forum “And if I don’t want to return?” Fantasy OxO?

Started January 16, 2020 by @FanfictionFanatic-The-Elder group

tune

The forest was peaceful with the sounds of the wildlife as the young woman stalked forward. This was her first hunt alone and she was excited. She let out a slow soft breath to keep her nerves calm, determined to catch something good. Her lips formed a small smirk as she nocked her hunting bow. The wind was with her, blowing her scent away from her prey as she followed the tracks of a lone stag.

Drake sighed as he stopped the horse, unmounted and gave the horse some food. It had been a long ride, and Drake could see how tired and hungry the horse was. So, he decided to stop in the forest to give the horse a break. He sighed as he leaned against a tree, looking at the horse who was just looking around and enjoying it’s break time. “This place is beautiful, isn’t it Quarts?”
The horse looked up at him and neighed in agreement.

The young woman had the stag in her sights. It was grazing peacefully and, fortunately for her, completely ignorant of the arrow pointed at it. She took a deep steady breath, ready to fire… When the buck suddenly stood at alert, smelling something else on the wind. The woman narrowed her eyes and swore softly before quickly releasing the arrow. The resounding ’Thunk!’ of the weapon hitting the tree, as her target darted off, scared of any other potential prey. ”Damn it.” she growled as she stood up and walked over to retrieve her shot.

The arrow happened to land about six trees away from where Quarts and Drake were standing. From where the young woman was standing, the silhouette of a big animal was seen. Of course, it wasn’t a silhouette of a deer, but the silhouette of Quarts.

Her war painted face scrunched up angrily as she pulled the arrow straight out of the tree and put it back in her quiver. The paint was mostly green and brown for her hunt, except for a stripe of blue across her eyes, which everyone said brought out the color. She looked up to gauge the time and swore again. She wouldn't be able to find something else before dark. Her dark brown hair blew into her face from the wind and reminding her that the stag had caught the scent of something. Turning to face the breeze, she saw the large shape and recognized it as a horse. ”Now what are you doing all the way out here on your own?” she asked the animal as she walked towards it, not really making as much effort to be as quiet as she was when she hunted.

Drake lifted his head and looked at the direction of the voice of the young woman. He had heard the princess’s voice a couple of times and he was sure that this was the princess. But what confused him was why she wasn’t screaming or pleading for help. It was just confusing, which made Drake look at the figure of the princess. As the princess came closer, she became more clear. Drake rubbed his eyes, to see if he was seeing things wrong. But sure enough, the princess had paint on her face and she was wearing an outfit that was similar to the ones the barbarians wore.

Gwen calmly approached the buck colored stallion and reached a hand towards his muzzle. ”I remember you.” she smiled softly, before noticing the riding gear. She turned, looking for his rider and soon saw the knight nearby. ”I guess he's with you then.” she gestured to the horse. ”You’re a long way from your kingdom, knight. What brings you out near the borders of an others territory?”

Quarts looked at the knight and trotted over to Drake. Drake bit his lip and sighed. He honestly didn’t know what to say. He was surprised that the woman in front of him was Princess Gwendolyn. He blinked and bit his lip once again, but this time a little harder until he tasted blood. “I’m here to. . at this moment, I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. I was going to be saving a kidnapped princess, but. .”

Gwen let out a small groan. ”You’re from Olarien, aren't you?” she asked, fairly sure of the knight's answer. He had to be, it was the closest kingdom and where her father's palace was. Not to mention the horse, she had been there the day Geoff brought him into the stables. ”Well, I’m sorry, you came all this way for nothing.” she shrugged. ”I won't be returning anytime soon. I’m afraid you’ll have to go back alone and tell the king that I am finally happy where I am.” she informed him not unkindly but firmly. ”What did you say your name was, knight?”

He nodded when the princess asked him if he was from Olarien. He looked around, he looked at the horse and then finally looked at the princess. He was confused, very confused when the princess said she wasn’t going to be returning anytime soon. Surely, she was joking about finally being happy where she was. How could someone be happy with a group of horrible barbarians? That was a question that not even the gods themselves would be able to answer. “Drake, my name is Drake.”

Gwen nodded in acknowledgment of his name. ”Well, little Dragon, ” she couldn't help but tease with a small smirk, ”I appreciate and thank you for your noble attempt to ”save” me but, as I said, I will not be returning to that palace.” she told him honestly. She shrugged a little and looked around. ”I should probably be heading back home anyway. I spent all morning hunting that stag, and I've got nothing to show for it. Corvin is never going to let me live this down.” she muttered that last bit more to herself but he could still hear it.

Drake just sighed, not knowing what to do. There was no way he could go back to Olarien without the king getting moderately mad at him. He had come all the way from Olarien to this place for absolutely nothing. He passed his hand through his hair as he looked at Quarts. Quarts just looked at him with his black beady little eyes, not understanding what in the world was going on. Drake was confused and mad at the same time. He wanted to start screaming at the princess about why she was choosing to stay there, but quickly discarded the idea since it wasn’t very gentlemanlike.

