“Of course.” I didn’t have a quill and looked at Madison.
“Orlan tuacara,” she said. “It will engrave your name.”
The three of them beamed as my hand hovered over each sword and as I whispered the spell, my name slowly engraved, as if I’d used a hot poker to burn it in.
“Wow, thank you so much!” The three exclaimed when I finished, and ran off to their own table. They jumped up and down, excitedly telling their parents. I wished they hadn’t been so loud about it. Everyone would hear and it would cause a commotion.
“I wonder how they knew,” I said, picking up a slice of bread. I loved making the children happy but being out here with no guards to stop a crowd worried me. “I’m not dressed like a princess. I’m not wearing my crown.”
“The mermaid guessed I’m sure and probably has told everyone in here by now, and if she didn’t, they heard it from those kids,” Madison said, sounding a little annoyed. “Lora said your name when we were ordering. Your name isn’t common and everyone knows you’re at the nearby academy.”
Lora’s cheeks reddened. “Oh, should I not have?”
“We’ll see here in a moment.” Madison sipped her wine surveying the room.
Many eyes shifted toward our table and my stomach twisted. There were few times I was allowed to go out in public like this. The last time I was in Delhoon and when people learned who I was, a crowd started clamoring and pushing to see me. Fights broke out, grown adults cried when they touched my cloak, or if I even said hi to them. Guards had to surround me and shoved through the crowd to get me out.
The guests invited to the castle didn’t act this way, nor did the students but the general public was awestruck by my presence and I could not understand why. I hadn’t done anything remarkable in my life. I was simply famous because of my parents. I wouldn’t even rule Delhoon for hundreds of years, assuming my mother lived that long.
Bindy slowly moved her chair closer to mine. “We’ll need to leave soon. Eat up, girls.”
It was the fastest meal we’d ever had and even that was not quick enough. A group began forming near our table, pointing and talking loud enough that I heard them. They wanted to come and talk to me.
Madison grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
The girls formed a circle around me without being told, and we went out the door, to be met by an even larger crowd. I didn’t know how word had spread so quickly but it was remarkable.
“Is that the princess?” someone shouted over the chatter.
“Which one?”
“Get on your horses,” Madison said, voice sharp as the tip of a spear. “And don’t stop.”
“The one in the middle!” a woman shouted pointing and then she ran at us. “Princess Visteal, Visteal, please bless me with your magic!”
She ran into a magical barrier that either Madison or Bindy put up and stumbled back. “Wait, please!”
A shot of panic surged through me. What would they do if they got close enough?
A man tried to push through the shield, and soon people were banging their fists against it like it was glass. I hoped it wouldn’t shatter.
“My child is very ill, do you have a potion, princess?” a woman shouted. By her ragged attire she couldn’t afford it. I wished I did have one. “Can you heal him with your magic?”
“I’m not like my mother when it comes to healing, I’m sorry,” I said looking at the sad small boy beside her. “And I don’t have a potion.”
Freya nudged me. “I have one in my bag.”
“If you give it to her then everyone will want one,” Madison said.
“Not everyone is asking for one.” I halted. Even though I wanted to rush away, I couldn’t let us walk by when we had more than enough potion when we needed it and one available here. “Give it to her, please, Freya.”
Freya broke away from us and put the potion in the woman’s hand. “For your child.”
Tears streamed down the woman’s face. “Thank you so much. Thank you. You saved my baby boy.”
The people shouted and shoved against the barrier and I wanted to scream, “Get away!” But I had to hold it together. We hurried the last few yards and I was a sweaty mess despite the chill in the air by the time we got on our horses.
Relief washed over me as we rode across the town into the Hesstian section. I wouldn’t be so easily recognized here and luckily we weren’t followed. We spent the rest of the day walking in and out of shops. Looking at dresses and tasting baked goods and chocolates. They weren’t nearly as magic focused as Little Delhoon and friendly uniformed soldiers walked the streets, often stopping to help people.
When dark clouds rolled in overhead, I thought it was time we go back to the academy. Perhaps we’d get ahead of the storm. I said as much, and the guards at the gate waved at us on the way out. After riding for a half-hour, a streak of lightning filled the sky with light and a crack of thunder followed seconds later. My horse jumped and I tightened my grip on the reins. “Woah, settle down, boy.”
We’d only been riding minutes after that when I smelled rain. It hadn’t hit us yet but it would soon. I reached into my bag and pulled out my cloak, securing it tightly and pulled on my hood. The others did the same and we turned our easy ride into a faster pace. There was no shelter between here and the academy and if we hurried, we could hopefully ride for another hour and be there.
The rain hit us like a wall of water and I was soaked in under a minute. The sky had darkened so much it appeared as night which had me on high alert. If my inkling about vampires was correct, they could be out here waiting to strike. When my horse slipped a few times in the ever-increasing mud, I called to Madison to slow down. Even if it took us longer, I didn’t want to risk my horse falling with me on him.
Another rip of lightning revealed shadows of three persons in the distance ahead of us. Madison held up a fist and pulled back so all of us stopped. I rode up beside her and Bindy beside me. “They could be friendly but let’s be prepared for them not to be,” Madison said.
Bindy turned around in her saddle. “You girls stay behind us but line up next to one another. Weapons at the ready.”
Legacy pulled her bow and the others, their swords. We rode on slowly and the distance between the strangers and us closed faster than I expected. Two men, one woman, none of them wore a cloak or jacket. Any normal person would be freezing and yet they stood in a line walking toward us, grinning. I think all of us assumed they’d step off to the side but they blocked our path and unless we intended to run them down, we had to stop.
“Is there something we can help you with?” Madison called over the loud pattering of rain.
“Why yes,” the woman in the middle purred. Her dark wet hair clung to her face and bare neck. “We’re hungry.”
“We don’t have any food,” Madison said. “But the town is close by.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw little blue sparks bouncing between my grandmother’s fingers.
My sword rested against my thigh, and I gripped the smooth handle. The weight of it comforted me. I watched the man on the right more than the others, the way he hunched, his cold eyes, the tenseness of his curled fingers…