Work Text:
The knock woke him in the early morning hours. He had been asleep in his own bed. This night, he had not gone to her, and she had not requested it of him. He didn’t think it wise, in any case. Something had shifted between them with his earlier admission, and her talk of marriage and William. He had known that it would be something she needed to consider- the Kingdom would one day need an heir, after all. He just hadn’t realized that she was equally aware of it. It made him uncomfortable that she was, for it hurried the day when she would no longer have need of him, to protect her, and also to comfort her. Even, perhaps, to be near her. The difficulty was that he could not foresee a day when he no longer had need of her.
He had claimed to be better than William, but was he really? William certainly loved her because she was the Queen, where Eric loved her despite it. Only one man could hope to have her, and he already knew that he did not have the advantage there. Could not have it, for he could not hope to marry her, and as for the other… he would not take from her what could not be replaced. She had lost too much already.
So he had resigned himself to another lonely night, telling himself that it was for the best. He had been out in the villages for nearly a week anyway- it did not seem so strange to have a bed to himself once again.
Yet, he knew the knock. It could only be her. He opened the door, expecting to see her. He was not, however, expecting her to be standing before him fully dressed in boots, leggings, and a short dress, as short as he had chopped hers in the woods when they first met. Yet this was not that garment- this was not hacked off with an axe, but intentionally made in the fashion, neatly hemmed and trimmed. Her hair was braided and she carried a rucksack over her shoulder.
“What in the name of Heaven…” he hissed, pulling her inside and shutting the door behind her.
“I am not waiting,” She announced. “I am going to see my kingdom, truly see it, and not from the window of a carriage drawn be steeds and trailed by a caravan of mules.” She shot him a defiant look. “Every report that we have had says that things that were dead are returning to life, growing and blooming and raising hope throughout the land. The entire purpose of seeing my realm is to see this, and so see my people as they truly live, not to sit safe and ignorant behind castle walls, admiring tapestries and being waited on by servants. “ Her lips tightened. “I mean to go now. Tonight. And I’d like you to come with me.”
“No.” he said automatically, without really pausing to consider what she had said. He was astounded by the absurdity of the idea.
“I’m going.” She insisted.
“It’s stupid.” He said flatly.
“That’s quite the change from when you claimed to be in favor of me traveling to see my kingdom.”
“Aye, back when it was a plan for you to journey with guards, and supplies, and other people- not when it is a reckless, rash agenda to endanger your own life.”
“Ah. I see. Your concern is that I lack “adequate protection?” she asked sourly, echoing his words from the council meeting.
“Yes!”
“Then come with me.”
Eric crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“I am not adequate protection,” he informed her.
“You managed well enough before,” she pointed out.
“Those were very different circumstances. And need I remind you that you did not emerge from that ordeal unscathed.”
“I emerged alive,” she argued, “Which I’d say gives us pretty fair odds, considering that we’d no longer be running from the henchmen of an evil queen who wants to consume my heart.” She looked him squarely in the eye, not cowed by either his stature or his obvious frustration. “I am leaving. Now. You are free to choose this time to refuse me, but even if you do, I will go alone. I think we both know that I would be safer if you came with me.” With that, she turned on a booted heel and left the room.
He could try to do something. Inform someone else, maybe, and hope that they could make her see reason where he could not. It would only be waste of time, though. He knew intractable, pig-headed determination when he saw it, and damned if she didn’t have a stronger streak of it than most. It had allowed her to withstand and endure each hardship she had faced- and it was why he knew there would be no convincing her.
With a muttered curse, he began throwing things into his own rucksack, thankful for his habit of never unpacking fully. Casting a hasty glance around, he slung the bag over his shoulder and wrenched open the door. He needed time to reach the kitchens and steal some food before he tried to catch up with her.
He found her in the stable, about to mount the horse. She had two saddled and bridled, but only one was laden with saddlebags and supplies. When she caught sight of him, she slid her foot back out of the stirrup and rushed to meet him.
“You came!” she exclaimed.
“It’s still a foolish plan,” He told her crossly.
“Less so now that you’re here” she told him lightly. He gave a non-committal sort of grunt, but knelt to give her a boost into the saddle. His had brushed her knee lightly, lingering for only a second, a touch so brief it might have been accidental… or might have been what it was- a touch to reassure himself of her presence and her safety, at least in this moment.
It took him a matter of minutes to secure his own belongings and swing up into the saddle of the second horse. As soon as he was seated, she clucked softly to the horse and set them moving to the stable door. Shaking his head to himself, he followed her.
Outside, the sky was the deep, rich blue that precedes even the breaking dawn. The world had lightened enough to outline the shapes that hulked and loomed in the darkness- stone walls, stacks of barrels, and bales of hay. All were inky shadows and silhouettes, for it was still too dark to reveal detail and color. The vibrant hues had been leeched out of the world, replaced with shades of blue and grey and black.
The clop of horses hooves sounded loud as they broke the stillness and silence, although they moved slowly and fairly quietly. He wondered for a brief moment how she intended to pass the guards at the main gate, but she didn’t lead them there at all. Instead, she led them toward a smaller, postern gate in the North wall. He had to duck considerably to make it through without hitting his head on the close stone arch. Once clear, he brought his mount up alongside hers.
“Where do you intend to go, Your Majesty?” he asked mildly, trying very hard not to let his voice be clouded by any of the myriad of things he was feeling that should not be addressed to a queen.
“West,” she said decisively.
“Into the forest?” he asked, somewhat surprised. He had expected that she would want to head east, to the larger villages and towns along the coast.
“Into the forest,” she confirmed.
Heaven help him, but he could not help but feel a thrill of excitement at her words. It wasn’t only that the journey was beginning to appeal to his sense of adventure, much as he would have claimed that as the cause. No, it was also something far less noble. The forest was where he had met her, where he had begun to fall in love with her, even grief-stricken as he was. It was where she had been a girl- just a girl, and not the Princess. Not the Queen. It was his place, and theirs. And they were going back.