Chapter 16

Miriam stood with her horse, shifting from foot to foot to keep warm as the gatekeepers peered suspiciously at her papers. She had forged the letter, but the wax seals were real. She left Adrian=s seal on her writing desk before taking her horse. Dressed in her boy clothes, she had stuffed her hair into the hood of her cloak.

"Is there any problem, Sir?" she asked gruffly.

After consulting with each other, the gatekeepers finally gestured for her to pass, though not before they made her sign the exit ledger. Eager to leave, she didn't notice the figure that retreated back into the shadows.

Adrian was floating in the nothingness, somewhere between sleep and consciousness. Someone was calling him, but he was too tired to lift those heavy eyelids. He willed himself to sink deeper in the blissful nothingness.

"Adrian!"

Someone shook him, hard enough to jolt him out of his state. He tried to uncross his bleary eyes and gradually, Jordan=s face materialized in front of him.

AWhazzit?@ Adrian mumbled. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth and his head hurt. There was a bad taste, and if he had any energy, he would figure out what it was. Gods knew he wanted to give into the temptation of falling asleep again.

"The Mistress Healer is gone," Jordan said, shaking Adrian frantically.

"What?" He sat up quickly, and his world swayed violently. Spots of colors appeared in his vision, and he had to close his eyes. "How did it happen?" he asked, lying back down like an invalid.

"The gatekeepers sent word that someone went out of the city tonight. Though the orders were stamped with your seal, they were suspicious of the whole matter and sent someone to get me. I checked with the stablehands, and Mistress Miriam=s mare is gone.@

Turning a sharp eye at the Swordmaster, Adrian said, AI thought I told you to keep watch on her.@

"Well, I did," Jordan admitted, his face flushing. "It's just ... well, I saw her enter your chamber. I didn't think it proper to stay." He scuffed the toe of his boot on the granite, looking as chagrined as a guilty schoolboy.

Adrian sighed. He sat up, slowly this time so that his world didn't spin as much. Holding onto the post, he managed to heave himself onto his feet. Ignoring the pounding headache, Adrian managed to pull on his boots. He noted that Miriam had placed them neatly by his bed, with the toes turned out. Damn considerate of her, he thought darkly. A folded sheet of parchment dropped from his shirt when he stood up. He picked it up without looking at it, tossing it onto his writing desk when he managed to make his way to it. Jabbing the quill into the ink, he dashed off orders and signed them. His fingers automatically sought the seal on his second finger on his right hand, but came up empty. He stared at the naked finger.

She was all softness, he remembered now. Soft and inviting. He was powerless to resist. Her final betrayal hurt more than her repeated refusal. His fist clenched around the sheet of paper he was writing on.

"Go find Lord Ravenshire and Lord Queensfield and notify them of the situation, @ Adrian snapped to Jordan, handing him the written orders. "Tell them to send troops after her. Do you know which way she's gone?"

"The guards said she was going towards the forest," Jordan replied.

"I thought as much. Now listen, Jordan. We haven't got much time. Give these orders to the Lords, and tell them to reinforce the security on the King's chamber and Prince Cornelius. I=m going to track her down myself, but do send the troops. Come as soon as you can."

Jordan nodded and hurried out.

Adrian buckled on his sword as he hobbled across the room. He pulled on his woolen cloak as he made his way out of his room, still reeling from whatever drugs Miriam managed to get into his system. Cursing as he struggled against the folds of the fabric, he took a small detour, pausing at the closed door of Miriam=s chamber. He wasn't even sure why he was wasting his time there B his feet obviously had other ideas. He slammed the door back. The room was empty. He sighed as he entered, touching the already turned-down sheets on the bed as he passed. A twinkle on the desk caught his eye. It was his seal. He picked it up, studied it, and slipped it back onto his finger.

"Where are you going, Miriam?" he murmured to himself, his fingertips lingering on the satin rosewood of the desk.

Snapping out of his mood, he started toward the stable.

It was dark and cold as Miriam tried to get as far away from the castle as she could. The Goddess must have been smiling down on her, for she was blessed by a full moon. Otherwise, she could very well break her neck charging down this road. She knew that she would be safe if only she could get to the forest. And soon. The drug should have worn off by now, considering a man of Adrian=s size. She needed to hurry before it was too late.

Tapping the horse=s belly with her heels, she set into a faster pace, flattening herself on the animal=s back. She felt wild and savage, recklessly riding in the dark like this. The forest loomed ahead, its dark shadow promising refuge from her potential pursuers.

