Chapter 43: Chapter 43 - Troublesome journey
Outside the castle, Thalia rode on horseback with Solomon. A cloak was pulled over her head to hide her identity from travellers and the soldiers Cassian had stationed throughout the town.
Thalia sat with her arms folded, her jaw tight with irritation at every jolt of the saddle. "Couldn’t you have stolen a carriage? I am tired of this horse. A carriage would have been far better for keeping me hidden."
"A carriage draws too much attention. We need to blend in with the other travellers," Solomon said, his patience wearing thinner with each complaint.
Not once had Thalia grasped the reality of what they were in, or accepted that her life had changed entirely.
"Yes, which is why you bought this dreadful dress that smells as though someone else has been wearing it. It has holes along the sides as well. I am beginning to think your true intention was to torture me," Thalia said, glancing over her shoulder at Solomon.
She didn’t fully trust him.
"Your Highness, would you prefer I turn us around and ride back to the castle? We would both be beheaded upon arrival, but surely that must be preferable to riding a horse in an old dress," Solomon said, his tone revealing his lack of patience.
"Watch how you speak to me. I am still a princess, and one day I shall return to that castle. Then Lilith and all her little servants will be the ones facing death. I cannot wait for that day," Thalia said, her hatred for Lilith the one thing keeping her well.
"I am quite surprised you poisoned her. I once tried to convince my father that you were sharing a bed with Lilith. Did you ever bed her?" Thalia asked, her curiosity needing to be fed.
Was it true that Lilith had slept with her servants?
"I never once bedded Her Highness. I was not permitted in her bedchamber at night-"
"You should have made her trust you enough to let you in. You should have spoiled her so thoroughly that no man my father considered sending her to would have taken her. Then again, she was spoilt from birth by being a bastard," Thalia said, the word falling from her lips with ease.
"Lilith must be so pleased that His Grace wants her now. I hope he spoils her until she can no longer stand and then kills her. I will not rest until she pays for getting my father and brother killed. She did this," Thalia said, with absolute conviction.
Solomon bowed his head, the urge to defend Lilith pressing against his teeth, but he held it back. To speak now would only show where his loyalty stood.
"If you did not entertain her, then who did? Don’t try to tell me she didn’t entertain men. She is a harlot who can only be saved by God. My father should have left her with the High Priest," Thalia muttered, still irritated by the thought of Lilith walking free from the church.
Solomon tensed at the mention of the High Priest. It had always been clear to him that the man was dangerously fixated on Lilith, yet the Beauforts had never seen it, or perhaps had never cared to look.
"Oh!" Thalia straightened suddenly, her eyes widening. "We should go to the church. The High Priest will take us in and shelter us."
"It would be wiser to find Her Majesty first. We don’t yet know who is on the Beauforts’ side or the Mortimers’. If the journey proves too dangerous for the two of us alone, I will take you to the nearest church," Solomon said carefully.
"You are not to question my orders," Thalia snapped, the wind catching the edge of her cloak as she turned on him. Solomon spoke as though he had forgotten he was a servant. "Forget whatever freedom Lilith foolishly allowed you. You are my guard now, and you will listen without question. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Solomon answered.
"I refuse to believe you were never smitten with Lilith. If you are honest with me, I might just keep her alive when we reclaim the castle. You may have her as your servant and do with her as you please. Just as they did with her mother," Thalia laughed, the thought lifting her mood considerably.
Solomon’s hands tightened around the reins.
He had always known the Beauforts didn’t consider Lilith one of their own, but hearing another woman speak of her that way turned his stomach. It was precisely this that had made him willing to risk his life to find the queen.
"And if you don’t want her, I shall offer her to the castle guards, and then hang her from the same place they hanged her mother. I am going to make her suffer," Thalia said, determined to succeed this time.
The horse slowed and came to a stop as Solomon quietly pulled back on the reins, unable to listen any further.
"I must find water for the horse before we go on," he said, climbing down first.
"Water? It can go longer than this. We must reach my mother before we are caught and I am seen in this ugly dress," Thalia said, her heels tapping impatiently against the horse.
Solomon moved swiftly to settle the animal before it moved. "You mustn’t do that, Your Highness. The horse needs water and a brief rest to graze, or we won’t make it much further. If we lose this horse, we walk."
Thalia’s mouth fell open. "Walk? It would take us days. Fetch the water quickly and let it eat. We leave when it has had its fill."
She shifted awkwardly in the saddle, attempting to dismount without Solomon’s assistance. He was still a man, and she was a princess. She would not give him reason to think he could lay hands on her as he pleased.
Solomon watched Thalia struggle and said nothing, quietly weighing whether he could act against Lilith’s wishes and be rid of Thalia here and now. He could continue the search for the queen alone. It would certainly be quieter.
Thalia landed on the ground with considerably less grace than she intended, smoothed her dress, and turned to face him. "Why are you still standing there? While you water the horse, find me something to eat as well. It troubles me that the most useless guard available is the one sent to escort me."
Solomon turned away before she could see the fury set in his jaw. Every word out of her mouth only added to his reason to protect Lilith no matter what it cost him.
