This love is like a curse (35)
The woman flashed her eyes angrily and said each word as if squeezing it out through her teeth:
“Do my words seem ridiculous to you too?”
From the rage emanating from her, he involuntarily took another step back. The princess’s fragile body, which barely weighed a handful, trembled, and she raised her voice, almost shouting:
- How many times do I need to repeat it for you to understand? I said leave me alone! Or do my words seem like a joke to you?
“I’m just...” Edric, answering confusedly under the pressure of her accusations, looked at her with a confused, offended face. “I was just afraid that you would lose consciousness from hunger, so I brought food...
The princess snorted in his face with open contempt:
“Why are you worried about me, you pathetic upstart?”
- I am your knight, your highness. My duty is to protect you...
Suddenly she laughed—shortly, evilly. He blushed. He had never been ridiculed to his face before, and he didn't know how to react to it.
The princess, looking at him mockingly, slowly added:
- Do you think I'm completely stupid? Do you think I don’t know that the Knights of Roem are nothing more than the crown prince’s mutts?
His face hardened. She turned her gaze to the basket in his hands - with disgust, as if at something dirty, and said coldly:
-Who knows what you put there? Do you think I'll eat this? To get poisoned or disgraced?
- I am a knight! - Edric exploded. Anger seethed within him. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life, his ears were burning. “Your words insult not only me, but the entire order!” We took an oath before God himself to protect the imperial family! None of us will harm you!
“And you think I’ll believe it?”
He was speechless looking at her icy face. She wiped the previous grin from her lips and turned on him with a cold voice:
“If you want to curry favor, go to my half-brother and sister.” I don't need it.
With these words, she slammed the door in his face.
Edric clutched the basket so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He felt that if he loosened his grip, he would throw open the door and start yelling at her so that she would finally stop being stubborn.
With eyes full of rage, he stared at the door, but soon turned around.
He did everything he could. There was no point in continuing to persuade a woman who openly humiliated him and looked at him as an enemy.
Edric threw the basket onto a shelf at the entrance to the common tent and headed towards the place where food was being distributed.
The knights were already sitting on the grass, barely lit by fires, and having dinner. He joined them, took a full plate and greedily attacked the food.
He repeated to himself, over and over again, like a spell: “Let this bitch starve, I don’t care...”
* * *
Talia, who had been tossing and turning restlessly in the darkness, carefully stood up. Pulling back the curtain on the window, she saw several dim lights - these were the lanterns of the lookouts. Everything else was drowning in darkness.
Raising her head, she looked at the black sky, devoid of even moonlight, and slipped out of the carriage.
In recent days she had been eating only bread and a couple of pieces of fruit in honey, and now there was no strength or stability left in her body. She even thought that maybe she should have accepted that food from the stupid knight.
He didn't seem smart enough to make evil plans. Maybe she was so wary of him in vain?
But as soon as she remembered his simple-minded face, she immediately drove these thoughts away.
Hadn't she been taught that the most dangerous people are those who approach with a harmless smile? Who knows if he was hiding behind a mask of good nature his intentions to do something terrible...
Slipping past the tent, Talia looked warily at the sentries at the fence and slowly, silently moved on.
The eyes had already become accustomed to the darkness, and triangular roofs of tents, a line of carts and silhouettes of horses loomed in the shadows.
She carefully stepped between the tents, trying not to get caught on the stones. A light wind blew from the hill, running coolly through her clothes.
The smell of cut grass and dying firewood tickled my nostrils. Talia, relying on her feelings, continued to sneak in the darkness...
Soon she managed to find the home of her servants. Squinting, Talia peered for a long time, trying to understand whether she had come correctly. Then she carefully climbed onto the nearest cart and, curled up between the bulky stacked bales [1], stared towards the entrance to the tent. She hoped that the spy sent by her mother would be active tonight.
She hugged her knees and peered into the darkness without blinking. From time to time we could hear soldiers snoring or gnashing teeth. The horses snorted and the night insects chirped. She didn't know the night could be so noisy.
Thalia counted every second with concentration and pain, trying to calm her painfully tense nerves.
How long did she sit there, holding her breath? Gradually, the black sky began to lighten, filling with a bluish-blue hue. Looks like tonight will be a quiet one.
The girl carefully stretched her stiff body. The joints crunched as if they were screaming in pain. While she was rubbing her numb limbs, holding back a groan, a dark shadow came out of the tent.
Thalia narrowed her eyes.
Due to the darkness, it was not possible to see the face, but it was clear that she was a woman with a thin figure. Thalia, straightening up with difficulty, quietly followed.
They walked along the chain of carts for a long time until Ayla’s carriage finally appeared. Her palms became sticky from cold sweat, and the girl hastily wiped them on her hem.
“How nice it would be if this woman got inside... And did what I should have done.”
With this desperate hope, Thalia stared at her back. But the woman passed by and headed further - to the very edge of the camp. The princess looked over and immediately tensed. In front of the tent fluttered the banner of the house of Siekan with a black stallion embroidered on it.
Thalia rushed there, almost tripping. But as soon as she was distracted for a moment, the figure disappeared. Frantically examining the tents one by one, the girl stopped, staring at the entrance to the right one.
“Did...she really go in there?”
My heart sank. If Ayla and Longboat get engaged, Gareth's position will become even stronger.
The House of Siekan had enormous influence not only in the east, but also in the north. If Ayla becomes Grand Duchess of Siekan, Gareth will receive the support of the nobility.
It was likely that her mother decided to eliminate Barkas to prevent this.
Having thought of this, Talia, as if driven by something, took off from her place and burst into Longboat’s tent. Common sense was out of the question.
She rushed around the dark tent until she pulled back the curtain in the center. The bed was empty. He, as always, most likely started the day long before dawn. Perhaps inspecting the camp or checking on Torque's condition. This thought flashed through my head, but the anxiety did not disappear.
She felt the empty bed, checking for any traces of blood. At that moment, heavy footsteps made her suddenly raise her head.
A large man stood in front of the tent.
Thinking it was Longboat, Thalia rushed forward, but immediately froze. A lightly dressed Gareth stood in front of her, looking at her in surprise.
- What are you doing here? - he asked coldly, raising an eyebrow and looking at her with an appraising glance.
Note:
1. A bale is a large packaged package, a bundle of something.