***
"So I'm your true love?" Neven asks as they walk over hill after hill, the dragon shuffling slowly behind them. His face is scarlet, but whether that's more from trying to get back in time or from his question she's not sure.
The princess nods, just as out of breath as he is, but trying not to show it. "Yes. Though you are younger than I expected." Her face turns almost purple as she seems to realise what she's said. "Meaning no offence of course."
"And you're my true love?"
For a smart guy Neven seems to be having a hard time wrapping his head around this. Bonnie decides to stay out of it, dropping back a little to walk next to the dragon. Or rather, to walk on level with the dragon's shuffling front feet. Both her and the dragon could be making much better time than this, but the princess and her completely impractical frilly dress set their pace for them.
"That's the way my father said the spell works," princess Alice says. "My true love will slay the savage dragon and climb the tower. The moment he walks through the threshold the charms to fill my needs will cease to be, as he is the one charm I will need for the rest of my life."
Somehow Neven turns an even brighter red. Bonnie stares, fascinated at the change in colour.
"Are you surprised good sir?" Princess Alice asks, her bright eyes wide. "Are you displeased with me?"
"What? No." Neven scratches his head. "It's just a shock is all. This whole day is a shock. And for a while there I thought my true love was... Well, that doesn't matter. What matters is we get off this island."
The lapping sound of sea on shore seems closer now. Bonnie passes by them, running down and up two hills before she sees what she's looking for. "That might be a problem."
Neven huffs and puffs along until he's standing beside her. "The boat's gone."
"It's barely past mid day," Bonnie says, gripping her sword tightly. "And the magic. All the spells broke, which means the island shouldn't have pushed him out to sea."
"He didn't know that," Neven says, twisting the cloth of his shirt so tightly around his fingers that the metal contraptions on his arms spring upright. He pushes them back down absentmindedly. "He must have waited until he thought he couldn't wait any longer. Then he left."
He left. The words sting more than they should. This isn't the first time Jack had dropped her on a shore and left her. The first time she'd been forced to fend for herself for months before Neven's family took her in. So she shouldn't be surprised. Jack was a man who did what he could and felt no guilt about not being able to do more.
Still, it hurts.
"What's this?" The princess asks, wandering to the shore.
There in front of the hollow tree is a single crate like the ones he'd used to haul the teeth in. For just a moment another crate springs into her mind. One of darker wood, and stained with dirt and blood instead of sand.
'No, don't open it' she wants to say as Neven bends down bedside the princess. Then her senses come back. This is a different box. And she's not a little girl any longer. She's to be a knight. Nothing should scare her.
Still, she finds herself watching closely as Neven pries off the lid.
"Food," Neven says. He turns, his eyes searching for hers. "He left us supplies. Does he mean to come back do you think?"
"If he does it will be after going back to King’s City to deliver the rest of the boxes. The King will be waiting for them. After that he needs to journey the circle to collect his wares." She hides the queasiness that comes over her remembering all those teeth. "If he travels it all he won't come back this way for a year, but he might turn around after dropping his goods at the palace. He usually rests a while before starting his journey, so he should have time to collect us. And if he doesn't, they'll come to drop off champions in a month’s time."
"It'll take weeks for Jack to get here even if he does turn right around," Neven complains. He turns to princess Alice, stumbling back a step like he'd forgotten she was with them. "My lady - I mean, my princess. Do you know a way we can get to your father's city?"
"I'm afraid I wasn't told what happens after my true love rescues me," princess Alice says, her wide eyes darting between the shore that led out to sea, and the giant trees that form a wall to their left. Blushing again, she seems to remember her courtesies and returns her full attention to Neven. "My father just said it would be the end of my waiting."
"Seems like this is the start of it," Bonnie says, sighing. She lowers herself to the ground, laying her sword across her lap. The day had taken its toll, and her limbs ache for rest. "The castle is gone. We can't go back."
"No. But maybe we can go forward." Neven looks up at the dragon with a glint in his eyes she doesn't like. It's the same expression he wears just before coming up with some insane idea that usually ends with something exploding or catching on fire. "The city is over the forest right?"
"Sure," Bonnie says. "The forest, a few villages including our own, Porthdon, then a few miles along King’s road. But you're forgetting one thing Neven. We don't fly."
"And we can't go in that forest," princess Alice says, her pretty face pale with horror. "We can't. I've read stories about what lives in there. It teems with dark magic. All my nursemaids said so."
Neven catches one of her hands in his with more confidence than he'd shown since he'd met her. She stills under his touch, but her green eyes are still wide and fearful. "It's fine. We won't go through the forest. Bon - Boone had the better idea."
Bonnie narrows her eye. She just knows she won’t like where this is going. “I did?”
“Yes,” Neven says, his eyes still on the dragon. “We fly.”