Avila doubted that Galdren would allow the two that he always had with him to spread any kind of false information, but she could be wrong, or he might not know. After Byron’s near attack, she was unwilling to trust any of the other guards yet. Unfortunately, it also made her wonder how many people from the castle knew she belonged to Galdren, if any, in addition to what rumors there might be.
She wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. The way things looked, everyone probably thought she was Galdren’s little trollop, and ironically enough, he didn’t even want to touch her. Eventually, tears won out.
She sat there for a while, even after the tears dried up, debating whether she should just go back and gamble on someone other than Byron being there or not. Finally, she realized she didn’t have a choice. One way or another, she had to go back. She wouldn’t find Jessica by going forward. At least she knew how to be silent in the woods, so if she had to, maybe she could wait and watch until someone she trusted did show up.
As she stood up to return, she heard a small splash from the stream’s direction and turned back to see a giant snow lion just on the other side. A small stone had dislodged near it and fallen into the water; that is what she had heard. If not for that, she would never have realized the giant killer was there before it was on top of her. It was still some distance away, but not nearly far enough. She couldn’t outrun it and she couldn’t outclimb it. She knew she was looking at her impending death, and for some reason, all she could think was that it had to be one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.
It had a snow-white coat and a small, white mane that was shorter and thicker than its savannah cousins’, which extended farther down its back. The whole cat was bigger than any animal she had ever seen—it had paws the size of platters—but the most remarkable thing was its blue eyes.
She only had a moment to admire the great cat before it leapt over the stream in a single bound. Avila did scream then. Fear finally settled into the pit of her stomach, and she knew she was as good as dead. Before the cat could get close to her, a single shot rang out, and the great cat collapsed about ten feet away from where she stood.
Her primal fear was almost instantly turned into rage. She didn’t want to die, but that animal was one of only a few of its kind left. To kill it was beyond an outrage. She didn’t even care if it was the poachers she had to face. Whoever it was, they were going to know precisely what they did before she was done. When she turned, however, it was Galdren and Jessica that she saw, and neither of them looked happy. As a matter of fact, Galdren seemed so angry as he passed the gun to Jessica that Avila almost didn’t say anything. Still, as she looked back at the motionless white mass behind her, the anger flared anew.
“Thank you for saving me. Please don’t think I’m not grateful, but do you have any idea what effects your action might have? That animal, that beautiful, rare animal, was one of only a few of its kind remaining. He was one of the reasons this preserve is here in the first place. How could you kill him like that?”
Jessica had a look of shock on her face. Seeing it, Avila, knowing the prince wasn’t spoken to like that often, if ever, wondered if she would walk away from the conversation whole—and from the look on the prince’s face, she wasn’t entirely sure she would.
13. Misunderstanding
Galdren was taken aback at Avila’s attitude. He was so angry at that moment he wasn’t even sure he could answer her. Instead, he walked up to her, grabbed her by the arm, and started dragging her back the way they had just come with Jessica following. After a few minutes of stunned silence on Avila’s part, Galdren finally responded to her question. “The cat isn’t dead; it was a tranquilizer. Jessica was carrying them in case we ran into anything.” He couldn’t bring himself to say more.
Galdren couldn’t look at her; he wasn’t sure what he would do if he did. He was angry at her, yes, angrier than he had ever been. However, more than that, he was still trying to deal with the adrenaline rushing through his body from the terror he had just faced. She had almost been killed—if he had been even a minute later, there would have been no way to save her. He didn’t know how to cope with what he was feeling in the wake of that. He didn’t even know how to explain what he was feeling. Mostly it was coming out in his outrage.
He had come back to camp to find Jessica patching up Byron’s nose and Avila nowhere to be found. When he asked for a report, Byron told him that Avila started acting suspiciously after Jessica left to check out a noise. When he tried to find out what she was up to, she attacked him and ran off. Galdren couldn’t understand why Avila would run away or how she could have bested a palace guard, but there was no doubt she had definitely at least temporarily disabled the man. From looking at Byron’s broken nose and the bruising surrounding it, he wouldn’t have been surprised if the man was unconscious for some time.
By that point, they didn’t have any time to lose. If Avila was running, then they needed to catch her, and Jessica was the best tracker. He left Byron in the care of the others, and then he and Jessica took off down the way Avila had gone. The trail was easy to find since she had been running and didn’t bother to go slow and hide her tracks. While trying to locate her, Galdren had time to try and figure out why she had run in the first place. He didn’t like any of the answers he had come up with.
The last week kept playing back through his mind. How she had been so angry with him. Which he didn’t blame her for, but he had thought they were past that. If she really was so sick of everything that she had just waited for the first opportunity to come along and then ran, how was he supposed to handle that? He had wanted to make this easy, but if she was going to fight him, he wasn’t sure it would be simple for either of them.
