Chapter 22 Part 1

This chapter has been transferred from the original, and may have grammar mistakes and typos. I do not apologize at this time Lol.

~*~ 

 

Liam kept his tent flap open the smallest bit, tensing at any sound that he heard and watching the sky and the stars move across the sky. Each moment he had to wait for the band to attack was a moment he couldn’t relax.

He went over and over again how he was going to jump out of his tent and grab Anwyn and flee. He wore his green armor which had been hard to put on in dark quietly, but no one had stirred in their tents. As the sky grew faintly lighter, he heard and saw the Templar knights starting to put on their white armor, waking the rest of the camp in their noise and clamor.

Liam stood from his tent, hoping no one thought it was weird that he was already fully dressed. If anyone asked, he would simply say that the cold from last night had made him dress warmer and he slept in his rugged clothes. Which had chainmail…. That he couldn't really sleep in because it was uncomfortable… Hopefully no one would have time to ask.

He looked for Anwyn, but she wasn’t out of the king’s tent yet. This would be the last time she would have to share his bed. She didn’t have to go along with what he wanted any more, not after today.

Liam’s nerves were rising with each minute that he didn’t hear the sound of battle, and his stomach felt like it wished to exit his body. Hopefully the Cupshires had packed food like Liam had asked, as he didn’t have the stealth or time to pack his own food for him or Anwyn. They would make it a few days, hopefully the baby would be alright as well.

Cries came from the east, just as Romeo had said they would, and Liam jumped into action. He darted to the back of Anwyn’s tent as one of the native men came through and caught one of the Templars in the arm, another woman tackled one of the girthy knights to the ground. To see them again was nearly overwhelming, scrawny as they seemed, they appeared to be in good health. Liam wished that he could do more to aid them in squelching the king then and there, but he couldn’t do anything if they were to get away unharmed. He wasn’t the hero today.

Anwyn popped out of her tent, her hair down and wearing a simple gown and apron he had seen her wear often lately. It had space for the growing child, and it was warm and rugged. It would suit the journey. She slept with her shoes on since the coming cold nipped at fingers and toes in the night.

“Anwyn, come on! This way!” he beckoned as he led her to the west, away from the skirmish.

***

After over a month on the road traveling, he knew which tent would be whose, and he sought out Briella with his eyes. He found her, in her nightgown and robe, hair still done up. She was beside the Duchess, huddled next to one another. In the pale light, she looked… No, she wasn’t the sister of the duchess. That was just crazy talk by Liam to get him to join him on his suicide mission. Briella was soft, and- was she looking at the native woman on the ground in delight? She was about to have her heart pierced, he couldn’t stand by and do nothing-

Romeo jumped and tackled the Templar to the ground, involving himself in a battle he didn’t want to choose sides in, now irreparably burning the bridge he may have gone between on. By saving this woman’s life, he had chosen to go against the king.

“Traitor!” screamed the knight beneath him. “You and Reed will die slow and painful deaths for your treason. You will-” Romeo silenced him by slicing his throat and jumping up from the fray. He helped up the woman, then looked at Briella. She looked horrified that Romeo was involved, and she drew closer to the duchess who looked like her suspicions had always been correct, that he had always been a traitor.

Romeo tried to approach her. “Briella, Bri, come with me. We can be together and happy.” he pleaded.

She recoiled. “You will die a traitor’s death and be fed on by wild dogs!” she yelled over the noise. “I hope you rot in the afterlife! Maybe there you’ll find someone who loves you, you mut!”

Romeo stared at her, then was pushed out of the way of a sword by the red-haired woman he had just saved. “Flee, my friend!” she hissed. “Be gone, I will avenge you. I swear it!”

Romeo felt empty, but he ran to the west quickly to try and find the trail that Liam and Anwyn had taken. How could Briella say such things? They had shared a bed, and he thought that they were well on their way to being wed by the end of the year. When had it all gone wrong? Was Liam right this whole time? How could this have happened?

They weren’t that hard to follow, seeming more interested in getting further away from the skirmish than being careful so that they couldn't be tracked. It had been quite a while since he had tracked anyone, but he did his best. He met up with them hiding behind a large stone, catching their breath.

