by Brad Clark
Once through, Conner pulled her down into a crouch. The docks were directly ahead of them, but some distance away. "
"What now?" she asked.
"We cross the river and start heading through the forest towards the castle.”
“Cross the river?" Elissa exclaimed. "Where?”
Conner nodded towards the river. “Want to swim?”
She gave him a sour look. “Not really.”
“Me neither.” He pulled her up and jogged towards the water’s edge where a number of small boats were beached. They looked like dinghies used to transport people or goods to deep draft boats that couldn’t get close to shore.
Conner pushed one of the boats into the water and then helped Elissa into it. He moved as quickly and quietly as he could. He knew it was only a matter of time before they were seen. With a big shove, he pushed the boat into the water and climbed in. It took a few strokes to get the hang of the oars. But in no time, Conner was pulling them swiftly through the water.
They were halfway across the river when they were spotted. At first, someone on the docks shouted to them and waved, not realizing who they were and what they were doing. Soon, others joined the first man. And then Marcus showed up, his long white hair blowing in the wind. He said nothing, only stood with his hands on his hips, watching the two of them rowing across the river.
Princess Elissa sat quietly in the rear of the small boat, a hand draped over the side, watching the approaching bank. Conner faced aft, watching Elissa sit quietly. But he also saw the commotion on the docks. As Marcus stood watching them, surrounded by a group of curious villagers, three men, clad in long black cloaks and leather armor appeared from the Inn. They walked out onto the dock, their scabbards swinging as they walked. One had a bow and lifted it towards them, an arrow knocked and ready to fire. Another of the new comers put a hand on the bowman’s shoulder and the bow was lowered. Conner kept his face as calm as he could, doing his best to keep Elissa from noticing what was happening behind her.
Although the river was wide and the current swift, Conner knew that a good bowman could make life interesting for them. If he went in a straight line, an expert archer could easily account for their movement and strike them down. If he could go a little faster, and maybe change direction a little more, he would make it more difficult. But he still felt like a sitting duck. With more urgency, Conner put his back into pulling the oars more quickly and with more strength. He tried to hide his exertion from his face. She didn’t need to know right now. There was nothing that she would be able to do about it other than fret and worry.
He smiled at her and she smiled back. He watched her closely, studying her face. It was perfectly formed, unblemished from age or worry. She lived a life of comfort and ease. She didn’t have to worry about where her next meal was coming from, or if she were going to survive the cold winter. She had as much food as she could eat, as much warmth as she desired, and as much protection as her father could give her. And she didn’t know it. She had no idea that she lived such a life and that there were others that didn’t. She was young enough to not know, but old enough to begin to understand. These events of the past few days must have rocked her world, sending her vision of a perfect life into a tailspin. And yet, she hardly showed it. Back at the village, she quickly went from a cold and wet young girl to a spoiled princess ordering everyone around. But she barely survived the ambush with her life. And now she sat here in this uncomfortable boat, being rowed across a cold and deep river, her posture princess perfect, just as she had been taught. He realized that she was watching him, too.
Their eyes were locked on one another. She had called him her champion, and he had laughed at it outwardly. But inwardly, he took it seriously. He would protect her at all costs. It was not only the right thing to do, but it was the thing that he wanted to do. He liked her. A lot. Maybe there was something even more. But she was small and delicate and needed him, and that made him feel as big a man as he could have ever imagined. He was going to honor that duty, as long as he could.
As for Marcus, he didn’t know what he was up to. He seemed trustworthy at first, but something must have happened. Most likely the guys who were after the princess got there and they were able to escape just in time. He hoped that Marcus was simply a pawn in some crazy game. But regardless, he knew he couldn’t trust anyone. No matter how nice someone was, it didn’t mean that they were being honest. He almost laughed aloud at his thought. He was thinking of himself as so mature, so much wiser than the naïve princess. But in reality, he was only three years older than her. Yes, he lived a life much different than hers, but that really didn’t make him wiser. He was still naïve himself, thinking that anyone he came across could be trusted.
“You’ve been staring at me,” Elissa said, her smile turning into a smirk.
“No, just watching,” he replied. After a moment of continuing to stare, he added. “I guess I just can’t take my eyes off of you.”
“You make me blush,” she said, turning her eyes to the water.
“And you tease me.”
“Will you come stay at the castle, now that you are my Champion?”
His immediate reply was silence. When she brought it up before, he thought it was just her talking to make talk. He didn’t really think that she was serious. But now, with the way she asked the question, and with the way she was looking at him, he knew that she was serious.
“You said you would be my champion,” she said softly.
“Yes,” he finally said. “I will be here to protect you and help you get home.”
“No,” Princess Elissa said, her eyebrows narrowing. “My Champion. Normally a princess can count on her brothers to champion her cause – to protect her from everything. To stand in for her when she cannot fight. But when a princess does not have a brother, or a queen does not have a king, a champion is chosen to protect her. To be her sword arm.”
