Flames of Auriel (A Caeles Adventure Book 1) (16 page)

Rebekah’s struggles pulled her out of her haze, “Gloat later! Get me out of this thing!” The crowd laughed at the young girl’s admonishment, many of them throwing money into the basket the girls’ stagehand was now passing around.

Zoe quickly walked over to her friend to undo the ties on her wrists. She quickened her pace when a glance over her shoulder revealed Asher making his way toward the stage. “I have to go, he’s coming!”

Rebekah jerked her hands out of the ties and pushed the princess the other way. This was not going to end well if he caught her. She whispered to her as the prince made his way up to the stage.

“Hurry! Get out of here!”

Zoe threw one more longing look at Asher before she made a mad dash for their camp outside of the town gates. Things were not going the way they had planned. Zoe could only hope that Rebekah could dissuade the prince.

Rebekah looked up from untying her feet from the board at the prince now standing in front of the stage. His eyes were on the gate where Zoe had disappeared. The young girl ignored him and started instructing a few of the gypsy boys to start packing their props back into the cart.

After a few minutes and a cough from the prince, she squatted down at the edge of the stage. “Your highness? I hope you enjoyed the show?”

Asher looked to the dark-haired gypsy and then back to where the other woman had been standing. “Where did your partner go? I would really like to applaud her on her performance.”

Rebekah did not believe for a second the prince was fooled by their princess’s disguise. He only wanted a closer look to confirm his suspicions. She needed to get him off the princess’s trail.

“She is really shy. Joe was abused when she was young by her father and doesn’t take well to men outside of the stage.”

The prince raised an eyebrow, “Joe? Is that her name? It’s very unusual.”

Rebekah took a seat on the edge of the stage and swung her legs. “Joe is just short for Josephine. Her mother is from Josfie, you know, Josphiel’s kingdom. That’s where she got her acting abilities from, but her father is from Aldabel, but both died this past winter.” She forced a sad look to her face at his look of inquiry, “The black cough, your highness. It’s a very sad story indeed. I’m the only person she will talk to let alone go near her.”

Asher snorted and gestured to the lad from the last trick. “She didn’t seem that distressed when that lad had his hands on her earlier.”

Rebekah shrugged, “She was in control then. Who am I to know what a damaged mind will allow.”

Asher was still not sure he believed the gypsy girl, but he did not have enough evidence to push the subject. When he had first stopped at their stage, he had been curious to see the act of throwing knives used for entertainment, but then his eyes caught sight of the slender redhead being lavished with attention. He could not see her well from his place in the back, but her form and hair had been enough for him to think she was Zoe in disguise.

As he approached the stage he saw that her skin was far too dark and her voice to husky to be his princess. Asher almost turned to leave, dismissing his notion as wishful thinking, but the look on the knife thrower’s face caused him to pause. Why was she looking at him in such a state of panic?

He was not sure if his gut feeling was right in thinking she was not who this young girl said she was or if he was simply going mad from his need to see her. Either way, he better return home before his mother burned down all of Aldabel looking for him. Asher used two fingers to salute the girl in thanks and headed back to his horse.

Rebekah blew out the breath she was holding when the prince road away. She would need to get with Zoe to discuss her new background. It would not do well for them if she did not act the part. Hopefully the princess would be able to keep her emotions in check when he made his appearance again. They would see him again; the determined look in his eyes made her quite sure of that.

“Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”

Zoe winced as she banged her head against the wooden wall of one of the storage carts. She could not believe she had thought that Asher would not recognize her. He had seen her grow up and practically naked once, there was no way he was going to be so easily fooled by some makeup and an Aldabelan accent.

“That doesn’t look too enjoyable, your highness.” Zoe turned at the sound of Randolph’s voice. She groaned at the smirk on his face. “Is that what you call fun in Aurelius?”

Zoe rubbed her forehead with her hand and trudged toward the fire pit. “You know its Zoe, Dolph.” She waved a hand back at him, “Or Joe now, in any case.”

The elder man laughed again, which caused the coins decorating his vibrant vest to jingle. “I heard you made quite an exit at today’s performance?”

Zoe accepted a bowl of stew from the camp’s cook and thanked him as she turned back to Randolph. “Your niece is still alive if that’s what you are getting at.” She took a seat near the fire and reveled in its warmth.

A bite of his stew rolled around in his mouth as Randolph took a seat next to her. “Bah, my Becka can take care of herself.” He waved his spoon at her. “You, on the other hand, have need to worry. My niece is quick on her feet, but you need to be better at playing your part.”

Zoe tossed her spoon into her bowl and opened her mouth to respond only to close it. Rebekah had entered the camp and she was walking toward them. Zoe felt all her panic from earlier come rushing back to her.

Rebekah plopped down next to her and snatched the bowl out of Zoe’s hands, “Here you are.” She took a bite of Zoe’s stew, “Your boy is pretty determined to find you. You should feel lucky he loves you so much.”

