Fate Abandoned (Book 1 of the Fate Abandoned Series)

by L. Danvers

  In the distance, heavy chains clanked, and they knew it was time to go.

  “What should we do with the extra sword?” Lillian asked.

  Daphne burrowed into a pile of hay and then took the sword from Lillian, placed it there and covered it back up.

  Satisfied that she’d hidden it well, she mounted Periwinkle.

  She and Lillian rode for the lowered drawbridge, hoods concealing their faces—added protection under the veil of the night sky.

  They waved at Hadrien as they passed, and she heard him mutter, “God be with you.”

  He meant that in an encouraging way, but the doubt in his voice made Daphne uneasy.

  She glanced over her shoulder as the chains rattled behind them and watched the drawbridge close. It was hard to put how she felt into words. It was like, for the first time, she was free.

  Free from expectations.

  Free from duty.

  Free from tradition.

  And, as horrible as it sounded, free from her father.

  Daphne drew back her hood. She was met with a gentle breeze as she breathed in the dewy morning air. Periwinkle and Daisy trotted up and over the wildflower-covered hills. Daphne stroked her horse’s silky hair. She looked over and saw Lillian riding beside her, her expression cold as stone.

  Daphne knew Lillian wasn’t happy about being dragged along on this adventure.

  “Thank you,” Daphne said to her. “For coming with me, I mean. I realize I didn’t give you much of a choice in the matter, but I appreciate you joining me nonetheless.”

  Lillian stared blankly ahead. “Of course.”

  Daphne had to say something to show her she meant what she said. Lillian had made a sacrifice by joining her on this quest, and it was not to be taken lightly. “I hope you know you are far more than just my maidservant. You are my friend, Lillian, and a true one at that. I will never forget this.”

  “Neither will I, my... I mean, Daphne.”

  They rode for some time in silence, letting the weight of what they were doing sink in. Aside from visiting the closest villages, neither of the girls had ventured away from the castle grounds.

  There was an entire world before them that they knew little about.

  All they had heard were stories, some accounts more sobering than others.

  When the first rays of light illuminated the horizon, Lillian asked which route they would take to catch up to Phillip.

  Daphne knew she wasn’t going to be happy about it. She had hoped to keep it secret for a while longer. Just let Lillian find out when they got there.

  But that wasn’t fair. Lillian deserved to know.

  Daphne drew a long breath and braced herself for Lillian’s reaction. “The silver forest.”

  Lillian’s face went as white as Periwinkle’s mane.

  There were many tales surrounding the forest that separated the castle grounds from the neighboring Nemoria. The silver forest was said to be a dangerous place filled with beasts and bandits. It was not a place two girls, particularly a princess and a maidservant, should be riding through alone.

  Traveling around it had crossed Daphne’s mind when she first saw which way the compass pointed, but with her brother’s life on the line, more time was not something she was willing to waste.

  The stories were just that, she convinced herself. Stories. They were meant to frighten and entertain. No place could be as bad as the legends suggested.

  Daphne searched for something to talk about—anything to keep Lillian’s thoughts from lingering on the perils that might wait for them.

  The maidservant rode with her head down, and Daphne could tell she was going through a list of everything that could go wrong on this journey.

  Determined to change the subject, the princess cleared her throat and asked, “Do you think anyone has noticed we’re missing yet?”

  “No. If they had, your father’s men wouldn’t be far behind.”

  “Can you imagine his reaction when he realizes I’m gone?” She laughed.

  Lillian couldn’t help but laugh with her. “I’m glad I won’t be there to see it, my princess.” She gave a grunt of frustration upon realizing her mistake. “I mean Daphne.”

  They crested two more hills, each one closer to the sky than the one before, their swords and satchels beating against the horses’ sides as they rode.

  When they reached the final peak of the final hill, they turned Periwinkle and Daisy around to take one final look at their home.

  The castle appeared so peaceful in the distance. There was an elegance to it, like that of an oil painting—a sophisticated stone structure surrounded by strokes of green and dollops of pink and purple wildflowers, the outskirts of the grounds sprinkled with tiny village homes.

  It made sense why castle life was romanticized across the realm.

  From the outside, no one could tell how stifling those walls could be.

  The girls continued on their way, the spindle-like trees before them catching the light of dawn as they reached for the heavens. The forest line spanned the horizon as far as their eyes could see.

  Periwinkle startled and gave a quick jump as they drew near, almost unseating Daphne from the saddle atop her back. The princess stroked Periwinkle’s neck, trying to calm her horse.

  But when Periwinkle settled, Daphne heard what had spooked her.

  There were ghostly howls. Tortured cries of longing and despair coming from deep within the forest.

  And though the cries were faint, they were enough to make the hairs on her neck stand on end.

  Chapter Three

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Daphne chose not to respond. She didn’t want to do this. She had to. It was the fastest way to get to Phillip. If the wiry-haired woman’s warning was true, Phillip was on borrowed time. Who knew when it would run out?

