As the prince's charger approached, I
drew a hand to my chest and let out a cry. “Oh, brave hero, I plead
for your aid!”
Merrick gave glanced at me before
leaping to his feet. “Foolish boy, you cannot succeed, for she is
mine!” Merrick said, his voice tinged with a disgust that I wasn't
sure was aimed at the prince, or at the dramatic words.
Just because the hero, villain, and
princess have an overly dramatic banter in stories didn't mean we had
to do the same now. Or did it? Would Merrick fail his exam if he
didn't act like a villain?
The prince was close enough now that I
could see he wasn't someone I knew. Probably some younger son from
one of the northern kingdoms trying to make a name for himself.
“Take that!” The prince shouted as
he threw something and jerked his horse to a halt.
Merrick ducked, and the... spoon? Yes,
it was a spoon now lying on the ground.
This had to be a younger son. With at
least four or five older brothers.
Merrick gave a laugh that wasn't quite
wicked enough for a dark wizard. “Is that it? I would have expected
better, but you are just a prince.”
The prince pulled a short sword out of
a sheath connected to his saddle. “Prepare for battle, villain!”
Merrick studied the sword for a moment.
“Ah, I don't think so.” He said as he jerked his arm up with
fingers outstretched.
The prince sneezed, then his eyes
fluttered shut and he slumped sideways.
Which unbalanced him enough that he
fell out of the saddle.
“Oh, no!” I cried, racing over to
the fallen prince. Until I checked and found that he seemed to be
fine other than being the victim of a sleeping spell, my worry was
genuine. I didn't want anyone to get hurt just because I'd agreed to
help an apprentice wizard.
“Oh, my poor prince!” I let out
another wail to keep up the act, and cowered closer to the
unconscious prince as Merrick approached.
The look in his blue eyes as Merrick
studied the prince revealed that He'd been concerned about the
prince's fall as well, though the wizard tried to hide it behind
another laugh.
“He was no match for my powers, and
now his horse is mine.” Bending down, Merrick gripped my arm
gently. “Up, princess. Get on the horse.”
I did as ordered, though it chaffed at
my pride to accept his command. Who was the royalty here? But still,
riding would be more comfortable.
Even if a part of me felt guilty about
taking the prince's horse.
The horse wasn't large enough to carry
both of us, but Merrick seemed to move faster now. Come to think of
it, he hadn't seemed too weary from our trek through the fields
either. Was I simply weak, or did he have unusually high stamina?
As the day wore on, I decided that it
must be some bit a magic that kept Merrick going. Since acquiring the
horse, we hadn't stopped for a single break. Yet Merrick seemed only
a little fatigued from our journey so far.
At this pace, we'd be wherever we were
headed before sunset.
The horse jerked to a halt, wide eyes
rolling as it pulled its head up as far as Merrick's grip on the
reins would allow I glanced around, and spotted what the horse must
have smelled.
“Troll!”
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