Elemental Prince by Megan Fall
Chapter 14
Emmalyn
Just as Kell stated, the ride to the small village took about two hours. Emmalyn was once again sequestered to ride Zephyr with Kell. She wouldn’t admit it, but she enjoyed sitting on his lap with his warm, strong arms wrapped around her. It was comfortable, and she felt incredibly safe perched up there. It was dusk when they arrived, and Kell and his men took the back roads to reach the inn. Kell insisted they stay out of sight. Her safety was of the upmost importance.
Emmalyn loved the village from what she could see. There were no roads, just heavily worn dirt lanes. The houses, crude structures made from rough wooden boards, were spaced apart. Large cloth awnings swung out over the doors of the windowless houses. The roofs were a simple triangle frame reaching almost down to the ground and looked to be fashioned from dried hay. Each one had a small wooden chimney with fluffy plumes of smoke billowing out, and large wooden barrels and huge woven baskets outside. The scene reminded her of a medieval village from an old movie, and she was half expecting a knight to ride by.
The group approached from the trees and moved down a lane that ran parallel to the back of the buildings. Only about half a dozen men stayed with them, as the rest were making camp outside of the village. They would be hidden from view, but close enough to ride in if trouble broke out. The smaller the group, the less chance of drawing unwanted attention.
The inn was much larger than the rest of the houses in the village and looked to be two full stories. It appeared to be made of the same materials, but it had a cozy feel that Emmalyn instantly liked. Adjacent to it was a rustic but sturdy looking stable. The men headed to the stable first to get the horses settled. Apparently Oryn had arranged everything ahead of time with the innkeeper, and a stable boy was waiting as they stepped inside. Coins exchanged hands and the men grabbed the bags while Kell led Emmalyn to the inn’s back door. She stepped inside and gasped. Several men sat at huge wooden tables with crude benches. They ate watered down stew from dented metal plates and chugged from huge pitchers of what she suspected held dark ale. They were loud, dressed in dirty worn pants and oversized long-sleeved shirts, and smelled badly.
Emmalyn could have stood there forever watching the fascinating scene, but a short, pudgy man rushed up to greet them. He immediately started talking insanely fast. She could barely understand a word, but Kell obviously could. Kell greeted the man with a more formal air than she had ever seen before, and the man instantly dropped to his knees with a bowed head. Taken aback, Emmalyn stepped away as her mouth gaped open. She knew Kell was a Prince, he had explained that much to her. However, being in the woods surrounded by his men hadn’t given her much of a chance to see him act stately. He was always gruff, even when issuing orders, but still seemed a bit laid back. Now he was intimidating and regal. His words were short and clipped, and he seemed almost impatient with the innkeeper.
“I need hot food and ale brought to a room where my companions and I can eat in peace. I need someone to bring up a tub and fill it. And lastly, I need to make sure that my men are comfortable and treated favourably,” he ordered.
The innkeeper nodded and immediately led them to a set of stairs off to one side. Kell took Emmalyn’s hand and she followed him up the stairs with the few remaining men climbing up behind. The innkeeper steered them down a short hall and pushed open the door at the very end. Kell was the first to step inside, and after a quick inspection, motioned for Emmalyn to enter. The room was sparsely furnished with a large bed in the centre, two wooden chairs in the corner and a table with a small basin and some towels near the door. The only window had the dirtiest looking glass she’d even seen and a large fireplace stood comfortably beside it.
“I need someone to bring up some wood and light a fire in the hearth,” Kell demanded scowling at the man. Emmalyn felt the chill as she moved further into the room. Apparently Kell had noticed the cool temperature, and he made it abundantly clear he was displeased. Emmalyn assumed that Oryn’s early arrival would have prompted more action on the part of the innkeeper.
Once more the man babbled unintelligibly, bowed and dropped his head before scurrying out of the room. She supposed that was an apology, but couldn’t be sure. She eyed Kell for a minute, but he was busy glaring at the empty fireplace, so she walked to the bed to inspect it. First, she pushed on it with her hand. It was softer than she expected but rather lumpy. Still curious, she lifted the soft, worn quilts and peered at the mattress underneath. Unfortunately, it had a covering so she had no idea what was inside it.
“What are you doing?” Kell demanded, as he crossed the room and stood beside her. “Is this not to your liking?”
“No, it’s fine,” Emmalyn assured him. “I was curious. I’ve never been to an inn this old before, and I’m trying to figure out what the mattress is made from.”
Kell tilted his head and studied her causing Emmalyn to wonder what he was thinking. “This mattress contains duck and goose feathers,” he finally explained. “The mattresses the innkeepers and villagers sleep on contain dried hay. In my home, the mattresses contain down and only the softest of feathers.”
“Wow,” she grinned. “I can’t wait to see yours.” Kell’s intense look instantly changed to a heated one, and Emmalyn involuntarily took a small step back.
“If you want to see my mattress, I can certainly arrange for that to happen. Although I assure you, your attention will definitely not be on the mattress my wee warrior,” Kell promised huskily. He stepped forward and ran his finger down the fading wound on her cheek as she trembled from the touch. “I would love to see you lying on my bed,” he growled.
“Kell,” Emmalyn whispered breathlessly as the heat from his fingers seared her skin. Something drew her to him and she swayed even closer as her mind tried to instill that it was too soon.
“Would you like that?” Kell questioned as he took another step closer, bringing his body flush against hers.
She was about to answer when thankfully a sharp knock sounded at the door. Kell immediately dropped his hand and stepped back. Emmalyn blew out a relieved breath. She was definitely falling for him, but didn’t know if she was ready to take things further.
“Saved by the door,” Kell smirked, moving towards it and throwing it open.
The innkeeper stood there nervously for a minute until Kell impatiently motioned him to talk. The ridiculous man started rambling again in a quick speech that Emmalyn didn’t catch a word of. When the innkeeper finished, he moved from the door and a young boy walked in carrying an armload of wood. Dropping the logs in front of the fireplace, the boy squatted and began building a fire. Emmalyn watched him for a minute until two even younger boys entered dragging a large metal tub between them. They moved to the fireplace and set it close by.
“The innkeeper has set up a room where we can eat,” Kell informed her as Emmalyn reluctantly turned her eyes back around. “My men are already there. While we eat, the innkeeper’s sons will see to a fire and his daughters will bring up buckets of heated water. You can have a bath when we return.”
Emmalyn smiled at the thought of a warm bath. “Thank you so much,” she beamed at the innkeeper in unmistakable joy. He looked astonished for a minute with no idea what to do, then grinned and nodded happily before ducking out of the room. Curious, Emmalyn looked to Kell for an explanation.
“Royalty do not thank the help,” he frowned. “His whole family will hear about this and hopefully we will be long gone before it spreads through the entire village.”
“Oh,” Emmalyn huffed. “Well, I’m not too proud to thank him for doing something kind, regardless of whether or not it’s his job.” Kell sighed and ran both his hands through his hair, causing some of it to stand up.
“This is just one of the reasons why you will gain the people’s favour,” he admitted.
“You act like that’s a bad thing?” Emmalyn questioned with a small frown of her own.
“It is not bad, just different,” Kell replied ominously. She waited for more, but that’s all he said before turning to the door and motioning for her to follow. “Let us get you some food,” he declared as he held out his hand.
Emmalyn smiled at the boys once more before walking towards Kell and taking his hand. Kell shook his head, then led her out the door and down the hall.