Chapter 61

We flew for the rest of the day, only stopping when the prince complained too much for us to ignore anymore. 

"We're making camp here," Daydree announced, before flopping down on the grass. 

"There are at least two more hours of flying before we make it anywhere near where we need to be at this point." Xavier all but growled out, but I placed my hand on his chest as he started towards the prince. The last thing I wanted to deal with on top of his excessive complaining about literally everything was a fist fight that would give him more shit to complain about. 

"Well, I dictate where we land, and my legs are too sore to keep going. So we're making camp here." Daydree said, lying back in the grass. 

'Would you go scout out the place quickly and see what's around here?' I asked Nova, who instantly took to the sky once more. 

"It won't do us any good arguing with him when it's part of our agreement to follow his needs. I know we're not where we'd like to be, but we're only a couple of hours short; it could be far worse. We can make that time up." I told Xavier, who just continued glaring at the prince. 

"A couple of hours out here can make the difference between camping in the dead plains for an extra day or in the forests of Fairy, and either of those options could easily be a death sentence. I'm not putting you in danger because of a whiny fucker who can barely ride." Those sharp emerald eyes found mine before I leaned in against his chest. 

"We'll make it up. If he's made this journey as many times as you've said, then even he wouldn't want to spend an extra night in those places."

'There's a river that's a close walk from here that we could use to bathe tonight. It's rather calm here too.' Nova's soft tone floated through my mind, and I smiled. Hopefully, that would make up for it a bit. 

"Plus, Nova just told me there's a river here for us to bathe. It's probably our best chance until we get to Fairy, so why not just enjoy while we can?" I told him as Genie and Lexi came up to us. 

"She's not wrong; it's better than nothing, and it's at least the safest place to bathe, considering the dead plains have leeches, and Fairy has water lilies. Either way, you're getting your blood sucked; one's just a bit more enticing than the other." Genie said with a shrug of her shoulders as Xavier and I both raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, honestly, at least Celestia just has possible dysentery." Xavier ran a hand over his face as I sighed and mouthed, not helpful, to her. "What? It's a low possibility." 

Lexi placed her hand on Genie's shoulder. "You see, this is one of those times that you probably would have been better off shutting up before you mentioned the part about us possibly shitting ourselves to death. Okay? That's one of those things we prefer not to mention at a time like this." Lexi chided as Xavier turned, completely leaving us as he went over to pull our things down from Bane's back.

Once we had everything set up and Nova was back with some firewood for us, I instantly started gathering my things together for a bath. However, that's also when Daydree started to get up, heading in the direction of the river. You couldn't see it from camp, but it definitely wasn't far, considering you could easily hear it.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Xavier asked as he eyed Daydree with enough venom in that gaze to stop him in his tracks. 

"We're a team, there shouldn't be any shame in bathing together. Unless you're scared, that is." Daydree taunted. I was halfway to jumping between the two of them once more when Xavier chuckled, that low, menacing sound that always sent a shiver down my spine rather than being anything close to happy. 

"Oh, trust me, I have nothing to be ashamed of. However, that time I was actually attempting to be nice. I would hate for you to embarrass yourself in front of everyone here. On the other hand, maybe you would fit in better with the girls, considering I'm sure they have more of a pair than you do." Xavier quipped, raising an eyebrow at the prince in challenge as he sputtered for a response. 

"That... that's not what the women I've been with all say." The prince huffed out, crossing his arms over his chest as I heard Lexi and Genie both start laughing in the background. 

"And how much did you have to pay them for that?" Xavier countered, and Daydree's mouth dropped open, looking more like a fish out of water as he searched for a response. Xavier just shook his head with another huff of laughter. "That's what I thought. Now sit down and for the love of God shut the fuck up." 

"I'll try to make sure we're quick," I whispered as I leaned into Xavier before he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me in closer as he leaned down to wrap me in his arms. I felt him take a deep breath as I hugged him back. 

"Don't worry about it. Take the chance to relax while you can." He whispered back, and I just smiled. I was more than happy to just lean into him for a moment, uncaring as everyone watched. The girls already knew we were together, and the prince could go fuck himself for all I cared. 

"Fine, but just don't kill him. Now, I wouldn't be opposed to you roughing him up a bit, but just try to keep it to a minimum. I don't want to hear him crying like a damn baby all night." I told him, giving him an innocent smile before leaning up onto my tiptoes to press a kiss to his jaw. 

"I can't promise anything if he keeps staring at your ass," Xavier growled out, shooting another glare that promised nothing but cold death in Daydree's direction, and I just grinned as I leaned in against his chest once more. 

"Relax, handsome; you're the only one that gets to put their hands on it." He just raised an eyebrow at me with a slight shake of his head as I pulled away from him. 

Nova jumped up onto my shoulders as I looked through my bag, pulling out one of my sleep dresses along with my soap and a towel. The last thing I wanted was to sleep in my leathers if I didn't have to. Not to mention that Xavier definitely prefers it that way too. 