Freedom. It had been so long since she had tasted it. She had been pining so long for her home. She did not belong to the glamorous frill of the elite society of Pelicana. Her place was with the people of the earth, those who understood every shift of the wind. While she was undoubtedly different from them, she knew them as much as she knew herself.

He could never understand, she thought. Trying to cage her, he had muffled the best part of her. Despite his proclamations of love, Adrian was no better than those snooty council members and their wives in some ways. His understanding of the world around him was limited to the ways in which it could be manipulated, the ways in which she could be shaped. But the girl in Pelicana was not her. Miriam belonged to the creations of the Goddess — the mountains and its flora. How could he possibly be in love with her when he didn't even know her?

A tear coursed down her cheek, but she didn't take notice. Her heart was as numb as the bare fingers clutching the reins. Nothing could have changed the way things were. The two of them were too different. It couldn't be helped, for they were never meant to be together. In the normal course of events, she would have lived and died in her little cottage, content, while he would have married some whey-faced rich girl to beget an heir. Their paths should have never crossed.

The first tree branch of the forest caught her off guard. She winced at the welt that must have formed on her cheek, cursing herself silently for her inattentiveness. She reined in her mount to a walk while scanning between the trees vigilantly. The forest sighed around her as the wind rushed past. The tread of her mount was cushioned by the layer of decomposing leaves.

She paused, an ominous feeling creeping through her. Something was wrong, but she couldn't identify the source. Taking a deep breath, she shook off the wariness and moved toward the darkness.

She crept forward, her ears seeking out any unusual sounds. As she rode deeper into the forest, less of the moonlight filtered through the branches of the trees. With what little light that was available, she could barely make out the tip of her mare's flattened ears. Seeking comfort from the large creature, Miriam and her mare bumbled their way through, navigating the small path, one tree at a time.

A distant crack of a dry twig had her tightening her grip on the reins. She froze, her heart pumping wildly in her chest. The horse snorted uneasily as they sat together in the dark, waiting. Leaning forward, she patted the animal quietly, each seeking comfort from the other. Despite straining her eyes, she couldn't see through the shadows.

When a shrill whistle broke through the silence, she was prepared. With frantic urging, she kicked her horse into a gallop with their enemies hot on their tail. She and her horse veered off the path, breaking through the vegetation with a resounding crash.

Ethan woke up from a deep sleep. Confused, he lay in the dark for a while, scanning the space for any unusual sounds or movement. There was shouting in the hall and the patter of hurried footsteps. Something was seriously wrong in the castle. Hoping that it wasn't a fire, Ethan rolled off the bed and landed onto his feet. He patted the bedside table for flint and lighted a candle stub. The single light glowed eerily in the room.

He pulled on his clothes haphazardly, snatched up his sword, and ran into the adjoining room. From what light he had, he could make out Isaac's sleeping form. He gently shook the older man awake.

"Ethan, what are you doing here?" Isaac asked, blinking sleep from his eyes.

"Uncle Isaac, something unusual is going on in the castle," Ethan replied quickly. "It's probably nothing to worry about, but I'll wait here until the commotion is settled. I just wanted you to be awake in the event that we need to leave the castle tonight."

Isaac sat up quickly, his brows furrowed in alarm. "Where's Miriam?"

Ethan bolted both doors, tugging to make sure they were secure. He peered out of the window, seeing the torches in the courtyard as people ran around, frenzied like panicking ants.

"I don't know where she is, Uncle, but she told me not to leave your side if something happens." He paused. "I'm sure she's alright. Miriam seemed to have the foresight this afternoon that this would happen. You and I both know she's capable of taking care of herself."

Isaac leaned back against the frame of the bed and sighed. "She's a stubborn one alright, but she still needs looking after."

Ethan was solemn. "With the chaos outside right now, I think it best that we stay here until it dies down. We will go search for Miriam as soon as possible."

Isaac clenched his fists helplessly. "You're right, Ethan. Still, I feel uneasy about this."

"I know. Let's have some faith in Miriam and trust that she would keep herself safe."

Isaac nodded. Ethan squeezed the man's shoulder in assurance, then pulled up a chair by the door for his vigil. It promised to be a long night.

