I spun to face the woods as all of the jealousy and rage I’d pressed away for the past few days over came me.
Anger burst in my mind, quickly followed by the softer feelings I had for Scai as well as my desperate need to protect her. I hated having to rely on Aron to look after both of the girls. Hopefully, both my trust in him and myself to get Sir Dagonet out of this would be well–founded.
For now, I would take advantage of all of the emotions Aron had stirred up in me ever since we had met. I caught hold of my emotional energy, focusing in on it.
“What’s over there?” one of the knights asked, taking a step in the direction where he thought I was looking. I may have been facing that way, but my vision was focused inward as I gathered my power.
I shook my head. “Nothing. I just find it amazing that you don’t know who you’ve captured.” I turned back to face all four knights, once again my expression carefully blank.
Nearly all of them turned to look at Sir Dagonet as if they would recognize him from somewhere. The first knight, though, kept a skeptical gaze on me trying to figure out what sort of game I was up to.
I smiled at him. Making my voice grand and filling it with all the magic I could muster, I gestured toward my good friend. “This is Sir Dagonet, knight of the Round Table and protector of fair maidens from fierce oak trees.” As I spoke, I took turns looking into the eyes of each of the knights, but unlike the last time I’d tried to use this magic, I willed the men not to relive bad memories, but good ones. I wanted them to laugh. I wanted them to feel good—good enough to let us go.
One man cracked a smile. “Knight of the Round Table?”
Another chuckled. “That wouldn’t be King Arthur’s Round Table.”
Sir Dagonet looked oddly at me and then back at the knights. “Er, that’s right, the very one, wot?” he said.
A third knight broke into hysterical laughter. “Attack trees, do you, Sir Dagonet?”
“You should see him! You have never seen a knight fight so bravely—well, until the tree got the better of him and grabbed his sword, holding it in its trunk, of course,” I answered, pushing my magic harder into the first knight who hadn’t so much as cracked a smile and was frowning at his companions.
A smile twitched on the fellow’s face. “Caught his sword, eh? The tree wouldn’t give it back?”
“Well, took a good bit of, er, strength to pull it out, don’t you know,” Sir Dagonet answered, giving a little smile himself. “Clever tree, wot, wot?”
I pushed even harder.
The second knight slapped his knee and burst out laughing. The third was making a high– pitched giggling noise like a child.
“You cannot try such an esteemed knight for witchcraft, now, could you?” I asked the laughing men. “What would King Arthur think?”
“King Arthur?” The first one burst out laughing, much to my relief. I hadn’t been sure if my magic was working on the leader. He’d managed to keep a straight face while his men were giggling away. But finally, he’d burst. “Try... old man... witchcraft?” He could hardly talk he was now laughing so hard. “And where is Sir Lancelot?” the man asked when he could take a breath.
Sir Dagonet gave an awkward chuckle. “Gone, sadly.”
“Killed by a tree?” the first night said, making all of the knights burst out once again.
Sir Dagonet turned and winked at Dylan.
“Go,” the knight said, still giggling, “just go on, both of you.” The man’s laughter built up again. “Fighting trees!”
I clapped Sir Dagonet on the back, grabbed the old man’s bedroll that was still lying on the ground, and jumped up on to my horse. Sir Dagonet clambered onto his own horse as quickly as he could.
“Have a good day, now, wot, wot?” he called out, as we both sprang our horses into a gallop.
“Send our regards to King Arthur,” one of the men called out.
“I will! And you be careful of the trees, my good man, they can be quite clever!”
We left the four knights in hysterics.
I had never seen the old knight’s horse move so fast, but we sped through the wood where we had spent the night. As we approached the road, a knot began to form in my stomach. It was nearly packed! I hadn’t seen so many people in months—and they were all headed to Holme, just as we were.
I reined in my horse before entering the stream of traffic. “How are we ever going to find the girls and Aron?”
Sir Dagonet pulled up next to me. He shook his head. “Guess we’ll just have to look.” And with that, he gave a gentle click of his tongue and slipped in behind a cart laden with baskets of apples and vegetables. I followed on his tail so we wouldn’t get separated.
Sir Dagonet was very clever at slipping his horse forward between groups of travelers. He didn’t move quickly, but he managed to get ahead of each group we got behind so that we advanced faster than the average. Still, it took us nearly half the day to find the others.
Sir Dagonet was walking his horse between an overladen cart and a group of rowdy young men who looked like they were on their way to their first battle. I could have easily been one of their number, I thought as I followed Sir Dagonet.
But the closer we got to Holme, the more I began to think about exactly what it was we were heading toward.
War.
Real, honest–to–God, bloody war. I knew this because of the few travelers we’d seen coming the other way. The carts headed toward Holme were filled with food and supplies. Those headed in the other direction were more often than not, carrying bodies, very few of them alive, and none of those who were alive were uninjured. Some were more severe than others—some didn’t look like they would be long for this world. I tried not to look, but I couldn’t help myself. The pain and suffering coming from those men was almost overwhelming. I much preferred the crazy enthusiasm of those headed to Holme than the despair of those returning.
