The ride into the next town was quiet. Kyoka seemed to be upset by that prince, but you couldn't be too sure. You didn't have the time to dwell over it, though. By the looks of it, you were in the Yaoyorozu Kingdom now.
Kyoka had long since fallen asleep against your back, and you could tell that Lee himself was getting tired. You had foolishly gone into the woods earlier, the only shelter nearby was the palace. You could probably ask for aid for the night, but did you want to?
Of course you didn't. You had to, though. You looked back at Kyoka, who was snoring. Lee was slowing down. Yeah, you had to ask for aid at the palace.
"So here's the thing. We can get shelter in two ways. One, we hide in something like the stables and go into town tomorrow morning. Two, we ask for shelter." you tried to ignore how Kyoka looked at you with pity, picking at your nails as she decided.
It started to rain, and Kyoka decided to go ask for shelter at the palace. Luckily for you, a servant had taken pity on the pair of you, offering you a former servant's room. The servant also let Lee have a place in the stables, as long as you paid her, of course.
You heard a pair of familiar voices come from down the hall, and you turned to Kyoka, who looked completely dead. "Come on. We have to get out, now." she took your hint, but it was too late.
Shoto walked down the corridor, spotting the two of you. "What are you-" you played innocent, smiling and waving at your step-son. "Y/N and her handmaiden. What are you two doing here?" you kicked Kyoka's shin, forcing a little laugh.
"Actually, my name is Aya. This is my friend, Emiko. We were caught up in the storm last night, and someone offered us a room here for the night. We've been falsely recognized a lot on our travels, it's quite humorous. Now, you're one of the princes, aren't you?" just like you had done in your old village, you deepened your voice.
"I am. I must get on my way. If you're not the queen, I have nothing to do with you." he briskly walked by the two of you, bumping your shoulder with his. You brushed off the interaction, not letting it get to you as you led Kyoka into the royal stables.
"That was close." you breathed out, finally away from the palace. "Do you wanna go to a bar and work out our choices? No drinking, just a place where we can lay out our map." she nodded, and then you were off into the direction of the town.
"We saw Shoto at the palace, which isn't a good sign. We should start riding back now. We could spend another day, but we should play it safe. We'd be in big trouble if Enji found out where we've been." you dragged your knife across the paper, weaving through the scrawlings of different kingdoms and towns until your blade came to a stop in front of your palace.
"Yeah. We need to be smart, too."
"Exactly. We can't use our real names, either. I don't mean a different name each town we stop in, but we need aliases. I used Aya and Emiko earlier, how does that sound? No last names, because you can trace those, you know?" she nodded, and then you were set.
You spent the days sleeping whenever/wherever you could. You stopped using inns, buying food and water wherever you had to. Some nights were leaning against trees, using each other's body heat as a blanket. Other nights, you traded off riding Lee, sleeping against each other's backs.
It took six days to get to the palace. In those six days, you had formed a strong emotional connection with both Lee and Kyoka. You now trusted your handmaiden with your life, and you knew she felt the same. She had opened up to you, holding playful arguments and banter during your rides.
You flopped against your bed. You had made it home before Enji and Shoto. You were clean, the portrait of you and Kyoka was hanging up, and you had the time of your life. The servants at the palace were informed (lied to) about where you and Kyoka were, so there was no fear of someone telling Enji.
You stared at the unopened letters on your desk. They were probably from Enji, but you couldn't be too sure. You should open and read them, but you didn't want to even get up. Getting up would require clothing, and you were content laying naked on your bed.
"Queen Y/N?" Ochaco knocked, and you shot up. "One second, Ochaco! I just got out of the bath!" you slipped on your nightgown, opening your door to your handmaiden. "What's up?" you leaned awkwardly against the door frame, stumbling a little.
She handed you a letter, coming to sit down on your bed. Since it was your room, and not the one you shared with Enji, you allowed your handmaids to do whatever they wanted. "It's from the king." you winced, tearing open the envelope.
Dearest,
Shoto has decided to hold his wedding two weeks from now in the Yaoyorozu Kingdom. I am sending you there so you can oversee the overall plans. You leave tonight. Since you are the queen now, you have more needs. I have taken that into account, and I have decided that a third handmaiden will be assigned to watch over you.
Her name is Mina Ashido, and I am sure that you are familiar with her. She will be coming with you to the Yaoyorozu Kingdom, along with Kyoka Jiro and Ochaco Uraraka. They are informed, and clothes have been made for their trip.
The Yaoyorozu family is expecting you. The carriage will leave at nine tonight. I'll see you there, my love.
-King Enji
You groaned. You just got back a few hours ago! "Okay. Ochaco, are you packed? Is Mina packed?" she nodded. But Kyoka wasn't. She couldn't be. At the least, she had her clothes made. "Since Kyoka was with me, she doesn't know. I can pack a little later, Kyoka comes first."
You knocked on your handmaiden's door. "Come in." she said, and you opened the door. "We're going to the Yaoyorozu Kingdom tonight. You need to be packed by nine. There's clothes made for you." you shot her a knowing smile.
While Kyoka was packing in her room, Ochaco and Mina helped you with your stuff. Enji had more dresses made for you, and you were already missing the feeling of Izuku's clothes. You had burned them to hide the evidence of your trip, so now you had no freedom when it came to clothing. That part didn't matter, though. What would you do when you saw Momo again?
so i forgot how to spell 11 please bear with me
