As I helped the princess pack her possessions I had a little time to reflect on the day. I'd been at an SCA event when this purple light flared up around me. I'd been pulled into a corridor and as I walked down this corridor of light, I came to a man assaulting a woman. I'd put a stop to that, and then had the first real sword fight of my life. I've been doing rapier in SCA tournaments for years, but this had been different and I'd refused to kill. When I was helping the Captain up he'd whispered to me that the princess needed a parent and maybe I could supply that for her. I'd wondered what he meant until I found that she couldn't send me back. She was willful and didn't care about anyone besides herself. When she became Queen, she'd be a terrible one. She needed to learn to recognize the consequences of her actions and what they would mean to not only the people immediately involved but her realm as well. So my job was not only to protect her but to make her a queen fit to rule. That was a tall order for the son of a preacher man.
As we finally exited the cave we found two horses waiting for us. Both horses were huge. One was obviously a trained war horse and black as midnight. The other, a Clydesdale or whatever they called those here was a gray. The princess claimed the warhorse without a thought. It didn't look any too happy to see her either. I tied the baggage onto the Clydesdale and mounted up. Truth to tell I was pretty happy with this turn of events. I can do almost anything with a car, but I've only been on a horse four times in my life.
Tied to the saddle of my Clydesdale was a pouch that clinked. It was tied with a calico ribbon so I'm sure the Captain knew who would be on which horse. I owed him one.
The princess took the lead and led us in an easterly direction. We had traveled a couple of hours with her not really talking much when we came to a town. It seemed like a nice little place. I was very happy to see as it my butt was already hurting. I don't know how they designed saddles here and now, but they sucked. The cantle road halfway up my back and the seat itself was flat.
We walked our horses into town and the Princess led us right up to what was obviously an inn. The sign on it had only a happy pink dragon...no writing at all. We secured our mounts to a rail and went in. The innkeeper came bustling up and asked us what we would have. The princess ordered some meat and asked for the best room in the house. The innkeeper set us up at a table and sent a maid to see to our room. The maid looked all of twelve years old.
When the innkeeper brought our food he asked for payment. The Princess hit the roof. Nobody ever asked a princess to pay for something, ever.