I was doing everything I could to keep all of the emotions from overwhelming me. As we rode, I concentrated on rebuilding my wall. It was like riding the rapids down a churning, fast–paced river, and I was concentrating on simply keeping my head above the water.
“Dylan! Dylan!” Sir Dagonet’s voice cut into my thoughts.
I looked up at the old knight, who’d paused in the middle of the road.
“There!” He pointed off to the side where Scai, Bridget, and Aron were standing, waving and calling out to us.
Seeing them was like a deep breath of fresh air amidst the rushing emotions all around me. I guessed some of what I was feeling wasn’t just from everyone around me, but my own anxiety as well. Now that I saw the girls and Aron, I felt a measure of relief. Slowly, Sir Dagonet and I made our way over to the side of the road to meet our friends.
I didn’t even have both feet on the ground before Scai threw herself at me. “Oh, Dylan, I was so worried.” She gave me a breath–stealing squeeze, and then to my utter shock, pressed her lips to mine in a kiss that completely conveyed just how upset she’d been and how happy she was to see me now. It took all of my willpower not to take over and deepen the kiss.
Her face flushed a deep red the moment she pulled back from me. But before I could say or do anything, she had turned to give Sir Dagonet a hug as well.
“Well, don’t expect that from me!” Bridget laughed.
“No, thank you,” I agreed, laughing with her. I put my arm around her shoulders in a brotherly hug. “But I am happy to finally meet up with you. I have to admit I was worried we wouldn’t find each other.”
“You weren’t the only one,” Aron said, smiling at us. “These two have been whispering about it all morning.” He gave a shrug. “I think maybe they didn’t want to worry me as well?”
“No. We just didn’t want you to feel we didn’t have any trust in you,” Scai said, turning back to Aron and me.
“I had”—Bridget began, but then she turned pink while she finished her sentence staring at the ground—“complete trust in him
.”
“Thank you, Bridget,” Aron said, giving me a big smile. He didn’t seem to mind Bridget’s shyness at all. I was just dumbfounded that Bridget, who could be so loud and pushy, could turn soft and shy. She was a completely different person around Aron. Wouldn’t he be surprised when he met the real Bridget. I just hoped that he liked her, too.
“Well, we’re all together again, wot, wot?” Sir Dagonet said, clearly as happy to be back with the girls as I was. “Shame, though...” he added.
“About what?” Scai asked.
“Well, almost to Holme, don’t you know. Should be there tonight if we make a good push for it, and all the people on the road don’t hold us back,” the old knight said.
“Is that a shame, sir? I should think getting to Holme would be a good thing,” Bridget said.
“Maybe for you. You have a chance at meeting up with your brothers,” I responded. “But for me and Sir Dagonet, getting to Holme means joining the king’s army and engaging in battle.”
Sir Dagonet nodded. “Glad to hear you’re thinking logically about this, Dylan. So many young men glorify war. It’s a nasty business, I can tell you. Been in too many myself.”
I tried to keep the worry off my face and out of my voice. “I was noticing those returning from the battle, sir, along the road.”
“Ah. Yes. The, er, um...” The knight tried to find a gentle way of saying just who I was referring to.
“The wounded and the dead,” I filled in for him. “The despair was almost overpowering.”
Scai took my hand, sending warmth and good feelings into my heart. “That must have been so difficult for you.”
I nodded. “I’m afraid I’m out of practice in dealing with a lot people feeling strong emotions. My wall has been torn down and rebuilt so many times in the past month.”
“Got to make it strong now, wot, wot?” Sir Dagonet said, understanding.
“Your wall?” Aron asked.
“The one he has in his mind. He has it to keep out the emotions of others,” Scai explained.
“Oh.”
“The curse of being tied to water,” I said, giving him a smile I didn’t actually feel, but knew was needed to try to keep things light. “But if we need to reach Holme by nightfall, we should be on our way, shouldn’t we, sir?” I asked, turning back to Sir Dagonet, wanting to get off this uncomfortable subject as quickly as possible.
“Yes! Quite right. Quite right. Off we go, then,” Sir Dagonet said, mounting his horse once again.
We all followed suit and were slipping in between groups of travelers within no time.
We didn’t break for our afternoon meal that day, but instead simply slowed enough to share our bread and cheese while moving. Thanks to that and Sir Dagonet’s faster pace, we did make it to Holme before nightfall.
The open forest we were riding through gave way to what had once been open fields. Now pitched tents created a small city filled with women cooking and children running about screaming in play. Smoke hung over this new town, kept low by the weight of the cool air.
“Suggest we make camp for the night, then join in the fray first thing in the morning,” Sir Dagonet said, stopping us before we could get much farther.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t just...” Bridget started.
“Want us all to get a good night’s rest,” Sir Dagonet answered before she could even complete her question. “Vitally important for what we’re about to jump into, don’t you know.”
I appreciated his wisdom on this subject, and no one else argued, so we turned around and headed back to the wood we had just left. We found a spot to spend the night deep in the woods. Still, we couldn’t risk using any magic, there were too many people who could wander by and see us. Aron and I even went so far as to break apart the firewood we found using nothing but our hands and the small ax Aron had brought with him.