When Galdren had first been approached by his father about Avila’s Life Debt, he was unsure of how to answer. He could admit that there were many mysteries surrounding the young woman that he did want to figure out, but he was hesitant to take away her life—her freedom. It was only after his father had mentioned that it might be for the best that he even truly considered it. The reasoning had been vague, but his father’s eyes had been concerned. It added to her mystery, and he also trusted his father’s judgement. His curiosity would not have been enough to push him into invoking her Life Debt, but after speaking to her for a few weeks, and at his father’s urging, he decided that it might be a good idea.
When his father explained that he would not only have Avila’s life as his, but he would be responsible for protecting it as well, he felt justified in finally agreeing. That was not something that was spelled out in the wording of the Life Debt document. Though Galdren knew there was more to his father’s order—and he had no doubt it was an order, even if it was implied and not direct—that fact only served to deepen the mystery around the girl and strengthen Galdren’s resolve, so he had taken up the obligation and all it entailed.
However, walking back through the woods with her, he had no idea how he should proceed. The image of her just standing there while the great cat was stalking her from across the water came back to his mind’s eye again, and his hand clenched on her arm without thought. He relaxed it when he heard her stifle a cry. The way she turned on him, her anger at the idea of the cat being dead; it was almost like she had some sort of death wish. It made him consider the idea that she had run without a plan, just to get away, and had not cared what happened. The thought did not make him any happier.
They had not even made it back to the rendezvous point at the stream when they were intercepted by their two vehicles. Lee and Jacob had managed to make it down the incline, and once they were to the valley floor, it was easy going to get to the stream.
It was the one good thing that had happened that day. Jessica left to join the three men in the second hovercar, and without letting go of Avila’s arm, Galdren opened the door of the first. That was the first time he had even looked at her since they had left the spot
where he found her. The tear tracks on her face startled him. The look she gave him was full of anger, yes, but more of hurt. He wasn’t prepared for it. He wanted to know why she would run away in the first place when things had seemed to be working out, but if he couldn’t trust her words or actions, he didn’t even want to talk to her at the moment. No matter how much that look pained him, he was still too angry at her betrayal.
“Get in the transport.” He managed to force the words out, but when she looked like she might say something instead of getting in, he just pointed to the doorway. The look on her face was even angrier now, and there were fresh tears, but he couldn’t take any conversation.
The first half of the ride back was spent in complete and uncomfortable silence. It was finally broken by Galdren. “Randy, we will not be going back to the apartment straightaway. I want to go to the palace instead. I also need you to contact them and let them know that I need an audience with my father.” He glanced at Avila when he said that and then back to the front again. “I need it as private as possible.” When he got the confirmation from Randy, he put up the privacy screen but still would not look at or talk to Avila.
―
Avila felt like she may as well have been invisible, except for the odd glare she caught occasionally. She felt as if she were finally the prisoner she had feared she was going to be all along. That thought was the one that kept circling in her head and coming back to her when she didn’t want it to. That thought was the one that kept the tears fresh on her face.
She had been shocked by his reaction at first; maybe she had pushed a little too far when she got angry about the cat, especially since it wasn’t dead. But when she thought about it, he had been furious when he first found her, before she even said anything, so that made no sense. She had thought about saying something, maybe asking why he was angry during the march back, but then he had squeezed her arm, and she saw the look on his face. She had barely been able to stop the cry that came out. Not so much from the pain it caused, but he had such a black look on his face that she couldn’t begin to fathom why he was so angry at her.
Again, she wanted to ask at the hovercar, but by then, it was evident that whatever reason he had was so bad in his mind that he didn’t want to talk to her. She was caught between hurt and fuming. Mad because she had done nothing for him to be angry about; or at least, definitely not that angry, and hurt because she was still jangled from her ordeal. She needed to talk to him about what was going on, but nothing would get solved if he didn’t speak to her. The only thing she had plenty of was silence and tears, and she was getting sick of both, but there didn’t seem to be an end to either one in sight.
When they got to the castle complex, they stopped the vehicle near an entrance that looked like it was for the royal family’s use, out of the way of the main entrance. The second transport kept going. Presumably, to park in the palace’s underground garage. When the other car passed into the tunnel, Galdren took down the privacy screen. “Make sure they all meet us in the audience chamber. I want everyone there.”
Avila was starting to feel uneasy. If she was being hauled in front of the king, which is what this was beginning to feel like, what exactly did he think she had done? If it were something serious enough to warrant this, she could understand the anger, but she needed to figure it out and set things straight fast if that was the case. “Galdren, I know you’re angry, but we need to talk before this gets out of hand.”
The look he gave her was pure ice. “Avila, you can talk to me when I am sure—when I know—you know what, you can wait until we are inside.” Avila was taken aback by his tone, and wrapped her arms around herself when his jaw clenched. Still, she kept her silence. There was no point in arguing if he was going to be unreasonable. She was sure the truth would come out soon enough.
