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ALTHOUGH KATERINA WOULDN’T have believed it just a few weeks before, her legs had become conditioned for a mountain hike. They made it into the village well before noon, and were able to set up an impromptu stand to sell their remaining food before the local workmen came back from the mines for lunch. As fresh-made jam and butter were in short supply, especially the delicious ones Bernie had provided, they sold all their wares quickly and were left counting their coins.
“Not bad,” Dylan murmured, slipping a handful of bronze into a leather pouch inside his jacket. “Not quite enough for what we need to buy...but it’s close.”
“And what exactly is it that we need to buy?” Katerina asked, sticking close to Dylan as she dodged the usual curious stares from the townsfolk.
Strangers were seldom seen in those parts; towns tended to act as giant families, and any traveler from the outside world was news indeed. Let alone travelers that looked like her and Dylan.
Sure enough she heard the telltale giggling, and looked up to see a group of blushing girls hurry past, casting him secret looks as they whispered behind their hands.
“I need a new handle for my hatchet. It split up the middle when that flippin’ giant threw me across the field. And you need a new a pair of shoes. Proper hiking ones.”
Katerina turned to him in surprise, automatically glancing down at her tiny feet. While the rest of her wardrobe might have changed, she was still wearing the same dainty slippers as when she’d left the castle, and they weren’t holding up well to the mountain terrain. “Oh, I didn’t...” She trailed off, not knowing quite what to say. “I mean, can we afford something like that?”
A little grin crept up the side of his face as he continued packing the supplies they’d be taking with them. “I think we can splurge just this once. Heaven knows I love shoe shopping.”
Katerina let out a giggle, which was soon echoing across the town square. She looked over again to see the same group of girls still watching, hiding behind the door of the local pub. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and was about to get back to work, when a sudden question occurred to her. One she hadn’t thought to ask until that very moment. “Dylan...do you have a girlfriend?”
He almost dropped the bag he was holding. Those blue eyes of his shot up in surprise before hastily lowering back to the ground. “What do you mean?”
A mischievous smile danced in her eyes, and she suddenly found herself highly interested in his response. “It isn’t a difficult question. What part of it didn’t you understand?”
“No, I... uh... meant, why are you asking me?”
This time it was Katerina’s turn to suddenly not know where to look, taken aback by the directness of the question. She fumbled for a moment, before the girls giggled again and she found her escape. “I’m just saying...you’re breaking a lot of hearts over there. The least you could do is show them some skin. Do a little dance or something.”
He glanced towards the pub in surprise, noticing the girls for the first time, before returning to his work with a look of complete indifference. “A dance, huh? Show some skin?”
She flashed him a grin and tightened the strap on her bag. “If nothing else, we may be able to get some more coin—”
“Princess Katerina?!”
She and Dylan froze at the same time. Eyes fixed on the ground. Every muscle hardening perfectly still. They were facing away from whoever had spoken, and without turning around it was impossible to gauge how bad the situation might be.
One guard? A dozen?
Katerina’s heart pounded behind her eyes as a strange tingling sensation started spreading up the base of her neck. She was going into shock. It was easy to recognize, but hard to avoid. At any rate, she didn’t have time to be shocked right now. She needed to breathe. She needed to think.
“But I thought she was older than the prince. That they were twins, but she was born first.”
Wait... what?
The icy panic holding the princess loosened its grasp just enough that she was able to turn around. That she was able to glance over her shoulder and see the two farmers talking behind her.
“I thought so, too, but I guess not.” The taller of the two men folded his arms authoritatively, then spat on the ground. “If Kailas is on the throne, he has to be the rightful heir.”
The rightful heir.
Just hearing the words was enough to make her blood boil. The image in front of her started pulsing with rage, and she was about to lose herself entirely when a hand clamped down on her arm.
“Kat?”
She jumped like she’d been burned, and looked up to see Dylan standing in between her and the farmers.
He was staring down at her with a very strange expression on his face. A mixture of concern and a sort of abstract caution she didn’t fully understand. He studied her for a moment, trying to decide what to say, when he cocked his head suddenly to the main road. “There’s another village just a few miles from here. They might have what we need.” His dark hair spilled across his forehead as he stared into her eyes. “Do you want to leave?”
