The Huntress (Legend and Lore Book 2) (6 page)

Liv smiled, leaning in to press another kiss to Amala’s lips. Now she just had to get her parents to see, but she did not think that would be as easy as convincing Amala to come home with her.
 

Jorek and Bas had taken another road up the mountain, which explained why they had been ahead, coming towards them. They were now taking that road home, with Amala leading the way. She knew the Black Mountains like no one else, after all.
 

The tension between the four of them was palpable. Both Jorek and Bas seemed to be against Amala going with them, or perhaps it was the fact that she was something more to Liv than a friend, as they had obviously seen them kissing. They could not have missed it, and Liv knew both her brother and her familiar were quite protective of her, even when they were angry with her.
 

“Why are you travelling without guards?” Liv questioned, wanting to break the tense silence.
 

“We wanted to find you quickly, and the less people in our party, the better,” Jorek replied tersely.
 

“I see.” Liv bent her head, not knowing what else to say. Mother and Father had let Jorek off on his own, which was unusual. Jorek was a trained warrior, yes, but he always had at least two guards with him in the capital and fellow warriors with him when he travelled.
 

“I do not like this, Liv,” Jorek spoke up softly.
 

Liv raised her head, looking over at him in wonder. She had not heard that tone of voice for many years ,that caring tone, the worried tone.
 

“I do not like that you plan on living a commoner’s life,” he continued, eyes trained straight ahead. “It is quite different than what you are used to, and even if you have been living like it for a short while... even if you like it now, you might grow to dislike it in the future.”
 

“Jorek.” Liv sighed. “I am lucky to have lived in the castle, in the luxury that we, as royals, have, but I do not want it and I do not need it. I know that. I will not come to resent my choice in the future. I will resent it more if I stay. Court life is not for me and it never has been. Can you just support my choice, even if you do not understand? We are not the same, Brother; we want different things in our lives. I do not second-guess your decisions. All I ask is that you do not second-guess mine. I am sure of this.”
 

He finally looked at her, his eyes conflicted. “You are my little sister. I worry for you.”
 

“I know, but I can take care of myself. And if for some reason I cannot, I have Amala to do it for me.” She smiled as she thought of her first meeting with a lindworm, how she had frozen up and how Amala had come to the rescue.
 

Jorek’s eyes flickered to Amala’s back ahead of them for a moment, then settled back on Liv. “You care for the woman?”
 

Liv nodded. “ I do.”
 

“Good for you.” He sounded completely sincere.
 

Liv watched him quietly. Of all her siblings, Jorek was the only one who still was not married. He was the next to youngest child, only two years older than Liv herself. As far as Liv knew, Jorek had no romantic entanglement going with anyone.
 

The sound of hooves brought Liv back to the here and now. She watched as Amala came riding back to her side. “This is lindworm territory,” Amala told her. “They’re all over the woods, but in this area there are more than usual. The trolls wandering around might have scared some away, but not all. So keep your eyes open and be alert.”
 

Liv nodded gravely. Even if she had gone on this trip to help Amala slay the lindworms, she hoped she would not meet one again. Or a troll. She had had a lifetime’s worth of trolls. She knew she would eventually have to deal with at least lindworms again if she wanted to stay with Amala, but for now... she could very well do without them.
 

Although, if something were to happen, maybe it would do something about the tension between the four of them. Amala was intent on scouting, Jorek was worrying and Bas... Bas was avoiding her, so he was probably sulking.
 

“I have had enough.”
 

Liv put her hands on her hips, staring steadfastly at Bas. She had him neatly cornered now in a dark corner of the inn where they were staying. For four days she had let him sulk and avoid her, but she really had had enough.
 

“I get that you are angry with me for leaving like that and for now wanting to renounce my title,” she started, “but this is my life, Bas. Even though I am the daughter of a king and queen, I do have a say in the matter.”
 

“You are selfish, is what you are,” he snapped, and Liv could clearly picture him in his cat-form, his fur standing on end in anger.
 

“How am I selfish?” she asked, her anger rising as well.
 

His eyes, the colour and shape of a cat’s, glared at her. “Because you think only of yourself. Do you know, or even care, what I have had to give up for you?”
 

“No, I do not,” Liv replied in frustration. “I cannot remember a time when you were not there. You have always been with me.”
 

“I am a simple commoner,” he replied, his anger fading to sudden nostalgia. “I had a good life, in the little village I grew up in. Then in comes a little princess whose heartbeat I can feel, and I am shipped to the capital to be properly educated. I have not seen my parents since and I have barely been allowed to send a letter every now and then.”
 

He took a deep breath, eyes skittering past Liv. “It has not been easy for me, you know, staying at court. Nobles do not take kindly to a commoner being around them, especially not when that commoner is given the same education and the same status as them.”
 

“ I did not know,” Liv replied faintly.
 

She truly had not. She had always thought Bas had been around the castle, though he had never spoken of any parents or siblings. Now he mentioned it... People back home did not care for Bas. He was never included in conversations unless he was with Liv, he had no other friends that she knew of.

“Bas, I am so sorry,” she whispered. “No one ever told me anything. That is not an excuse, though, is it? I should have noticed how they treat you and demanded an answer. But I... I guess I am selfish because I have never really noticed how you are seen at court.”
 

Bas crossed his arms over his chest and seemed to almost shrink into the dark corner. He was several years older than her, but right then he looked like a lost little kid.
 

“I think you should go home,” she said then. “Go back to the life that was taken from you.”
 

Bas raised his head, staring at her. “I am your familiar,” he argued. “I took a vow to the King and Queen. I cannot just leave you. You have been my family for fifteen years.”
 

Liv blinked. “Fifteen? I was five when we were bonded?”
 

