Sir Jeffrey Trailson, Knight of the Land, rose fairly early when dawn had barely broken the horizon. Isabella, the young woman he had met the day before, still slept and he dressed quietly so as not to disturb her. When he was done he left the room, returning a few minutes later with a jug of milk and some butter. He already had the bread necessary for breakfast as he had been given some the day before.
He woke Isabella and she smiled as he prepared the food. Then she climbed from the bed and they ate together. He was disappointed to see that she wrapped her cloak around her whilst they ate, although she grinned and assured him that it was because she was cold, not because she was covering herself up from his eyes. As if to prove her point, when she was done she very pointedly let the cloak fall to the floor so that he could feast his gaze on her wonderful naked body as she washed and dressed.
When she was ready they left the tavern and continued their journey northwards. They did not speak much on the road, but he found her company more than pleasant. He had learned by now that Isabella was not the most talkative of people but that did not mean she was unhappy.
However he knew that he wanted to raise the issue of her running away again partly because he felt that she could not spend her whole life hiding from whatever it is she had fled from. At the very least she needed to face it even if she didn't return home to take up the duties she had departed.
Yet after a few hours he still had not broached the subject as he did not want to get a reaction of anger like he had the day before. Instead when they did speak they shared pleasant conversation, and Jeffrey enjoyed the way Isabella gazed at him with flirty desire as they travelled. Evidently she had enjoyed last night as much as he had.
When they had finished eating they started to walk again and it was then that he finally decided to speak.
"Isabella..." he started.
She turned her head to him and rolled her eyes, immediately realising just what it was he was going to say. "Yes, Jeffrey?"
"We should talk further on your flight from home. You surely need some sort of plan even if you are not to return to your family. You cannot run forever."
It took her a long time to respond. In fact, so much time elapsed that Jeffrey was not sure she was ever going to.
Eventually, she did. "Jeffrey, why must you make me think about things I do not want to think about?" she sighed. "I ran away to escape this burden, and yet you remind me of it not just by your cutting words but also by your very presence."
"I am sorry to hear that, Isabela," he said sincerely. "If you would rather I left, I will part ways with you."
She glared at him. "Did I say that? No." Then she sighed, loudly. "Just listen awhile, Jeffrey, if you can manage it. Can you do that for me?"
He nodded.
"Thank you." A genuinely grateful smile crossed her lips. Then she stared ahead, talking as they walked but not meeting his eyes. "Jeffrey, you must understand the scale of what it is I ran away from. My duties were... immense. I inherited a position like no other, and I do not feel that I am capable of filling it."
She said nothing for a few moments but Jeffrey did not speak. He did not think she was waiting for a reply - her silence was because she was choosing her words.
"There would be so much riding on me if I were to go back, Jeffrey. I could not fail. Could not even comprehend failure. If I fail in those duties, it would not just be me who suffered. Nor would it only be my family. More people than you can possibly imagine would feel the stinging pain of my ineptitude. Lives would be ruined, all because I could not do what was required."
She turned her head to him. "So do you see why I could not stay? Why I must run?"
Jeffrey looked at her awhile, then shook his head. "No, Isabela, I am sorry to say that I do not. A duty cannot be shirked, a responsibility avoided. By fleeing you are simply condemning somebody else to that role, someone perhaps even less capable."
She stopped and stared at him, but said nothing. Her shoulders sagged slightly.
Jeffrey took the opportunity to continue speaking. "But no one is expected to do everything on their own. No one. Not a mayor, not a duke, not even the queen of this land!" He paused suddenly, realising he might have just made a mistake. He couldn't remember whether the realm had a king or a queen at this point.
"She... she isn't?"
Relief flooded through him. Evidently there was a queen on the realm's throne at this point in history.
"No, she is not. A queen has advisors. The very best. She delegates, passing on duties that she cannot do herself to those more capable in that area than she is."
"And if she doesn't?" Isabela asked shakily.
"Then the realm suffers. As it does if she abdicates her duties entirely simply because she is scared of them, because what if the person who takes the throne in her place does not do so with noble intentions?"
He stepped towards his companion, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Isabela, I do not know what it is from which you run, but I do know that you are right to fear it. It is right that responsibility makes you nervous. The moment that it no longer does is the moment you are taking it for granted, and that complacency is far more dangerous than a woman who knows her limits. The fact that you fear the role is precisely why you must do it, because whoever takes it in your stead may not understand how vast a responsibility it is, and thus sow ruin with their ignorance. You understand its scale and its importance, and will treat the role - whatever it is - with the care and respect that it demands."
She stared at him in silence, but he could hear her heavy breathing. It seemed his every word struck her like a hammer blow. But her green eyes had filled up with wonder and he knew that she had taken in what he said.
"Jeffrey you... you have changed my mind. I did not think it was possible, but you have. Truly, you are knight of immense honour."
"I am flattered, Isabela. Will you return home?"
She nodded, almost imperceptibly. "I... I will." Then her body stiffened, her shoulders straightening as she took a deep breath, as if collecting her resolve. "I will return at once. I can no longer hide from my duties. But this time, I will not face them alone. I will hire advisors to guide me, to help me in my responsibilities. Never again will they wear me down."
Jeffrey chuckled. "I am glad to hear it." However, he had to admit a slight wave of disappointment at the knowledge that she would now be leaving his side.
