The meadow stretched and wide, the small village far behind us now. A breeze blew my hair back, it teased the fabric covering my basket. The Prince's hair almost barely moved, showing no resistance to the wind. The grass whizzed by as Rufus’s hoofs pounded the earth, the rest of the mares behind us. The bags jumped on his side, but it seemed it never bothered him. He was wild and free in this grassland, we were just wind on his back.

My heart raced at the adrenaline pumping through my veins. The grasslands then turned into farmland, filled with cattle. A few cows yelled at us, a couple calfs seemed excited to see us. The Prince slowed down and fished out a black silk cloak.

“Wear this, you're going to want it.”

I pulled it on, the guards halting their horses till I clipped it and pulled the hood over my head. Rufus takes off once more, so suddenly I almost dropped my basket. The farmland faded into a town, the sound of shoppers almost echoed through the streets. We slowed down to a trout as the crowd parted, noticing the royal stallion and it’s riders.

“The Prince! Daphne get over here!!!”

A young woman ran over, almost tripping on her skirts. The frills puffed out, making it difficult to weave through such a crowd. The mother and daughter pushed through the crowd, finally breaking through and standing in front of the party. They both bow, the mother looking sickly determined and the daughter shaking nervously.

The Prince and Rufus let out an annoyed click almost simultaneously. The mother's make-up caked face tightens into a diplomatic smile.

“Welcome to our humble town your majesty. I hope you have the time to stop for lunch at the manor-”

“No I don’t, sorry Miss.”

Rufus goes around her, huffing in annoyance. I hear a small tisk and a sigh of relief, but the woman doesn’t give up. She once again placed herself in front of us, folding her hands in front of her waist.

“Well what can I do for you!? We have multiple hotels here for you to stay the night in!”

“Could you get out of the way.”

“Whatever do you mean your majesty!?”

“Well I’m trying to pass through, I won’t be needing any shelter.”

“But you are still looking for your bride according to the last report-”

“Well that's outdated, move.”

Rufus again pushed forward, I felt a shiver down my spine. I gripped the cloak and basket tight, expecting what was going to happen next. I felt the Prince stiffen, and Rufus took off, the woman just missing my cloak.

“The Prince already found his bride? I wonder who is the lucky lady!~”

“Well, what I know is that she isn’t from here. So we aren’t getting any compensation for the last wife…”

“Wait, we have been getting paid for the king marrying one of ours?”

“Yeah, it all gets taxed to the governor…”

The voices faded off as we passed.

So there are other corrupt towns. So does this mean the money is going to where I came from…? No not Lethan!

“Uhh, is my town going to receive that compensation…?”

“Yeah, they will, until the next wife is chosen. Or until 50 years pass.”

“Which town…”

“Not the hometown, the place I find you. The royal family decided on that because of pasts like yours. It's not fair to the wife. That place is terrible anyhow, it's falling into ruin because of their actions..”

I let out a sigh of relief, glad the little village was not only getting a reward from the Kingsmen but a 50 year long payment from the royal family. They would be okay without me there.

We continued down the road, people looking up at us curious as to who the lottery winner was. The air cooled, Rufus stopped.

“Yeah I feel that to, we might actually need to stay the night.”

“Huh?”

I lower the hood so it just covers my horns, I look up and clouds are gathering. Gasps echo around me, I look around to see men frozen in shock. Some drop their bags and run over, like they were enchanted by me.

“Is that the bride!!! The Prince’s Bride!!!”

A crowd started to gather as the water above started to drip down. The men reached up to see if they could grab my hands. The hood slipped all the way down exposing my horns. Woman started gossiping and running to each other spreading the news. A few men backed off but a few persisted, the Prince tensed up more.

A few of the guards dismounted and handed their horses to the other guards. They hurried forward and started to edge back the crowd. The Prince glanced back at me and gave me an irritated look, he grabbed the hood and pulled it back over. We started moving forward again, but a onslot of rocks flew at me.

“THAT IS A RAM YOU BLIND FOOLS! I know fake ones and they DON’T look like that!”

A man in the crowd disrupted the excited men, a black bearded man stood, in a barbershop apron. He tossed pebbles into the air along with a small stone. He wore a scowl and glared at me, as if I had just robbed him of his money.

“Oh yeah look at the detail, they don’t have that much detail artificially…”

“So, it's a witch!? They have bewitched the Prince!?”

“WE MOVE NOW!”

Rufus is thrown into a sprint by the Prince, pushing through the crowds forcefully. The uproar escalates to nonsensical shouting. Rocks were being directed at me, but it deflected off the fabric. The guards quickly mounted and followed, taking up the sides and one moving to the front. The rain slipped off the cloak and fell down to the moving path. The princes shoulders gradually became more soaked as we exited town.

“When do we reach the next town?”

“In a half hour sir…”

“Okay, Lina keep your hood on at all times, I hope that was proof enough.”

He sighs but we keep going, he shivers slightly.

If only I could help…

I hugged him and partially wrapped the water resistant cloak around him. My chest warmed up slightly as the amulet pushed up against his back.

“Lina, what are you doing. You are aware that you’ve made a water barrier around every horse right?”

I quickly look up and around, seeing a barrier around every soldier. The rain hits it but bounces off to the ground. A few of the soldiers look at the bubble, one pokes it.

POP

A loud pop echoes through the wind and I feel a shudder come from the charm. The soldier looks around panicked and looks at me hopefully.

