The image of Clara struggling beneath him was etched forever in his brain.
The Prince leaned forward until their noses almost touched, “You have killed one of my guards,” he began in a furious tone.
Charles smiled, holding up two fingers, “You have more.”
The Prince’s rage overtook his face, painting it a red so deep it was nigh unto purple. “You will suffer for that insolence. Queen Ada will allow me whatever I wish.”
“Oh,” Sarah said sweetly, sidling up beside Charles but slightly in front of Clarence. Prince Frederic’s eyes slid to her, over her body, encased as it was in sky blue velvet.
“I think not, as the rape of the Princess would not be well-received and,” she added, drawing her finger upon the flesh which rode the top of her bosom, his eyes trained upon it, “you have not the leverage, as the savages have taken Clara and she is not here for you to wed.” Sarah said smugly, her smile alight with the knowledge of his impotence.
Quicker than lightning he grabbed her wrist, jerking her body against his, “It does not have to be the Princess that I bed. It could be anyone. I was ensuring she understood what life she would lead in my tender care.”
“Release me,” Sarah said, her chin jutted out stubbornly.
Clarence intervened, “Prince Frederic, is this the attention you desire…” he looked about him significantly, the many people around them stopping their hurried conversations. His behavior judged unacceptable even for his station.
Prince Frederic exhaled in disgust, pushing Sarah into Clarence, who held her loosely by the shoulders and turned his attention once more to Charles.
“You and she planned an escape. The guards searched your knapsack and discovered the salt mixture.” He straightened and looked every bit the satiated animal except for the wince when he stood, Charles noted with a small stab of joy.
Charles searched the tunnel for any sign of his knapsack, seeing none, his eyes returned to Prince Frederic, “I do not see my knapsack about.”
The Prince yelled for a guard, and the one at his side jumped, “You there…” the guard’s eyes widened, “find the knapsack which belongs to him,” he said, pointing a finger at Charles. If the guard thought the request was as absurd as Charles, he did not show it. Very wise…he must understand the Prince better than they realized.
His attention returned to Charles, “We are at an impasse, for now. But know this: I intend to retrieve the Princess, and you will not be part of that plan. Is that understood?”
Sarah spoke again, “What we understand is you do not have leverage of any sort with our Queen. She cares only for the grapes. If you do not recover Clara, there will be no combined kingdom.”
They stared at each other and Sarah did not back down. Clarence and Charles waited for the Prince to show his violent predisposition but he clenched and unclenched his fists, glaring at her.
Her words were true, there was no satisfactory rebuttal.
The guard approached, shaking his head.
Charles smiled at the prince and Frederic shook his head in disgust.
“It does not end it. I will find her and we will wed.”
“I think you underestimate the savages.”
“No, they underestimate me. Whatever I desire, becomes mine.”
“That is yet to be seen, Prince Frederic,” Charles said.
They watched the Prince walk off, the slight limp in his stride noticeable to all that observed.
CHAPTER 25
Clara gazed about her, everything Outside was new, yet old. She had seen much from inside the sphere but it was surreal, to view it in the flesh. She felt the huge beast move beneath her body, a warm and stout presence. Clara kept her hands clenched tightly to the saddle, occasionally casting a glance behind her at the guard whom she did not trust.
Bracus said, “Princess, put your arms about my waist, it is not safe for you, the horse could throw you.”
Clara was sure that it was not proper for her to touch a man she did not know, but a stumble from Briar Rose made her mind up for her. She latched onto the savage- Bracus, and laid her head against his broad back.
Bracus tried not to physically show the Princess how much he enjoyed the contact. But he couldn’t help but shift on the horse to put him infinitesimally closer to her embrace.
Clara sighed. She knew she should not feel remotely safe. Yet, he had not harmed her, she was Outside, and there was nothing she could do for Charles, she thought, frowning slightly. She wished with all her heart she could but know what was happening to him right now. However, she must persevere. Soon, she may have a life Outside. A plan to regain her father’s kingdom could be fashioned in a way that he would be proud of.
