A Rock and a Heart Place (gxg)

Chapter 6

"Damnit! Where is she?" Prince Joppa complained as he slammed his gloved fist into his thigh. He and his troops had set up camp between the mountains and the castle, thinking that Princess Inez would quickly march to confront his father. But so far, she hadn't shown up, and they were doing nothing more than disrupting the few traders that came through while they searched their wagons.

"Prince Joppa, she may not come this way, there are other options. Or, as your father said, it may take her some time to recover from the effects of the curse. She could be sleeping and resting before she goes to challenge the king," pointed out Captain Kaspar.

Joppa just snarled, upset at being thwarted. "If she doesn't come this way, where else could she go?"

"She could stay in Winterhaven, which seems highly unlikely, or she could take a ship northwest along the coast and come into the capital from there, getting allies in the coastal cities on the way, or she could take a ship east to Southington, and then up into Dallinia and approach the capital from the east," Kaspar said as he ticked off the options on his hand.

"And all we can do is wait?" Joppa scoffed?

"We would be better served having spies in all of those places. When we hear of her arrival, then we go to find her and offer our services as mercenaries," Kaspar suggested.

"Fine. We will stay here for a few more days as a precaution but get word to our spies to be on the lookout for her," Joppa commanded.

The second time they slept in the tent, Inez didn't wake up with Medya on top of her, which was too bad in her mind. This time she woke up spooning the slim woman, her body tucked in close to Inez and her little cat ears twitching to tickle her nose. She had always been attracted to the more ladylike women, like Aethyl, but Medya was something else. Inez had a sudden tear in her eye as she realized that her Aethyl must have been some of the ruined statuary in the shrine room, but she hadn't been able to recognize everyone.

As sweet and nice as Medya had been ever since she freed her from her prison of stone, Inez could tell that she was a dangerous woman. Not that she needed to fear her, but that if provoked she could defend herself. The sword that she had leant her was proof enough of that, and her magical tricks seemed quite potent, even if the only used them for killing squirrels. But right now, she was sleeping peacefully, and Inez could only imagine if they were somewhere warmer, and not sleeping in all their clothing just to keep the chill away.

But then, if that were the case, Medya wouldn't be in her arms right now, would she? She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the warmth of the girl in her arms, wishing that life could be different somehow.

Her eyes snapped open as she felt movement in her arms. Medya stretched her arms over her head, turning onto her back as she started to wake up, and leaving her face just inches from Inez's. As her chocolate brown eyes fluttered open, a look of panic came over her features and she tried to scoot away. But this time Inez was ready, and her arms were like iron bands around Medya as she held her close.

"Shh, shh... It's ok. Don't be scared, it's just me." Inez held her close, seeing some of the panic dissipate, and the tension start to ebb away.

"I'm sorry, I was just startled a bit," Medya admitted in a soft voice.

The princess looked down at her temporary captive, still trapped in her embrace. "Medya, are you afraid of me?"