It was a strange question. One made even stranger by the fact that they were already in a village, and just over his shoulder she could see rows upon rows of little shops.
But in that specific moment, none of that seemed to matter.
Katerina took one more look at the farmers behind her. One more look at the chain circling around Dylan’s neck. And she suddenly couldn’t stand to be in the town any longer. “Yes.” She pulled her arm away and stormed up the street. “Let’s go.”
They left without a backward glance. Without a word between them. But it wasn’t until the little village was far behind them that Katerina realized the obvious question.
She knew why she had frozen.
But why had Dylan frozen, too?
* * *
THEY HIKED THE FOUR miles to the next village in relative silence. Either unwilling or unable to address what had transpired in the marketplace. Oddly enough, it was Dylan’s silence that frightened Katerina more than anything else. More than questions, or accusations, or even carrying on as though nothing had happened. Because something had happened. She just didn’t know what.
Fortunately, she didn’t have long to wait. Before it would have seemed possible, a chorus of familiar sounds echoed up the road. The sound of people laughing, people talking, people bargaining as they haggled over things to buy. Both she and Dylan came to a simultaneous pause before proceeding onward at the same time. Moving with an instinctual synchronicity. Never more than a few inches of space between them. As two travelling companions alone in the world tended to do.
“Now this is more like it.”
They stopped at the top of a hill, looking out over the encampment in the canyon below. It was an outdoor market on wheels. A giant, multi-colored extravaganza. Teeming with life. Bursting with activity. But that wasn’t all there was to it. For a second, Katerina simply stared. Then her eyes widened as she began to slowly process what she was seeing.
“None of them...” She trailed off, feeling very much like she’d stepped out of the real world and into one of her childhood storybooks. “None of them are human.”
Indeed, they were everything but.
Dwarves were peddling their treasures. Trolls and pixies were working side by side. There were clusters of fairies selling nectar from a high-hanging row of potted plants, and a pack of shifters was challenging everyone who walked past to arm wrestle (after inadvertently consuming all the ale they’d been intending to sell). Scores of witches, and goblins, and vampires, and nymphs were wandering from booth to booth. At times they’d pause to make a purchase. At times they’d pause to flirt. But most often they simply wandered around. Chattering noisily. Drinking heavily. Completely isolated from the rest of the world in the safety of their own little bubble.
Carnival of freaks.
“This is where we’re going?” Katerina asked, failing to understand Dylan’s enthusiasm. While she might be literally aching to see some of the creatures up close, after her last encounter with the supernatural world she was more than a little hesitant to venture any closer. “Down there?”
He felt her stiffen, and glanced down with a crooked smile. “Relax. I can feel you stressing from here. Just stay close, and you’ll be fine.”
Yeah, or maybe I’ll be attacked by vampires. Or kidnapped by dwarves. Stranger things have happened. Like, VERY recently.
She put her hands on her hips and tried her best to sound reasonable. “You do realize that we’re going to stand out, right?”
A look of anticipation danced in his eyes as he took her by the wrist and started leading her down the hill. “In this crowd...what better way is there to blend in?”
What better way indeed?
As ironic as it was, Dylan was right. No one gave them a second glance as they wandered through the bustling market. There was simply too much else to see. There were fire-breathers and baton-twirlers. Contortionists, and a woman who looked suspiciously as though she might be part bird. Everywhere you looked, there was something new and exciting. Katerina was so spellbound that she hardly realized someone was talking to her until a wrinkled hand grabbed her by the wrist.
“Such beautiful eyes you have, my dear.”
She looked down in surprise to see the most ancient, mottled, semi-terrifying lady she’d ever seen. Her yellowing fingernails were long enough to curl. Her beady eyes seemed to pierce right through the princess’ skin. And her brittle white hair framed a face so overtaken by a hooked-nose that there was little room for anything else. But, despite being born sometime in the Stone Age, she was nothing if not strong. Already, the tips of Katerina’s fingers were starting to turn blue.
“I’m...I’m sorry?”
A hag, she suddenly realized. This must be a hag.
