SWNOVELXO Chapter 14: If You Didn't Know Better
The Grand Duke's procession moved with all the steady swiftness of the rivers Elara had glimpsed cutting between the earth from the windows of Caspian's castle. The clinking of armor and the rhythmic clop of horses' hooves offered a comforting soundtrack to the otherwise monotonous task of sitting in a carriage alone with no one to talk to.
Fifty knights rode in precise formation, their armor glinting in the sun, while carriages carrying food supplies for the journey and Elara's new wardrobe held coachmen and maids who sat on the plush velvet seats on the front of said carriages. It also wasn't lost on Elara that her carriage was the only magical carriage in their procession; this would further help her stick out when she arrived at the capital. The frugal Grand Duke who had thrown heaps of gold to purchase a magical carriage just for his lover. It would make a good story, indeed.
Elara's carriage was in the dead center of the procession, surrounded by knights, so when she went to gaze out the window, most of the scenery was blocked by shining armor and the thin cloud of dust the horses kicked up, but the air was crisp and fresh, carrying the scent of pine and earth still damp from the morning's dew.
She leaned out of the window now, letting the late morning breeze play in her carefully styled hair, and watched the rolling green hills and dense woods of Chirondale.
It was stunning to see. Again, merely seeing words on a page flippantly describing Chirondale as beautiful and seeing its beauty for herself were two entirely different experiences. Sunlight streamed through the canopy of falling leaves and naked branches, painting elaborate patterns on the worn dirt path. Wildflowers bloomed in clusters along the path, and every now and again, the song of birds broke through the routine of the procession's march. She felt like a child leaving the confines of their city for the first time as she drank in the sights and sounds with wide-eyed wonder.
The first time they had traversed the path to the Grand Duke's castle, she'd mostly been in shock. But now as she took everything in, she could really see it for what it was. It still felt like a dream to her--in fact, she'd had dreams about this very same scenario before--but she knew she wasn't dreaming. The wood of the carriage, the plush velvet seat beneath her, the warmth of the sun, the sound of scattering leaves. All these things served to prove to her that it was all real.
Every so often, Caspian rode close enough for her to catch a glimpse of his back at the front of the procession. His white hair gleamed in the sunlight as he spoke with the knights. When she saw him like this, he really was like the Caspian in the novel series. The Caspian who was aloof and commanded his knighthood and territory with an ease that befitted someone who should've been king. She'd all but forgotten this side to him because he was always so...soft when he spoke with her. He gave off the impression to her, sometimes, that he was trying very hard not to scare her.
Come midday, they stopped to rest in a small clearing by a babbling brook, where the horses could drink and graze. Elara stepped out of the carriage with a coachman's help, stretching her legs for the first time in hours. After Crisseda had assured Elara's comfort, she went off to help the other maids prepare a light meal for the group. The dismounted knights had gone off to stand watch high up in the trees where they could spot every small movement.
How they got up there, even in the light armor they wore, Elara had no idea.
Elara was seated on a tree trunk protected with a velvet covering that Crisseda had put down so as not to ruin Madame Faylan's impeccable work and was watching all the hustle and bustle of the maids, the knights, and the coachmen when she saw Caspian heading over in her direction.
"Was the trip difficult for you at all?"
She shook her head. "I'm not exactly used to sitting down for so many hours at a time, but I imagine it must've been more difficult for you and all the knights, you all were on horseback. I hear that's a real pain in the ass, all the pun intended." When he blinked in surprise, and a genuine laugh erupted out of him, gaining the attention of the whole group, who turned to look at them in utter bewilderment, Elara smiled and went on, "I've been enjoying it all, really. It's incredible. I never thought I'd see anything like this."
Caspian's gaze went to rest on the splendor before them, the fields stretched to the horizon, kissed by the afternoon sun. "It's one of the things I missed while I was at war," he admitted. "The feeling of freedom this land gives. It's why I fought so hard when I came back to reclaim it from the monsters."
Elara looked up at him. "Was the southern province free of monsters at one point?"
He nodded. "I came here only once. With my mother as a boy."
That was news. Something else that wasn't mentioned in the novels or even in Caspian's character profile.
He cut a look at her. "Was that not mentioned."
She sighed. "No, it wasn't."
He was quiet for a moment, contemplating. "I was a five-year-old boy at the time we came here. We came with my...with my father, the king. The land back then was as it is now. Rolling grasslands and hills, creeks and rivers and mountains. I fell in love with its beauty. And then the war happened, and all the able men were called to the frontlines, and there was no one left to protect the southern province from monsters, and it quickly fell to ruin. This place is the home of the last good memory I have of my mother, so it saddened me to see it fall. I promised myself that if I returned from the frontlines, I would take it as a sign the gods wished for me to restore the southern province to its former glory."
She was quiet for a moment, taking in this new information. "You did a good job," she said, grinning up at him. "You've made it safe enough that, even with such a large group of us, not a single monster has attacked us."
Caspian stared at her for a moment, then he looked away, gazing out at their group. They fell into a comfortable silence, and of all the things that had surprised Elara since she came to this world, this part had to be one of the most surprising parts. She was the type who didn't often find herself comfortable with people, especially when things got quiet. She always felt like she had to fill silences, to break them with some kind of sparkling conversational skill she lacked. But here she was, standing with the man who she had dropped all her other fictional husbands for in complete silence, and instead of feeling pressured to speak, she felt compelled to stay silent because she didn't want to ruin such a perfect moment.
Crisseda came running over after some time, a bowl of stew, some bread, and a canteen in her hand. Caspian excused himself to speak with Chancellor Kyran, who was chatting away with one of the knights who Elara had seen come from the trees in the forest. The air around them made it clear he was reporting something and he'd gone to Kyran so as to not disturb the Grand Duke and his lover.
The food wasn't nearly as good as the roast, duck, and chicken served in the Grand Duke's manor, but it was impressively good for something cooked out in the woods. Even the bread somehow managed not to be hard. When she leaned over to ask Crisseda, who was sitting on the large tree trunk next to her, how they'd managed to bake bread in the woods, Crisseda said, "Erin can cook anything, anywhere. You should've seen how surprised the Grand Duke was when he took her with him when they were hunting monsters and she made rolls with no oven. I've never seen someone look so surprised."
She and Elara laughed together at that. When everyone had finished their meals and the maids had washed their dirty dishes in a tub of water they'd gathered from the brook and placed them back into their packs and loaded them back onto the carriages, Caspian said to the group, "We'll get moving at once. At the pace we're going, we're expected to reach Zephyrdale before nightfall. The nights have spotted a group of orcs loitering nearby, so we'll be taking the northern route instead of going straight ahead. We'll get there a little later, but so long as we all stay the course, we'll arrive in Zephyrdale in no time."
After everyone had gone off to mount their horses and take their positions on the carriages, Caspian led Elara back to her carriage and helped her into it. As she climbed onto it, she turned to him and said, "You're too good at this," too low for anyone but him to hear.
"Too good at what?"
"The dutiful lover act, you play it too well." She shook her head. "I'd be a lost cause by now if I didn't know better."
He tilted his head. "And what if you didn't know better, Miss. Elara?"
Elara flushed and averted her gaze. The liquid depths of his eyes had become too difficult to look into as she scurried onto the carriage. As he closed her in, she thought she heard him chuckling.
Elara's heart, hammering loudly in her chest, could be heard even over the horses' hooves as they continued their journey westward.