Adrian cursed the night as he rode out of the city. It was cold, and his head was still reeling from the drugs. He had enough trouble as it was, trying to stay on his horse. All in all, Adrian would much rather be huddling in his bed than be out chasing some insane female across the country. He just couldn't understand why she ran away. She had been acting strangely for the past few weeks. The only conclusion that he could come up with was that something, or someone, had spooked her. There had been reports of a spy within the castle, but they hadn't had any success locating the elusive man. The information he was able to provide to the rebels indicated that he received much privileged information, but was not in a high enough position to fully penetrate security.

Adrian frowned, spurring his horse on. Something about the whole situation was nagging him, but he couldn't figure out what it was. It seemed that he must track down Miriam if he ever hoped to find the answers.

It felt like a long time before he reached the edge of the forest. Sliding off his horse, he inspected the ground, holding his torch above his head. He examined the leaves and branches of the plants around the entrance to the forest, searching for any signs of Miriam. There were some marks of broken branches, but it could have been made by anyone passing by. There was no definite indication of Miriam's presence, but Adrian knew better than to disregard his instinct. He forged ahead with little more than blind hope.

Miriam clutched on for dear life, cursing viciously for not bringing a torch. She could only rely on the instinct of her horse as they attempted to shake off their determined pursuers. She had long lost track of their whereabouts, as they had been off the trail for some time now. Praying to the Gods, Miriam hung on.

She could hear the men shouting behind her, though she could not make out exactly what they were saying. Risking her neck, she ventured to turn around briefly to look over her shoulder at her pursuers. The light of their torches revealed masked men in black. Their horses lacked any insignia which might indicate the identity of these men. Miriam judged that they were close enough to shoot at her, but they didn't, indicating that they wanted her alive. Assured with this information, she focused on the path in front of her.

All of a sudden, she burst into a clearing. The moonlight made it impossible to hide from her enemies. Going through the dried grass would surely leave a distinct trail, and the grass was not long enough to hide her. Desperate, Miriam took off at a random direction, hoping to make it to the trees at the other side of the clearing. She was in the middle of the clearing when masked horsemen charged at her from the opposite side. Pulling on the reins, she turned her horse around sharply, only to see more masked men coming out into the clearing. She was effectively surrounded.

Forcing herself to breathe, she drew her sword. She didn't want to die, but if these people thought she was going down without a fight, they were sadly mistaken. She would not allow herself to be captured so easily.

The horsemen were closer now, close enough for her to see their horses' wild eyes. One yelled out, "Catch her! Don't let her out of your sight."

Miriam only had a few seconds before the first horseman charged towards her, his sword raised. She blocked automatically, narrowly missing the blow. She could hear the same man shouting furiously, "Damn it, don't harm the girl. The Prince wants her alive!"

The Prince? Miriam was puzzled. Though she was very much aware that there was no love lost between her and Prince Cornelius, she never thought he would go so far as to have her kidnaped. Especially when she didn't even want to be at the castle in the first place. If he wanted his father the King poisoned, Cornelius could've refused to send for a healer in the first place. The entire situation seemed illogical.

While Miriam's mind whirled, she defeated two more horsemen, knocking one out with the flat of her blade and shoving the other off of his horse. The angry shouts from whom Miriam presumed to be the leader of the group had become tiresome. Miriam would've liked very much to stop his shouting for good, but several of the men had attacked her all at once, and she couldn't get to him.

While she didn't take pleasure in harming other people, she could hardly hold back with five men attacking her. She deflected the first blow, sent a dagger into the chest of the second attacker, and using her knees, turned her horse around to meet the other three men. They were stunned that she managed to fall one of their comrades, then, roaring with rage, they attacked her in earnest. Panting, Miriam managed to knock away their swords. When she sent another dagger flying, the man blocked, sending the short blade onto the ground. But her momentary loss of concentration worked to her opponents' advantage. With a grunt, the first horseman grasped her from behind, lifting her out of the saddle. Miriam waited until he reeled her in, then shoved her elbow into the man's stomach. Surprised, the man released her, and Miriam fell to the ground.

She landed on her feet. Tightening her grasp on her sword, she went into a sprint, whistling for her mare to follow. She broke out of the circle, shoving her sword back into the sheath. Running beside her horse, she managed to grasp the saddle and lifted herself back into it. Praying desperately, she aimed for the opening in the rank. If she could only break free of this circle, she would be able to escape into the cover of the trees. But her prayers were not answered. Instead, the men closed the gap and started inwards, constricting the circle.