Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Yer Hair!

When Tidas had bellowed before while speaking with Skye, Petrie had jumped awake and yelled. He smacked his face into some low, wispy branches, scaring him more. Maevis had seen the whole thing, and quickly rushed over to clamp his mouth shut. She didn’t want all his squawking, or her own laughter, to ruin the couple’s serious moment.

Tidas wrapped his arms around Skye’s waist as her arms went about his neck. She giggled her delight at the knowledge of the addendum, and what it truly meant for him to have signed it. Mind you, Skye still wanted to read it over herself. But Tidas was not the type to lie about something as serious as this. Especially when she could easily find out as soon as they returned to the castle.

At the thought, Skye exclaimed and released her hold on her prince. She looked up at the sun, then back to Tidas with a distraught expression. He smiled knowingly before saying; “Time’s wasting away, love: your other conditions?”

Not missing a beat, Skye replied, “Maevis must be able to train with me everyday that she deems it to be needed; I will not budge on that. You must also find me a sword master closer to me height and build. Ima also wantin’ full access to the Royal Library. I want to research Shepherds and me new powers more extensively. And the most crucial one; ye swear on MY life that ye won’t break yer word, or lock me away..”

Tidas had expected nothing less from Skye. She knew what needed to be done before the prince could even process it all. He hadn’t thought about the differences in their body structures yet. He would definitely need to find someone else to train her, or her lessons would amount to nothing.

“I will do all that you ask. However...” Tidas leaned in so the two watching them couldn’t hear: “I will, on occasion, lock you up in our bedroom.. But I promise to be in there with you when I do...”

Skye inhaled a sharp, quiet breath. Her prince’s words pulled at her desires, making her thankful that it was her wedding day. Her wedding night was now something she was Very much looking forward to. Tidas cupped Skye’s cheek, and guided her to his lips for a gentle, bittersweet kiss.

.....

“Alrighty then! That’s my cue to leave,” Petrie practically shouted as he fenced at Maevis with a stick to get her to leave him alone.

“Thank ye again for saving me, Petrie,” Skye said in a sweet voice as she turned to face him.

“Thank you for not drowning me with yer freaky water bubble,” the young Nomad replied with an awkward smile.

“Make sure to come and claim your hunter’s permit within a week. We must head back to the capital after that. And Petrie...” the prince had walked over to him as he’d spoken.

Tidas was but a few inches for the young Nomad when he reached his arm out, patted Petrie’s shoulder firmly, and said: “Along with Skye’s powers, you be better off not mentioning my name either...”

Petrie knew it was more of a threat than a request, but he brushed it off. Even Murdoc had admitted to Petrie’s odd ability to sense whether a person was good or bad. The feeling he got from the prince wasn’t evil, just... overprotective of his woman. Not that Petrie blamed him: Skye was something else. If she wasn’t so crazy, Petrie could easily fall for her.

“What name? All I know is that some knights killed the others while I made off with this pretty basket and the wee bit of food in it. Like I said before; no one will miss those four,” Petrie had motioned to the basket as he’d spoken, then the three bodies that laid sprawled out on the ground near their campsite as he’d finished.

“I’m sure Nicolas will have his wolves, or something the like, clean up the mess later,” Maevis spoke in an apathetic tone.

“Lovely... Now Ima definitely gone,” Petrie threw his hands up, signaling his limit.

The four joked and talked another few minutes or so before they actually went their separate ways. Skye was to sit in front on Thoth, with Tidas behind her, and Maevis in Skye’s lap as she sat sidesaddle. She’d not been happy about it, but quit her complaining when she saw it’d made Maevis feel bad.

“I’m sorry for all the complainin.. ‘Twas childish of me,” Skye had apologized as they rode.

“It’s alright dearie! It’s understandable!” Maevis yelled over the rushing wind swirling about them as they rode.

As the wind whipped about, it’d made Skye’s hair hard to manage. Tidas had a hard time trying to get on Thoth. She’d explained to the horse their situation, and the horse had nodded like he’d understood. The whole thing was normal to Tidas, but Maevis looked like she’d been hit with a shovel. They quickly explained how Skye had raised and trained Thoth, alleviating some of her fear. But the question still hung in the back of her head: ‘Did Skye have a Tamer trait too?!’

