Escape the Woods

by Gabriella Catherine

  “I had it under control,” said Jack.

  Cordel looked at him in disbelief. Tension filled the air.

  The three of us began walking back toward the castle, staying near the less-steep section of the gorge.

  Cordel spotted a wild turkey at the bottom of the gorge. He turned to Jack and me and signaled us to be quiet. Then he pulled the bow off his back and loaded it with an arrow. He began inching his way down a path, aiming his bow for the turkey.

  “That path is much too steep, Cordel,” I whispered loudly. He would be frustrated if I scared the turkey away, but I didn’t want to see him get hurt.

  Cordel stopped and glanced back at me. When he turned to look back toward the path, his foot slipped in the mud beneath him, and he fell. I shrieked as he dropped his bow and tumbled down the path. Digging his hands and heels into the dirt and mud made no difference. He kept going, gathering more and more speed until he slammed into a tree at the bottom of the path.

  He lay motionless on his back at the bottom of the gorge.

  “Cordel!” I screamed. “Are you all right?” My voice echoed. No reply was given in return. My heart beat rapidly. I turned to my other brother. “Jack, do something!” But Jack looked like he might faint.

  We had to get to Cordel. We had to help him. I quickly found a different path, one that looked much safer and less steep. I hurried down, half on my feet and half stumbling and sliding on my hip. Jack was right behind me. I grabbed onto trees to keep myself from falling all the way down. I maneuvered around big rocks and trees while trying to keep my feet dug into the loose dirt and my grasp on thin trees. Then I came to a section of the hill with no trees, only loose dirt, mud, and a little dead grass. If I could jump sideways across the hill, I would be able to grab a tree that was straight ahead of me, but if I missed and wasn’t able to grab it, I'd fall to the bottom. I didn't want to jump and risk falling, but I needed to get to Cordel.

  Please don’t let me die, God, I prayed silently.

  I lunged forward, reaching for the tree, but just as my fingers touched the rough bark, they slipped. I slid down the ditch on my side, the ground scraping and burning my skin. Then I felt a sharp pain in my left hip as I hit a rock, but didn't have time to think about it as I fell to the bottom of the gorge and into the stream.

  Apparently, Jack had attempted the same thing and he, too, missed the tree. He fell on top of me. Once we untangled ourselves, he asked, “Are you all right?”

  “Yes. Come on.”

  We stood and ran to Cordel through the stream. My hip pained me as I ran.

  When we reached Cordel, he had rolled over onto his side and was vomiting.

  I knew from experience that tumbling down a hill could cause you to do that. At least he was awake.

  I limped my way to him and knelt at his side. “Are you all right?”

  It took him a moment to catch his breath and answer. “Yes. I just hit my head on a tree.” He tried to pull himself up but stopped on his elbow. He appeared to be dizzy as he clenched his eyes shut and wouldn’t move.

  “Do you think you can you make it back up the hill?” I asked.

  Cordel nodded. “Yes.”

  But even if he couldn’t get up, he would say he was able to. Cordel never showed weakness in front of others.

  After a moment, Jack helped him stand. He insisted on getting up the gorge himself, so Jack and I followed him up.

  The path was especially muddy and very steep. We had to bear crawl up the gorge, clawing the dirt with our hands to keep from falling. About thirty-five feet from the top, we entered a section with no trees. With Cordel in front of me, Jack below me, and nothing to grab on to, we were stuck. I gripped the mud and hardened dirt with my hands and feet, for if I let go, I would go tumbling backward, following the path of Cordel’s earlier fall.

  Jack was down the path enough that he was able to slide down to a nearby tree and continue back down to the bottom. But I was up too high — if I attempted to back down to the same tree, I would most definitely slip and fall.

  Cordel jumped and grabbed a tree that was several feet above his head. Then he pulled himself to the top, using that tree and others around it. But the tree was much too high for someone of my height to reach. I tried to follow Cordel, but when I moved I began to slide in the mud, so I stopped.

  Jack was already climbing a new path, one much less steep than the one I clung to. My feet began to slide in the mud and panic welled inside me. A small cry escaped me.

  “Don’t worry, Scarlett,” Cordel assured me. “We'll get you up.”

  While he thought of a plan, I tried climbing up on my own some more, but it was useless. The more I struggled, the more I slid down the gorge in the mud.

  Cordel paced at the top of the ditch. “Cordel!” I called. “I-I’m not sure how much longer I can last here.” My hands and wrists were beginning to ache from holding on so tightly.