She elbowed Dylan discreetly in the ribs to get his attention, while the hag took a step closer, curling a crooked finger around the princess’ cheek. Katerina shuddered at the touch.
“You have such beautiful eyes,” she repeated, a hungry look flashing in her own. “I’ll give you twenty shillings for the left.”
“For the left...” Katerina trailed off, her face paling in horror. “For my left eye?!”
A strong hand pulled her backward, out of the hag’s grasp.
“No, thank you,” Dylan said sweetly.
A second later, he was tugging her down the street. The old woman melted into the crowd, pouting, as Katerina struggled clumsily to keep pace. She couldn’t help flashing continual looks over her shoulder, as if at any moment the crone might reappear and demand her right eye as well. “Did you just...” she panted in shock, clawing at his arm, “...did you just hear what she—”
“Yeah, I did.” He came to a sudden stop, far too preoccupied with his own problems to care much about hers. “Take it as a compliment. In the meantime, we’re going to need a bit more money than what we have now.”
Katerina waited for further elaboration, but none came. Instead he fell silent, levelling her with an expectant stare. She stared back for a moment, waiting, before flashing a sarcastic smile. “Well, why don’t I just run down to the magical money store and get some?”
“That’s hilarious.” He didn’t crack a smile. “But not exactly what I had in mind. Do you have any skills? Cooking? Sewing? Singing? Anything at all that could be of use?”
Perhaps he didn’t realize how condescending he sounded, or perhaps he did. With Dylan, it was hard to tell. Katerina folded her arms defensively over her chest, eyes narrowing with a glare. “Do you have any useful skills?” she fired back.
“I most certainly do.” Without further ado, he raised his voice and called out over the crowd. “Does anyone here need someone killed?”
Katerina’s mouth fell open in shock as the creatures nearest to them glanced over curiously, then talked amongst themselves. She’d thought it was some kind of terrible joke, but not a moment later a springy little man in a giant sunhat waved his hand about excitedly.
“I do! I have someone I need killed!”
“Perfect.” Dylan nodded at the man, then handed Katerina a shilling. “Take this, get us both some lunch. I’ll be back within the hour.”
“You have got to be joking!” she exclaimed.
He frowned at the coin before glancing at the pub. “It won’t be more than that.”
“No! I mean about the—”
“Gotta go.” He swung his pack over his shoulder as the little man eagerly weaved his way through the crowd. “One hour. Don’t go wandering off by yourself. Stay at the pub.”
Katerina quickly slipped the shilling into her pocket, fighting the rising panic in her chest. “But I thought we were supposed to stick—”
A second later, he was gone.
“—together.”
Her shoulders wilted as she was left standing perfectly still in the middle of the bustling crowd. Then her head turned towards the pub and she started trudging forward with a quiet sigh.
“They’d better have biscuits...”
* * *
AFTER HER LAST VISIT to a tavern, Katerina had learned to be cautious. After being stolen by a band of thugs away from said tavern, that caution had developed into a healthy fear.
She sat at a private booth in the back corner, where she had a good view of the action without really being a part of it. It was a wise decision. Over the course of the next hour, she witnessed no less than nine fights, five dance-offs, and one very uncomfortable proposal.
A dwarf drunkenly serenaded a nymph. A shifter proudly proclaimed he could turn into the ‘king of beasts’ before accidentally shrinking into a hedgehog. And unless Katerina was very much mistaken, the same troll she’d seen dancing in the first tavern was dancing here as well—eyes closed with a beatific smile on his face as he swayed back and forth to a melancholy ballad.
And this is why we’re supposed to stick together...
As it neared the hour mark, Katerina got up from the table and made her way up to the bar to order some food. They seemed to have a wide selection, but she had yet to see anything remotely edible for humans. Although a part of her dearly wanted to order Dylan some scarab shells just to see the look on his face.
“What’ll it be today, miss?”
Her eyes flickered up to the bar as a man with three too many arms wiped off the counter while simultaneously offering her a menu. She took it quickly, not wanting to stare, and ordered the first thing innocuous enough for her to recognize.
“Two sandwiches and two ciders please.” She laid her money upon the counter and tapped her fingers nervously as he disappeared into the kitchen. It had only been about thirty seconds since she’d gotten up from her table, but already she was getting ‘the eye’ from no fewer than seven different men seated around the bar.