Despite the fact that we’d gone deeper into the wood than any other travelers, I could still feel the sharp tang of tension in the air. We were all quiet that evening as we shared our meal. No one wanted to say aloud what was going through everyone’s mind—the day to come and all that we might face and have to deal with in the midst of war. Not even the girls would be protected from this. Knowing them, they’d want to help out in any way possible.
I didn’t know how I was going to sleep that night. After we’d all retired, I just lay on my blanket staring up into the leaves of the trees overhead.
A short time after the breathing of the others evened out into sleep, a shadow crept around the dying embers of the fire. I sat up, watching the shadow dissolve into Scai next to me. She said nothing, but took my hand and encouraged me to move away from the others. I grabbed my blanket as I got to my feet so that we would have something to sit on other than the dusty ground.
We settled far enough away so that we could still see the light from the fire’s embers, but not so close that we could be heard if we spoke softly.
Scai didn’t seem to be interested in speaking, though. As soon as we’d sat down, she placed her hands on both my cheeks and pulled my face to hers. Her kiss was filled with an intensity I’d never felt from her before.
Our tongues intertwined, dancing back and forth before she pulled back and whispered, “I thought I wouldn’t see you again.”
I chuckled at her silliness. “Why would you think that?”
She shrugged. “Those knights. They were so menacing and angry.”
“You needn’t have been worried.”
“Did you... I mean, you didn’t have to...”
“Kill them?” I said gently at her stuttering worry.
“Yes.”
“No. I used my new magic on them. They were happy and laughing as they waved us away.”
She let out a sigh of relief. “You made them laugh?”
“I thought that would be the easiest way to convince them to let us go. If they’d been angry or upset, they might not have released us.”
She gave a little giggle. “That was very clever.”
I gave a shrug. “I’m just happy to be here with you.” I ran my hand down the side of her soft face.
She leaned forward and kissed me. Quickly escalating it, she pushed me back so that I was lying down with her on top of me. Her weight was so slight and yet she was able to mold her sweet, soft body to mine, hitting me in all the right places. I didn’t mind her taking the lead at all. Submissively, I allowed her to push up my tunic and untie my breeches.
I managed to slip them off without dislodging her too much. She lay next to me, running her hand up my chest and then down to my hip and thigh, deftly skirting my manhood that was reaching out for her.
I really hated to say anything, but the words were nagging inside my head so much that I finally gave in. “I thought we were going to try to just be friends.”
Scai propped herself up on her elbow and looked down at me. Tracing her fingers down my face and from there to my chest, she said, “I wanted to. I tried to, honestly, I did, but...”
“But?” I prompted her.
“But I love you so much, Dylan, I can’t be just friends with you.”
It took a great deal of willpower not to jump up and shout with joy. Instead, I pulled her close and gave her such a squeeze I could hear the breath escape from her lungs.
“I love you, Scai. More than you can know,” I said, when I released her.
She coughed a little, laughing, “I think I know. Now, let me show you.”
Her lovemaking was soft and slow, making me shiver with anticipation. I had to work hard not to take over and speed things along. I wanted desperately to be inside of her, to feel her shudder with completion, her muscles gripping me, milking me of my seed. But I let her keep the lead. And when the time came, the sweet agony of pulling myself out before I experienced my own pleasure was intense, but we couldn’t risk creating a child.
As before when we’d touched each other intimately, our minds connected and I could feel her shivers of d
elight both inside and outside of my own body. Feeling her like this, being one with her, intensified our lovemaking so strongly I was certain I would burst. But I held myself together, pushing some of the emotions back behind my wall. It wouldn’t be nearly as emotional as making love without my wall in place, but I couldn’t risk doing that here.
“A time will come, my love, when we can be together without there being anything between us,” I whispered into her chest as I lowered the neckline of her chemise so that I could take a taste of her sweet breasts.
“Oh, I look forward to that day,” she moaned.
“As do I.”
“Dylan,” she began.
I sucked and nipped at her nipple the way she liked.
“Dylan,” she started again. This time, though, she took my head in her hands, forcing me to look up at her.
“What, my love?”
“I want to make love with you—”
“Yes,” I agreed, feeling almost ready to enter her a second time.
“—with no clothing, no emotional wall, no need to hide our feelings from others.”
“Yes,” I said, diving up for a kiss.
She pushed me back down, though. “Dylan, I... I want...”
I paused, trying to feel what it was she was trying to say. The love pouring from her was powerful, intense, but I had to wait for her to form the words. They slipped from her mind into mine without her saying a word out loud.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be one with you. I want...”
“A hand–fasting?” I thought back to her.
“Yes!”
I sat up, pulling her up with me. Keeping her hands clasped in mine, I locked my eyes to hers. “I, Dylan of Merwyd, swear upon my life, all that I am, all that I own and all that I will ever own, that what is mine is yours. My love, my life, my heart. I give it to you, Scai, for safe keeping.”
“And I, Scai of Tallent, accept your gifts and in return give to you all that I am, all that I have and ever will have. All of my love, my life, and my heart is yours.”
“I wish I had a nectere to give you,” I said, looking down at our hands. “I have a signet ring in my bag, but it would be too big to fit onto your slender finger.”
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