Gwen looked up to check the time and hummed softly in thought. She glanced back at Drake and his horse before making up her mind. ”Hey, Drake. Why don't you come with me?” she offered. ”It’s a long ride back and Quarts looks pretty tired. You can stay in the village for the night at least. I’ve got room for a guest if I ever had one.” she explained. It may not have been considered very proper or lady-like, especially for the Princess, to offer something like that in Olarien but she wasn't a princess out here.

He glanced over at Quarts, who did indeed look tired. Olarien might be the closet kingdom to where the barbarians lived, but that didn’t mean that Olarien wasn’t quite far away. If he declined, than that would be a bit rude. He sighed before giving Gwen his answer. “Well, alright. Declining would be rude to do in this situation and I don’t want Quarts to get all dehydrated and not be able to move. I gave my promise to the stable boy that I would take care Quarts, and I’ll keep that promise.”

Gwen chuckled softly at his answer. She wasn't worried about him being rude. She had just been trying to help him a little. ”Geoff, right?” she smiled at the memory of the stable boy. He had been so easy to talk to. ”It's hard to imagine letting him down. Well, if you want to stay with me, we should get going. It's a bit of a walk.” she explained, starting her trek. ”We’ll probably get there before sunset at least.”

“Yes, I think that’s his name. I wouldn’t really know since I didn’t ask what his name was. Yes, it’s quite hard imagining letting the boy down, I know I wouldn’t be able to leave with the guilt of letting him down.” He sighed and nodded. “Well then, lead the way.”

Gwen rolled her eyes a little before calling back. ”And no doubt the boy was too star-struck to mention his name. He tends to get that way when he gets to help out a knight.” she chuckled. ”It took me a while to get him to relax around me but fortunately I had plenty of time when I came by to go riding.” she smiled, gesturing for him to follow her. ”Come on. It's this way to my place.”

“Yes, the boy was star-struck for a couple of moments. I got the impression that he doesn’t have the opportunity to help a Knight, which honestly I wouldn’t be surprised. Now in days, us Knights barely have any work to do. Most just linger around, doing absolutely nothing. Well, nothing expect complaining.” He said, as he looked around. The knight smiled and proceeded to follow her.

Gwen nodded with a short laugh. ”Yeah, well, that's what happens in times of peace. The fighters get anxious to do something but don't want to do anything useful. They really should focus more on training and less on complaining.” she commented, jumping over a fallen tree. ”Bet you're glad to actually be out and about, though. Even if I didn't need rescuing.”

“True, complaining won’t get them nowhere. They should spent their time and their focus on training then on complaining. They’re wasting their time on something so foolishly.” He paused and then continued. “You’re absolutely right. I’m glad I’m out, now at least I don’t have to hear the other complaining all day.”

Gwen let out a soft breath when he didn't take offense to her comment. She hadn't meant to be rude but looking back on it she realized how that could have been taken. ”Honestly, I never really got to watch the Knights train very often back in Olarien.” she admitted. ”My father was a bit overprotective and I don't know how my teachers got their job but all they didn't teach me anything useful about ruling a kingdom when it's time.” she scoffed at the memory of how weak and helpless she was before, back when she was just a princess. Well, I’d like to see their faces now.

“Oh, is that so? I don’t really understand how many people get their jobs if they don't show their students the things they have to learn. It’s like if they just put a stack of papers in front of the student and expect them to know how to do it.” He paused and looked around. “Why did you decide to stay here?”

Gwen laughed heartily. ”I wish that’s what my teachers did. Then I actually would have learned something from them instead of just the books in the library.” she sighed as she calmed down, shaking her head slightly. She smiled at his question as she turned to face him. ”I have several reasons why I stay where I am. Maybe you’ll see a few of them while you're in the village.” she suggested as she continued to lead him. ”But the main reason why I stay is… I have people here who know me as a person now, not just the Princess. This time, I earned my position with them. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth to these people. I worked hard and they welcomed me.”

“So, what I’m getting is that you wanted to earn your position, not be born with it. You want people to know you as the person you are and not as a princess. I dunno if it’s wrong or if it’s correct, but that’s what I got out of it.” Drake bit his lip, drawing a bit of blood out of it. In honestly, Drake was nervous. It was safe to say that he was one huge nervous wreck.

”You’re not wrong.” she admitted a little shyly. ”But there is more to it. I don't mind being who I was raised as to be the Princess it's just… When I was old enough for marriage and started meeting ”potential suitors” every single one of them seemed to expect me to do nothing more than sit pretty and smile and wave at the people who they considered to be below them.” she explained with a hint of anger at the idea.

”Gwenny!” a young voice called out happily.