He was speechless. He had thought that she was just talking about him helping her get home. He had no idea that she was referring to some formal concept of a Champion.
“I would want no one but you,” the princess continued.
“I am not a swordsman or a soldier. I could never stand in your place to fight your battles.”
“You could learn.”
“I could,” he admitted, regretting the words the instant they came out.
“Then when we get back, I shall talk to my father, and you shall come live at the castle!”
“Princess Elissa,” Conner started to protest, but he could see the gleam in her eye. She was genuinely excited about him becoming her champion. He knew it was a ridiculous notion and that her father would certainly have nothing of it. He decided to not say anything, to go along with what she was saying so she could keep her spirits up for the rest of their journey.
He glanced behind him and realized that they were almost at the opposite bank. He gave the rowboat two quick pulls with the oars, and the boat rode right up onto the bank. He jumped out first, ankle deep in water. She walked slowly across the boat, using the sides to keep her balance. Once at the bow, she bent over to jump out. He grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her off the boat and half carried, half tossed her onto the bank. She landed feet dry with a laugh.
The laugh was cut short when she looked across the river. “Is that another boat?”
Conner didn’t need to look, he had seen it launch some time ago.
“We’ll need to hurry.”
“Who are they?” She asked.
Conner didn’t answer. He took her hand and pulled her into the trees. His mind worked hard, trying to figure out what to do and where to go. He could head deep into the woods, but the men behind them on the boats wouldn’t be that far behind. If they rowed hard, maybe a half an hour at most. They could make that up within a few hours. While Conner and Elissa needed to worry about whether they were leaving a trail, or moving too loudly, the pursuers would not care. They would crash through the forest as quickl
y as they could, not worrying about their trail or who heard them. At best, Conner would be able to keep just ahead of them, moving quickly without leaving too much of a trail. But eventually they would have to rest and eat. Their pursuers would, too, but it would be a matter of who could last the longest. If it were him alone, he knew that he could push himself through the rest of the day and into the night. And if he made it to darkness, and he could continue to move through the forest, it would be nearly impossible to track him.
Suddenly he stopped. Elissa, breathing hard from the exertion of moving so fast through the underbrush, welcomed the rest. She sat on the ground, legs crossed, her head resting in her hands. He had four arrows in his quiver and a small hunting knife. He wouldn’t last ten seconds in a fight, especially if the men who were following him were trained in any way. Any thought he had of standing up to his pursuers quickly left.
The trees had thinned out where they stopped. The ground in front of them dipped into a small bowl with only small bushes growing alongside tall weeds. Thick, thorny bushes blocked any chance they had of going around the bowl. Either they would have to double back and lose more time, or they would have to forge ahead. He made a quick gesture for her to follow and, reluctantly, she did. As he feared, the ground was soft and muddy in the bowl. He tried hard not to make too many footprints, but there was no way for them to pass through without leaving a clear trail. He looked around, wondering if he could find a way out of the bowl where his tracks wouldn’t show as much, but the whole area was soggy. He trudged on, hoping beyond hope that they would be able to move fast enough to keep ahead of their pursuers.
Once out of the bowl and back into the trees, he pushed hard. They had to move faster than their pursuers. Any thoughts of hiding their trail were left in the soggy bowl. With one eye on the path in front, he kept the other eye on Elissa. She had fallen into silence some time ago. Her eyes were focused straight ahead, lost in thought. Or maybe just lost in nothingness. There were times when he was out hunting that his mind just cleared. There would be no thoughts about his family or where his next meal was coming from. He would only think about the path in front of him, and the trees around him. He would ignore the beauty of nature, just walking through the existence of it without acknowledging it. But not now. Now he had to focus on the trail, trying to find the best route between where they were and the edge of the forest. Because the best route wasn’t the most direct route, he moved around, trying to keep to ground that wouldn’t leave as clear a trail as another route. At least they weren’t farther north where they would have to worry about predators. There were small wild animals such as foxes and coyotes, but they stayed away from people as much as they could. The wolves to the north, however, had found the taste of man delightful. They weren’t hunters out looking for tasty human flesh, but if you ran into one, they were just as like to turn and attack as to run away.
Elissa was clearly tired, her breathing shallow and quick. Her eyes were half closed, and she stumbled more than walked. Their adventures of the past few days had worn on her and even though they had one good night of rest, it hadn’t been enough for her to fully recover.
“We need to find out how far they are behind us,” Conner said. He had stopped alongside a fallen tree. She immediately plopped down, her shoulders hunched over in near exhaustion.
“Okay,” she said softly. “I’m not sure how much longer….”
“I’m sorry,” Conner said softly, his back to her, looking back towards the way they had come.
She looked up at him, the tired eyes suddenly regaining some strength. “For what?”
“We should have taken up Marcus’ offer. We should have taken the horses and just ridden for your castle.”
“But the men back there in the village, maybe they would have gotten us then?”