Don’t accept drinks from anyone, and don’t let anyone drink you. Rules to live by.
To live by is right.
When Katerina finally chanced a peek around, she saw a man grinning at her from the end of the bar. A grin that was made all the more feral by the two giant fangs hanging all the way down to his collar. The man by his side wasn’t much better. He was suave enough to blow a kiss, but when he turned to the side Katerina could have sworn she saw a pair of gills.
She stifled a shudder and took the tray of food as soon as it was offered. With a hasty “keep the change,” she swiftly headed back to the table, keeping her head down and her eyes locked firmly on the floor.
If only it was enough.
“Well, hello there!”
The tray vanished right out of her hands, disappearing into thin air. Her lips parted with a gasp, and she jerked up her chin to see the tallest man in the world smiling down at her. At a first glance, he seemed to be all limbs. Legs as long as her body. Arms that stretched down to the floor. But upon closer inspection, he was actually quite small. The impressive height, as well as everything else about him, was nothing but an illusion. The same sort of illusion that had stolen her lunch.
“Hello yourself,” she snapped, her temper getting the better of her. She’d watched these hooligans long enough to have no patience with them now. “Want to give me back that tray?”
He lowered to the floor with a toothy grin. “What’s the hurry? I’ve been watching you for a while, you know. The most beautiful girl in the village.” He curled his finger through the air, and a sprig of flowers popped into his hand. “I was hoping we might spend a little time together...”
“Absolutely not!” She swiped the flowers away and cast them to the floor. “Now give me back that tray before I—”
“Before you what?” he taunted playfully, thrilled that she was talking to him no matter how angry her tone. “You know, I think you’re even cuter when you’re mad.”
Oh, that’s it!
Without stopping to think, she swung her fist towards his face. It was a strong punch. One that came with absolutely no warning. She might have made contact, too, if the man hadn’t seen it coming and vanished into the air. The second he was gone his magic went with him. The flowers disappeared while her tray popped back into sight, sitting innocently on her table.
“That’s right, you’d better run!” she gloated, smoothing down her dress. Those who had seen the altercation lifted their hands with a polite smattering of applause, further boosting her rapidly inflating ego. “You have to use force with upstarts like that,” she said authoritatively, wishing very much that Dylan had been there to see her success. “Little coward—”
If only she had stopped there. But ever since her father was murdered and she was chased out of her rightful kingdom by a pair of hellish dogs, the princess was stuck with the very worst luck.
Her foot caught on the edge of a table, and her dress twisted around her legs. Less than a second later, she was falling in what felt like slow motion. Falling right...through one of the patrons?
She let out a frightened shriek as the man flashed her a cartoonishly-somber look. But just like clockwork, a strong hand came out of nowhere and caught her a second before she hit the floor.
“Making friends, I see.”
She straightened up to see Dylan staring down at her with a beaming smile. There was a flush of color to his cheeks and a windswept look of triumph about him. It only made things even worse.
“I wasn’t...” Her cheeks blossomed bright red as she gestured back to the tray. “If you must know, I was actually teaching these good people a lesson about...holy hot-sticks!” She both forgot and remembered all at once. “That man! Dylan, I think that I actually—”
“—went through him. Yeah, you did.”
She paled in horror as she glanced back to where he was still sitting, but Dylan merely flashed the man a cheerful smile. A smile that was absolutely not returned.
“Don’t worry about Lester—he died ages ago. Hardly even notices anymore.” The translucent outline of the man seemed to shimmer in rage as Dylan grinned again. “You all right, Lester?”
The ghost flipped him off and returned his eyes to the table, staring longingly at an untouched drink. Dylan waved obliviously and led Katerina back to their table.
“Yeah, he’s great...” She stared at him in shock as he settled down at the booth—tearing into his sandwich with the hunger of a thousand men—before perching tentatively beside him. He might be unaware of the giant elephant in the room, but she was unable to let it go so easily. And, no, it wasn’t the ghost.
“Did you really just kill someone?”
There was a pause in the eating. Followed by a splash of cider.
