Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 154: Going Unnoticed

30 May, 1360. Eberelle County, Northern Islia

The faint rays of dawn had started slanting through the gaps of the tent, tracking across his face. He wasn’t ready to wake up yet, though.

William threw an arm across his eyes to block the light, then rolled over while still half asleep. Pain jolted through his left shoulder as he rolled onto it without thinking, making him mutter a curse. Settling down on his back to sleep again, he then felt something warm and soft press up against him.

He felt arms sliding around his middle. Drifting slowly back to sleep, he sighed. The joy of waking up in his beautiful wife’s embrace would never fade for him.

It even made being on this godforsaken campaign bearable, he thought to himself. Except...

Except Camilla wasn’t on the campaign. She was far away, still in Westerhaven. So who had enfolded him in an embrace?

William jerked fully awake, startled. He quickly hauled himself to a sitting position and shook off what appeared, in the weak light, to be a pair of arms wrapped around him. In the same movement, he unsheathed the dagger he always wore at his hip.

At the sound of the blade, there was a shrill cry of fear to William’s side and whoever was next to him darted away slightly. A pair of frightened hazel eyes stared back at him, set in a female face.

It was a dark haired young woman, completely naked.

Goddamnit, he thought. To the girl, he simply said, "Out." He pointed to the tent flap with the dagger.

"But, my lord-"

"Get out!" William snapped, picking up what he assumed were her discarded clothes and tossing them carelessly at her.

"I was sent to you as a gift by His Highness, Prince Leo." the girl protested, trying to smile.

"I don’t care if you were sent by the archangels themselves! I don’t have any use for you here. Get. Out." William resolved to speak to Leo that day. This wasn’t the first time Leo had sent doxies into his tent, despite William telling him repeatedly he wasn’t interested.

"But my lord, I have nowhere else to go." the girl beseeched, blushing red and pulling her dress on hastily. The coarse, homespun fabric of her dress and the twang in her voice told him she was belonged to the local peasantry.

William raised his brows. "What do you mean? Where did you come from before you snuck in here?"

"A little village called Bantenthorne, on the banks of the River Caine."

That reply told William a great deal. Almost all the villages near the river had been razed to the ground and their inhabitants scattered. Those women that hadn’t been killed or taken into slavery by the Moraigthian army, would be eking out a desperate living to survive near the battlefield. It didn’t surprise William to know some had resorted to selling their bodies to survive.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don’t tell me, then. There’s nothing left of your village?"

The girl shook her head and her eyes turned watery. "It’s nothing but an ash heap. My sister and I fled when the soldiers came, cutting down everything and everyone in their paths. Even children and old, lame people who would’ve done them no harm! My sister and I hid in the swamps along the riverbank, along with a few others. We all had to watch our homes burn to the ground."

"And where is your sister now?"

At this, the young woman’s tears spilled over. "They found her! After hours of hiding, one of those northern monsters saw Deborah and dragged her away with him! I don’t know if she’s alive or dead."

William groaned. Female tears still made him intensely uncomfortable, especially from a stranger. And he didn’t like the odds that the girl’s sister was still alive. "Alright, alright. First of all, what is your name?"

"Joan Marcel, my lord." the girl was trying hard to compose herself through sobs.

"Well, my name is William. And I need you to calm down and stop crying so I can hear myself think." William frowned at her. "How did you end up here? The army camp, I mean?"

Joan ducked her head in embarrassment. "There’s a group of us who have started begging and foraging in the area. His Highness saw me yesterday evening, trying to catch a wild hare along the riverbank. He said I could earn some food by going into your tent and um, offering you company...and comfort. So I followed him here and he pointed out your tent."

"Are you telling me you were here all night next to me?" The thought of it made William feel odd, almost guilty of having done something wrong.

She nodded. "You were sound asleep, you didn’t even stir."

When William just stared at her, Joan then mumbled, "The prince said your preferences run to dark haired women."

William snorted in derision. "Well Joan, I’m very sorry to tell you that you were informed wrongly. I’m a married man."

Joan blinked. "Won’t that be the case for a great many of the men here, Your Grace?"

"I suppose it is. But I’ve no influence on whether other men honour their marriage vows. I can only control what I do." William shrugged. "Anyway, I don’t need the company of a doxy. What I do need however, is food. I assume you’re hungry?"

Joan nodded eagerly.

"Well, wait here then." William pulled on his discarded tunic. "I’ll see what I can find us."

"You don’t want me to accompany you, my lord?" she asked.

"A battle camp isn’t safe for a woman to be wandering around, even this early in the day. So stay in here." Without saying anything else, William ducked out of the tent. The last thing he needed for the other men to catch sight of him with a woman and asking all sorts of questions.

After rummaging under the protective canvas cloth covering one of the rations wagons, William took a waterskin, a loaf of barley bread and a chunk of hard yellow cheese back to his tent. When he entered it, he found Joan in the exact spot he’d left her, as if she was too frightened to move.

Her eyes went straight to the food in his hands. William sat down on the ground cross legged and used his dagger to cut a thick slice of bread with a generous piece of cheese on top. He handed it to Joan.

The young woman tore into the food, wolfing it down in desperation.

While she ate, William cut a helping for himself, chewing it slowly. He was thoroughly sick of stale bread, hard cheese and cured, salted beef. Joan however, was eating as if she’d been served a spectacular feast. There was an expression of almost rabid pleasure on her face. He sliced more bread and cheese for her, which she quickly devoured.

After finishing his share and taking a drink from the waterskin, William wiped he’s mouth with his sleeve and asked, "How long ago did you last eat?"

"Two...no, three days ago." Joan mumbled, still chewing down on the last of the cheese. She then looked at him and flushed red again. "Oh, I’m very sorry, my lord! You’ve been so generous to me with this food and I’ve eaten more than my fair share!"

William carelessly waved his hand. "It’s no trouble. You obviously needed it more than I did." He then paused, eyeing her. "So what do you plan to do now, Joan? As I said before, this camp is no place for an unguarded woman."

"What would you do in my place, my lord?" Joan seemed a lot more content with a full belly.

"I’d probably make my way out of the camp before the sun finished rising, before any of the soldiers saw me." he replied.

"Is that so?" She threw him a look that in any other situation, William would think she was trying to be coquettish with him. "But I’m among Islians. Surely, I’m safer here amongst you all than near the Moraigthians, Your Highness."

William’s expression hardened. "No, not really. Soldiers are soldiers. These men have been deprived of food and sleep and anything remotely pleasurable for months. They wouldn’t bother showing you anything close to chivalry."

"You did."

"Like I said before, Joan, I can’t be held responsible for the actions of other men. I only control my own." William was starting to get jittery in her company, preferring to just see her leave safely. He had fed her - he was limited in what else he could do to help. There would be thousands like her scattered around the countryside.

Suddenly, the sound of a horn rang out across the camp. Three short blasts, the sign for all the battalions to start lining up in formation for inspection of armour and weapons by King Edward.

William then heard the rustle of hundreds of men moving and talking amongst themselves. He cursed quietly in frustration. There was no way Joan could exit his tent unnoticed. What was he supposed to do now, especially when his uncle was expecting to see him among the assembled men?

"Stay here." he finally barked. "I’ll be back as soon as I can and we’ll figure something out." He stalked out of the tent.

He wasn’t sure but as he scrambled to his feet to leave, William thought he saw the tiniest of smiles on Joan’s face. Surely, he was imagining it, he told himself.