“Yeah, but I have led you into the middle of the forest being chased by soldiers. If they catch us…”
She smiled weakly up at him. “But they won’t. You are my Champion.”
“Some champion. I have led you to your death.”
“Conner, I am not dead. I won’t be. I would have been if you hadn’t come across me. You saved my life and I know you will get me out of here.”
Conner looked back at her, knowing that she was just being naïve, or maybe just trying to be strong for him. He knew what was happening, he knew that there was little chance of them coming out of the forest alive. Maybe they could outwit their pursuers and keep one step ahead of them. But eventually they would tire. They needed to eat and sleep. There were small streams throughout the woods that could keep them alive, but without food, they wouldn’t have the energy to move at the fast pace that they needed to move. Maybe they could survive. Maybe they could make it through the forest alive without being caught. Maybe.
Conner didn’t like maybes. He also didn’t like slow deaths. It was something he was all too familiar with. But he survived. They all did, but just barely. He was tired of just surviving and knew that it was time to do something about it.
“The ground rises a bit in another mile or so. We’ll head up to the high ground and see how far behind our pursuers are.”
“If we don’t see them?” She asked.
“They we move on.”
“And if we see them?”
He glanced at his quiver. “If there’s four or less, we’ll be fine.”
He marched forward, hoping that the strength of his words would reassure the princess. He knew that if she saw his face right now, she would have seen fear. It wasn’t so much the fear of being caught, or what would happen to them. It would be the fear of what he would have to do to his pursuers once they caught up to them.
At the top of the next rise, Conner climbed up an old oak tree that had plenty of branches to help him get up high. As soon as he settled onto a branch and looked back down their trail, he saw movement. And then he saw them between the trees.
There were only three of them. He wished he could remember how many were in the boat. Maybe three, maybe four. But he could only worry about the three that he saw. One was in front of the others, leading them along Conner and Elissa’s route. Occasionally the leader would stoop and bend, looking for signs of the trail, but mostly he moved forward, slowly and surely. Clearly, Conner didn’t hide their trail well enough. But he knew that. He knew that he didn’t have the time to cover his tracks. Speed was more important. He had hoped that whoever was following him wasn’t a good tracker, but he knew that it had been too much to hope for. The two who followed behind were armed. Bows were slung across their backs and swords hung at their sides. Conner knew that he would have to take them out first. He cautiously climbed down from the tree while formulating his plan.
Elissa didn’t ask him what he saw. She didn’t need to. As soon as he was down from the tree, he strung his bow and pulled his arrows out of his quiver. With silent determination, he pulled off his cloak and quiver, removing anything that might get in his way.
“You keep moving. Just keep the sun at your back in the morning, and at your face in the evening. Eventually you will get to the sea.”
“I’m not leaving,” she said. “I’ll stay and fight with you.”
“There are three of them,” he said. “I will have to take them out, but if I don’t, you have to be far from here. Maybe I can hold them off long enough so that you can get away.”
Her lips trembled, and tears began to form at the corner of her eyes. “I can’t,” she said meekly.
He gripped her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “You are strong. Stronger than you can imagine. I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in the way you carry yourself. You don’t complain. You just do. You might be a princess, a delicate flower in your mind, but you are strong, like you grew up in a village just like me.” He squeezed her shoulders. “You will survive. There are small streams all around here. Keep drinking, as much as you can. You can live without food for days, but without water, you will die quickly. There are small bushes with
dark purple berries. If you squeeze them and they are juicy, they are edible. You must go on to survive. If you stay with me, and I can’t kill them, then they will get you and they will kill you.”
“But if you kill them, then how will you find me?” A tear smudged her dirty cheek with a single line. “I would be lost without you.”
Conner looked deep into her eyes. He heard the words, and understood what she was saying, but there was something about them that had so much more meaning than just the words. He found himself suddenly fearful that if she did leave, that he would never see her again. That she would go back to her castle, to her room decorated in plush adornments, scented with perfumes from all across the world. Doted upon by her father. Cared for by servants. Given anything she desired. What could he give her? Nothing that she didn’t already have or need. He squeezed her hand one last time, wondering if this would be the last time he would ever touch her, talk to her, or be around her. Regretfully, he let go and took a step back.
“I will stay here, at this tree,” she said. “If you come back, we will go on to my father.”
“And if I don’t,” he asked.
“Leave me your knife. I will not go quietly.” Tears were now fully streaming down her face.
He hesitated for a moment, looking long and hard at her, seeing the strength in her that others probably had never seen. She was young, but she was strong. These two days, lost in the woods, would change her life forever. And it would either go on and she would be a great and wonderful princess, or it would end now. Knowing what it meant, he pulled out his hunting knife and held it for her to take. It wasn’t very sharp. It was old and had a bit of rust on it. But it was sharp enough that if stuck in the belly, it would kill. She took it gingerly. Without another word, he turned and walked into the trees, retracing their path.