Clara yawned against Bracus’ back just as the sun made its way over the top of the mountains to the south, the tangerine glow painting the path ahead with golden light. The rhythm of the horse beneath her lulled her to sleep and she felt it pulling her under like a stone in a well.
Bracus felt Clara’s breathing change and knew that she had fallen asleep. He slowed Briar Rose to a halt and her body began to slide away from his. He gently repositioned her in front of him where she fit in the cradle of his arm perfectly. As his right arm held her, he grasped the reins in his left, gently kicking Briar Rose’s side and she continued to walk.
Joseph came abreast of him on his stead, a great chocolate beast that eyed him cautiously. “She sleeps, that is good,” he said, gazing down at her face, curled against Bracus’ chest, her breath a warm tingle.
Bracus looked down upon her, knowing she probably would not have wanted to be held so intimately but in her sleep he could hold her as he wished.
After another hour of riding, with the weight of Clara beginning to numb his arm, the Band were at the clan’s gate.
Bracus came alert immediately as people were running around in a panic. He unconsciously tightened his grip on Clara.
Something was wrong.
He felt the weapons against his horse’s flank and was comforted by their presence; his throat slits involuntarily opening wide to gather oxygen in preparation for the unknown.
Philip galloped up to Bracus’ side, having been rear guard during their journey homeward, “What is the trouble here?”
“I do not know, but we best be about finding out.”
Philip nodded, twirling his finger in a circle above his head. Stephen and Matthew began on opposite ends of the clan’s large barrier fence to do a perimeter reconnaissance. If there was something amiss, they would find it. Their horses thundering departure was not heard above the noise of the people’s panic.
****
The lead guard at the gate, Oliver, ran to Bracus, speaking in a rush, “Captain Goodman,” he said, not even bothering with a nod, “The girl from the well…” he stuttered out.
“Evelyn?” Bracus nearly yelled and Clara stirred, having been in a near stupor. He kept his hold firm, he would not have her away from him and out of his sight. But he did need to have both hands free and at-the-ready.
“Yes, sir,” he wrung his hands. “It appears that she has been taken… by the fragment.”
Oh dear Lord, she is but a child, Bracus thought with dread pooling like rotten meat in his entrails.
Oliver looked at Clara in his arms with open curiosity.
“How?” Bracus barked, breaking his glance with the harshness of his words at the same time that Clara opened her eyes and saw that she was in the circle of Bracus’ arms. She sat up, feeling ridiculous and groggy. Looking about her, she saw many people running about in a state of panic. She rubbed her eyes and pushed her hair away from her face, the tether which bound it long gone.
Bracus kept his arm around Clara, pulling her against his chest as he felt her stiffen. “There is a problem, and I need my hands free but I need you protected,” he spoke quietly against her ear, “if I let you down, would you stay by my side?”
Clara nodded, she was not interested in another problem and she was ill-p
repared for it, her mind fuzzy. She was tired and hungry and wished to get out of her royal garb, an absurd thing to be wearing while riding upon a horse.
Bracus held her arms as she slid down the horse’s side. Her feet hovered above the ground and she lighted upon it. Craning her neck back to look up at him. The bruising of her face was better today, but it made his guts clench to see it, he would never become accustomed to the sight.
Oliver came around the side of the horse to approach Clara, but Bracus said, “No, attend the gate, I will have someone from the Band assigned to the Princess.”
Joseph said, “Captain… I need…” he began
Anna, good Lord, the females. If the young girl was taken, who else?
“Yes, go to her now.”
Joseph galloped headlong to the gate, people scurrying out of his way.
Philip was the only one left, “Stay with Clara.” Bracus ordered tersely. He must see what had happened to Evelyn… how it happened.
He and Philip looked at each other for a swollen moment then Philip nodded. They needed their watch-care now more than ever.
