Dream of Dragons

chest. Kae, stunned for a second, slowly hugged Loren back. After a while, she set about to gently stroking her hair.
“Hey, princess.” Kae said softly. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be okay. Go rent a room for the night. Me and Ma’trii can stay outside.”
Loren shook her head, and her words were muffled by Kae’s mismatched hunting furs. “Please stay with me. I don’t know what I’ll do if I was alone.”
Kae hugged Loren just a fraction tighter. “Alright. I’ll be with you.”
The room in the inn was simple enough, with one bed with rough spun wool sheets, one flat chicken feather pillow with quill ends sticking out, and one table with no chair. The floor was dirty wooden slats that were coated in a layer of dust. It was cheap, and Kae didn’t even need anything. The huntress was content enough to sleep on the ground outside, but Loren insisted she stay to keep her company. Ma’trii would have to spend the night outside, but he was used to it as well. As Kae looked around the room, she realized how plain and rustic it must be for Loren. She was the princess, she must have been raised on silks and silvers. Kae was about to ask the princess about it, when Loren walked past her and fell face down onto the bed. She didn’t even take off her boots.
Surprised, Kae moved to check on the princess, only to find her breathing deep and even, sniffing slightly from a clogged nose, but deep in sleep. The huntress smiled, untied and removed Loren’s boots, and got into bed herself. She laid beside Loren, not too close, and rolled over, using up only a fraction of the available space. Kae listened to Loren’s soft breathing for a while, and wondered if the princess had exhausted herself from crying. It was probably that and the general stress. Kae repositioned herself, one arm bent under her head as Loren had taken the only pillow, and drifted off to sleep.
A soft beam of morning sunlight fell on Kae’s face. She blinked and groaned, squinting against the light in her eyes. She raised an arm to block out the light, but found that it was pinned under something. Loren was using Kae’s arm as a pillow, and had pressed herself close to the huntress in her sleep.
Kae flung herself away, and landed hard on the floor. Her heart raced in her chest. She didn’t mean to get so close to the princess, and certainly didn’t mean to have her other arm wrapped around the other girl in an embrace. Kae shook her head. That was the princess of Aldoran, the future ruler of the Kingdom! She had no right to even be in the same room, much less be that close. While Kae panicked silently on the floor, Loren stirred and raised her head.
“Kae?” she muttered, still dazed from sleep. Her dark hair stood up in a shock around her head. “Why are you on the floor?”
“Nightmare?” Kae stuttered, coming up with an excuse. She tried not to think about how nice Loren was to hold.
“Oh.” Loren yawned. “Get up, the floor’s dirty.” She didn’t seem to know what happened.
Kae sighed and stood, brushing herself off. Little clouds of dust floated off her trousers with every pat; the floor really was filthy. Kae made a disgusted face, and ran her hands through her short hair. It normally stuck up in spikes pointing this way and that, so she never cared for bed head. “I’ll head downstairs and ask for your breakfast, princess.” Kae headed for the door.
“No.” Loren said with such finality that Kae looked back. The princess was frowning, looking down at the floor. “Not yet. Can you stay a bit? At least until I get ready. Then we can both go downstairs.”
Kae nodded, and sat back on the other side of the bed. She watched Loren stretch and check her hair in a rusted old mirror that rested on the one table. After a while, she looked away and out the window.
“I’m sorry for running off like that last night, Kae.” Loren said as she fixed her hair, tying it up into a ponytail.
“Don’t worry about it, princess.” Kae answered. “I found you, and you didn’t run into people trying to kill you. That’s the important part.”
“Thank you. Truly.” Loren looked to Kae and smiled. The huntress felt a blush rise in her cheeks.
“You’re welcome?” Kae managed to say, and mask the blush with a cocky smirk. “You wouldn’t last the night out here on your own. You need me.”
“Yes, I do.” Loren said matter-of-factly, turning back to the mirror. “And I thought about it. While we’re out of Markholme, we might as well start looking for Kaiten. I’m sure Ma’trii can pick up his scent.”
Kae sighed, not quite sure why she was disappointed at the change of topic. “Do you have something of the prince’s? Ma’trii can’t pick up the trail of a scent he doesn’t know.”
“I have this toy Kaiten gave me when we were children.” Loren said, rummaging through her pack for the toy. She held it out for the huntress to see. It was a wooden bird, carved so expertly it seemed life like. “Kaiten carved it himself. He said he used his claws, but I could see the tool marks.” She recalled with a fond smile.
Kae approached the princess and took the toy, turning it over in her hands. “Nice craftsmanship. Ma’trii can use this, I think. Maybe the scent is still strong.”
“I hope so.” Loren said, her smile fading. She took the toy back and returned it to her bag. “I’m really worried, Kae. For Kaiten, my mother, my father.”
“First thing’s first, princess.” Kae said, putting a reassuring hand on Loren’s shoulder. “One thing at a time. Find the lion cub.”
“Beastman