“Ah, here - this is the second one! See the red tinge to the edges of the leaf, that’s what marks it as rashroot. Try not to touch them with your bare hands.”

It had been a few hours since Maria started her hunt for herbs and David felt pretty useless; he had just wandered around the woods following after her like a lost puppy. He did his best to keep an eye out for the plants, but he only had her descriptions to go on and she seemed to have a keener eye for detail than him.

“These can be used to brew potions that keep you warm. It’s really helpful in winter, especially if you’re moving around without shelter. We often supply those to the front lines, it’s worth remembering.” Maria’s tone reminded David of teachers back on earth, reading out of a textbook - bored, dry and with just a hint of annoyance, the subtext that this is so basic he should already know it painfully clear.

Okay, magic poison ivy - got it. The first plant had been more interesting at least. It was a yellow berried purple bush that grew up in the canopy, blending strangely with the tree's leaves to create a shocking colour that screamed ‘stay away!’

The plant was apparently symbiotic: it used the tree’s nutrients to grow, then its colour and scent kept malicious animals and bugs away from the tree. Maria said she'd been using it’s juices each night to ring their campsites with a sort of monster repellent. I did wonder, we never kept watch. Looking back it was reckless. I didn’t know we were safe and I didn’t even question it.

David shivered, images filled his mind, thoughts of goblins creeping around his tent at night, the steam billowing out of their mouths before they shredded the thin canvas that protected him.

He banished the image from his mind, trying to distract himself by remembering the plants very boring, very scientific sounding name. He was sure he wouldn’t remember it long, it was something like Flavus Vaccinium. Even if he forgot the name, he wouldn’t forget what it did and he knew he’d want his own personal supply, just in case.

They were almost back at the camp, back to the traps Maria had taught David to rig up, traps that would hopefully have a rabbit in them. It was strange to David, how some things were so similar or even exactly the same, while other stuff seemed so surreal and different, sometimes different even from myths he knew.

Do goblins usually breathe smoke and have fire filled bellies? Does the sky’s colour usually get altered by magic mountain ranges? Do heroes usually learn to trap and forage from princesses? That last thought was interesting, it was something he could follow up on right now, so he turned to Maria and asked,

“Where did you learn all this?” He gestured at the trees surrounding them, as if they stood as a symbol of her odd rugged talents.

“My father felt it important that I be well rounded if I were to rule. I had a tutor for everything. How to walk correctly, how to eat correctly, how to politely refuse the advances of a foreign brat. For more hands-on skills like these, after I’d studied for a while, William would take me out into the woods for a more…” She grinned, “practical learning experience. We camped, hiked, hunted and fought. I learned as much from him as any book.”

“Wow. That’s crazy. I didn’t realize you’d be in charge one day. I mean, I know you’re a princess, but still. That’s a lot. Wasn’t it risky for you to be out in the woods learning all this? Isn’t it risky for you to be out here with me now?”

“Who else would run the country after Dad? Did they not have queens where you’re from?”

She sounded genuinely curious, and paused, her head cocked and her lips slightly parted as she tapped one finger against her cheek in contemplation before continuing,

“Yeah, it’s risky to be here. But there are always risks. Tomorrow the demons could push further south, an errant faction from the eastern bloc could send an assassin, I could just fall sick and whither away. Life is dangerous, I’ll still live it.”

David met her eyes. They were intense, the dark blue seemed to smoulder with a drive and will that he couldn’t recognize or match. He looked away, her intensity overwhelming him, before saying,

“Actually, now that you mention it, the first royal person I can think of that’s still around is the Queen. She’s more of a symbolic thing though.” He shrugged. He hadn’t thought about how Earth’s royalty worked in forever, he honestly didn’t even know what the Queen of England did for anyone ever. Maybe the odd TV appearance to fire people up?

“If you don’t have nobles how do your countries work, who’s in charge?” Maria’s fingers were tapping rapidly now. David recognized the habit, whenever she was deep in thought or curious she seemed to fidget.

“Uh, well we vote on what we want to do. Everyone decides together. Or... actually it's more of a majority rule situation so I guess some people don’t get what they want.”

“Really? Isn’t that terribly slow? You do that for everything?”

David groaned slightly and quietly, he took a quick glance over at Maria, hoping she hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t loved civics class and wasn’t the most sure of all the details - if Maria was really curious about how everything worked, he wouldn’t have that many answers. It was a serious gap in his knowledge.

He felt a thick knot of anxiety in his stomach, what other gaps are there? There are more, hell, I was only in highschool! There’s all kinds of things I don’t really know about. I know what a gun is, but could I ever build one? Maybe I could help someone else figure it out? He hadn’t realized up until this moment how much he knew of without really understanding how it worked. He thought back to the negotiations he’d had with Leeuw, could he really help them develop an aqueduct? He wasn’t so sure anymore. Well, that’s a problem. It’ll have to be one for later though. He gave Maria the best answer he could,

“No, we actually vote on people who vote for us. Different groups each pick a representative to speak for us. Does that make sense?”

“Huh, I guess. Interesting...” Maria trailed off, they were getting really close to the camp now, so David figured she was more focused on that. Still as she walked ahead of him on the thin dirt trail he couldn’t help but notice her fingers tapping, dancing lightly on her thigh.

As they entered the camp David’s heart stopped. He saw a small white and brown rabbit struggling, fighting fiercely, its paw stuck in the loop of the rope trap he’d set up this morning. He stopped walking and just stared, his right arm started shaking, a tremor in his hand thrumming softly as horror hit his chest.

The rabbit was cute, almost a bunny really - it reminded him of the pet his grade school class had, a small bunny that the teacher mostly took care of all while pretending that it was the students job. The rabbit’s foot was bound tight, the rope biting into its fur, small brown eyes filled with terror as it continued to thrash. It wants to live. Fuck, of course it does. Why would I think it wouldn't? Why would I think I could do this? Maria didn’t turn around. She didn’t look at him, almost as if she knew he would be shaking, and she didn’t want to embarrass him. She talked without turning,

“You have to do it. It’s something… you need to get used to. I’m sorry.” She walked away, leaving David alone, as she started to prepare her tent for sleep.