Outplayed

by Hayley Osborn

  Gisborne raised his hand again and I screamed at him to stop. Wished I hadn’t. I hated the idea of begging this man for anything.

  Whether he heard me or not, the blows didn’t end. There wasn’t a place on my body that he left unscathed.

  I must have passed out after that because the next time I opened my eyes, Gisborne was gone, and the sound of birdsong rang loud in my ears. Someone had moved me. The trees seemed closer than they had before, and whatever I was lying on was rough and uncomfortable.

  I struggled to sit, and the world swayed. Every muscle, every tendon, every bone in my body screamed with pain. My face was so tight, I felt like I’d never be able to talk again. The inside of my mouth was raw and bloody from where I’d bitten my tongue.

  “Be still.” Eliza Thatcher gazed at me in the disappearing evening light. Between us was a set of wooden bars. A cage. I was inside a cage. And it was no wonder the world felt like it was moving. My cage—made of heavy branches crossed over each other and lashed together with rope—was hoisted high in the air, dangling via ropes from a branch about five meters off the ground. There were massive gaps between each of the sticks I sat on, and though I couldn’t fall through, I wasn’t convinced the binding would hold. “Please. Get me out of here.” I was at the edge of the clearing, dangling to one side of the shelters I’d noticed earlier. The fire was hidden behind one, but not the light it threw off. That brightened the undersides of the trees and I wondered if I’d been wrong about the time of day. Perhaps it was later than I’d realized.

  Eliza shook her head and brought one finger to her lips. “Don’t make any noise. If they find me up here, we’re both in trouble.” She held a damp cloth between the bars.

  I stared at it, draped over her hand.

  “For your face. Or your ribs. Whatever hurts most. Is anything broken?” Eliza sat with her legs dangling over the edge of a platform that reminded me of the floor of a tree house. A rope ladder was swinging in the slight breeze below her. At the other end of her platform, made out of lengths of flat wood rather than round sticks like my cage, was an actual tree house. Walls, a roof, a door and a gap for a window.

  Moving slowly because everything hurt, and because it was best to use caution around Eliza, I took the cloth from her and pressed it to my left eye, which was almost swollen shut. The cold was soothing. I shook my head to answer her question. I might be stiff and sore, but nothing seemed broken.

  “I put some cream on your wounds and tried to stop the swelling with cold cloths.” She nodded at my knees.

  I followed her gaze to find a second cloth lying discarded beside me. My movement made the cage sway and creak.

  “Keep still.” Eliza reached out, took hold of one of the bars and pulled the cage to a stop.

  “Please can you let me out?” I begged.

  Eliza shook her head. “I can’t. If Gisborne finds me up here now, I’ll get the same treatment you’ve just had. And then there’ll be no one to look after either of us.”

  “Where is he?” I croaked, feeling sick at the thought of him.

  Eliza nodded in the direction of the fire. “Drinking. Eating. Celebrating.”

  “Celebrating?” As far as I knew Gisborne had nothing out of the ordinary to celebrate. “Because of what he did to me?”

  Eliza nodded. Her dress was plainer than I’d seen her wear in the past, dark green and lacking the usual jewels and embellishments. Strands of hair had escaped the clasp at her neck, but she still looked as stunning as always. Even the scar on her cheek didn’t detract.

  “Why are you helping me?” I’d thought the two of us were as much enemies as Gisborne and me.

  She looked out to where the fire glowed. The murmur of voices drifted up to us along with the occasional burst of raucous laughter. “Because you brought me a gift from my sister when you could easily have thrown it in the fire.”

  Yes, well, it wasn’t like I’d gone out of my way.

  “Oh, I know you didn’t come to Woodhurst that night just for me. But I also know you could have walked straight past my chamber without giving me that…painting of Tabitha, and I’d never have known you had it. This is my way of making us even. And saying thank you.” She held her hand through the bars again and I passed her the cloth. She dunked it in a small jar of water before handing it back. “You shouldn’t have provoked him the way you did, you know.” Her voice was quiet. An observation, not a reprimand. “Gisborne never responds well to provocation.”