“Your screwed Issac! Hahaha!”

“Nice job on the bubble!”

“You missed a spot Issac!”

The guard blushed and shook his brown hair around, freeing stray water droplets. He kept his eyes mostly closed, which seemed impossible to see out of. The Prince's body rumbles and he relaxes.

“There's something going on with you. Before there were only a few men who would look at you, all the sudden they were begging for your attention. I don’t know if I should have given you that.”

“I don’t understand either, this never happened with my grandmother…”

“Hmm, interesting. Kinda unfortunate that witches are executed on the spot, we have no books to refer to here.”

“Books? On witches you mean?”

“Yeah, there are some but they are written by normal diplomats hoping to convince people that witches are servants of the devil. When really they are just normal human beings with some extra spice. A little extra flavor in their lives that diplomats can’t even buy. They are jealous of you, able to swoon all the men to follow your will. To be able to project barriers and dry clothes like you are now. I am a bit jealous myself, a commoner gets to have all this fun while all I can do is just sit and watch.”

“I mean...It's not all fun and games when you're on the run…”

“That is true. By the way, could you help poor Issac quickly.”

I nod as he chuckles and picks up Rufus’s pace.I looked back and tried to remember what I did to cause it.

I want to help Issac.

A barrier shot up around him and his miserable horse brightened up, relieved of the heavy weight of a drenched guard.The wind picked up slightly, thunders rolled across the fields. Shudders went through the horses, they’re ears twitching around with worry.

“Speed up, before this magic decides to cut out.”

The Prince pats Rufus’s neck and he slowly grows faster, the mares eagerly taking his lead into the farmland on the next town. The mud beneath the horses hoofs rapidly dried and kicked up dust, leaving a trail behind us. I pulled the cloak closer to my face as we went under the gateway into the town. The Prince looked around frantically, his eyes settling on an Inn.

The charm buzzs, and the barriers clasp around us, causing the pooled water to splash up on us. The Prince hops off Rufus and starts to help me down.

“Fuck, Issac bring Lina in and tell them to prepare two rooms with three beds and one room with a queen size.”

“Yes sir!”

Issac dismounts and hands his horse off, he comes over just as the Prince hands me my damping bag. Issac directs me over to the Inn. As soon as we enter the warm fire starts to seep into our water lodged clothes. The middle aged man at the desk looks at us in shock, he gets ready to greet us but Issac stops him.

“Could we please get two triple rooms and one queen room for the Prince’s party!?”

“Y-yes right away!!!”

The fit man scampers off to the back, his feet stomping up the stairs in a hurry. I look around and see a tavern style room to the right of the desk. A few men talking with each other, glancing at a woman perched on a bar stool. The woman dressed quite risky as she sipped her drink, spinning the liquid around in the cone glass. Another table was playing poker, chips clicked together as its players bid them up. None of them spared us a glance, at least not until the Prince could be heard swearing as he came into the Inn.

“I’m fucking done Ryan, Issac are they getting the rooms ready!?”

A mad member of royalty stomped in, thoroughly soaked and miserable. The rest of the 5 mops came in, dripping water to the floor.

“Yes the owner is preparing them right now sir!”

The charm rumbled at their misery, drying me as it made fun of them. The Prince shot a dirty look at the charm, and his eyes rose to my face. He tsked and started ringing out his sleeves, getting out the most moisture he could.

“Ummm, your majesty, the floor…”

“Oh...opps”

The amulet buzzed in annoyance but evaporated the water off the floor. People look over with confusion and curiosity at what is occurring. The owner comes rushing back down the stairs, he takes a deep breath and sighs in relief.

“The Prince’s room is ready, so are the guards. The prince's room is on the right, the last room. But you didn’t say anything about the servants quarters…”

“It’s fine, we will get her settled. Thank you for getting the rooms ready on such short notice.”

“No problems here, your highness, if you need anything let me know. We do have some food available on the house.”

“That's appreciated, though I think we only need food for the guards. You guys can order what you want, it's going on the budget.”

“Ahh thank you your highness!”

The Prince huffs and grabs me, tugging me up the stairs and down the narrow hallway. He opens the farthest door to the right and lets me in, locking the door behind us. He grabs the basket from me and starts to pick through it. The dim light from the window lights the room with a blue tinge, almost depressingly.

“I’ll just grab from this gift basket, I'm not that hungry anyway.”

I nod as he pulls out a simple loaf of bread and hands the basket back to me gently. His body relaxes as he bites into the bread. The charm buzzs and evaporates the water from our clothing, leaving us dry.

“That necklace is a double edged sword, it loves us and it hates us.”

It hums innocently as the Prince finishes his dinner. He starts unpinning the metal accessories from his suit and places them on a dresser neatly. He hops onto the freshly washed sheets and kicks off his boots. He kicks back on the bed, putting his arms behind his head. He taps the pillow next to his.

“Well let's get some rest Lina, we have a long trip tomorrow.”

“Uhhh, same bed…?”

“Yeah, just get over here and rest. I’m not going to do anything.”

I fidget a bit, wondering if he was telling the truth or it was a lie. He tisked and hopped up, walked over to me and yanked me into the bed. Firmly wrapping his arms around me, the light from the window dimed as I found myself relaxing in his arms.

His warm breath slowed as he cuddled closer to me, the necklace grew silent and I slept.