“More like lucky he hasn’t screwed half the kingdom by now.” Zoe rolled her eyes, but a sad smile crept up.

Zoe could just imagine the look on his face when he realized she was dead and how relieved he must have felt to be free of her. Now he could choose anyone else to marry, even someone who did not care about his dallying with the help. Alice had told Zoe that Asher loved her, but she still could not shake the years of distrust and animosity between them.

Rebekah snorted. “Well, whatever his reasons, I don’t think he quite believed my story. Which, by the way, we need to discuss.” She pointed a finger at Zoe, “Your mother is from Josfie and your father, who abused you, is from Aldabel.”

Zoe gaped at her, “That is the best you could come up with?”

Rebekah shrugged her shoulders and held up her hands. “Had to be a believable enough reason not to want to talk to such a gorgeous man.” Rebekah stood up and brushed her hands on her pants. “So, you need to start acting like an abused girl. You know, shy and skittish around men. Otherwise, it might get around to your prince that I lied.”

“What makes you think the prince would even look into it?” Randolph raised an eyebrow at his niece, kind of proud that she handled the situation so well.

Rebekah slipped one of the knives from Zoe’s top and started toward the camp entrance. She flipped the knife over in her hand as she walked backward, still speaking to them. “Believe me, he will. I might still be a young, but I know love when I see it and that prince of yours is in deep.”

Zoe frowned, “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to see if I can find a handsome prince of my own. See ya!” Rebekah tossed a wink at her before she turned back toward the village gates.

Randolph cast a wary look at Zoe before he stood to chase after her. “You be careful, Becka. I don’t want to find you three sheets to the wind and ruined come morning!”

Zoe felt her mouth curve up a bit at Randolph’s warning, but her heart really was not into it. She was still worried about her close encounter with Asher. Not only does she have to think of how she is going to take back her kingdom, but now Zoe has to take on a whole new personality to dissuade her overzealous prince. She wiped a hand over her face; the longer she was away from home, the older she felt inside. If she did not watch it she would be ancient before winter’s eve.

***

Later that evening the festival was still going strong. Zoe had long since abandoned their camp; instead, she chose to take the rare chance she had to bathe alone. She headed down to the river that ran along the west side of Lamire, her mind set on finally getting clean.

It had been several days since she had had a chance to bathe. Even longer since she had had a warm bath and not a quick dip in the chilled river’s water. Zoe never appreciated warm bath water until the first time she had to wash in the stream by the Nemus’ camp. Much to Zoe’s dismay, Rebekah had taken great joy out of her outcries when she had to bathe in the cold water for the first time. The young girl had teased her mercilessly for days after.

Finally reaching the bank of the river, Zoe scanned her eyes across the calm river’s surface. There was no moon that night, leaving the bank an eerie grey. She could barely make out one foot in front of the other, but this close to the village she had to be careful. It would not do for her to get caught unaware. When she was satisfied she was alone, she reached back to pull the ties of her corset loose.

Learning to undress herself had been one of the first lessons Rebekah had taught her when joining their camp. She explained that they all had to be self-reliant, but they also had to be able to work as a unit when needed, which meant Zoe needed to learn how to unlace a corset without her usual assistance. It used to take her almost an hour to get the contraption off, but now she has gotten it down to an art, only needing a few minutes to untie and loosen the laces enough to slip it over her head.

The tunic and breeches were easy enough to remove, but the boots took a bit more skill. She could not just wiggle them off standing, she had to actually find a place to sit down and fight them off of her legs. Much to Zoe’s dismay, the process of getting them off always ended up adding several minutes to her changing time.

Zoe slipped into the water and let her hands trail the surface by her sides. She threw her head back, eyes fixed on the sky, and let herself fall back into the river. She let out a shudder as the cool water seeped over her skin. The serene sound of the water filled her ears and she felt all her tension melt away.

The quiet was one thing she would not be able to get over when she returned home. Back at the palace there was always someone bustling around and she was never alone. She had never had the opportunity to just sit back and enjoy the world around her.

The sound of breaking wood caused her to jump up and dart back to her clothes on the bank. She cursed Auriel for not letting her have a moment to herself as she kept an eye on where the noise came from. When she reached her clothing, she grabbed one of the knives from her corset. She threw the knife in the general direction of the noise in hopes of dissuading the intruder from coming into the clearing.

Unfortunately, it did nothing to discourage the lad that stumbled into her sanctuary. She was surprised to find out that the lad was from the previous show, the one that helped with the last trick. He jumped back as the knife sunk into the wood of a tree next to him, lost his footing, and fell head first toward the bank to land at her feet.

She clutched another knife in her hand and reached for her tunic. “What are you doing here?”

The lad, having come back to his senses, gazed up at her, his eyes wide, “S–Sorry. I came to see you. They said you came this way.”