  Tell me something I didn’t know. I tried to shrug, but it hurt to lift my shoulder. “The outcome would likely have been the same whether I spoke up or remained silent.” We both knew I would hold the information Gisborne wanted for as long as I could.

  Her silence told me she agreed.

  The wind moved through the trees, pushing the cage from side to side. Eliza took hold of it again, steadying it.

  “What is this place?” I asked.

  “This is where the Woodhurst boys spent many happy summer days.”

  I wasn’t that gullible. “I doubt it. Not together, anyway.” Rob and Gisborne had always hated each other.

  She turned her lips down. “Sure, they didn’t get along as they got older. But before that, and before Uncle Jerimiah began teaching Gisborne to be just like him, they were true brothers. They played here in summer, like their fathers did before them.” She smiled softly. “Tabitha and I played here sometimes, too. Always loved this tree house.” A burst of laughter came from around the fire. “Not anymore, though. Gisborne’s made sure of that.”

  I watched the orange light dancing on the nearby trees. “Why would he bring me here rather than to Woodhurst?” I assumed we were near his home if Rob had played here as a child. It seemed strange that he wouldn’t just continue on if we were that close.

  “Because he has an image to uphold. Wouldn’t do his reputation any good if someone saw him beating the life out of Lady Maud Fitzwalter before her father or the Sheriff had gotten hold of her. Especially given how you behaved at the Sheriff’s tournament.”

  Eliza got to her feet. “I have to go. It’s best you don’t tell anyone I was here. The cream should help those bruises and cuts feel better by tomorrow.” She dunked my cloths in the jar of water and handed them back one last time before tipping the water over the side of the platform and tucking the jar inside her dress. Then she shimmied down the ladder and disappeared into the darkness.

  I woke to find my cage swinging wildly as Gisborne’s men lowered it to the ground. They cut the ties and threw the door open. Gisborne stood in front of me, arms folded. My heart rate tripled when I saw him. I was stuck in this cage, couldn’t get away. He was about to hurt me all over again; I could tell by the disgusted smirk on his face.

  “Good morning, Lady Maud.”

  I wondered if Gisborne would ever see me as anyone but her.

  “Would you like to elaborate on any of the things we discussed last night?” He gave little reaction as he looked at me. My face was surely as battered as Miller’s had been, but the sight bothered Gisborne not at all. His slight smirk said he liked what he saw and was waiting to see me cower, waiting for me to beg for mercy.

  “You want details about the valley we’re staying in?” I stood at the back of the cage, gripping the wooden bars behind my back.

  He raised his eyebrows, the only sign of encouragement he seemed willing to give. He might think he was hiding it, but his eyes widened in eagerness to hear my answer. He expected I would give him what he asked for.

  Well, screw him. That wasn’t happening. “It’s filled with fluffy white clouds the unicorns sleep on.” With a growl he dragged me from the cage by my tunic. I dodged the kick he aimed at my stomach. Didn’t make it any less painful when his foot bit into my leg. That was the only blow I managed to dodge. The rest landed exactly where Gisborne aimed them; legs, face, gut and arms.

  My eyes snapped open to see the sun blazing through the canopy of tr
ees, high in the sky. I was back in the cage high above the ground. A jug of water and a chunk of bread sat on Eliza’s platform, but there was no one around, even down in camp. I dragged the food and water into my cage, but my face was so swollen I could barely open my mouth. I had to dip the bread in the water just to eat it.

  I needed to get out of here. I was fairly certain Rob would come and I wanted to be gone before he got here. If I didn’t escape, Gisborne would kill me. I’d told Rob about my dreams. A violent death was my punishment.

  The cage door was tied shut. I shuffled over to it, trying to keep the cage from moving, and started working on the ties. My fingers weren’t injured, but the ties were tight, and my arms were bruised and stiff, and I had to stop to rest every few minutes. I tried kicking the door out, but that didn’t work either.

  Just before dawn, I managed to unravel the final tie. I allowed myself a moment to smile. I was free, and I was getting out of here.

