Princess Nymeria's Arc

Chapter 12 of 32

A week passed at the inn. Nymeria woke to a plate of warm scones and a cup of hot coffee beside her bed. Someone had climbed the attic stairs to leave it there. She ate every bite, drank the coffee down, and dressed fast. She had coin in her pocket now, real coin, earned by her own hands. For seven days she had carried trays and washed cups and never once used her charm. She hurried downstairs to start the day. Madam Honey stood by the hearth, flour on her apron. Beside her waited a girl Nymeria's age. Red hair fell in a braid over one shoulder. She wore a pale tunic and hide boots, and she leaned on the wall like she owned it. Nymeria's wolf trotted straight to the girl and pushed his head under her hand. That surprised Nymeria. The wolf trusted almost no one. "So this is the princess who scrubs floors," the girl said. She grinned. "I pictured someone taller. And with fewer crumbs on her chin." Nymeria touched her chin. There were crumbs. Her face went hot. Madam Honey laughed. "This is Lyra. Best hunter for miles. I asked her here for you." She took Nymeria's hand in her warm one. "Coin is good, child. But you need more than a tray to survive out here. Lyra will teach you to hunt and to skin." Nymeria stiffened. Her charm. It pulled at everyone. She waited for the girl's eyes to glaze the way men's did. Lyra only rolled her eyes. "Relax. Whatever spell you're worried about, it slides right off me. Elf ears." She flicked one pointed ear. "You could bat those lashes all day. I'd still make fun of you." Something loosened in Nymeria's chest. Here was a person who felt nothing pulling at her. If this girl liked her, it would be real. They went out past the trees behind the inn. Lyra showed her how to read a track pressed in soft ground. She handed Nymeria a snare and made her set it three times before the loop held right. When a rabbit came at dusk, Lyra guided her hands through the skinning. It was ugly work. Nymeria's fingers shook. But she did not flinch, and she did not cheat with magic. "Not bad, crumb-chin," Lyra said. "You've got hands after all." They walked back with the kill. Nymeria carried it herself. She had earned coin, and now she had earned a skill, and neither came from her charm. She had a friend who could not be charmed. For the first time she felt certain a person could want her for herself.