I couldn't help but smile as I remembered the looks Lexi and Genie had given me earlier as Xavier had stolen my bedroll from me before laying it out right beside his. He was always rather blunt about things, but I wasn't sure how he would be with other people around us. That one action with him obviously insinuating that he didn't care in the slightest about what they thought pulled at something in my heart. Knowing that he wasn't going to pull away from me just because there were other people around instantly set me at ease. 

Once I had collected everything I needed, I went over to where the other two were waiting for me before we followed Nova's directions to the closest part of the river. "Aren't you a little worried about leaving those two alone together?" Genie asked with a slight bit of panic in her normally cheerful tone, but Lexi and I just grinned at her.

"Nope," I answered first, as Lexi agreed with me. 

"But Xavier looked like he literally wanted to kill him. Shouldn't we be at least a little concerned about that?" Genie went on as we all set our things on the edge of the river and started stripping down. 

"No, as you guys pointed out before, that's kinda just his go-to glare. Plus, as I said before, he wouldn't actually do anything to jeopardize the mission. Now I'm not saying that the prince is going to be totally in one piece by the time we get back, but that also depends on how well he pisses Xavier off by then." I said, grinning at them over my shoulder before stepping out into the cool water. It felt good after the warm day, and it was shallow enough that even going out into the center of the river, it only came up to my shoulders. I quickly dunked under the crystal clear water, getting my hair wet before starting the task of washing through the long auburn locks with the bar of soap I brought in with me. 

"I'm going to bet that fucking prince will be singing a totally different tune by the time we get back," Lexi called with a giggle before she splashed water at Genie, who just giggled as she splashed her back. Nova was happily lounging in the shallow water with Kira, and I just smiled as I watched all of them relax. "Honestly though, it's kinda nice to be out on a mission with all three of us." Lexi looked between the two of us, and I couldn't help but to smile. It really was nice to actually be able to spend time with all of them like this. 

"It's really nice," I called back with a smile before they both turned on me, laughing as they teamed up to splash me. 

"You didn't tell us that he called you princess." Lexi teased, and I instantly felt my cheeks heat as I blushed. 

"Well... that kinda just started with him teasing me about having to rescue me, then... I don't know; it just took a turn, just like everything else." I answered with a shrug as they both just giggled at me. 

"You can't tell me that you don't like it. I mean, honestly, who wouldn't like a man like that to call them princess?" Genie teased as she dropped her voice as low as it would go to try to mimic him, making all of us laugh once more.

By the time we made our way back to the camp, we were all relaxed as we just talked and laughed, well, until we got back to the camp. I took one look at the grin on Xavier's face and instantly knew something had gone down that had absolutely ended in his favor, but as we got closer, I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stifle my laughter. The other two followed behind me, but they weren't successful in covering up their laughter at the prince who was sprawled out on his back, absolutely terrified as several of Xavier's knives stuck out of the ground around him. 

"Don't just stand there! Help me! This fucking brute of yours is insane!" Daydree called in our direction, but Xavier simply flicked another dagger at him. This one came within about an inch of his shoulder as he tisked at the prince, who promptly shut up, quickly glancing between the dagger, Xavier, and the three of us. 

"So he does actually learn." Xavier chided with a grin as he pulled another dagger, running his thumb over the edge of it as he raised an eyebrow at the prince. "Turns out that if you throw enough knives at him, he does actually know how to shut his mouth. However, as you can see, he's not a quick study." Xavier said as he turned to look at the three of us, and I just giggled as I gave him a slight shake of my head.

"Did you not just see him try to kill me?!" Daydree called, and Xavier promptly flicked his last dagger at him. This one, however, landed far closer than any of the others, and directly between his legs, causing the prince to let out a very girlish squeak as he shuffled backwards away from the blade. I couldn't help but to just laugh harder before I gathered myself and cleared my throat. 

"No, actually he didn't try to kill you, because trust me, if he wanted you dead, you would've been dead on the first shot. He wouldn't have thrown all twelve of his daggers at you. Although, I do have to say that you might want to rethink your actions cause that last one seemed rather personal." I told him as I walked up beside Xavier, who just gave me a victorious smile. "You look like you're having fun." 

"Turns out, throwing knives at him does wonders for your mood. I would offer for you to try, but as you pointed out, that was all of mine, and yours aren't over here right now." He said before pressing a soft kiss to the top of my head and walking over towards the now cowering man, slowly collecting his daggers as he went. "Go get your things to bathe. As you found out, I'm not a patient man. Don't keep me waiting." Xavier told the prince as he went about collecting his blades and sheathing them. He dropped all of his armor and extra sheaths by his bag before collecting what he needed to bathe, as I took a seat on our bedrolls in front of the fire. Pulling my brush out, I started the task of taming my long hair.