  I crawled through the door and onto the platform, then hurried down the rope ladder, my arms screaming in agony. The clearing was silent. Too much longer getting those ties undone and I’d have been too late. Everyone would be starting their day. But for now, while the forest was lit only by the last shafts of moonlight, I was free.

  I crept around the base of the tree. A trail led away from the clearing here, I’d seen it from above. I didn’t care where it went, all I needed was to go. And I was. I was on the trail. I was escaping.

  Behind me, a stick cracked. My heart rate increased. So did my speed.

  But I wasn’t fast enough.

  “Lady Maud.” Gisborne’s voice boomed through the quiet morning forest at my back.

  TWENTY-ONE

  I ran, but Gisborne was faster, his strides crushing leaves and twigs as he covered the distance between us in just a few steps. He caught the end of my hair and pulled me to a stop.

  “Let me go!” I couldn’t take another beating. “Stop!” He pulled me back toward his camp. He moved fast, and I had to run beside him to keep my hair from ripping from my head. The second he stopped, I would kick him. Between the legs if I could. Aimed right, it would give me a few moments to get away.

  I tripped on a tree root—morning was coming fast, but not fast enough to light the trail. I landed on my knees, strands of hair ripping from my scalp before Gisborne released his grip. “Get up.” His voice was icy and laced with fury.

  I considered disobeying his order, then saw the tip of his boot and remembered what he’d do if I refused. I got to my feet, keeping my eyes down. As I straightened, I drove the heel of my boot into Gisborne’s foot.

  He growled then swore, reaching out for me, but I was already gone.

  I sprinted down the trail for the second time this morning, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I could. And for the second time, he caught me in seconds. He tackled me around the legs, and I dropped to the ground.

  I kicked but he held me tight, cursing.

  I wasn’t going back with him. I would not let him beat me again.

  My hand closed around a rock lying on the trail. His grip on my legs loosened. Without giving him a chance to take hold of my arm and drag me to my feet, I twisted and smashed the rock into the side of his face.

  He was stunned for about a second—a second I should have used to get the hell out of there—before he pulled me to standing. His face was harder than I’d ever seen it, his eyes void of emotion. He was going to hit me again. And this time, he wouldn’t stop. He drew his hand back to hit me and I saw my chance. I slammed the rock into the side of his face, bracing for his fist, but it never came.

  The moment I hit him, something shifted in the air. The movement was the same as I’d felt at the tournament; the magic realigning itself.

  Gisborne screamed in pain and staggered back, releasing his grip on me. He sagged against the tree behind him, standing awkwardly and holding his jaw with one hand. “How lovely of you to join us.” Gisborne’s words were slurred, and blood ran down one side of his face. He kept blinking as if he was trying to clear his vision.

  It took a moment to register why Gisborne was no longer coming at me.

  Apart from the fact that my blow with the rock had him wobbling on his feet, the hand he’d raised to strike me was nailed to the tree behind him. An arrow had pierced his wrist, traveling so fast it lodged into the tree with Gisborne still attached. I had serious doubts that he could have hit me after what I’d done to him; his head swayed as he focused on something over my shoulder. He didn’t seem to have registered the arrow through his wrist.

  I followed his gaze and Rob stepped out onto the trail beside me. His face hardened as he looked me over, his eyes stalling on my bruised face, before moving to stare at Gisborne. “Seems I’m a little late. Maryanne appears to have taken care of you all on her own.”

  At the sound of his brother’s voice, some of Gisborne’s focus returned. He pulled at the arrow, snapping it in half and, with gritted teeth, pulled his wrist off the shaft. “Screw you, Woodhurst. Guards!”

  In a movement almost too fast to see, Rob pulled an arrow from his quiver, nocked it and fired, pinning Gisborne to the tree again through the fleshy part of his shoulder.

  Gisborne screamed, then held his head. It gave me a small sense of satisfaction to see how much my blow hurt him.

