Torrs
As the sun fully set beyond the horizon and stars began to appear in the night sky, Torrs felt his mind coming to a place of calm at last. The adrenaline rush one felt when confronted by a sudden fight never seemed to go away, no matter how many battles he fought. So, after some food he thought it best to get a little extra sleep, since he was going to be carrying a little extra weight on his back for the next week.
Torrs looked back towards the princess. Though she remained gagged to keep her from attracting attention from wild animals or any other potential travelers, he felt it only fair to remove her blindfold for a while. Unfortunately, he was starting to question the wisdom in showing such kindness, for he could tell that her eyes were constantly scanning their surroundings, examining anything and everything with sharp scrutiny. Clearly, she was searching for a means of escape from his hand. And while Torrs was rather confident in his ability to keep her confined, he was a bit concerned by her talent for tricky; stunning him at the start of their battle was a surprisingly witty tactics for a woman raised in a palace. It made him admire her spirit that much more. Even so, returning to the mountains with Luxo’s princess was a priceless opportunity that he could not afford to mess up!
Suddenly, he heard a low growl coming from the princess. He turned to her with one hand on the dagger on his belt, wondering what she was up to this time, before realizing that the sound had come from her stomach. Immediately, the princess met his gaze before swiftly looking away, trying to hide the shame in her eyes.
Ah, so she was hungry after all.
Torrs reached into the princess’ satchel, the bag she had been carrying before they met, and pulled out one of the food bars. He assumed she might prefer to eat this over the dried meats he had brought from the land of The North. As a member of the royal family, her tastes were likely quite picky.
He came over the princess and bent down to face her at eye level. She, of course, met him with a fiery glare and no doubt a frown on her lips. Torrs could not help but grin at her feisty behavior. Normally, a prisoner of his would have learned their place and fallen in line by now. She, on the other hand, did not seem interested in being broken.
“Hungry?” he asked, holding up the grain bar where she could see it.
Another growl escaped her stomach, giving them both the answer to his question. Yet she did not flinch or even budge in response to his question, thoroughly determined to keep up this tough act of hers for as long as possible.
“I have warned you that being uncooperative will come with consequences,” Torrs stated, keeping his eyes locked with hers. “Make any sudden noise or try anything funny, and you won’t get an ounce of food for the next two days. Understood?”
For a long moment, the princess said nothing and made no gesture of compliance. Still, he sat there and waited, showing that he would not give in without a sign of acceptance on her part.
“Well?” he asked, dangling the bar a bit closer to her face. “This is your last chance, or you can go without eating until the morning.”
Like a dam of water finally reaching its breaking point, Torrs watched as the princess’ expression filled with dread. She quickly averted her eyes, but gave him a nod, giving in to his demands at long last.
“A wise choice,” he said, feeling a measure of relief wash over him.
And so, he reached over and removed her gag. But as soon as her mouth was free, the princess snatched the cloth he had been using with her teeth, tore it out of grasp, and threw it off the edge. It disappeared into the darkness, probably landing somewhere on the ground below.
Torrs felt a pang of irritation rising within him. “You enjoy testing your luck, don’t you?”
Her stomach growled again, yet her serious gaze did not waver. “I am sure you would have done the same, were you in my miserable shoes,” she snapped with a voice that sounded dry and hoarse.
He supposed that was a good point. “Well, no matter. I’ll make you a new one from the animal hide on my bootstraps.”
The princess rolled her eyes. “I guess the people of the North really are as barbaric as the rumors claim.”
This woman was seriously grating on his last nerve…
Torrs shoved the grain bar to her mouth. “Eat. Now.”
She took the food from his hand and consumed it quickly. While she was momentarily distracted with food, he left her side to fetch a canteen of water, and when he returned, offered her a drink.
“Here,” he said, holding it close to her lips.
The princess shook her head and turned away. “After all I’ve been through today? Ha! A simple sip of water will hardly do.”
Torrs could feel his jaw clenching. “So, you would rather go thirsty?”
“No. I want the wine from my bag instead,” she replied.
“So?”
“So, go and get it for me. What part of this is hard to understand?”
At this, Torrs felt himself chuckle. “Aren’t you being rather bossy for someone in your situation?”
But the princess did not look in the least bit remorseful. “You might have taken me as your prisoner, but that does not mean I have ceased to be a member of the royal family. My name is Xenovia, one and only daughter to the king of Luxo. And after being carried around like a sack of potatoes by a brute like you for more than half the day, I demand a drink of wine!”
“I tell you what, this whole bottle of wine will be yours whenever you want. As long as you agree to beg for it.”
The princess let out one more angry huff before looking away from him completely.
“Yeah, I thought as much.”
With that, Torrs got up and went back to his seat on the other side of the tree. Lord, this was going to be a long week…
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