“Absolutely not.” Runa scowled, settling her hands on the bar. “There has to be room somewhere.”

They had come to the only inn the town had. It was a square building made of clay, only really two stories tall which was an oddity in towns such as this.

Runa’s feet ached and she attempted to shift the weight of her bag which held her armor in it as the straps had begun digging into her shoulders uncomfortably.

The round woman who seemed to be the owner’s daughter shook her head. “I’m really sorry, my lady.” She dipped a curtsy. “But we only have three rooms and two of ‘em are all full up.” She kept her gaze turned downward, not looking Runa in the face. “We could remove folks from one of them if that would please you.”

Runa’s hands tightened to fists and she scowled deeper. The little round woman cowered back slightly. “Forgive me, my lady.” She held her skirt in two fistfuls. “Have mercy. This is my fault! I’ll take what punishment you deem fit.”

Runa closed her eyes and sighed. As much as she wanted her own room, she couldn’t bring herself to throw people out of the place they were staying. “No,” she said flatly. “You have done no wrong. I will gladly pay for whatever room you have.”

The woman sniffed and looked at Runa, her gaze rising. “You needn’t pay, my lady!” She wiped what seemed to be the beginning of tears from her eyes. “We don’t get many noble folk such as yourself and it would be wrong, especially seeing as how I’ve displeased you.”

Antyza leaned on the bar beside Runa and rolled her eyes. “Yes. Very well. We thank you for your loyal service and all that.”

The girl smiled sadly, curtsying poorly to Antyza. “Thank you, my ladies.”

Antyza straightened. “I’m not a-”

The girl cut her off. “Your room is up the stairs, first door on the left.” She procured a small key made of lead and handed it to Runa, who gave a small bow of her head.

“We thank you for the hospitality.” Runa attempted to smile but it apparently wasn’t convincing as the girl took a small step back and bowed her head again.

‘Sh*t ... ’ Runa thought to herself, ‘I didn’t mean to frighten her.’ She felt like a shadow hung over her as she made her way up the stairs. ‘This entire journey has been miserable.’ Antyza trailed along behind her. ‘Letting him be taken has ruined my life.’

She opened the door to their room and stopped in the doorway. There was only one bed, low to the ground and pushed in a corner of the room, which also contained a small porcelain wash basin and a low stool.

Maybe there was still time to go back downstairs and have the girl kick someone out of a room.

She was not sharing a bed with Antyza.

The blue woman pushed past her, tossing her bag into a corner of the room and removing her poncho. She flopped onto the mattress and sighed. It wouldn’t hold both of them.

“Vyr’s scales, I needed this.” Antyza sighed. “How long were you in that sh*t hole, princess? Six months?”

Runa grunted, accepting her fate, and began putting her things down. “Just about.” She kicked off her boots and sat on the stool, leaning her back against the wall.

Antyza closed her eyes. “I almost forgot what a real bed felt like.”

“Well, now you remember,” Runa said. “But I’m not going to share that with you.”

Antyza craned her neck to look at Runa and smiled. “Well, I’m not moving.” Her tail wrapped around her own leg. “But you’re more than welcome to the floor.” She shifted to pull the pillows and blanket off of the bed, tossing them onto the rug beside the bed. “There. A bed fit for a princess. Maybe if your prince was here you could even make a little love nest.”

Runa rolled her eyes before yawning. She truly was tired. And she had slept in worse situations.

She wanted to teach Antyza a lesson but she was tired and the sooner she could sleep the sooner they could move on.

‘Maybe if I ignore her, she’ll stop babbling incessantly,’ she thought to herself before rising from the stool and began arranging the blanket and pillows.

It wasn’t that uncomfortable, she found when she lay down on it. She closed her eyes and let the tension she had felt all day begin to ease.

Until Antyza spoke again. “Hey, princess.” Antyza reached down to a little oil lamp that had been the only light in the room, turning it until the light was low and dim. “What’s so special about this prince?”

“What do you mean?” Runa opened her eyes a crack to see Antyza at the edge of the bed. It was low enough that they were almost at the same head level.

The blue woman lay down and when it seemed her horns caught on the mattress, she readjusted. “I mean, we’re going to find him and the queen thinks he’s in Anki with the empress?”

Runa opened her eyes fully. “He’s in Anki. I’m sure of it.”

Antyza looked at her confused. “How do you know?”

Runa sighed. She felt shame at the memory of her failure and looked away from Antyza. “Because the people who took him were Yeniczars. I killed one that bore the tattoos of Shemhatt, the empress.”

Antyza was silent for a time before she spoke again. “You’re his protector and he was taken despite your best efforts,” she said softly. “And you’re going to bring him back to restore your honor. To prove you’re not a failure.” It wasn’t mean or chiding or teasing. It almost sounded sincere.

Runa looked at Antyza and found her with a sympathetic look on her face.

“I’m going to bring him back because I love him.” Runa’s voice was firm, but not edged. She stared up at the ceiling of their room. “Every day we’re apart is agony. I think of him constantly.” She sighed. “I’m going to prove that I’m worthy of the love he has given me freely.”

Antyza’s voice was distant and nearly a whisper. “I understand.”

Runa looked at her, furrowing her brows. “You do?” She could plainly tell that Antyza did, in fact, understand how Runa felt. Or she at least had reverence for the feeling as she was being uncharacteristically nice.

Antyza rolled on her back and shrugged, staring up at the dim ceiling. “I used to have someone like that. Someone who I would do anything for and couldn’t understand what I had done to be worth so much in his–” she faltered, “their eyes. I was nobody and nothing. They made me feel like I was everything.”

Runa rolled on her side. “What happened to him ... er, them?”

Antyza turned so they were facing each other. She wore a frown and didn’t meet Runa’s gaze. “The worst thing to happen to anyone. Nothing at all. He wasn’t who I thought he was. It turned out I was easy to get rid of and forget.”

Antyza closed her eyes and Runa thought she saw tears glittering in them.