  The two of them rode through the maze of trees, which poked up from the ground like daggers and cut into the storm clouds that rolled across the sky. Once in a while, they would get whiffs of the sweet smell of rain. To them, having never been beyond the villages surrounding the castle, the forest was a strange land. Everything about it was foreign to them, including the sounds—the crunching of fallen leaves, the snapping of branches and the persistent, muffled howls.

  Daphne questioned whether she had made the right choice in venturing on this quest to save her brother, but she didn’t dare voice her concerns to Lillian. Instead, she took a deep breath and calmed herself, doing her best to convince herself everything was alright.

  The clouds rumbled, releasing icy rain. As if a candle had been blown out, the sky went black.

  The girls trembled in the dark, their shaking magnified by the chilled rain falling upon them. They and their horses came to a stop while they waited for their eyes to adjust, but the rain came down so thick it obstructed their vision. There was no point in riding in weather like this.

  “We should take shelter,” Daphne suggested.

  “And where exactly would that be?”

  Daphne had never heard such sharpness in Lillian’s voice. She was surprised to hear Lillian snap at her, but she wasn’t upset by it. She would have been mad at herself, too, if she were Lillian. Daphne had dragged the poor girl away from everything she knew so that she could spend the evening outside, wet and chilled to the bone, with nothing but the melodies of distant howls to lull her to sleep.

  Daphne squinted and scanned the shadowy silhouettes of the trees ahead. Between the needle-like trunks and barren limbs, it was apparent they would find no protection from the elements here. They would have to make do.

  Thunderclouds banged like cannons firing overhead, sending Periwinkle into a fit. She tossed her head back and snorted, and Daisy was no calmer. Daphne did her best to comfort her horse, telling her that everything was alright, even if she didn’t believe it herself. “This is no time to keep riding,” Daphne said. “We might as well rest.”

  They dismounted and secured their h
orses to the nearest tree. Daphne leaned against a trunk and slinked down along the smooth bark, her back resting against the base as she sat there, shivering.

  Only minutes had passed when she felt an odd sensation in her stomach. It gurgled so loud even Lillian heard it.

  She realized then that she had been so focused on their escape from the castle that she had forgotten to eat breakfast.

  Lillian got up and sifted through the satchel hanging from Daisy’s back. She handed Daphne a loaf of bread and slice of cheese.

  Daphne noticed Lillian sat with her hands around her stomach, and she figured she was hungry, too. So she tore the crusty loaf in half and gave Lillian half of the pungent brie as well.

  For a second, Daphne thought she saw a hint of a smile. They had never shared a meal before as equals, but this was no ordinary day—and these were far from ordinary circumstances.

  The girls ate fast, trying to enjoy the bread before it became soaked through. The last crumbs disintegrated, and the rain washed them away.

  “How far do you think Prince Phillip has traveled by now?” Lillian asked.

  Daphne rested her head against the tree trunk and sipped from their canteen. “It’s been a couple of days already. Surely he’s reached Nemoria.”

  “What will you do when you see him?”

  “One thing at a time, Lillian. One thing at a time.”

  The truth of the matter was that Daphne had no idea what she would do or say upon seeing her brother. She imagined he would find it foolish that she had believed that old woman’s prophecy. There was no doubt in her mind he’d be upset upon realizing she ran away from the castle—and worse, that she had made Lillian come with her. He’d probably lecture her about how that’s not how princesses behaved.

  It was funny that they could be so alike, but so different.

  Regardless of what he would think of her abandoning her responsibilities, Daphne was determined to go after him.

  She would gladly take Phillip lecturing her over him being dead any day.

  The girls sat together for hours, huddling to keep warm. Flashes of lightning illuminated the sky, and despite Daphne’s best efforts to keep watch, eventually the rhythm of the constant rumbling put her to sleep.

  Her dream about rescuing Phillip was cut short by the sound of a crunch.

  Lillian’s head was resting on Daphne’s shoulder. She was still as night, in a sleep as deep as death itself.

  Daphne gave her a nudge, and she turned, grunting with her eyes still closed.

  The princess took Lillian by the shoulders and gave her a shake until her sleepy eyes fluttered open. “Lillian, wake up. We must leave at once.”

  She yawned and rubbed her big, green eyes. She looked as innocent as a doe, not having a clue about the danger Daphne sensed. But those big eyes of hers widened further upon seeing the worry in the princess’s face. “What is it, Daphne?”

  “I heard something. I... I don’t think we’re alone.”

  “What did you hear?”

  “I’m not sure. It sounded like a snap.”

  “You’re certain it wasn’t from the storm?”

  Daphne shook her head.

  “We are in a forest,” Lillian said, trying to ease the princess’s fears and convince herself it was nothing to worry about. “Strange sounds are to be expected.”

  Just as the words rolled off her tongue, a howl pierced through the night, echoing off each and every tree. A chill ran down Daphne’s spine, and the girls held each other tight.

  “I hear it, too,” Lillian said. “We’re not safe here.”

  “You think?”

  They clumsily untied Periwinkle and Daisy, who were both startled themselves, and they rode with haste deeper into the forest.

  Daphne kept finding herself turning her head past her shoulder, trying to decipher which way the howl was coming from.

