Prince Alf’s face twisted with a mixed expression of amusement and pain. “I am afraid that we were all rather hungry on our first night out of prison.”
“Is that so. Well, that means we won’t be able to eat until we reach the border, for Annabeth and I only had dried food and that is all gone, too,” said Ransom with a long sigh, glancing accusingly around the group.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and was hungry. Since these two ate me out of house and home, I had to raid your saddlebags,” protested Song Lark in his defense.
“I don’t know why you keep dragging me into your trouble,” said Christina, a pout pulling at her lips.
“What is wrong with her, Annabeth? She hasn’t said a civil word to me all day,” said Prince Alfred teasingly.
At this, Christina burst into tears and, rising to her feet, ran to the edge of camp, not daring to go a step further.
Annabeth glared at him. “Did you need to be so insensitive? She isn’t used to this lifestyle. She has never had a day of rough riding or living in her life. Christina is exhausted and she needs your kindness and not your criticism, even if it is in fun.”
Annabeth sighed and put down her fish, getting ready to stand up and go talk to Christina, when Alf’s hand stayed her.
“I’ll go talk to her. I am the one who caused the problem.”
Annabeth watched as he approached her. His shoulders hunched to Christina’s level, he stood just a little behind, whispering in her ear.
In a minute she had turned and was crying into his shirt; in a few minutes more they were sitting on a log talking.
Annabeth turned around.
“Where is Song Lark?”
“He went for supplies; he says the two of them could talk all morning, and I am pretty sure that we have lost Raburn. We all need a rest; we’ve been driving hard, and if we keep up a pace like we have been the horses will go lame. We’ll take the morning easy and be to the border well before sundown.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am sure of it.”
Letting out a long sigh, she glanced over her shoulder. They were still talking in earnest, the tears had ceased to flow, and Christina was now beaming smiles and laughs.
QUIETLY, THEY BOTH worked around their camp until Ransom noticed Annabeth slipping off into the woods.
He watched her go; then, glancing at Christina and Alf, who were still talking, he decided to follow her.
She was leaning against a tree, looking up into the pale, blue sky of late summer between an interweaving of green leaves. The sun danced on them as the wind gently ruffled the uppermost leaves.
He took the tree across from her. Bending his knee, he leaned one foot against the trunk and folded his arms across his chest. For a long time there was silence; then Annabeth spoke.
“It’s so quiet out here. I long for peace like this.”
“Unlike the two birds back at camp.”
“I think they could talk forever, and that is a good thing.”
“Are you jealous?” asked Ransom softly.
“Jealous? Why would I be jealous?”
“I saw you and Prince Alfred this morning.”
Annabeth’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “I don’t think I know what you mean.”
Ransom leaned over and kissed Annabeth on the temple.
Blushing, she looked down, afraid to meet his eyes. “Oh, that. That was nothing. Alf is a very good friend, but he is no more than a brother to me. A few years ago, when I was ten and he was twelve, people teased that we were sweet on each other. One day, while we were sitting by the river...
“He asked me if I wanted to marry him, and I said no, and he answered, ‘Good, ‘cause I don’t want to marry you, either.’ So we took a vow then and there that no matter what happened, we wouldn’t marry one another. Then he said, because we vowed, it was now impossible, because if a young man swore something it couldn’t be retracted; but if a young lady swore something it could be retracted by her father or brother—but since we had both sworn it, it was now entirely impossible. But just in case, he took my thumb and cut it, and then cut his own, and put them together, making us blood siblings. I still have the scar.” She turned over her right thumb and Ransom saw the hairline white scar across it.
Ransom took her small hand in his and examined it.
Suddenly, Alf was coming towards them and Ransom gently let go of her hand.
“Was Anna here just telling you about our vow?” he asked, coming up, leaning his shoulder against Annabeth’s tree.
“She was,” said Ransom, leaning back against the tree, his arms folded across his chest.
“Just because I have taken a vow not to love her doesn’t mean I don’t dote on her,” he said, curling one of her stray hairs around his fingers.
Annabeth didn’t back away from him but looked confidently up into his face. “Where is Christina?”
“Song Lark brought back a dress with him from his excursion and she is putting it on, so I decided to get lost.”
“Very wise of you. I wonder if she needs help.”
“Probably does,” Alf said, pulling her hair slightly.
“Then I better go.”
Ransom watched Annabeth leave, then suddenly felt the prince’s eyes on him. He had pushed away from the tree, his stance was wide, and his eyes were serious and studious, his mouth screwing slightly to the side.
“What do you want with my sister?”
“What?”
“What are your intentions towards Annabeth?”
“Why should it concern you?”
“She is practically my sister. She has no one else to look after her.”
“I have been doing a pretty good job of that.”
Alfred tilted his head to one side and examined Ransom, his eyes seeking to pierce anything he didn’t like. “You have, but if you hurt her, you will have to answer to me.”
Ransom smiled. “The same goes for you.” His foot pushed away from the tree and he stepped forward; they stood shoulder to shoulder. Turning, their eyes met, measuring each other, man to man. Ransom walked towards camp, leaving the prince to think. He arrived back at camp just as the girls appeared from the thick forest, both newly clad in dresses.