Liam wasn’t expecting Romeo and jumped to alert, holding him against the rock until he recognized that it was him.

“Romeo!” he exclaimed. “Why are you here? Didn’t you want to stick around with Briella? Stay a happy guard?”

Romeo rubbed his neck. “I wanted to, believe me, but she seemed to like the violence of the fight. She watched on while a native woman was nearly killed, but I couldn’t stand by and let her die. I jumped in and now I’m stuck with you, so you better let me know where we’re going.” he croaked.

“You made the right choice. Nowhere in this kingdom will be safe for you anymore.” he faced west. “There’s an old ruined city that we’re going to. Anwyn’s family will be waiting for us there, and we’ll rest there for a day before making our final leg to the coast. I have passage waiting for us there to take us to the Western Islands where we ought to be safe.”

“I know someone who emigrated there. She was a very… talented young woman. I went to her for some help once, I hope I can find her once we arrive. It would be nice to talk to her again.” Romeo reminisced.

“See? The future is already looking up for you!” Liam assured, trying to brighten everyone’s spirits.

He turned and peered out from behind the rock to see if they had been followed. There was no one in sight, but he knew that their trail would be easy enough to follow. It was time to be more careful with their walking, blend in with their surroundings.

“Romeo, I’m happy you decided to come with us. You’re a good friend to both of us and I feel better with you here.” Anwyn said, smiling.

“Coast is clear, follow me and we’ll be ok. Try and stay low.”

~*~

They walked carefully for a few hours, going slower than any of them would have liked, but they didn’t have much choice. Slow and steady was what would get them safely out to the other side. They journeyed on into the night, and by the time that they finally saw the tall walls of the ancient city, it felt as if the world was asleep and they were the only ones awake.

Of course, they were expected, and as they wandered their way into the old city they noticed the smell of smoke and flicker of a campfire.

Liam walked forward first, hoping that it was Lara or Melinda who saw him first as they were the only ones who would recognize him. They were so tired, he just wanted to relax his weary body and hibernate. Because of their exhaustion, they were unable to be as quiet as they had previously been and the person on watch perked up.

Thank the Creator, it was Melinda!

“Guys, guys, wake up! Anwyn and her two friends are here! They’re here!” she cheered, waking everyone.

Anwyn’s two little siblings came rushing out of their tent, Lara and her husband woke and emerged, as did her brother and his wife, and her father and her mother. They were all paired so evenly, even Melinda had a little figure next to her, the hidden and abused daughter from the basement of the lord’s manor.

Anwyn rushed over to embrace everyone, ruffling hair and crying, so happy to see them again. She turned and tightly embraced her sister.

“I’m sorry I missed your wedding, Lara. I wanted to go, but after we left the manor I no longer received word from anyone. I’m sure it was a beautiful day.” Anwyn gushed.

“It was, but it was sad because you weren’t there, and we knew why. I would kill that monster in his sleep if I could, but with any luck we won’t have to ever worry about him again.” she stood back and looked at her sister.

“Annie, are you expecting?” she asked, seriously and grim, as she looked down at Anwyn’s middle.

“I am.” Anwyn smiled. “I’m about, oh, it must be three months now.”

Anwyn’s brother’s face was set hard in stone. “That beast of a man. Forcing himself onto a woman like that. And you’re happy to be carrying his child?” he asked, confused.

“This isn’t the king’s baby.” she said plainly. “May I introduce Liam, my love and the father of my child.” Anwyn motioned for Liam to come over to the group.

“Pleasure to meet all of you at long last.” he said meekly.

“Who is this? And how do you know that he is the father of your child?” asked her mother.

“The cook at the manor cursed the king somehow so that he couldn’t make anyone bear children for a year, and I was happy with that. I didn’t want to have children with him, I didn’t want the child to grow up and inherit the throne and have the duchess’s son be her husband and-- it was just not what I ever wanted. But the king got angry that I wasn’t expecting any children and he threatened to harm you all if I didn’t produce. So I went to Liam, the guard that I had fallen in love with and asked him to help me. We- I believe we want to be married, but we obviously haven’t had the time for that.”

Her family looked dumbstruck. “But you’re married to the king.” was all that little Sophia could say.