Bracus kicked Briar Rose’s sides, and she galloped to the gate.
To the answers.
****
Bracus all but threw his reins at Jonathan, who caught them deftly, his face grave.
“Captain,” he said, nodding.
He was the first person on the inside he had seen and should know more than Oliver, who had been in no position to leave the gate.
“What has happened to Evelyn?” Then, “what of the other females.” Bracus barked out.
“All are here, sir… it is only Evelyn.” Jonathan said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other .
“How could this happen?” Bracus said, somewhat more gently.
“She went to pick the berries…”
“By herself?”
He shook his head, “Nay, her father accompanied her.”
Bracus closed his eyes for a moment. Opening them, he grasped Jonathan’s shoulder, giving it a small shake. “Speak.” and dropped his hand.
Jonathan looked down, a tremor in his voice, “I told her not to go this day. I told her it was safer to pick a day the Band was all here,” Bracus nodded encouragement and he continued, “but she insisted, you know how she is, stubborn.”
He knew.
“Then, she argued that her father would be with her.” His eyes betrayed his frustration, narrowing, “and I told her it was not enough. That the fragment was about, that they could be overwhelmed. She would not listen. She never listens. I could have protected her!” he shouted out, his fists clenched, the knuckles bleeding to white.
Bracus shook his head. “Did her father protect her?”
“He tried.”
“What of him?”
“Massacred.”
Bracus groaned, rubbing a hand over the front of his face, a male dead, and a precious female gone. Were the fragment so desperate that they would take a female that was not yet ready? He shuddered. They must reclaim her.
He looked down at the angry boy, “You could have done nothing. Do not assume the guilt of this. Her own father died at the hands of the fragment. We will retrieve her.”
He nodded, “When?”
Bracus’ thoughts shifted… Clara.
“Today, as soon as we can restore our energy and pack our supplies.”
Clara and Philip approached, he a head and a half taller than she, his huge hands holding his mount’s reins, the beast’s sides glistening from the travel.
Philip cocked an eyebrow.
“The girl that works the well, Evelyn, has been taken,” Bracus said.
“The wee one?” he asked, using his palm to indicate a height very close to Clara’s own.
Bracus nodded.
Philip growled out his displeasure and Clara backed away from him. He sobered, turning to her. “She is but a child…only ten and one years.”
It sounded horrible, Clara knew, but she looked at them in confusion, taken by whom?
Bracus knew from her expression her unspoken question, “It is the fragment. They take unprotected females.”
“Who are the fragment and why do they take your women?” Clara asked.
Philip and Bracus looked at each other.
“What?” Clara asked, putting her hands on her hips. She did not wish to be ignorant of danger. Her days of being unprepared were over.
“They belong to no one. They are separate,” Bracus began.
“From whom?”
“The clans,” Philip responded. “All the clans.”
Those answers made more questions than they answered, Clara thought.
Bracus sighed, he did not have sufficient time to answer. And he did not know that enlightening Clara about the shortage of females at this juncture would help him with her. In fact, seeing the burning intelligence in her eyes… he thought not.
“We must retrieve the girl immediately.” He looked at Bracus, “I will assign Joseph, Stephen and Matthew here. The others will accompany us.
Bracus nodded, “Good choice.”
“Joseph will not be worth anything if his mind is upon Anna’s welfare.”
“That was my opinion.” Bracus agreed.
Bracus was most comfortable with Matthew and Stephen, his first and second in command. They would guard Clara and be sufficient protection for the clan while the girl was rescued. No one took their people…their females. His gaze wandered to Clara, her battered face healing, and his heart beat painfully in his breastbone. Duty tore at him, his feelings for her beat upon him like the wings of a great bird, soft yet insistent.
He looked at her a moment more, “Philip, stay with her…I need to be about discussions with Matthew and Stephen,” he said, stalking off.
Clara looked at Philip, “What have I done?” She knew that her escape had made him dislike her but he had tended to her closely afterward. She determined he was a man of duty and did not subscribe to feelings of mercy.
