Page 48 of Quest for her Knights
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, can we stop for a few minutes, please?”
“Of course, hold on a second,” he says before pulling ahead. I sit back and wait as the carriage slows down. It’s always so difficult to wait for one of them to open my door, so I fist my skirts to keep me from leaping out as I wait. Soon enough, Ranger opens the door and offers me a hand to exit, which I gratefully take.
“Is everything okay, Princess?” he asks as I stretch my back.
“Yes, I was just wondering If I could ride with Arrow for a little while?”
Ranger frowns as his eyes dart to Arrow over my head. “Arrow… I don't think…”
“Come on!” I whine. “I’ve been stuck in there for hours, I want some company. Do you not trust him or something?” I ask, hoping that will push him to concede.
“Of course I trust him,” he says, his eyes glued to Arrow before dipping to me. “Okay, go on then. It’s only a couple more hours until lunch, anyway.”
“Thank you!” I say excitedly, clapping my hands as I turn and run over to Arrow, who smiles at me indulgently as he slips off his horse.
“So, you want to ride with me, huh, Princess?”
Hmm, I was going to have to get him to drop that nickname. It felt like they were placing a boundary between us when they used it, and I don’t like it. No time like the present to get started on my A+ flirting skills.
“I always want to ride you, I mean ridewithyou, Arrow.” I bat my eyelashes at him as I reach up the side of his horse. He tips his head back and groans before grabbing my waist and hoisting me up. I’m wearing one of my shortened dresses, which makes riding far easier. He climbs up behind me, and I waste no time pushing my body back flush against him, leaving no space between us.
“Princess, what are you doing?” he growls in my ear.
“Whatever do you mean?” I ask with my best innocent voice.
He grunts as Ranger starts riding ahead, and we pull up behind him, the carriage behind us. Ranger has us move at a slightly faster pace, since he doesn’t have to worry about me bouncing around in the carriage, and I have to admit the view is spectacular. The trees are nice too, but watching Ranger’s back and ass while he rides… is quite the sight to behold.
Realizing both of Arrow’s hands are on the reins, andnoton me, I pretend to bounce around from side to side until he wraps an arm around me, holding me to him. I put my hands over his, to hold him there.
Much better.
“You’re trouble, you know that?” Arrow whispers in my ear.
“I don’t know what you mean,” I say innocently, making him chuckle.
“Sure you don’t.”
I let myself relax against him. I don’t want to push him too much, or too fast, so I just let him hold me as we travel in silence.
This world is beautiful, but after weeks on the road, everything starts to look the same.
“Arrow?” I ask after a couple hours of silence.
“How long did you say it is until our next destination?”
“Elderwood is a two-week journey.”
“Two weeks!?” On one hand, that seems like a long time to be on the road. But on the other, after my past two encounters with so-called approved suitors, I’m in no rush to meet the nextones. Two weeks alone with my knights gives me time to get to know them better and maybe break through some of their walls.
“Yes, it’s a bit of a journey. We’re mostly avoiding towns. The less people who know you are traveling, the better.”
“Why?”
“It’s safer,” he says gently. That reminds me of the one and only night we’ve spent at an inn.
Yeah… I didn’t want a repeat of that. If camping out in the woods was safer, then I was all for it. There was something enjoyable about sitting around a campfire, with only the flames to light our faces, not to mention how much I loved sleeping sandwiched between Blaze and Arrow.