“Not someone so much as...something.” He lifted his arms and looked down in disgust at a thick layer of green ooze covering the front of his jacket. “That’ll take ages to clean...” A rather mournful expression flitted across his face before he lit up again. “But hey, I got the new hatchet I needed as well as some shoes for you. They’re in my pack—I’ll show you later.”
So many questions. So little time. But, strangely enough, now that the world had settled back on its axis and the two of them were reunited, eating sandwiches, it was a different question entirely that rose to the princess’ lips. “What did you mean earlier? When you said I wasn’t your type?”
Dylan choked on a piece of bread and washed it quickly down with a drink. He resurfaced a moment later with an unexpected smile. “Where the heck did that come from?”
Katerina grinned guiltily, pushing her sandwich around on her plate. “I was just wondering. I mean, when you asked me earlier today if I had any skills, if I could do anything useful...” She trailed off, the smile melting off her face. “Do you wish you hadn’t agreed to this?”
He froze a moment in absolute surprise before setting the sandwich back on his plate. “Kat, I never wanted to give you the impression that—”
“Because I get it,” she said quickly. “You’ve been out on your own for longer than you can probably remember. You know how to live off the land. You know how to fight. You can take care of yourself.” A sudden pang tightened her chest. She didn’t realize how jealous she was of those words until she said them out loud. “It isn’t any wonder that someone like me isn’t your type.”
His lips parted as a very strange expression flickered across his face. One that bore a strong resemblance to that soft tenderness she’d seen back in the woods. It was gone before she could say for sure. Replaced with an enchanting smile. “Yes, except that’s not what I meant in the slightest.” His eyes twinkled as he took a deep drink of his cider. “Beautiful, inquisitive, resilient, stubborn...that’s not my type at all.”
* * *
THE TWO OF THEM FINISHED eating as quickly as possible and made their way out of the outdoor marketplace, heading back to the main road. Dylan told her quietly over their food that he’d heard rumors and bits of idle talk that groups of strange men had been combing the countryside—working their way deeper and deeper away from the kingdom. While the news hardly came as a surprise, especially after what the giant, Bernie, had seen, it was plenty of motivation for them to get out of the open and into the woods.
“I still can’t believe you bought me shoes,” Katerina murmured as they headed past a caravan of shifters and goblins who’d set up shop on the side of the road. “The mighty Dylan Aires, shopping for women’s footwear. I certainly hoped you remembered that red is out this season—”
A low whistle interrupted her teasing, and the two of them glanced over to see trio of shifters gawking appreciatively from the side of the road. They may have looked like men on the outside, but whatever beast lay within had most certainly endowed them with strength. Even hidden beneath their clothing, Katerina could see the thick, muscular arms. Their powerful frames leaning casually against the side of a wagon, an assortment of needless weapons dangling from their belts.
“Well, aren’t you the luckiest man in the kingdom?” The tallest one called to Dylan, peeling himself away from the wagon and walking towards them with a surprisingly friendly smile. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a pretty girl in person. She yours?”
Am I...his?! What the heck kind of place is this?!
Dylan avoided the question but smiled back, keeping things intentionally light and cheerful. “Where are you folks headed?”
By now, the other shifters had joined them and a group of goblins came out as well, each one looking Katerina up and down before joining in the conversation.
“We heard there was a market nearby.” The man gestured to the wagons behind him, each one filled to the brim with everything from food, to clothing, to blankets, to blades. “Thought we might try our luck. See if we can unload any of this merchandise.”
And I wonder where you got that merchandise. Katerina’s eyes flickered over the wagons, suddenly convinced that everything she was looking at was either stolen or forged.
Dylan obviously thought so, too, but he kept a smile on his face and his opinions safely to himself. “I’m sure you will. The place is packed.”
“You just came from there?” The shifter pretended to be surprised, although it was clear they’d been walking down the road. “Shame. We were hoping we might entice you to trade. The girl for some food?” he asked coaxingly. “Or maybe a new blade to keep you occupied?”
Are they freakin’ serious?!
Both she and Dylan stiffened at the same time, although he kept his face a perfect mask of calm. For a second he raised a teasing eyebrow, pretending to consider, before refusing outright.
