A dull pain throbbed in Phillip’s chest as he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Right, he’d been injured. He remembered nothing other than seeing Alfred and Chandler jump into a fight with Gaulean savages. After that, everything went dark.
No light lit the room save for a fledgling fire in a small stone hearth. He scanned the room, noting the windows were covered with what looked like… branches? He lay on the only bed, but a small form huddled under a blanket in front of the hearth.
Phillip tried to ignore the intensifying pain as he slid from the bed. The blanket fell, revealing his state of undress. He picked it up and wrapped it around his waist before walking across the tiny room. A privy sat to the right with a small simple kitchen to his left. Whoever lived here had everything they needed in this one room.
His brow creased as he moved close enough the see the girl. An orange glow from the fire lit her pale face. Straw-colored hair fanned around her head. She mumbled something and pursed her full lips.
Phillip’s blood rushed in his ears as he watched her, unable to look away. This was his savior? He bent down to get a better look at her high brows and rosy cheeks.
Memories flashed through his mind. Had he woken before? Had he met her? An image of a tall, dark-haired woman came to him. What had she said?
She’d called her Aurora. That was all he remembered.
His legs wobbled beneath him as he breathed deeply. Blood dripped down his chest, and he looked down to see his wound had opened up and soaked the bandage. He stumbled back, crashing into a small table. A chair clattered to the floor.
The girl he’d been watching only moments before shot to her feet, her eyes wide. “You’re awake.” Her voice had a breathless quality he wanted to hear again.
He nodded. “I can’t sleep forever.”
A dark look crossed her face, but it was gone so quickly, he thought he’d imagined it.
She shook her head. “No, but you can sleep this night. You shouldn’t be out of bed.” Her eyes drifted to his bare torso. “And you’ve opened the wound. Go lay down. I’ll get a new bandage.”
He obeyed her without question, lowering himself to the bed. “I’m really okay.”
“No, you’ve lost a lot of blood. You need a few days’ rest.”
“What I need is to return to my men. They’ll be searching for me.” He tried to sit up, but she pressed a strong hand against his shoulder.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You don’t know who I am. I will go where I please. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
She raised an eyebrow and lifted her hand. After a moment, she met his eyes again. “Go ahead. Try to leave.”
He pushed her away and got to his feet, holding the blanket around his waist, and stumbled to the door. He gripped the handle and pushed. The door didn’t budge. He rammed his shoulder into it, mustering every bit of strength he could. Pain shot through him, but still, the door didn’t open.
He turned back to her, leaning against the door for support. “What did you do?”
“The trees and grasses and vines all obey my magic. You won’t be going anywhere until I’ve decided you’re recovered enough. Now, sit back down and allow me to change that bandage.”
When he sat without further argument, she pressed a palm to his chest. Her touch warmed him. She cleaned the blood from his skin with a rag she pulled from a bowl of warm water beside the bed. When she finished wrapping a new bandage around his chest, she sat back to examine her work.
He used it as an excuse to study her. She looked so fragile, yet had a surprising amount of strength, both physically and in strength of will. He couldn’t remember the last time someone contradicted his demands.
She ran a hand through her wild hair and smiled. “You’re going to live.”
He relaxed, his earlier anger dissipating. “I… you saved me, didn’t you?”
She bit her lip. “Really it was Lea. She dragged you all this way.”
“Lea?”
“Oh… um, my mule.”
He couldn’t help the laugh escaping him. She credited her mule with saving his life. “Well, thank Lea for me.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear, a dimple appearing in her cheek. “I don’t know your name.”
“Phillip,” he said quickly. He didn’t know why he needed her to have his name so badly. Names held a power, and he wanted her to have a piece of him, even if it was just in thanks.
“Phillip,” she repeated in her soft lilting tone. Her eyes widened and when she spoke next, he got the distinct impression she spoke only to herself. “Phillip. The battle. Please, Aurora, tell me you didn’t trap the crown prince of Bela in your home.”
Phillip waved a hand in front of her face. “Uh, hi. Yes, crown prince here. The kingdom will forever be in your debt for saving me.”
She distanced herself from him. “I don’t need the kingdom’s gratitude.” She hugged her arms across her chest. “But I’m still not letting you go. You wouldn’t make it across Bela to the palace in your condition. I’m sorry, your Highness. I have the power to keep you here, and I’m using it.”
Phillip grimaced. His friends would tear the kingdom apart searching for him if they didn’t already mourn him as dead. His father was ailing, and his mother ran the kingdom on her own. She needed his help and yet, here he was trapped with a strange girl he couldn’t take his eyes off.
“At least tell me your name.”
“Aurora.” She blushed. He’d already realized she did that a lot. In his mind, he heard La Dame speaking her name. Maybe she had been here after all. “Please don’t call me Highness, Aurora. Just Phillip.”
She frowned. “But that’s what you are. A prince. I don’t…” She brushed a hand through her hair. “I don’t have experience with people. I may be simple, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to treat royalty.”
Her words brought a smile to his lips. She said she was simple, but he could already see there wasn’t a simple thing about her. “Please.” He met her gaze. “Just Phillip.”
She sighed and got to her feet. “Fine, but Phillip, you need sleep. So, rest.”
“You should have your bed.”
“Are you going to question every decision I make?” She turned away from him, mumbling to herself. “This was a mistake. You don’t have any right to be in the presence of a prince.”
He grinned as she continued talking to herself. This girl was one stop short of crazy. She lived alone in the woods, talked to herself constantly, and locked people in her cottage.
Yet, her soft murmuring allowed him to drift into a peaceful sleep with only one question on his mind.
If it had been real, what association did a girl like Aurora have with the dark sorceress?