Randy and Baxter both got out of the vehicle and came around to open the door. Avila got out first, followed by Galdren. Once they were both out, another servant came and took the hovercar away. With the guards on either side of them, Galdren must have felt she wouldn’t try to run since he didn’t grab her by the arm again. In fact, he made sure to keep enough distance between them to make sure they didn’t touch at all, but he made it clear with body language that he expected her to keep up.
Before they passed through the outer doors, Randy reported to Galdren. “The others will meet us in Room Two, Your Highness. Your father is waiting there for you.” It didn’t take them long to reach Room Two, which was apparently one of the king’s offices that he also used as a small audience chamber. It was spacious and contained an ornate desk with more carvings on the edges and legs than Avila thought was possible on one piece of furniture.
When Galdren and his group arrived, the other four that had been with them were not there yet. Still, there were several other guards already in the room with the king. The four of them stepped up to the desk, and then the two guards with Galdren took their places on either side of the room. Before Galdren could even start talking, the other four showed up and silently took their places as well, two along either wall next to Randy or Baxter.
Galdren glanced around the room and then back to his father before he began. “Father, I only need a short amount of your time, but there is a matter that has come up, and I need your unclouded opinion of events and your guidance, if you would share them, please. This matter involves my charge. I know you said to protect her, and I want to make sure that I do just that, but I need to get to the truth here and am having trouble finding it.”
With Galdren’s speech, Avila looked at both royals sharply, but neither one even spared a glance in her direction. Galdren continued, “I am not asking you to sit in judgment or to assign any punishment; I will need to manage those on my own. I am simply asking for an unbiased look at what has happened today.”
“Galdren, I will guide you as I can.” At that point, Galdren turned to face Avila fully for the first time since he had seen her in the forest. She could still see the tightness in his jaw that showed his anger. Between that and the king’s dispassionate gaze, which was now turned in her direction, it was more than she could handle. She lowered her eyes to the floor, trying and failing to keep the tears that were forming from falling.
“Avila, you know you are in my charge, correct?” Galdren’s question surprised her, but she didn’t want to look at him with the tears falling freely. Instead, she watched them form spots on the floor and answered him in the strongest voice she could muster.
“Yes, Galdren, I am aware that I am under your charge.” She tried not to put too much spite into the last word, but with the way he had been treating her for the last couple of hours, all the hurt was breaking through.
His jaw clenched tighter at her answer, but there was no direct response to the tone. “If you are fully aware of your circumstances, then I will note the allegations.” With that, Avila’s head did come up. She was being charged with something? This was fast becoming too bizarre for even a dream. “Avila, you are being accused of trying to escape and doing bodily harm to one of the people designated to guard you. How do you plea?”
Her jaw dropped open, and she just stood there for a moment, unable to find the words to respond. He thought she was trying to run away? That could explain why he was acting the way he had been, but it was no excuse for him not to just ask. “I did not try to run away! I was trying to find Jessica!” Her voice came out as a shout when she finally answered him, surprising everyone in the room.
The king stood up, and Avila calmed enough to know she shouldn’t have shouted. The king turned to Jessica and motioned her forward. “Your name is Jessica, I presume?”
Jessica nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Can you please enlighten us as to what she might be talking about?”
“Well, Your Majesty, I had been assigned with one other guard, Byron there, to watch over Avila and keep her safe while the others were away for v
arious reasons. I thought I heard something nearby that might have been a threat, so I went to investigate. When I came back, she was gone, and Byron was injured. Prince Galdren arrived at about the same time I came back, and he took me to search for her. I can say that although where we found her was farther than I had traveled, most of her path followed mine almost exactly.”
“Thank you. That is enough.” With the king’s nod, Jessica turned and glanced at Byron. After a moment’s hesitation, instead of going back to her position by Baxter, she went and stood next to the door. She got a raised eyebrow from some of the others, but with her shrug, it was passed off quickly.
Once Jessica finished her brief statement, all eyes were back on Avila. The king was simply looking at her with a mild expression, as if her outburst had not happened at all. Galdren, on the other hand, still looked stormy. “Why would you be following Jessica? Did she not ask you to stay at the rendezvous point? Were you that anxious to get lost in the woods?” This time Galdren’s voice had started to rise in his anger, not to a shout, but enough that the surprise was evident in everyone’s faces.
Avila almost choked on her own emotion as she tried to get the answer out. She couldn’t tell if she was angry or hurt, but either way, her throat was constricting, and she couldn’t make a sound at first. When she finally could answer, it started out as a choking stutter, and her tears streamed down, unchecked and unnoticed. “I went to find Jessica because I knew she could find you! I had no idea where you were, and I had been left alone with that man!” She pointed wildly but unerringly to Byron. “I don’t know what you are telling your people these days, but since this is on the record: I am not your whore! And as for the man that thought to rape me—breaking his nose wasn’t enough, but it was enough for me to get away. Unless there is some punishment for defending myself now, too?”
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