  “There’s no point yelling. Your guards are currently incapacitated.” Rob fired another arrow, this one pinning Gisborne to the tree by his other arm.

  Gisborne screamed again. “Guards!”

  “They can’t help you, Gisborne. My men are…taking care of them.” Rob’s jaw was tight, the only indication that he might be close to losing it. He waited until his brother stopped yelling. “Do you know what happens when you terrorize people who are weaker than yourself? When you hurt people who have no opportunity to fight back?”

  Gisborne’s mouth twisted with contempt and he lifted his chin. Even nailed to a tree, his men captured, Gisborne was still looking down at the world. “My men get to loot their village and keep any valuables.”

  Rob took a predatory step forward, running the tips of his fingers lightly up and down the shaft of his bow. Gisborne’s eyes followed. “I can see how you might think that. The trouble is, when you act like a bastard over and over, the world has a way of turning on you. Eventually, everything you’ve done will come back and bite you on the backside.” He reached over his shoulder and drew an arrow from the quiver. As he nocked it, he stepped backward until he was beside me, putting enough distance between him and Gisborne to ensure that arrow had enough speed to hurt Gisborne.

  Gisborne’s lips turned down as he looked at Rob with disgust. “Go on. Kill me. It’s what you’ve wanted for the last six years.”

  “Oh, I intend to.” Rob pulled the bowstring back to his cheek. And held it there.

  Shoot it. This was the chance Rob had waited for. The chance to rid the world of his brother.

  Gisborne laughed; a cruel, hard sound. He shook his head. “You always were too soft. That’s why you could never have been the lord of the manor.”

  Rob’s hand flexed around his bow. “No. I could never be lord of the manor because you traded away my life, looking for your father’s approval.”

  Gisborne moved his shoulder like he was shrugging, then hissed in pain. “I knew he wanted you gone, and I saw an opportunity to make it happen. Unlike you, I didn’t hesitate.” His eyes snagged on the arrow pointed at his chest.

  “Shooting me didn’t get you what you wanted. Did it? Father might have loved you more than me, but that man barely knew how to love. And he didn’t love you any better once he thought I was dead.” Rob’s voice was even as he looked down on Gisborne, his nostrils flaring. The hand holding his bow was deadly still, but I was certain it was an act. He had to be filled with fury at Gisborne, but he was hiding it well.

  Gisborne smirked and shook his head. “Why did I need love? Without you in my way, I had land and tit
les I’d never have received. People began to treat me with respect. Killing you was the best thing I ever did. I only wish I’d done a better job.” He’d certainly been trying to make that happen recently.

  “Why? Worried the Sheriff might return all your land and titles to the rightful owner now he knows I’m not dead?” Rob shot the words back like a bullet.

  I glanced at Rob. I didn’t think him getting his home back was an option. Not since I killed that deer and Rob took the blame.

  Gisborne shifted uncomfortably; his tone no longer quite so certain. “I believe the Sheriff sees this issue in the same light as me.” He might, but there was obviously some other reason that kept him hunting Rob since the day he discovered him alive last summer.

  “And King Richard? Should he return home suddenly and take over from the Sheriff, would he see the issue in the same light?” Rob let his question hang in the air.

  Gisborne stared directly at him, but his lips remained firmly shut.

  Rob was right. It was the King’s reaction that concerned Gisborne. That was why he wanted his brother dead. “Would he agree the land and titles of Woodhurst should go to the person who attempted to murder the rightful Earl of Woodhurst?”

  Gisborne swallowed. “Of course. Especially since the so-called rightful Earl of Woodhurst is a thief who kills the King’s own game.” The smug confidence was gone from Gisborne’s voice. It was the first time I’d ever heard him uncertain.

  “Or perhaps he’ll see that I had no choice but to live in the forest, and live any way possible.”

  Gisborne glared. “Do it. Kill me. That’s what all this is about.”

  Rob stared at him.

  He wasn’t going to.

  After everything. After all the times Gisborne had tried to kill Rob, all the times he’d hurt one of us to get to Rob, after everything, Rob wasn’t going to take this opportunity.