“Thank you, Lark. I haven’t had a new dress in ages,” said Annabeth, impulsively throwing her arms around Song Lark’s neck.
“My pleasure, my dear. Now, let’s see how you look,” he said, holding her at arm’s length. Annabeth twirled, and suddenly Ransom remembered their first fight. It was the same whirl, the whirl of a girl in a pretty new dress.
Annabeth stopped in front of him with a smile and looked up into his face.
“Do you like it?” she asked, almost too pleased with it herself to really care what he thought.
Ransom put his best foot forward and made her a sweeping bow. “You look beautiful. May I have this dance?”
ANNABETH BLUSHED AT the praise, covering her face with her hands shyly.
Suddenly, Song Lark strummed the strings of his lute with fervor.
“Lark, you aren’t indulging him!”
To that he only laughed, and suddenly Annabeth found her hands in Ransom’s and he was whirling her around, faster and faster until the world around her was a muted blur except for Ransom’s face.
When at last he stopped, neither could walk a straight step and Annabeth dropped to the ground, holding her sides as she laughed. Ransom sat up and looked at her; she had laughed so hard tears had come into her eyes. Sitting up, she wiped them away.
“Well, if we are ever going to elude that horrible Raburn, I suppose we better get a move on,” she sighed, rising on wobbling feet.
In a matter of minutes, they were mounting and Prince Alfred had taken up Christina behind himself, Song Lark the supplies, and Ransom, Annabeth.
Chapter 14
It was early afternoon when they reached a river and stopped to water their horses.
Ransom sighed with satisfaction. “We’
ve made good time. Cross this river and go through that wood, and we’ll be in my country.”
“Do you really think King Harold will help us?” asked Alf, an edge of unease in his voice.
“I know he will. Your grandmother was his aunt; your father and he are cousins. I don’t see how he could well refuse.”
Annabeth and Prince Alfred were given the responsibility of filling the water canteens. Christina was left to stretch, while Song Lark and Ransom were in charge of watering the horses.
“I can’t believe this is almost over,” murmured Prince Alfred.
Annabeth didn’t answer, but watched her canteen slowly fill. Unexpectedly, there was a splash of water on her cheek.
She looked at Prince Alfred indignantly; his fingertips were wet. “What was that for?”
“Not listening to your prince.”
“Really?”
He smiled and went back to filling his canteen.
Annabeth bit back a smile as she cupped her hand into the water and bent as if to drink. At the last moment, she splashed it at the prince.
“Hey!” Dropping his canteen, he pulled out his sword.
Annabeth squealed and ran along the bank, Song Lark having her sword for his own lack of one, leaving her defenseless. A moment later, Prince Alfred was hot on her heels. “Save me, Ransom!” she screamed, whirling behind him and clutching his doublet as a shield.
“Aw, come, you aren’t playing fair, Anna,” Alf said, sliding to a halt.
Her eyes peered out from behind Ransom’s back. “Neither are you! How dare you attack a lady when she isn’t armed?!”
“Attacking a defenseless maiden, are you? Well! On guard!” Ransom withdrew his sword, engaging Prince Alfred in a playful battle. A moment later, Alfred’s sword went flying through the air and into Ransom’s hand.
“Now, let that be a lesson to you.”
“How did you do that?” asked Prince Alfred, shocked at the quickness of his demise.
Ransom only smiled, then glanced at Annabeth. She had become rigid, her eyes searching the forest.
“What is it?”
Annabeth shook her head and held up a finger requesting silence.
“I thought I heard something,” she answered in a whisper after a moment.
“And I thought I saw someone in those bushes,” Christina said softly.
Withdrawing her sword from Song Lark’s belt, Annabeth followed the two men as they approached the bushes.
“Someone was here,” said Ransom, looking at the ground; there were signs of large boot prints.
“How could I be so careless!” Annabeth scolded herself aloud.
“You weren’t careless. We were all here. We should have been more diligent,” said Ransom, touching her shoulder.
Annabeth shrugged it off. “We should split up. We don’t have time to chase him, and there is no knowing if he is a lone spy or part of a company.”
“Annabeth, help is just across the border.”
“How long?” she fired.
“Before sunset at the latest.”
“I am not ready to leave. Not without my father. I just can’t do it, Ransom. I can’t leave here.”
“Anna, you of all people should leave; there is a price on your head,” said Prince Alfred.
“But if he is with a force and they come after us on fresh horses, what chance do we stand? If we split up, they too will have to divide their forces. Christina needs to be somewhere safe; we can’t risk her in a hand-to-hand combat. Going different ways will buy us all more time.”
“Annabeth, there is strength in numbers.”
“Divide and conquer. I am not ready to leave. My father is here, and while there is hope of him I can’t just leave.” Ransom let out a sigh of disgust. “I won’t leave you here to defend yourself.”
“Give me until this evening. When night falls, Song Lark and I will cross the border.”
