Eden-South (31 page)

He looked at his friend, exasperated by his
lack of responsibility sometimes. Not that he was much better. “I
am still the son of the High King. I’m obligated to say yes, even
if I don’t want to.”

Turk shrugged indifferently, seeming to
accept defeat on the matter. “Shall we continue then, or are you
going to continue to stare after her?”

Jameson didn’t mention the other girl to
him, agreeing to proceed to their destination. As they sat in the
tavern, however, no women there held the same sort of allure that
the mysterious girl in the coach had. His mind was distracted,
making it hard even for him to carry on his conversations with
Turk. Eventually, Turk disappeared with a woman named Isabella,
leaving Jameson to sit by himself at their table. After fighting
with himself, he got up to leave, knowing what it was he had to do
that evening.

The inn was not far from the tavern, the
high towers of the palace guided his way. It was the only inn close
to the palace walls, so he knew he had found the right one. Scaling
the outer walls, he saw that the back of the inn had a private
garden area for their guests. A tree stood beside the wall,
offering Jameson the perfect leverage to pull himself up. He landed
on the other side, right on a large rose bush. He cursed out loud
as thorns stuck into his legs through his riding pants. Jumping out
of the garden, he landed on the small stone path that weaved
through the expansive area of greenery. He didn’t know what he was
going to do there, realizing how foolish it really was now that he
was there. What would he do in here? There must have been hundreds
of rooms in the place, and he had no way of finding out which one
was theirs. Even if he did, he couldn’t just show up at their door
in the middle of the night. The whole trip had been extremely
thoughtless on his part. Deciding it would be better to just leave,
he headed toward the back doors, figuring it would be easier to
leave through the front than to try to scale the wall again.

As he walked along the small path, he saw a
moonlit pond centred in the area. Nearby was a stone bench, where a
figure sat reading a book. He would have continued past, until he
realized who it was. The light from the moons shone off her hair,
illuminating her presence. She was reading with her head down, so
she didn’t notice his approach until he stood behind her. Looking
up, she cried out in surprise.

“I apologize, my lady,” he said, putting his
hands up in defence. “I did not mean to frighten you.” Now that he
could see her face more clearly, he realized that she was even more
beautiful than he had first thought. Her face was perfectly round,
with pink lips and pale skin. She was blushing now—he could see it
in the light—adding just the right amount of colour to her
cheeks.

“Your majesty.” She bowed, recognizing who
he was. “How may I be of service to you?”

He stood there awkwardly, not really knowing
what to say now that he faced her. She waited patiently, looking
nervously at him. “I … just needed to meet you.”

“My lord?” Confusion was written on her
exquisite face. He actually felt embarrassed in front of her, the
first time in his entire life. Normally, he was so sure of himself
with women, but this one took every word out of his mouth.

“I saw you in the coach, and I knew I needed
to meet you. I have never seen such a lovely creature,” he said in
a rush of emotion. His feelings were new to him—he didn’t know how
to properly act. His breathing was quicker, his palms sweaty.

“I thank you for your compliment. It is most
unworthy. That being said, I’m not sure what it is you want.”

Everything was perfect about her—her face,
her body, her manners, everything. “I just wanted to introduce
myself, I suppose,” he fumbled.

“We would have met tomorrow,” she pointed
out. “You will be escorting us, remember?”

“Of course,” he answered quickly. “I just
thought I’d introduce myself before then.” Her eyes narrowed as she
looked at him questioningly.

“What if I hadn’t been out here?” she asked,
bringing up the obvious and embarrassing point he had hoped she
wouldn’t notice. “What exactly did you have planned, my lord? Were
you going to sneak into my room like I was a mistress?”

His face went hot. He wanted to curse at
himself right then for his stupidity. “Of course, I would never do
such a thing,” he lied. In truth, he had done that many times, and
on every occasion he was never turned away. Even when the woman was
married to another, he thought ruefully.

The look on her face changed to a knowing
one. It was the same look the witch would often wear, and all of a
sudden he remembered who she was. The witch had called her “my
student,” which meant this girl was destined to take over when she
passed. He looked apologetically at her, offering no excuses.

“I think you should leave,” she said, a
slight smile hovering on her lips. “It will be morning soon enough,
and we will see one another again.”