The lad’s slurred words made her lower the knife as she turned back to her clothes. “You’re drunk. Go home.”

The lad was not very brave, but tonight he had had too much drink and a little too much encouragement from his mates. He had to come see her and he was not going to leave without getting what he came for.

He attempted to stand up, but failed as she caught his arm just as he was about to collapse again. Invigorated by her action, he put his hand on her arm to steady his balance. “I came to finish what I started, darling.” When she frowned at him confused, the boy stood up straighter to make his case. “You said not to tease a lady.” He put his other hand around her waist and tried to pull her to him, his face leaned down to hers, the scent of alcohol rancid on his breath, “Josephine, you’re beautiful.”

Zoe saw where his face was headed and tightened her grip on her knife. This was about to get ugly. She moved the point of the knife against his intimate parts currently trying to grind against her. He froze, his eyes opened wide as he glanced down at the point against him.

Zoe placed her mouth next to his ear, “Now, darling. If you don’t want to lose your manhood, I would rethink those words.” When he loosened his fingers on her skin, she shoved him away; the strength of it forced him to sprawl out onto the bank’s sandy floor. “Get out of here before I change my mind and make you a eunuch anyway.” Zoe hoped he would get the message and almost cried with joy when the lad scrambled back in the direction of the village.

Zoe tossed her knife down a little harder than needed and glared back at the lake. There went her night of peaceful serenity. It was getting late and many of the party goers would probably be heading that way. She reached to grab her tunic, but when the echoing of someone clapping rang in her ears, she grabbed the discarded knife instead. Poised and ready, she pivoted toward the sound.

There, standing on the bank, a smug smirk on his face, was Asher. She wrinkled her eyebrows and wondered if she was hallucinating. She quickly discarded that idea when his eyes lingered on her naked form.

Not taking her eyes from his, she grabbed her tunic, pressed it to her front and half bowed to his figure. Zoe thanked Auriel for the dark cover of night leaving her face blurred by the shadows. The lack of moonlight had been a blessing in disguise.

“Your highness, I…I d…didn’t see you th…there.” She surprised herself as she naturally stuttered at him. When had he ever made her this nervous?

A smirk still on his face, he took languid steps toward her. “Don’t be modest on my account. I can see where your priorities lie.” Asher’s head inclined to the knife still in her clenched hand.

She looked to where he was pointing and with a blush dropped the knife. “I d…don’t know what you m…mean, your h…highness.”

When he reached her side, he bent down to pick up the discarded knife. “Well you have been caught unaware and…” The heat in her face amplified as he scanned his eyes up and down her figure. “…quite vulnerable twice already and both times you went for a weapon first.” He handed the knife back to her handle first. “Most women would have grabbed their clothing first.”

She jerked the knife back from him and forced strength back into her voice. “I have reason enough to be cautious, your highness.”

His body turned to look out upon the river as Asher let his eyes narrow at the reason behind her words. “Yes, I heard as much from your partner earlier.”

The prince glanced at her frozen form, his mind could not seem to decipher her. She looked so much like Zoe, but the way she trembled and seemed so uneasy around him made him doubt his previous assumptions. Zoe would never call him by title even if her life were in danger.

He almost snorted at the thought. She was probably more proud than he was, but this girl in front of him held none of that pride in her stance. Maybe she was a distant cousin of some sort, it would definitely explain the resemblance. Either way, Josephine was someone he wanted to know better.

Zoe took a deep breath and willed the parts of her yelling to tell him everything back down where it belonged. Instead, she turned toward the river as well. It was so easy for her to play the part of the victim when she had so much to hide already. She let her face fill with all her secret doubts she had about them.

“The river calms me.”

Asher kept his eyes on the river, his ears strained to hear her soft words, “From your fears?” He felt a part in him clench when she nodded. This woman may not be his princess, but it still hurt him to see the strong confident woman from earlier reduced to such a fragile thing.

He saw her shudder from the corner of his eye and he realized she was still standing naked out in the open. He turned his back to her and waved in her direction, “You should get dressed, you’ll get sick standing there like that.”

Zoe stared at his back for a few moments before realizing he actually was not going to look, she slipped the tunic still at her chest over her head. She threw another cautious look at his turned back before she grabbed her discarded breeches and pulled them on. She tried to keep her hands from shaking as she tied the laces up in rapid movements.

She left her boots and corset laying where they were and glanced back at him. “You can look now, your highness.”

Asher glanced out of the corner of his eye to make sure it was actually alright to turn around before he faced her again. He took in the performer in front of him. Without her corset, her appearance made her seem almost as frail as her personality would have him believe. He was glad that he had stopped when he did.

He had left the village not long after her performance and was about to head back to the palace when he decided to cleanup first. He ended up stopping at the river on the way out of town when he heard the commotion. Asher did not want to leave her just yet, he had many questions, but if he did not head back to the palace soon his mother was going to kill him.