Chapter 19
The journey north was a long one. They walked most of the way, and Anwyn’s feet were on the verge of murdering her. She hadn’t had a proper meal in days, and it made her feel queasy. It took more and more effort in the morning to get up and out of her bed roll, and she was wondering if she would make it to the end, though she was probably just being dramatic.
She felt fatigued often, and at night she practically fell into bed, not taking the time to be delicate with her movements. The king made her uneasy, sleeping next to him, so she sometimes liked to creep out and stare up at the stars, hoping they would open up and consume her, take her to their glittering, glowing world where evil men didn’t exist and she could live with her family adorned with glittering jewels.
She wasn’t alone. She was never alone. Not since they had taken on a troupe of Templars, there was always someone watching her. Sir Rhadye kept his distance, not even he would dare to touch the king’s wife. The word tasted bitter to Anwyn, even now, and she quickly rose to retch in a nearby bush. Nothing would make her love the king.
Her love laid in a tiny tent with Sir Romeo as company. Though the idea of wriggling between the two of them and being warm and safe made her smirk, she couldn’t blow the cover. She had taken a few books with her on the journey, and she read those to keep from thinking about Liam, instead studying the birds of the western islands and their colorful plumage. And there was a section on their breeding habits. Curses. Even the birds had off-spring.
The king hadn’t tried anything since their last inn stay. The walls of the tent were just too thin for him to feel they had privacy, so he had barely touched her, but then neither had Liam. He once touched her elbow in a friendly, guard-to-queen way, and it had nearly made Anwyn flush with emotion. But in such a tight group with so many eyes, it was too dangerous.
~*~
Liam and Romeo were a group of two men among many. The Templars were a closed group and didn’t invite in strangers, though they didn’t always act godly.
“Remember that barmaid? I could have mopped her floors, if you know what I mean.” said one of them.
“I could have shined her silver, if you know what I mean.” snickered another.
“She had round tables, if you know what I mean.” another laughed, and they went on that way, itemizing the various women they had met along the journey.
It must have been some sort of game that people on the mainland and in the cities played, mentioning everyday things as if they were obvious innuendos.
Liam and Romeo sat around their fire, tired from the day of walking, eating their dinner. Liam could have sworn he was starting to feel more of the ground under his boots every day, and he hoped they would last.
No one seemed to be in earshot of them, and Liam added another log to the fire, hoping that it would roar loud enough so that he wouldn’t be heard. He inched his stool closer to Romeo, and leaned in. “I need your help.”
“I feel like I’ve heard that one before. I’m not ready to put my neck out for you.” he said bluntly. “What you get into is your own mess, don’t get me involved.”
Liam shook his head. “I have a plan, a good one. But I need you to help. The further north we get, the less chance of them finding Anwyn and I when we make the escape. The templars are bound to follow us, but I have a feeling that if we have a large enough lead on them we could lose them. I’ve sent word to Anwyn’s family to get ready to leave and to meet us at a rendezvous point in some old ruins, a ways from where we’ll be leaving camp, and from there we’ll go to the coast and sail to the Western Islands.”
Romeo looked like he wanted to jump up and tell him he was crazy, but he knew that he couldn’t because that would tip off the Templars that there was something amiss.
“You’re insane. You know what happened the last time, do you think I’ll let you do it again? They’ll kill you for sure, and they won’t do it cleanly either. You’ll be in agony for months before they let you die!” he hissed. “I built you up again after they sent you north, I’m not going to bring you back from death's door. If you do this, I can’t help you. It hurts too much.”
“Besides,” he continued, “I’ve been seeing Briella, and I really think that there could be something there between us.”
“Anwyn is carrying my child, Romeo.” Liam said. “I know she is. She’s been sick intermittently but then recovers as if it never happened and has been more tired than normal lately. The king can’t bear children, so to save her family I have stepped in. The king will think it’s his child and it I will not have my child grow up with a tyrannical father, curving it to be like him. Anwyn deserves a better life, her family deserves to live safe from the king’s wrath. This could really work if you help us.”
“And what do you want me to do, exactly? I don’t see where I fit into your plan.” Romeo asked, exacerbated.
“If memory serves, there’s a native camp near here. We’re closer to the border than they think, but I’ve been here more recently than they have. We were overcome two days journey from here if I recall correctly. I need you to scout ahead and tell the natives to attack. I can’t leave, I would draw too much attention.”
“And how do you expect me to not draw attention? And what would I tell Briella when she came looking for me? The king? The duchess?” Romeo asked. “The group isn’t so large that one person missing won’t spark suspicion.”
“Say you have family that we’ll be passing, but not close enough to change the course of the rest of the group. You’ll catch up to us in a few days, but in reality you can come back to us when you bring the natives. Sneak in and flank us, they won’t notice you. Or come a bit late and act like you just got there, as scheduled.” he paused. “You can come with us, you know. Leave this forsaken kingdom and find peace.”
“I’m not running from anyone! I don’t need to find peace because I’m happy here! I’m being promoted regularly, I have a woman who I can share things with. There’s nothing I’m wanting of.” he argued.
“We stand in the drizzle, the cold, the scorching sun every day to guard an island that a murderous king lives on, and that’s all we do! When was the last time you felt your world was open to be claimed instead of assigned? You jump at every woman who comes around because you don’t have the freedom to leave the isolation! We are prisoners ourselves and if we don’t change that, we will die unfulfilled, old and sickly in our guard cots, alone. I refuse to live a sad life, and I refuse to let Anwyn live this way anymore, cooped up like a songbird in a cage.” he declared.
Romeo looked like he was going to call curses upon Liam, but instead he stood up and stormed off into the woods. He needed some time to vent and come to terms with what was being said.
Bit of a change of pace, less action, but the promise of more!
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