A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

has their own spies, and factions, and agendas.
When Alton told you that my marriage has already been arranged, for instance,
what he was really doing was trying to find out how close you and I are. He is
threatened. And he might be reporting to someone. For him, marriage doesn’t
mean love. It means a union. Purely for financial gain, for rank. For property.
In our royal court, nothing is what it seems.”
    Suddenly, Khron sprinted past them, down
the forest trail, and into a clearing.
    Gwen looked at Thor and giggled; she
reached out, grabbed his hand, and ran with him.
    “Come on!” she yelled, excited.
    The two of them ran down the trail, and
burst into the huge clearing, laughing. Thor was taken aback by the sight: it
was a beautiful forest meadow filled with wildflowers of every possible color
up to their knees. Birds and butterflies of every color and size danced and
flew in the air, and the meadow was alive with the sound of chirping. The sun
shone down brilliantly, and it felt like a secret place, hidden here in the
midst of this tall dark wood.
    “Have you ever played Hangman’s Blind?”
she asked with a laugh.
    Thor shook his head, and before he could
respond, she took a handkerchief from her neck, reached up, and wrapped it over
Thor’s eyes, tying it behind him. He couldn’t see, and she giggled loudly in
his ear.
    “You’re it!” she said.
    Then he heard her run away in the grass.
    He smiled.
    “But what do I do?” he called out.
    “Find me!” she called back.
    Her voice was already far away.
    Thor, blindfolded, began to run after
her, tripping as he went. He listened carefully to the rustle of her dress,
trying to follow her direction. It was hard, and he ran with his hands out
before him, thinking always that he might run into a tree, even though he knew
it was an open meadow. Within moments, he was disoriented, and felt as if he
were running in circles.
    But he continued to listen, and heard
the sound of her giggle, far away, and kept adjusting, running for it.
Sometimes it seemed to get closer, then farther. He was beginning to feel
dizzy.
    He heard Khron running beside him,
yelping, and he listened instead to Khron, following his footsteps. As he did,
Gwyn’s giggle got louder, and Thor realized that Krohn was leading him to her.
He was amazed at how smart Khron was, to join in their game.
    Soon, he could hear her just feet away
from him; he chased her, zigzagging every which way, through the field. He
reached out, and she screamed in delight as he caught the corner of her dress.
As he grabbed her, he tripped, and the two of them went crashing down, into the
soft field. He spun at the last second, so that he would fall first and she on
top of him, cushioning her fall.
    Thor landed on the ground, and she on
top of him, screaming out in surprise. She was still giggling as she reached up
and pulled back the kerchief.
    Thor’s heart was pounding as he saw her
face just inches from his. He felt the weight of her body on his, in her thin
summer dress, felt every contour of her body. The full weight of her pressed
down on him, and she made no move to resist. She was staring into his eyes,
their breathing shallow, and she did not look away. He did not either. Thor’s
heart pounded so fast, he was having a hard time focusing.
    Suddenly, she leaned in and planted her
lips on his. They were softer than he could possibly imagine, and as they met,
for the first time in his life, he felt truly alive.
    He closed his eyes, and she closed hers,
and they did not move, their lips meeting for he did not know how long. He
wanted to freeze this time.
    Finally, slowly, she pulled away. She
still smiled, as she slowly opened her eyes, and she still lay there, her body
on his.
    They lay like that for a long time,
staring into each other’s eyes.
    “Where did you come from?” she asked,
softly, smiling.
    He smiled back. He did not know how to
answer.
    “I’m just a regular boy,” he said.
    She shook her head and smiled.
    “No you are not. I can sense it. I suspect
you are far, far more than that.”
    She leaned in and kissed him again, and
his lips met hers, this time, for a much longer time. He reached up and ran his
hand through her hair, and she ran hers through his. He could not stop his mind
from racing.
    He already wondered how this would end.
Could they possibly be together, with all the forces between them? Was it
possible for them to really be a couple?
    Thor hoped, more than anything in