“I do apologize again, my lady, for
disturbing your evening,” he offered, bowing his head to her.

“Goodnight, Jameson,” she said lightly,
using his name for the first time. This was unusual. Most people
never used his actual name, especially not someone who had just met
him. It was extremely informal to address royalty in such a
familiar way. She had already turned away from him again,
dismissing him as if he were nothing but a servant.

“What is your name?” he asked, his
confidence suddenly rising at her obvious indifference. It was
fuelling him. If there was one thing he’d accomplish, it was to
make this woman fall in love with him.

“Diana,” she said, keeping her face
turned.

“Diana,” he repeated. “Well, Diana, it has
been a pleasure. I will see you in the morning. Try your best not
to dream of me this starry night; we both know how carried away our
dreams can get.” Her body stiffened at his remark. She looked up
angrily at him, but before she could protest, he bent down and
kissed her firmly on the lips. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t
pull away. Breaking their connection, he looked at her with his
usual grin. Then, before she could speak again, he leaned in once
more, kissing her gently this time on the lips, then once on the
forehead.

“Sweet dreams,” he whispered, straightening
up and walking toward the doors that led into the building. He
would constantly remind her, in the days and months following that
first night, how she hadn’t pulled away. He insisted it meant that
she wanted him just as badly from first sight, as he did her. She
insisted it was because she felt it would be rude to slap the
prince of central Eden.

Whatever the reason was, from that day on he
dedicated his time to courting her, and soon enough she had fallen
just as madly in love with him. They would often sneak out in the
middle of the night together, finding it impossible to do so in the
daytime. He was always busy with palace duties, and she was busy
with her training. Latona would tell her to end it, stating that it
would end eventually anyway, and the longer they kept seeing one
another, the more it would hurt. It turned out the old woman was
right. When it was time for her to become a witch and take her
oath, Jameson’s father had come to him and told him to end it. He
told him if the girl wanted to be a witch, then she had to dedicate
her life to that. She could not be his wife, and still be a witch.
It was not proper for a prince.

Jameson begged her before that last day,
pleading with her to stay with him instead. They could live happily
together—nothing would ever come between them. She had tearfully
told him no, saying goodbye and walking out of his life
forever.

Well, perhaps not forever, Jameson thought
realistically, but for the rest of the days up until now. She stood
waiting for him to continue, but just like at their first meeting,
words seemed to escape him.

“I’m sorry if I’ve intruded,” she said
nervously.

“Not at all. I just hadn’t expected to see
you here.” He quickly recovered. “Alistair didn’t mention that
you’d be joining us.”

“Is Alistair here?” she asked, looking
around as if he were hiding him under the bed.

“No, he is keeping control of things back at
home.”

“I see. To be honest, I didn’t know I’d be
coming either, but I had a feeling that I should. There are many
dangers surrounding these lands, and I wanted to be close by should
anything befall Aiden,” she explained.

“Aiden? I thought he was safe here?” Turk
interjected.

“He is, but I still wanted to be close. Like
I said, I had a feeling, and I’ve always been taught not to ignore
those feelings when they come.”

Jameson nodded his head slowly. “Well, you
are certainly welcome to stay. We will have a tent set up for you.
That being said, you won’t be coming to the battlefield when the
armies meet.”

“Why not?” she asked defensively.

“It is too dangerous,” he argued. “We don’t
need you getting injured, and there is nothing you can do for us
there. It would be better if you stayed somewhere else until it is
over.”

Her mouth tightened like it always did when
she was angry, he noticed. Every movement and expression she did
was familiar to him. He looked away, finding it too difficult to
analyze her.

“Fine,” she agreed. He could hear how hard
it was for her to say so. “I won’t be far, though, just so you’re
aware.”

He shrugged his shoulders indifferently,
trying to appear as if he didn’t care either way. Keeping his face
turned away from her, he dismissed her as casually as she had done
to him once before. “I will see you tomorrow morning then.
Goodnight, Diana.”

She stood still momentarily—he could see her
figure out of the corner of his eye. Without speaking, she raised
the hood above her head and turned to leave. When she was gone, he
looked back up to meet Turk’s gaze.