  She looked ridiculous, like she had some sort of nervous tic. But she couldn’t help herself. She’d never heard such a bone-chilling sound.

  The longer they rode, the more distant the cry became, until it finally dissolved into the other sounds of the forest.

  It was a good time longer before Daphne’s heart stopped racing. She worried she had made a terrible mistake by coming here, but she and Lillian were already halfway through the forest. At least, that’s what she figured. It was hard to tell. Everything looked the same. Either way, though, they had come this far. There was no sense in turning back now.

  When the rain let up, fog settled in, hovering two feet above the ground.

  There was something foreboding in the way it sat there, waiting.

  Lillian eyed Daphne, but the princess kept riding.

  In time, the rays of the sun shone again, bouncing off the fog and warming their cool, damp skin.

  “Does this forest ever end?” Lillian moaned. “We have been riding for so long.”

  “I think we’re safe now. Would you care to walk for a bit?”

  They hopped from their horses and led them by foot across the sludgy forest floor. It felt good to use their legs and stretch their muscles, to get the blood pumping again.

  “What do you suppose that beast was back there?” Daphne asked. “Did you get a good look at it?”

  “I never saw it. I’m afraid to think of what it could have been.”

  So was Daphne, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her thoughts were deafening as they raced through her mind.

  What was that thing? And was it still out there?

  She wondered if Phillip had ridden through the silver forest, too, or if he had ridden around it. And of what obstacles he’d come across in his travels thus far... and whether he was alright.

  She worried whether they would reach him in time. And of what would happen if they didn’t.

  “Are you certain we’re going the right way?” Lillian asked, peeling Daphne’s focus away from her thoughts. “I can’t get my bearings. It all looks the same, and this mist doesn’t help.”

  Daphne pulled the compass from her pocket and flipped open the lid. She examined it. The arrow pointed straight ahead. “We’re on the right path. We just need to keep moving.”

  Despite their legs growing sore, they continued their journey on foot. Lillian was sick of riding. She would have to get over it at some point, of course. Their quest would take far too long otherwise. But Daphne felt guilty about dragging Lillian along, so, for now, she went along with Lillian’s request.

  It wouldn’t have been so bad if there had been something interesting to look at, but each stretch of the silver forest looked identical to the one before it.

  That is, until something unusual caught Daphne’s attention.

  Daphne rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.

  She wasn’t.

  There was a twinkle of light up ahead. Something reflecting off the ground.

  Daphne let go of Periwinkle’s reins and went to get a better look.

  “What is it?” Lillian asked, letting go of Daisy and following close behind.

  “I’m not sure.” Daphne bent and reached for the silvery object, and when she touched it, her legs were swept out from under her.

  The next thing she knew, she and Lillian were trapped in a large net, dangling upside down high above the fog.

  They kicked and yelled, doing their best to free themselves from the trap.

  Daphne felt woozy as blood rushed to her skull.

  Her cheeks stung from being smooshed against the rope.

  She reached for Light of Vengeance and tried pulling the sword from its scabbard, but there wasn’t enough room to draw it.

  And even if there had been, she’d probably just end up slicing herself or Lillian in the process.

  As a last resort, she bit into the rope itself, thinking she could gnaw at the fibers. It was an absurd idea, but she didn’t know what else to do.

  Lillian, on the other hand, was in a state of absolute panic—flailing her arms and breathing far too rapid
ly.

  “We’ll be alright,” Daphne assured her. “Try to keep calm. We just need to think.”

  “What was that?” Lillian asked, trying in vain to turn her head, which was stuck between the rope and the weight of her own body.

  At first, Daphne thought the sound was the stomping of feet, but then it dawned on her.

  Those were hooves.

  That sound was Periwinkle and Daisy racing back toward the castle.

  Daphne called after them, but it was no use.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the silhouettes of their two horses fading away into the low-lying mist.

  Chapter Four

  “My, my, my.” A gruff voice echoed off the surrounding trees. “Look what we have here.”

  With a slight turn of her head, Daphne spotted a large figure approaching. He was draped in dark leather and fur, and he had a beard as red as fire that went all the way to his hips. He placed a massive hand on his belly and let out a thunderous laugh, examining his catch—them.

  Before he’d stomped all the way toward them, Daphne used her thumb to slide her ring around her finger to hide the royal seal, leaving only the gold band visible.

  The man unsheathed his sword, and the sight of the cool steel blade made Daphne’s skin crawl.

  She wanted to yell, but what was the use? Who would hear her?

  He swung the blade through the air, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

  She heard it slice through the rope, and the next thing she knew, she was face-down in sludge.

  Her muscles screamed in pain after having been contorted in the trap, but she fought her way out from underneath the netting.

  “Please don’t hurt us,” Lillian begged. She was on her knees, fingers interlocked. Her big green eyes swelled with tears that streamed down her flushed cheeks.

  “Quiet,” he boomed back at her before craning his neck to the side.

  Something had caught his attention. He bent over, the tip of his beard dipping in mud, and reached out his hand.

  Daphne saw a glint of gold, and her heart nearly stopped.

  She checked her hand—her ring was still there. She reached for her pocket and patted against where the compass should have been.