As they road through the rolling hills of Moonshire, Skye still couldn’t believe she would soon be in a new home. She’d made plans to come back for Yuletide this year, but it wouldn’t be here home any longer. The realization saddened her, but she knew that it was just the way of things. Children grew up and moved on; creating their own lives. As the greens and yellows of the trees wizzed by her, Skye wondered what she would feel when their children would leave home one day..

As they approached the gates to Moonstone Castle, they could clearly see twenty-five or so knights waiting. Tidas signaled them, causing one of the older gentlemen to come running. He was surprisingly fast for how old he looked. Skye wondered a moment if he had the same Tank aspect as Tidas did. ‘Or maybe he was the one who trained Tidas?’

Once his face was visible, Skye realized he had been the same guard to come and fetch her from her room yesterday. His features held both relief and anger as he came to a stop several feet from Thoth. Tidas pulled on the reins, signaling Thoth to stop. When the horse tried to walk into the knight; Skye had yelled at him to halt, so he did. It was starting to make Maevis really wonder, as she laid under the picnic blanket on Skye’s lap: ‘Is the lass really a Tamer as well?!’

The thought scared her so much that she nearly gave herself away. Pushing the idea from her head, Maevis listened to the soldier as he spoke to the prince.

“May I speak my mind, sir?” the man asked and he huffed, but you could tell it was just a courtesy due to Skye’s presence.

“Of course, Ralph. Say what you wish,” Tidas replied jovially.

“Pardon my language my lady: What the Bloody Hell Sir?! You can’t just ride off without warning like that! I know you... have ways, of defending yourself. But for the love of the Gods! WHY would you not say where you were going? Or for how long?! To ANYONE?!” Ralph’s voice cracked at the end, sending the man into a coughing fit.

Skye gently scooped up the blanket on her lap like it was something delicate, then hopped down off of the monster horse the two had been riding. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Thoth began to nicker and sway his body slightly. Tidas knew the jerk of a horse was telling him to get off before he threw him off. How, he wasn’t sure, but the horse had clearly not liked Skye jumping down and him remaining. As soon as Tidas dismounted, Thoth took the few steps he needed to be able to nuzzle Skye’s cheek; causing her to giggle.

Tidas smiled broadly at his love, then turned to the soldier who stared at Skye. Completely confused about her hair, he looked back and forth as he spoke; “We tried to find you to let you know that one of the servant women was hurt badly by that young Fowler fella.”

Skye turned away from Thoth to stare at the soldier. Her heart sank in her chest as Peggy’s loving face popped into her head. Panic gripped her throat as she turned to Tidas with a fearful look. Then, she took off running as fast as she could towards the gate without a word. Thoth followed; trotting along behind her like a faithful dog until a stable hand stopped him from entering the castle.

Running past all the guards and a few servants; Skye’d made a beeline for Peggy’s room. It was a small room compared to the rest in the house, but it was all hers. All other servants either had homes with families, or they used the servant’s quarters by the kitchens. Skye had wanted her servant close by, so she’d convinced her parents to give Peggy the playroom she never used.

Skye turned down the small hallway that led to her quarters. As the doors came into view, Peggy was coming out of her room. Skye screamed out her name, scaring the elderly woman in the process. The moment she saw her bairn, tears began to gather in her eyes. She smiled for a split second before shifting to shock. As Skye ran to her, the old servant yelled: “What the BLOODY HELL did ye do to yer HAIR?!”

Skye had absentmindedly dropped the picnic blanket as she reached out to hug Peggy as tightly as possible without hurting her. The old woman embraced her back; whispering thanks to the Gods for her safe return. When Skye laughed at her remarks, she broke the hug to give the lass a hard look.

Peggy huffed before asking Skye what was so funny. When a tiny person popped out of the blanket on the floor, the old woman shrieked her dismay. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. When she quirked her head slightly to the side in confusion, Maevis stated with a grin and a chuckle: “Fae, sweetie, not the Gods... We’re a lot more fun, haha!”