“Are you all right?” his friend asked, well
aware of how hard that encounter must have been for him. He nodded
his head, too afraid to speak and betray his real thoughts. Turk
bid him goodnight, leaving him to his privacy.

Staring back down at his map, Jameson forced
his mind to focus on the task at hand, trying desperately to ignore
her sweet scent that still lingered in the air.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

They travelled for two more days before they
finally came to the river that ran beside the field. The land they
had travelled through had been flat and green. The large mountains
rose in the distance in front of them, the only indicator that they
were going the right way. To the west were the expansive forests
that separated the Riders’ land from central Eden. To the east were
the large hills, something about Giants Aiden vaguely remembered,
bordering the desserts where the Sand People lived. They had
climbed a smaller hill, the only change in terrain since they had
left, to come up on the other side of the rushing river. Aiden
could see the emerald field beyond it. In the light of the day he
could see it more clearly, realizing how large the space was. The
forest on the other side was dense, with a mountain behind it, much
smaller than the ones way off in the distance. Besides that, most
of the area was clear of any obstacles. Everyone stood quietly
looking at it, every man probably picturing what was to come in
only a short amount of time.

“It’s quiet here,” Logan whispered, his
horse standing close to Aiden’s. “It’s as if the trees and animals
know what is to come.”

Aiden looked over at his friend, surprised.
That was the most insightful thing he had ever heard him say. Logan
grinned when he caught Aiden’s look.

“I heard the witch say that,” he said,
snickering. Aiden couldn’t help but laugh.

Diana had arrived two days ago, quite
unexpectedly. She came to find him right away, just to let him know
she was there. She wasn’t with them now, though, as the King had
ordered her to stay farther away. Aiden had been one of the men
ordered to help set a tent up for her in a protective area. They
made sure to leave her some food and water before they left.

“Aiden,” she called out as he mounted Ty. He
looked down at her as she stood beside the horse. “Please be
careful.”

Aiden smiled. “Do you doubt my skills,
Diana?” She smiled and shook her head.

“Of course not, but I also don’t doubt
Aziz’s skills, so I want you to be on guard the whole time.”

“He won’t even be there,” Aiden said.
“There’s nothing to worry about.” That was a lie. There was plenty
to worry about; he had been worrying since the moment they left.
The look on her face was so concerned, however, that he didn’t want
to make it any worse. It had been she who had brought him here, and
he knew if anything should happen she would feel greatly
responsible for it. That was the last thing he wanted. She
stretched up and kissed him gently on the cheek.

“Good luck.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach
her eyes.

“Thanks.” He smiled back, kicking Ty forward
to re-join the troops.

Now they stood looking at what would be
their inevitable destinies. Many of the people who stood there
wouldn’t leave, and that weighed heavily on everyone’s mind. The
King motioned them forward, leading them through the water to come
up on the other side.

“We will set up camp now,” he announced in
his loud, deep voice. Aiden was thankful for the rest—his whole
body had never ached so badly in his life.

The King rode up to where Aiden sat with
Wolf, Logan, and Felix. They were eating bread and dried meat, the
only things they had left to eat. It wasn’t the best tasting, but
all four of them were so hungry, they barely even spoke to one
another as they wolfed it down.

Aiden had met with the King and Captain Turk
a couple of nights ago, the three of them sitting in the King’s own
tent. A plan of action was decided upon, which consisted of Aiden
trying to lead the beasts into the middle of the field by using his
group as bait. There they would be the right distance for their
archers to hit. Any of the ones they couldn’t get would be the
front line’s responsibility. Each man—there would be a hundred of
them to begin—would be given a small flask of blood. Their original
idea of using live bait had been abandoned. The Captain explained
that the transportation of the animals would have been too
complicated when they were already moving so many men. Aiden would
instruct his men to spill the contents of their flasks on the grass
around them, making the beasts’ instincts kick in and confusing
them momentarily. That would open them up for an easier kill. It
sounded like it could work, but what did Aiden really know? He
simply agreed with whatever they told him and prayed that they
would be successful. Once the majority of the beasts were out of
the way, the rest of the men would move forward, challenging the
men in the northern army. At that point it would be anyone’s
guess.