The canteen wasn't full enough to waste any of their water to splash on her face or hands, so instead Liz just spat on her palms and rubbed them on the bottom corner of her skirt. She had never seen her fingernails so rough and broken, grime and dirt caked in thick rings beneath. Liz imagined the tender comfort of her mother’s hands brushing through her curls and separating them. It soothed the rough edges of her desperation enough to allow her to settle in for another long night.
They had one wool blanket to share between them. At night they found the softest patch of grass and slept curled together beneath it. Oftentimes, Liz would find herself staring out into the night sky for hours. So many stars were visible here, as opposed to her view from Silver City. She dreamt every night of the knight on the white horse. The dreams mingled with the expression on her mother's face when she begged Liz to run.
Each day that passed, the dream was more urgent. The closer they got to the mountains, the more certain the events of the ensuing battle became. Snow piled thick on the ground, drenched in blood. The mountains bathed in darkness. The faceless knight from her dream seemed to be the key to everything. A battle raged against the Dragon's army; the knight fell, and when he fell so did all of Aegis.
It was clear what her dreams were telling her; that the knight, and not her blood, was the key to saving her kingdom. Instead of running away and hiding like a coward, she needed to find him. The only notion she had of where he might be, was the mountain range they were traveling towards.
She hadn’t been brave enough to confide these dreams to Tia, not when their own fate appeared to be so precarious. She didn’t believe Tia would like the idea of Liz searching for the knight, not if it put her own safety at risk. They settled together at the base of a large oak tree, in between large roots that scored the earth around them. It seemed safe here, beneath the gentle owl calls on the night wind. Tia leaned her head against Liz's shoulder, and Liz clutched her tight. They’d always been this way. Leaning on each other silently, holding each other together as naturally as breathing. Liz could not exist in this world severed from Tia. She was an appendage, a second heart, beating in time with her own.
In moments Tia's breathing was soft and even, but Liz couldn't sleep. It was more than being plagued with shame and guilt for running. She missed her mother, yes, but something stirred beneath her sorrow. If she ignored her grief and her fear, ignored the haunting visions she had at night, she sensed something wild bubbling up beneath her skin.
Life.
Two weeks ago, she was supposed to die.
True, she was tired and hungry, a wretched thing not worthy to be a member of the royal family. She’d been taught there was no greater dishonor than to disobey the will of the gods and to abandon her people to starve in a winter without end. But, for the first time in her life, Liz was finally awake.
She felt every blade of grass tickling her legs and the warmth of Tia’s skin curling around her. She surveyed each individual star in the infinite celestial darkness above and decoded the whispering songs of the trees. For the first time in her life, Liz’s fate was in no one’s hands but her own.
The morning sun filtered through fog-hazed air, the gentle rush of a nearby river attempting to lull her back to sleep. Liz rubbed the sleep from her eyes. A rustling noise sounded in the bushes behind her, she froze and scanned the foliage surrounding them. Nothing appeared. She shook the sensation of being watched from her shoulders.
"Let's find some breakfast." Tia’s wide smile was infectious. She looked better this morning, more resolute. Liz was happy to bask in her brilliance.
"How did I never notice your ravenous appetite before?" Liz asked. She rolled the blanket and secured it to their meager pack, stolen from a farm two days outside the city gates. They took turns carrying it throughout the day, and Liz felt good this morning. Without asking, she pulled it on over her shoulders to take the first shift.
"Princesses have more important things to deal with."
Liz’s easy expression fell sharply, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth. She’d spent her entire life dealing with important things. Trying to figure out an alternate interpretation of the prophecy and singing out prayers that she would find a loophole. All of it came to nothing. Instead of outsmarting the gods, she’d been punished by them. Her family was gone, her people doomed. She was a fugitive in the place she’d been ready to die for.
"How are you still so thin?" Liz asked, attempting a lighthearted tone and poking her in the ribs. Tia was slender and whip-like, gracefully so. Liz was curvier, ample bosom and hips that hardly fit into dresses without the constriction of her corset. Secretly she had always been somewhat jealous of her friend's figure. Tia was able to exude the kind of effortless allure that bewitched knights, courtiers, lords, and kitchen maids alike. Her dark skin made her honey eyes and smile shine all the brighter, her gaze so mysterious it was no wonder that many Royal Guards would trip over themselves when she came near.
"Sheer force of will. For the sake of fashion." She grinned wide again, the action made something warm flutter deep in Liz's chest. Somehow in the midst of all this tragedy, Tia remained unchanged.
The rustling sounded behind Liz again. The smile slipped off of Tia’s face and Liz knew by her expression that something was wrong. Liz felt it in her bones, a warning trilling up her spine. Tia opened her mouth, but Liz shook her head. Instead, Liz motioned with her hand to keep talking as though nothing had changed.
She chattered on as Liz listened raptly for anything out of the ordinary. After a few long, tense moments she heard it again. There, on her left, the snapping of a twig. Then what sounded like something large pushing past a low tree branch. They were near a river; it rushed in a cacophonous riot of sound beside them. The rushing river almost drowned out the sound.
Almost.
If it weren't for whatever sensitivity Liz had, niggling a warning in the back of her mind, she never would have noticed it. Tia stared at Liz, widening her eyes, asking wordlessly for an explanation.
"Run," Liz whispered. Tia took off into the brush. Liz bolted in the opposite direction, making as much noise as she could in an attempt to lead them away. Tia had to escape whoever was lurking in the bushes. The Dragon was not a kind or beneficent man. If they were caught, Tia would hang.
Liz wouldn't let it happen.
She couldn't.
She stumbled on, her dress catching against the brambles of the bushes. They tore into her arms and clawed at her face. Her legs worked harder, her breath coming in short bursts as her lungs burned with the effort. There was a crashing sound behind her getting closer and closer. Whoever they were, she would never outrun them. Not uphill in a dress wearing ill-fitting boots, at any rate. If she was lucky, she would draw them far enough away to give Tia time to escape unscathed. Her mother's words echoed all around her, repeating every time her heartbeat pounded in her ears.
Promise me... promise me... promise me...
She pushed herself harder, her hands reaching out to grasp at the wet moss on the hill in front of her. When she reached the peak, she vaulted over the other side and darted toward a large oak tree with massive roots that had hollowed out the earth beneath it, shimmying and scurrying until she was so far beneath it that she wouldn't be seen by her pursuers. She pressed her back against the hard-packed soil and stifled her breath with a dirty hand over her mouth and nose. Her chest heaved as a pair of worn black riding boots came into focus near her face.