Erindythe Pt 3
an excerpt

Roden turned to the left and found his own room, number 7. The room was steamy, but clean, and smelled of scented soaps and oils. He stripped down and slid gratefully into the water. He simply soaked for several minutes, feeling the aches of travel and the stiffness of sleeping on the ground and floor of his house seep out into the hot water. He examined the arrow wound in his side. All that was left was a light scar. Unicorn healing was an amazing thing. He had only just soaped up when he thought he heard a voice he recognized. It was too far off to be certain, or to make out what was being said. His heart panged at the thought, though.
A moment later there was a banging on a door near by. Followed by the creak of it opening and a masculine yell. And then a distinct apology. Roden knew he recognized the voice.
“Sahia?”
“Ah ha! Number seven. TODRIC!”
The door burst open, and a figure stepped in. Roden yelped, and was immediately out of the tub, standing. In his scramble to stand, he accidentally splashed the woman standing in the doorway. She took his towel from the rack and wiped her face.
Even as slightly built as she was, she made an imposing figure standing with her arms crossed. She was not tall, but wore high heeled boots. Her heavy bold yellow dress brought out gold highlights in her brown hair. Hazel eyes regarded him angrily.
“Where in (insert swear word here) have you been?” she demanded.
“Sahia! I can explain, really. I am sorry. I was going to find out after I had had a chance to bathe. It has been a terrible two weeks-”
She cut him off. “You had best have a really REALLY good explanation, Todric. You just up and abandon Father and me at the bank. No one knows where you are or what you are doing. You just completely vanish off the face of the planet for two weeks. What in the (insert swear word here) do you think you are doing?”
“I am truly sorry, Sahia. Please, close the door and I will tell you everything.”
Sahia did not move.
“Then can I at least have the towel to cover myself with?”
“You do not have anything I have not seen before,” she snapped.
Roden blushed a deep crimson.
“You finally turn up again, and do not tell anyone you are back, but you can go shopping. And then I hear you are here with some girl?”
“She is my sister.”
“You do not have a sister.”
“I... I do. I have just never mentioned her before. I have never spoken of my family.”
Sahia glowered, realizing he was right, he never had.
“Then start talking.”
“Sahia, I... I wanted to tell you. But I was kind of in hiding. And there never seemed to be a good time, and then I wasn't sure what you would think... so I just... didn't. I was going to come find you later today, and try to tell you gently.”
“You can quit stalling any time now and start your lofty explanation.”
Roden winced. Sahia could be exceptionally mean when she was truly angry, and this was about the most angry he had ever seen her. Certainly the most angry she had ever directed at him.
“All right, give me a moment.”
“I am waiting.”
Roden took a deep breath. “I... I have to leave Portton. My past came back to haunt me, and nearly killed me. My sister is here, and I have to go with her.”
Sahia looked at him with incredulous disbelief.
“I am the prince of Erindythe, Lovey. My parents are- were King Marnon and Queen Jezaline. That is why I was so upset when we found out about Froykell's take over. My sister is Princess Myranna.”
He was cut off again. “You know as well as I do that the princess is dead. The soldiers just paraded that disgusting dragon head through town proclaiming Thog slew it. And now they've got all these princesses from other lands being shipped in to replace her.”
“She is not dead. Nor is the Dragon that supposedly ate her. They both live. And we are going to reclaim the throne from Froykell.”
The look of utter disgust she gave him made him take a step back, and he nearly tripped into the tub.
“Please, Sahia,” he implored. “I did not mean to leave so suddenly like that. Some of Froykell's men were looking for me. They knew who I was. I had to get away quickly. I did not want to risk them hurting you to get to me, so I took them out of town. They nearly killed me.” He showed her the scar left by the arrow. It was pale and looked years old now, the Unicorn healing had done wonders for him.
She glared. “It does not look so life threatening.”
“Only because I was healed by a Unicorn.”
“Oh puh-leeze! Look Todric, if you want to call everything off and go gallivanting with some wench, just say so. I do not need some fairy tale about princes and princess and dragons and unicorns.”
“But... it is true...” Roden's voice petered out as he realized just how foolish the whole thing sounded. “I am sorry, Sahia. I am sorry I did not tell you sooner.”
She saw the look of utter sadness on her face, and though she tried harden herself to it, she could not. “Fine. Let us just imagine for a moment that what you say is true. Why are you here, in Portton instead of Cha'ier, where you belong, Prince.” She spat the last word out, making it a clear insult.
“I left. Many years ago. I was 13, and I took some of my closest friends, and we went adventuring. I had it in my young head to go see all of Erindythe and meet the people and what have you. My parents forbade me when I asked them. So I left in secret.”
“You seem to be good at secrets,” she growled.
Roden just continued. “We kept in hiding, evading my father's personal guard for a month. I wrote back from a fishing village in the north to let them know I was alive and well. With in days of writing that letter, we stopped seeing the guards. I wrote back every chance I got, which was not often. But, then in Pastrad... we got lost. And a Griffin...” Roden stopped for a moment, before shaking his head and continuing. “I lost everything, and everyone there. By the time I finally made my way out of the Plains, I had no idea how much time had passed. I did not know I had been stricken from the books until I came here, to Portton. I... was miserable. I felt guilty. I could not go home at the time, so I stayed here. And started over. Then I met you, and even though I thought about going back more than once, I stayed here because of you.”
“I suppose you want some honor rings for that?” She almost felt bad again as his face fell again. However, she held her ground.
“Now, Myranna is working her way back to Cha'ier after running away the night before her wedding. She wants to gather what may be left of the Resistance and reclaim the throne.”
“Did you not see the body parts staked out over the hangman's scaffold? That is what happens to folks to try to Resist.”
“I know. I know it will be dangerous. But I have to. I have to take responsibility and fulfill my duty to all of Erindythe.”
“What about your duties here? To the bank? To Father? To me?” she snapped.
“I will come back.”
“In how many pieces?” she cried.
“Just one. We will be careful. Myranna has already survived the best of their hunters, plus the wilds of Erindythe. She has some big friends, including a Dragon and a couple of Unicorns.”
“Oh, so now it is multiple Unicorns? Come off it.”
“Sahia! I would not make this stuff up,” Roden exclaimed, at a complete loss.
“You know what? Forget it. I am not even going to deal with it any more. Go do... what ever it is you are going to do. I am done.” Sahia stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.