A Dove's Tale

Chapter 83

But not for everybody.

Prince Licht rode alongside the carriage on his horse, Marron. I felt his watchful eyes on me, along with those of the doctor and Prince Nokto, but he always looked away when I looked at him. His dark, cold crimson eyes averted to the plowed fields between the open pastures, filled with straight, regular lines of young green crops, or the patches of woodland where the trees provided shade for the occasional deer, but the light of the world around him never seemed to touch him. He didn't engage in the steady stream of conversation Prince Nokto kept up, and he clearly didn't want to be here. This was an assignment for him, and that was all.

I wanted to talk to him, but I didn't know where to start.

"Prince Nokto, if you'll tell the coachman where to stop," the doctor said a few hours into the ride.

"What?" I asked, turning away from the window to question the doctor. "Why?"

As soon as the words left my lips, I knew. The ride had been smooth, but the reality of the dull throbbing pain that had been building within me as the minutes turned into hours came crashing down on me, and I pressed my lips together, looking away from his patient smile to my white knuckles clenched into my skirt. I didn't know how long they'd been that way. Frustration rose in my chest, and I unclenched my fingers, wincing at the pain shooting through my wrists. The sun hadn't peaked in the sky yet, and we had to stop already because I couldn't handle a simple carriage ride.

"Do you want these now?" he asked, reaching into his bag for the vial of pills.

I nodded reluctantly. He produced a flask of water from his bag for me to swallow the pills, and I did so, feeling more miserable with each passing second.

"Thank you, and...I'm sorry. I didn't..."

He shook his head. "You didn't realize. I know. But I think you'll be fine with a little rest. How much farther, Prince Nokto?"

"We're here," he replied, maintaining his carefree smile as he gestured lazily out the window. "And we just crossed into Kloss territory, so we're making good time."

I looked out the window at the sprawling estate as we pulled through the iron gates and onto the cobblestone driveway. The stately mansion at the end of the long, curved road, framed in luxurious gardens wrapping around the outside of the driveway, seemed only slightly smaller than the palace. Blooming flowers provided groundcover for the section of garden enclosed on all sides by the circular driveway, directing the eyes to a large fountain graced by the statue of a beautiful woman as the centerpiece, clear water bubbling from the top of her head and trickling down her hair and gown to the pool below. I opened my mouth to say something about how lovely it all was, and then the carriage came to a stop, sending a jolt of pain through me that made me squeeze my eyes shut and whimper.

"Let's get you inside so you can lie down for a while," the doctor said kindly. I nodded, and he scooped me up carefully with practiced movements that didn't further jostle me.

"Here, I'll take her," Prince Nokto said from somewhere nearby. Outside the carriage, probably.

"Careful," the doctor said, handing me down. "Easy, now."

"I've got her," Prince Nokto said, cradling me gently against his chest. "Licht, get somebody to help you with the trunk."

"Don't worry about the trunk," I said softly.

"She's right. It's too heavy," Theresa said. "I'll get what she needs from it."

I felt like a doll, being carried and passed around, but I was afraid to move for fear another wave of pain would wash over me. Prince Nokto was carrying me inside, following Prince Licht, by the sound of it, with the doctor close on our heels, and then a new voice joined those talking around me and about me.