. Until now. This was Sadie in a different role with a different name. Before, Sadie had been simply dressed with a long braid of neatly kept brown hair. Now she was elegantly adorned, but with free-flowing blonde hair.

“She must have dyed it brown,” he concluded thinking that what he saw now was her natural color.  

“But why was she posing as a servant girl for King Adelai of the Midori Empire?” he asked himself silently.

Blake had read about the Ice Race in one of the books. They were a race of unparalleled class, but they had a troubled past with the Dwarfs with whom they used to share the land. He had wanted to read more, but he was now far away from the books of history. His teacher would no longer come through written words. He must now learn from the art of oral tradition. He hoped that the Princess would indulge him with such storytelling, assuming they would be together now for some time. At least he hoped they would be.

“Come, let us refresh ourselves with a drink from the stream,” came the invitation from Princess Sophie.  The princess looked back at the men with the same stare, and barked, “Keep watch here until we return.”

“Most certainly, your highness,” replied the bodyguard who had almost attacked Blake, presumably with the element of fire from his staff.

The princess didn’t stop at the edge of the stream, but instead, she stepped right into it with both feet, one at a time. There was no current to speak of, and she was barefoot confirming to Blake that everyone in this world regardless of royalty was indeed barefoot. Blake followed suit, but then bent over to cup his hand in the fresh water. They both sipped water from their respective hands.

Princess Sophie spoke first:

“I’m sure you have lots of questions Blake. But I also know that you are a clever man. Surely you have begun to already form some of your own conclusions. We must not speak here at length. Knowing your intelligence, I’m sure that you are also aware that noise travels quickly across water. Indeed the water amplifies sound. We have to be careful not to be overheard by my servants.”

Blake wasn’t sure where to start. He decided to respond simply.

“I’m sure there will come a time where we can talk freely. For now, I simply ask if I can join your group for this part of the journey.”

“Of course. I assume you are on your way to the Calvin School of Magic?”

“Indeed I am,” replied Blake trying to not act surprised by her knowledge of his intent.

“I myself am on my way there as well,” she replied with a smile.

Blake tried to step out of the stream, but he was caught staring at Princess Sophie instead of at his footing, and he tripped, falling half way into the stream. The water was not deep enough for him to be fully submerged even after his fall, but the act of falling caused him to become thoroughly wet. As he looked up, he saw the princess giggling ever so slightly. His fall had also splashed a significant amount of water onto the princess, covering parts of her white gown. Blake tried not to stare. He grinned awkwardly back at her, and then turned his face trying to cover his embarrassment.

Princess Sophie extended a hand to help him up. He was hesitant to take her hand, not knowing what pitfalls might befall him if he were to break any protocols for how one should treat royalty. But he took her hand and was helped back to his feet. Instantly, he had a flashback to the bath scene where she had helped him bathe from the position of a servant girl. He remembered when she had slipped her hand beneath the water, grabbing him, and placing the ring on his finger.

She now held his hand again.

“I like your ring,” she whispered flashing him with a subtle wink.

Blake couldn’t manage a response. The whole situation was overwhelming. He was far to embarrassed to say anything.

They walked back to the servants who suddenly tried to conceal their laughter. Surely it was out of respect for the Princess and not for Blake whom they suspiciously still viewed as a threat.

“I’m afraid we will have to rest here a while longer in the heat of the sun. It seems as if our clothing must dry before we continue,” declared Princess Sophie to her men.

Blake unpacked the bread and cheese from his sack. He shared the food with the Princess, and she in turn also shared some with her men. Blake then pulled out the flask of Singani. The princess and he both took a few swigs. She did not offer her servants a drink. Blake wondered why but did not ask questions.

She spoke again, “Blake will be joining us for the rest of our journey. He is also on his way to the Calvin School of Magic. It appears that we will both be studying there. You must treat him as a member of our clan, indeed as an honored guest of our Race.”

The servant with the large staff frowned but nodded. The other two responded to the command with more grace.

After an hour in the sun, they departed. The princess’ gown was no longer see through in any place, and Blake was mostly dry. Princess Sophie mounted her white horse. Two servants mounted black horses. The princess then instructed her skeptic servant to give up his horse for Blake, forcing him to walk instead. It seemed as she was targeting him for an attitude adjustment. This action seemed to make him even angrier.

Back on the “Senna Path” they continued. The party had at least three hours of travel time left before the sun would set. Blake wondered how long the journey would take in its entirety. The map didn’t exactly leave estimates for distances, and he wasn’t even sure it was drawn to any sort of scale. He only knew they had to cross a desert, touch the tip of a plain, and then they would finally arrive in the territory of the next empire. Blake concluded that he could endure any type of journey in the company of Sadie, or Princess Sophie, whomever this mysterious woman actually was. Vex Empire awaited their arrival.