“It is not you, Princess. It is the circumstance. He must protect the females; he is the Captain of this clan.”
“It is his duty then? He must face this fragment? What if,” she was loathe to utter it but plunged forward, “he is unable to overcome them?” she threw her hand out, indicating the forest which lay beyond the clan perimeter.
Philip looked down at her disdainfully and she struggled not to move away again. These men were so physically intimidating. She stood her ground with an effort. “He will not fail. We are the Band, we do not fail, we succeed.”
Indeed. A small smile formed on her mouth and Philip looked down at her, first at her lips then at her expression. She was beautiful, he decided. Even underneath the healing battering, her unkempt hair and strange clothing, he saw a female worth having. But something told him in his gut, that it was his brother that wanted her, and that he would not stand in the way of.
“Come,” he took her by the elbow. “Let us introduce you to Lillian and Anna.”
As they walked away together, Clara’s thoughts were on Bracus, his intent to leave her with the clan, a group of strangers who lived Outside. But, she did not really know him either. It was he that stopped the assault upon her by Prince Frederic. It was he that she owed a debt of gratitude to. She was ashamed by her attempt at escape now. Clara knew that her heart and mind were conflicted. This is not what she and Charles had conspired together, the fruition of which was entirely not of their making.
They approached a small building amongst several that were similar. Made of stone with thatched roofs and thick wood doors that had circular windows at face level in odd, convex configurations. Clara immediately loved the one they came upon. The irregular stones they trod on led to one of the unusual doors which was flanked by wild roses, their buds dripping of delicious fragrance and shell pink blooms.
A woman lives here.
Clara was reminded of the great hothouses inside the sphere which contained a vast amount of roses. But withou
t the constant presence of the steam to nurture them they would be unable to survive.
Clara paused, caressing a delicate bloom, and a thorn pricked her finger. She gasped, putting her finger to her mouth.
Philip frowned, “Let me see, Princess.” he said, holding his hand out.
“It is nothing, really,” she said, moving away. He caught her hand, turning it over in his huge one, her palm swallowed by his.
Philip felt a strange tingling when he touched the Princess’s hand, it rushed up his arm in a hot surge and he dropped it.
“What was that?” she whispered.
“I do not know,” he said, rubbing his hand as if something remained there he wished to remove.
Just then, the door opened and Lillian looked out.
“You should not open your door first, without looking,” Philip said disapprovingly.
Lillian nodded, “Calm yourself, warrior. I know that the Band has returned and Jack is within.” She gestured behind her as Jack appeared.
Clara looked warily at another member of the Band and noticed how they all looked so much alike. All huge males with the strange gills. The other males looked like the men of her sphere. The woman looked ordinary compared to him. Deep brown hair grazed the swell of her collarbone, with sapphire eyes and honey-colored skin. It was her ready smile that caused a great, aching sadness in Clara, instantly reminding her of Sarah. She controlled her expression. Her sadness was not something she wished to reveal to anyone, nor her shameful circumstances.
She looked back at Philip, the odd expression still riding his face from the strange touch of his hand on hers. She remembered the tingling after he had touched her and wondered at its significance. She put her hand to her chest and looked at Lillian and Jack.
Lillian contained her shock at seeing the condition of the Princess. Who had done this to her face? She knew exactly what Jack must be thinking behind her. The poor waif. She took in the disheveled hair, the ruined dress, her delicate face in various stages of healing. To Lillian, it was obvious that she had suffered beatings that were separate from one other. She would ask Bracus later, he would know more on this.
Her eyes met Philip and he shook his head, rubbing his arm in a most odd fashion. She made a decision, she would take care of her while the Band reconvened. She knew as she stood here and took breath they would go after Evelyn. She closed her eyes briefly, she hated the fragment. They were the only thing that kept the clan from true contentment.
The Pearl Savage Page 15