“How did I get pulled into this mess?” Song Lark asked, breaking into the conversation.
“You have a horse, right? I think we need one as a distraction, unless you want to walk.”
“You are right. You’ll ride with me,” Song Lark said with a nod.
“Then it is all decided.”
Ransom and Alf glanced at each other.
“You decided, not us,” replied Ransom firmly.
“If you want to take me across that river, you are going to have to tie me up,” she said, backing away slightly, her hand tightening on the hilt of her sword.
Ransom’s orders flashed through his mind. “Even if you have to drag her here tied.”
“I am half tempted to do just that,” Ransom took a step closer.
Alf’s hand arrested any further movement by Ransom. “She is right. We should divide up. If we split, it will confuse them, and the more confusion we can cause the better. Let them ride upstream about an hour or more, and then cross to join us.”
“One hour, but no more,” Ransom agreed, looking down at Annabeth, making sure she understood.
“One hour.”
IN MINUTES THEY REMOUNTED, Ransom taking Christina up before him so that, should there be an attack from behind, she would not be a shield to his back. Both parties entered the water. Ransom and the Prince headed downstream while Annabeth and Song Lark headed up with the sword hanging once again at Annabeth’s side.
“Lark, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“That bird call.”
Lark pulled the horse to a halt in the stream.
“I don’t hear anything.”
“We need to cross now and make a run for it. They’ve found us.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. It just is.”
There was shrill whistle in the air, and Song Lark lurched in pain as an arrow sunk into his left shoulder, nearly grazing Annabeth’ neck.
Annabeth took the reins from his hands and kicked the horse into a gallop to the other side of the stream.
“Annabeth, let me down. Take the horse and run for your life.”
“No; I am not about to lose you. We’ve come too far for that.”
Annabeth never could figure how he had done it, but in a minute he had freed himself and fell to the ground. Annabeth pulled the horse to a halt and returned.
“I am not leaving you!”
“Yes, you are. I know how to hide. Now, run for your life!”
Annabeth hesitated. He was too determined to be swayed, and staying would just take away both of their chances of getting away.
Turning, she dug her heels into the horse’s side, leaning forward so her head and the neck of the horse were on the same level. Shouts rose up from behind her, shouts of familiar angry voices that chilled her soul.
Without warning, she came to a wall of men on horses, swords drawn, all wearing the uniform of Lord Raburn. It was a line of thirty men.
Annabeth pulled the horse to a stop, horror surging over her. There was no way to conquer. Turning back would only put her in another hornets’ nest. Annabeth turned south—it seemed the only scarce possibility that she might escape.
The line surged forward and blocked the way; she pulled out her sword and charged. It was her last hope.
In moments, they surrounded and disarmed her, pulling her to the ground. Three men kept her from moving.
A pair of polished black boots swaggered up to where she was pinned. “So this is the little girl who has been causing all of the trouble.”
She didn’t reply.
“On her feet.”
They jerked her up, and Annabeth looked up at a man she had never seen in Lord Raburn’s service. His face was cold and hardened; his dark hair fell slightly over his brow; his green eyes seemed to look into her soul.
“Tell me, is your name Annabeth?”
For a moment, for the mere amusement of trying to annoy him, she thought to pretend innocence by lying and saying her name was Rose and she was a mere dairy maid. Instead, she rem
ained silent.
“Are you are going to answer my question?”
“Would you believe me if I told you otherwise?” she finally answered.
“No, I don’t think I would. After all, you answer perfectly to this description,” and he pulled out a scroll of paper and read it aloud. “You seem to answer to it perfectly, don’t you agree?”
“It all depends on how you look at it.”
A heavy blow resounded on her cheekbone, making her dizzy, and she would have fallen to the ground if they hadn’t had such a deathly grip on her arms.
“Can’t you answer him respectfully?” spat out the man who had delivered his fist to her jaw.
For a moment, she couldn’t answer. Everything seemed a blur around her. She saw the hand raised again and turned away, closing her eyes.
“Honestly, there is no need to be so harsh on the girl.”
“She has kept us on the...”
“I know, but we have her now and there is no need for brutality. I am sure she can wait for the torture chamber.”
At those words, Annabeth’s heart gave a cold shudder in her chest.
“But if we do it now, it could be even worse for her there.”
“He said he wanted her delivered unharmed. If you can’t restrain your passion against a mere girl, I shall have to do something serious about it. Now, where is the prince?”
“What prince?”
“The one you helped escape.”
“It’s nothing but a rumor. A rumor told to make us all believe the prince is alive when he is really dead. Isn’t it?” Her jaw tightened; she couldn’t give them ground to torture her on; she needed to give the others time to escape.
“You would doubt my word?”
“I have no idea who you are and no desire to respect a servant of my enemy.”
“Are you trying to insult me?”
“I did insult you. You are just too thick to realize it.”
He caught her chin and looked piercingly into her eyes. Suddenly, his fingers tightened around her already swelling jaw. She winced at the unexpected pain.
“Don’t you dare speak to me like that again.”
“I don’t even know who you are.”
Annabeth's War Page 10