“I lied in my wedding. I don’t love him, I never will, and that’s all there is to it. Once we’re at the Western Islands, it shouldn’t matter if I was married to a tyrant anyhow. They’ll have no way of knowing and I doubt they would fault me for separating from that marriage.”

“But the Creator will judge you! You will be condemned for this!” her mother was frantic.

“I must live my life with an open conscious, and live it how I can survive. I will not live in a way so that evil wins.” Anwyn stood defiantly, defending herself. “But, mother,” she suddenly remembered something the king had said. Her mother had been pregnant. She had been pregnant before she had left for the manor, where was the baby? “Where is your baby?”

Her mother smiled. “We have a new son. He’s sleeping in the tent, we didn’t want to wake him. He was born a month ago, just long enough for us to be able to move him without putting too much risk on his life. He’s strong, he reminds me of you at that age. The strongest of my children.” She looked teary eyed.

“And who is the other man with you?” asked her father. He had reddish hair as well, though none of his other children seemed to have shared in this trait.

“This is Sir Romeo. He has aided in our cause and has joined our side in this fight. He can be trusted.” Anwyn told her family.

They all nestled down, catching up on what had happened the last few months. Joseph had finished learning the alphabet from the other people in the family while Anwyn had been away, and Sophia had started to learn it as well. The Cupshires didn’t discriminate when it came to learning.

Soon, the sun was rising and Anwyn was nodding off. Quietly, her brother straightened the blankets on a bed nearby and kindly led her over to it, letting her sleep. Even in the sun, it was chilly, and Liam was equally as tired, though he wasn’t growing a child inside him. He couldn’t imagine the exhaustion that Anwyn was going through.

He carefully laid down beside her, taking her into his arms and letting her feel as safe as they could manage. They would be safe for today, and tonight they would be going again, to their final destination.

~*~

Anwyn woke up beside the fire and was surprised to find that her family wasn’t crowding her. Not even Liam, who had been there when she had fallen asleep, was near her. Anwyn sat up and rose from the bed roll, stretching. She still felt weary, but she was used to feeling physically tired, but now she felt more tired emotionally.

Having all of her family so close to her made her anxious. She was so used to not being able to be happy; having everything she loved threatened if she diverted from the king’s desires. To have them here around her made her afraid that doom was looming on the doorstep.

It appeared to be mid afternoon, and a few people were working on something to eat, and the children were playing cards. Liam noticed that Anwyn had woken up, and he trotted over, greeting her.

“Anwyn, you’re up. Would you walk with me for a bit?” he asked.

“I’d love to.” she smiled. She thought for a moment that she should tied up her hair before she made herself more public, but it was a reflexive thought. She wasn’t married to the king now, in fact she wasn’t married at all currently.

They walked away from the group, seeing that Lara and her brother were sitting together on a bench as well, chatting. Anwyn and Liam walked down a slope to an open area, happy for the solitude.

They stood over near one of the old pools of water, watching how the water sparkled in the slight breeze. It was quiet here, as if no one had been here for a hundred years.

“What are we going to do when we get to the islands?” Anwyn asked quietly.

“What do you want you to do with your life?” Liam asked, answering her question with a question.

She thought for a moment. “I guess I wanted to be a teacher, open a school. I think all children should know how to read, but I’m going to be busy being a mother, so I’m not sure how that’s going to turn out.”

“Our child will be well cared for.” Liam laughed. “Just look at all the family you have to help us. We’re blessed to have them.”

“I’m blessed to have you,” she said, looking up at him. “Every day.”

She kissed him, and they enjoyed the moment, fully aware that anyone in the family could look down at them and think that it was too forward to be embracing in full view. Try telling that to two people who had been hiding their relationship for five months.

“What do you think you’ll do? When we get there?” Anwyn asked Liam.

“I don’t know. I could become a carpenter, I guess. Becoming a guard was my default choice, and I haven’t had to make a new one since I started that. I don’t know what I am outside of it.” he said.

“I guess we’ll just have to sort that out when it happens. But first, we get married. I don’t care if I’m as big as a melon,” she giggled. “I want you to be my husband. I love you, Liam. And I will love you until I no longer breathe, and even beyond that.” she smiled.

“I love you too.” he said simply, and he kissed her.