Bas nodded. “And I was fourteen.”
 

Liv stepped closer to him, putting a hand on his forearm. “Then, as I am still a princess of the realm, I am ordering you to go back home. I will deal with Mother and Father, do not worry. You just... go be happy, Bas. I know now you are not happy at court, and I doubt you will be happy travelling around the realm with me and Amala.”
 

Bas looked torn and conflicted. “Are you sure of this, Liv?”
 

“We will always be bonded.” Liv smiled. “But we do not have to be together. I have been away from you for a while now, and all has gone well. So go home. Go to where you really want to be.”
 

Bas drew her into a hard, unexpected hug then. Liv let out a startled laugh, not used to this kind of affection, not from Bas. She wrapped her own arms around him, hugging him tightly.
 

“Just go,” she told him, voice filled with emotion. “After fifteen years, you deserve to be happy.”
 

“I have not been entirely unhappy,” he muttered against her shoulder. “Not all the time.”
 

“Good. I would hate for you to have spent the entirety of your fifteen years bonded to me unhappy.” She sniffled as it finally dawned on her just how different her life would be now. She would not live in luxury, she would not have Bas, her bonded and tutor, around anymore, she would have nothing of what she was used to...
 

“I know I have been hard on you, but you have been good, Liv.” Bas drew away, but he kept a hold of her upper arms still. “You are a strong woman and I have no doubt in my mind that you can do whatever you set your mind to.”
 

He kissed her cheek, then brushed past her. Liv turned, eyes filling with tears, and watched as Bas disappeared up the stairs to his room. He came down only minutes later, his saddlebags slung over his shoulder. Liv watched as he crossed the inn and disappeared out the door.
 

Out of her life.
 

Her gaze was drawn to the other side of the room, where Amala was sitting at a table. She was not looking at Liv, her attention on the stew she was eating, but Liv felt warmth spread through her at the simple sight of Amala sitting there.
 

Her life would change, but she would be getting something new in it. Something new and exiting and promising. Someone more than a friend, someone who could be a lover, who would be at her side.
 

She would have Amala.
 

For now, that felt enough for her. She hoped it always would.
 

“Mother. Father.”
 

Liv stood across from her parents, her hands folded behind her back to hide the nervous trembling. Jorek stood rigid at her side.
 

Mother’s eyes went from one to the other. “Where is Bas?” she demanded to know.
 

“He has gone home,” Liv replied, keeping her voice level and strong. “I sent him home.”
 

Mother’s eyes cut into her. “Why would you do that, child?”
 

“Because he has not been happy here.” Liv stood rigid, having sworn to herself she would be strong throughout this. Her parents would not be happy with her, even less than they already were.
 

“So first you run off, and then when you are found, you send your tutor, your familiar, away?” Mother’s voice was as cold as ice.
 

“Yes. I did.” Liv nodded slightly.
 

“You are in so much trouble, Liv—“
 

“No, I am not,” Liv interrupted. “I am here to renounce my title.”
 

Both her parents looked like they had been hit across the face. Father schooled his features first, though Mother was not far behind. “What?” they both demanded.
 

“I want my life to be my own, and not for you two to do as you wish with it. I do not want to live in this castle, in this gilded cage. I want to travel the country, get to know the people, and actually have to work for my living.” Liv set her jaw stubbornly, telling herself again and again that she was going to see this out. She was not going to cave for them.
 

Mother’s eyes went to her youngest son. “Jorek. What is this nonsense?”
 

“It is not nonsense, Mother,” Jorek replied, keeping his eyes downcast. “This is what she wants. I have never seen Liv as happy as she has been on our journey back. Let her have her way—or else she will run again, and this time I will not go after her. She will not come back a second time.”
 

Liv felt extreme affection for her brother in that moment, but this was a bad time to show it, so she bit her lip, keeping her smile away.
 

“You want your sister to become nothing but a peasant?” Mother asked him incredulously.
 

“It is what she wants,” Jorek pressed. “She is a different person than you are, Mother. If you try to force her into a life she does not want to live, she will resent you. Then neither of you will be happy.”
 

Mother seemed to deflate a little, and she sighed as she looked back at Liv. “What are your plans then? What will you do?”
 

“I want to go into healing,” Liv told her softly. “I will graduate and go into the field of healing. I want to be able to help people that are hurt. I have the talent for it. I really do.” She cast a quick thought to Amala’s thigh, knowing how well she had done with that job. She wanted to do more like that. Injuries such as the one Amala had suffered, the recovery time took months. Not to speak if they did not catch an infection and die. With Liv’s help they’d be up and going right away.
 

Mother sighed heavily. She glanced over at Father. Father looked at Mother, then he sighed as well. “If that is the choice you make, Daughter,” he spoke up for the first time. “Then so be it. Even if you do not bear the title of princess any longer, you will still be our daughter. If you need us, do not hesitate to ask.”
 

“Thank you, Father.” Liv bowed her head. “I really appreciate that.”
 

Mother’s head turned between Liv and Father. “Where will you live?”
 

“Here and there.” Liv shrugged her shoulders. “We will be traveling around, helping people.”
 

“You need a permanent residence that you can go home to when you need some rest,” Mother insisted. “Travelling around without having a home... That is ridiculous. We will give you an estate, Liv, and you will take it graciously. We can talk more about it before you leave.”
 

Liv nodded. “Thank you, Mother. That is very kind.”
 
She curtsied before leaving the room. She knew when she had been dismissed. Jorek did not follow, so he still wanted to talk to them. Or they to him.
 

She started towards her rooms, knowing Amala would be there waiting. She had left her there, polishing her sword, when she had been summoned to her parents. She had no doubt that Amala would still be there and still working on her sword.