Princess in Disguise by E. D. Baker

come to gloat?” he asked.
    â€œI came to offer you a ride. It’s daylight now and I’m surprised the farmer hasn’t seen us yet.”
    â€œI suppose we could ride together,” Liam said, eyeing the gelding.
    â€œI think he could handle that just fine,” Annie said, reaching out to give Liam a hand up. “I have no idea what his name is, but I’m going to call him Otis.”
    â€œYou and your names,” muttered Liam as he made himself comfortable behind Annie.

Chapter 6
    Liam started grumbling about the horse when they’d ridden less than a mile. “He doesn’t have a very comfortable gait,” he said. “The other horse would have been better.”
    â€œWould you rather sit in front of me?” asked Annie.
    â€œMaybe we’ll switch places when we take a break. I remember this place. We rode past that cottage when we were taking Granny Bentbone to the tower.”
    Annie nodded. “This ride may be uncomfortable, but it’s better than traveling in the carriage with that nasty witch.”
    â€œIt’s better because I can hold you close,” Liam said, tightening his hold around her as he kissed the top of her head.
    â€œWhich is very nice for Annie, but weird if I’m supposed to be your brother, remember?”
    â€œOops, right,” Liam muttered. She could feel his arms relax as he leaned back on the horse, and she couldn’t help but smile.
    They rode past one small farm after another before the fields gave way to groves of linder trees. As the day grew warmer, Annie began to yawn and her eyelids started to droop. They had been awake since early the day before, and the lack of sleep was finally catching up with her. After a while she dozed, waking suddenly when she swayed and Liam caught her.
    â€œAre you all right?” he asked.
    â€œJust really tired.” Annie turned her head to glance at Liam and caught him yawning. “Maybe we should stop and rest for a bit.”
    â€œI’m fine,” said Liam. “We need to keep going. You can take a nap if you want.”
    â€œIf you’re sure …,” Annie murmured, and was asleep before Otis had gone much farther.
    Less than an hour later, Annie woke to find herself leaning perilously to the side on a horse that was standing at the edge of the road, nibbling the leaves off a linder tree. “Hey!” she cried, startled, and realized that Liam was leaning, too. His arms were still around her, but now he was about to fall off and take her with him.
    â€œWake up!” Annie shouted, jabbing Liam with her elbow.
    â€œHuh! What?” he said, and nearly knocked them both off when he struggled to sit upright again.
    â€œThat does it,” Annie said, swinging down from Otis’s back. “We’re not going any farther until we’ve rested.”
    Liam yawned again as he slid down, landing beside Annie. “We’re doing this for you,” he said, taking the end of Annie’s rope. “I could keep going all day.”
    â€œI’m sure you could,” Annie said, peering among the trees. “We need to get away from the road. Back in there looks good enough.”
    It took them a few minutes to get out of sight because Otis kept stopping to strip the leaves off twigs. When they finally reached a spot where they couldn’t see the road and doubted that anyone riding by could see them, they tied Otis to a sturdy branch with enough rope that he could nibble the tall grass. Annie lay down in the shade, while Liam sat with his back propped against a tree trunk a few feet away. “I’ll keep watch while you rest,” he said.
    Annie was too tired to argue. She doubted he’d be able to stay awake. Then she was asleep and no longer cared.

    The sun was directly overhead when Annie woke. She could hear Otis cropping the grass that grew between the trees, and Liam was still leaning against the trunk. She