“If only I could.” He wrapped a deliberate arm around her waist, pulling her closer in an unmistakable display of possessiveness. “But I’m afraid I can’t do without her.” His eyes flashed to her face, twinkling with the hint of a secret smile. “She’s indispensable.”
For a split second, she was terrified they were going to take her by force. Terrified that the entire encounter would dissolve into a bloodbath that neither she nor Dylan would be able to walk away from. But the shifter in charge merely threw his head back with a laugh.
“Like I said...it’s a shame.” He lifted a hand to wave, while simultaneously signaling for the wagons to keep moving. “Safe travels. And please come find me...if you ever change your mind.”
Dylan’s arm tightened around her waist as he forced a tight smile of farewell. It wasn’t until the first wagon had passed them by that he dared to release her. And even then, she maintained a close distance as they walked through the tiny crowd. Dylan didn’t seem to mind. Men and goblins parted in front of them as they cut through, but they got their fair share of whispers and stares. At one point, Katerina could have sworn an especially brazen goblin grabbed Dylan’s derrière as they walked by.
It didn’t matter. He kept moving. Never slowing down. Never making direct eye contact with anyone they passed. It was a good strategy. The only strategy that was guaranteed to keep them both alive apparently. And it worked, too.
It worked all the way until a drunken shifter near the back of the group reached out and caught the edge of Katerina’s skirt.
Dylan had him up against a wagon before she could even turn around. His face pale with rage and the edge of his knife pressed against the man’s throat.
“Dylan, no!” she gasped, but it was too late.
The second the rest of them heard the commotion, the caravan stopped in place. Within seconds, the shifter they’d been speaking to—the one in charge—hurried to the back of the group, stopping short in surprise when he saw the scuffling pair by the wagon.
“What the heck is this?!”
Dylan glanced over his shoulder, but the knife didn’t move an inch. “I’d assumed when you bid us safe travels that you were being sincere. That we could pass through without harm.” He spoke through gritted teeth, visibly fighting the urge to cut the shifter in half. “I’d assumed that your word carried the authority for the rest of the group. Perhaps I was mistaken.”
Katerina’s eyes shot to the man in terror. It was a brilliantly worded explanation, one that required their release in order for the man to save face. She just wasn’t sure that kind of logic would work on people who lived in such a manner. The kind who were always itching for a fight.
She underestimated their pride.
“You were not mistaken.”
The man strode forward and ripped Dylan’s knife away with his bare hands. The shifter pinned against the wagon gasped in relief, but no sooner had he done so than his own leader grabbed him by the throat—punching him three times in quick succession. He crumpled to the ground without a sound. Eyes sealed shut. Out cold.
“And you will have no other problems. I assure you.”
His eyes flashed as he cocked his head towards the open road. It was a welcome dismissal, but a curt one. If Dylan hadn’t so publicly challenged his authority, there would most likely have been a different man lying on the ground.
And Katerina wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon.
She stood staring, her breath caught in her throat.
Dylan said not a word. He just nodded swiftly and grabbed Katerina by the arm, pulling her down the road at such a pace it was all she could do to keep from breaking into a jog. They didn’t slow down until the wagons were far behind them. Even then, they kept up a steady clip until they’d lost themselves in the greenery of the woods. It was only then that Dylan suddenly released her, spinning around so that he could examine her for himself.
“Are you all right?” he asked softly, looking her up and down while avoiding her eyes.
She nodded mutely. Now that the danger was behind them, she was far more interested in Dylan’s reaction than anything the shifters had done.
Indispensable, was she? Impossible to live without?
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more,” he muttered, still avoiding her gaze. “But with so many of them and just the two of us...I couldn’t see a way to kill the man while keeping you safe.”
Perhaps it’s because I’m beautiful, inquisitive, resilient, and stubborn...
“At any rate, I don’t imagine we’ll be seeing them again.” He took a step back, squinting up at the mid-afternoon sun. “Bands like that usually travel... they usually... why are you smiling?”
It was true. Despite everything that had just happened, Katerina was standing there with a giant smile plastered on her face. She didn’t answer him. She didn’t say a word. She simply took a step forward, stretched up on her toes, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you for the shoes.”
