Cassandra, standing beside them, looked up and caught my gaze. Smiling, she pointed toward Arvin, who stood calmly several steps away. He regarded her pointed finger with an expression of contempt that should have been impossible on the face of a horse before following her gaze to me and tossing his head.
I grinned and started toward them. I had insisted Arvin accompany us, despite the difficulties of getting him to shore. Leaving him behind hadn’t been an option. I had no doubt he would have kicked open his stall, trotted up the stairs, jumped overboard and swum to shore on his own if we had dared to forget him.
The young one seems to be greatly excited, he whickered at me, as if it was somehow a personal insult directed at him.
I slung an arm around his neck. “Well, it is all rather exciting.”
Is it? I can’t say I’ve seen anything I would label exciting.
“Yes, I am sorry about the awkward trip to shore.”
I don’t know what you’re talking about, he said, with great dignity. I am always happy to be of service. I am not in the habit of putting others out with my own needs and wishes.
I snorted. “Of course not. How foolish of me.”
“It’s strange the way you talk to your horse,” Daisy said at my elbow. “Almost as if he talks back.” Behind her I could see Sierra watching us, the same confused expression on her face.
I swallowed a grin. “I can’t help it.”
If the small one wishes to ride me, tell her no, Arvin neighed.
“I thought you were happy to be of service?” I asked innocently.
He whipped his head around, turning the full force of his baleful left eye on me instead of Daisy.
You misunderstand. I think only of her safety. I am not saddled.
I raised an eyebrow, smothering a laugh. “Oh, of course. See, there I go, being foolish again.”
It is certainly something you should work on, he said gravely.
I rolled my eyes and turned back to the other girls. “I hope you don’t regret coming with me instead of staying with the ship.”
Cassie grinned at me. “Of course we wanted to come.”
In all honesty, I liked the idea of having the other Eldonian girl at my side. Cassie had proven herself many times over—she had the ability to blend in anywhere she found herself, and the smarts to make the best of every situation.
“Plus, Cassie had to come,” Daisy piped up, a disconcerting gleam in her eye. “Eldon might still need her. What if Percy’s taste doesn’t run to blond hair? He might find he likes Cassie here better than you, Giselle.”
Cassie and I groaned in unison. Prince Percival of Talinos was the one remaining eligible prince from our set of kingdoms, but he had led his own delegation across the seas weeks before we left. The Arcadian court had claimed to be delighted to host us all at once, and my parents had been no less delighted at the prospect of throwing me and Percy together. Now from Daisy’s comments, it appeared Eldon’s interest in an alliance with Percy’s kingdom of Talinos was a more open secret than I realized.
Not that anything formal had been arranged or even discussed. But I knew his presence in Arcadia was the reason my parents had made the kingdom the first stop on our itinerary. A marriage alliance with any of the Four Kingdoms was unlikely for either Percy or me since none of the distant kingdoms had any available royalty of marriageable age. Eldon would have to rely on trade treaties and the alliance Oliver had already secured with Lanover—the richest of the Four Kingdoms. Hence the reason my parents had turned their eyes to our close neighbor of Talinos.
Personally I still wasn’t sure what I thought about the scheme. Given both our kingdoms had spent years under separate curses, Percy and I hadn’t seen each other since the days when all the royal children of our six kingdoms played together at royal functions. All I remembered from those days was a young boy, olive skin darkened by the sun, running headlong into trouble in his efforts to keep up with the older princes—including his older brother, Prince Gabe. But I had promised my parents I would keep an open mind on the matter, at least.
I turned my mind back to the present as the squad of guards accompanying us began to form up. Oliver had insisted the message sent with the pigeons include a request for two Arcadian squads to meet us along with the carriages, although Celine had assured him the roads in the Four Kingdoms were safe these days.
I think my brother expected us to wait in place for the Arcadians to arrive, but I had already given the order that we were to start toward Arcadie on foot. I had no intention of sitting around on a remote beach when everyone in our party was perfectly capable of walking. Meeting our escort part way might be the difference between reaching Arcadie before nightfall or being caught still on the road at dark.
The spring weather and the solid ground under our feet made the coming journey a pleasant prospect, and I almost wished we had further to travel. Turning, I nearly tripped over Sierra who continued to stick to my side. I bit back an unkind rebuke and scanned the group.
Daisy’s maid, a sensible, older woman, stood several paces behind her mistress. Two ceremonial Trionian guards stood with her. After some discussion, it had been decided that there was no need for Trione to send more than two as we did not wish to be discourteous to our hosts by overwhelming their hospitality or suggesting distrust. The Eldonian squads had therefore been instructed to consider all the delegation members to be equally under their protection.
I was the only one with a mount, of course, if Arvin could truly be called that. He only let me on his back when he was in the best of moods, and even then, only bareback.
I knew that many in the party considered it a foolish indulgence to allow me to bring such a useless horse, but they didn’t know Arvin’s origin. If the godmothers gifted you a talking horse from the Palace of Light—the mysterious and powerful domain of the High King—you didn’t leave him behind, however useless he might appear to be.
My right hand drifted to my left wrist, touching the handkerchief tucked safely inside my sleeve. I had two gifts from the godmothers—even if the handkerchief had been given to one of my distant ancestors rather than me. Its power to reveal the truth would serve me all the same.
One of the other guards strode toward us, the familiar look that passed between him and Sierra helping me place his face. More than two years ago, an Eldonian ship had discovered and rescued a small ship-wrecked community from a remote island. Most had chosen to stay in our kingdom when they were offered positions in the palace, my maid and this guard among them.
Sierra had been an exemplary maid since then, her recent distraction on the ship my first complaint. Perhaps it had been the presence of this guard rather than fear of the ocean that had caused her abstraction?
I would let her know she could have extra time off to go walking with him during our time in Arcadia—as long as she stopped disappearing at crucial moments when I needed her services. I didn’t want to disgrace Eldon by failing to present myself appropriately as both princess and diplomatic envoy.
The guard addressed himself to me rather than my maid, however.
“We’re ready to move out, if Your Highness is agreeable.”
“Certainly,” I replied. “Lead the way.” I attempted a small smile. “You will find royal feet as capable of walking as any others.”