  “Jack, get up here!” Cordel yelled at him. I dug holes in the dirt with my feet, and placed them in there to help keep myself from falling, but my new footholds wouldn’t last long.

  Jack finally made it to the top. “Go get my hunting supplies where I left them in the usual spot by the river,” Cordel ordered him. “Bring it all back here, and make it fast. I don’t think she can last much longer.” His face looked intense and focused. “I’ll stay here with her.”

  Jack ran away in pursuit of Cordel's hunting supplies. I didn't know what Cordel was going to do when Jack got back, but he seemed to have a plan.

  My left foot began sliding down, and I screamed. Cordel looked over his shoulder and called, “Jack! Hurry up!” Then he looked back at me. “Hold on, Scarlett. He's coming.”

  I struggled to stay on the hill, desperately clutching the dirt. Mud and grit pressed beneath my nails, caking my hands. Sweat formed on my hairline. What was taking Jack so long? It was beginning to get dark.

  Finally, Jack came running back with Cordel's hunting supplies — a brown leather satchel and two large sticks.

  Cordel took the satchel and pulled out a rope. Then he tossed one end down to me … but the rope wasn't long enough. It dangled just six feet above me.

  Cordel swore. Jack looked like he’d cry. I let out a moan.

  I thought about making a jump for it. I would risk possibly falling to my death, but if I could grab the end of the rope, Cordel could pull me to the top.

  But he saw me eyeing the rope and discouraged that idea before I could take action. “Don’t attempt anything just yet, Scarlett. There must be another way.” He pulled the rope back up.

  He paced the top of the gorge, rubbing the back of his head. Then he looked down at me, then at the ditch, and then at the rope in his hand. “Hold on. I've got an idea.”

  He got down on his stomach on the edge of the ditch, took the two sticks and began lowering himself down, feet first, digging the sticks into the packed dirt and mud so he wouldn't slide. He came down slowly, the effort to save me enormous for a healthy man, let alone for one who had just fallen and injured his head.

  My right foot slipped and I screamed, “Cordel!”

  “I'm coming.” He got to the large tree that grew out of the side of the gorge about five yards above me. Once braced on it, he threw the rope to me again.

  “I've got it!” I shouted joyfully.

  “Now wrap the rope around your hand,” Cordel instructed me. “I'll pull you up.”

  He began pulling on the rope, but I shouted, “Wait!”

  He stopped. “What’s wrong?”

  “I'm afraid I'll pull you down. There's nothing for me to put my feet on. I'll just be hanging, and you'll have to support my weight entirely.”

  Cordel shook his head. “I won’t drop you.”

  My heart pounded with fear. The rope was wrapped tightly around my hand, and I knew I would be able to hold on, but Cordel was balancing on the tree, and I didn’t want him to fall.

  Seeing my hesitation, he said, “Trust me, Scarlett.�
�

  Trust him. I must trust him.

  Looking at his intense, rock solid features, and his broad, muscular shoulders, I believed him. I trusted him. He wouldn't let me fall.

  I let my feet off the foot holes I’d made. I was dangling. My hands gripped the rope above my head. My stomach and chest were pressed against the dirt.

  “I have you, Scarlett,” Cordel called. “I’m going to pull you up now.” He seemed confident in himself and his strength.

  I searched for a grip for my feet, but felt only mud beneath them. I hated feeling so vulnerable. I held my breath as Cordel began pulling on the rope. Indeed, it was as though I hardly weighed anything. All the years of training at the warriors’ camp must have made my brother incredibly strong.

  For a moment I thought I found a grip for my foot, but when I put my weight on it, my foot slipped, and I rolled swiftly over onto my back. “Cordel!” I screamed.

  “Stay with me, Scarlett. I've got you. Just don’t let go!” Cordel tried to calm me.

  I clenched my eyes shut and managed to roll back onto my stomach.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  I looked up at him and nodded. Loose dirt fell on my face, getting in my eyes and down the front of my dress.

  Cordel continued pulling me up until I finally reached the trunk he was balancing on. We were both out of breath, but I was grateful for something to put my feet on. Cordel then said, “Hold on to me.”

  “What?”

  “Put your arms around my neck and whatever you do, don’t let go.” I found it pointless to argue with him. I wrapped my arms around him and held on as he pulled both of us up to the top. He grabbed onto trees and used his two sticks for support. His strength and dexterity astounded me.

  When we were almost to the top, Jack took my arm and pulled me to stable ground.

  As soon as Cordel joined me, I hugged him. “Thank you.”

  He merely stood for a moment before saying gravely, “Let's get back before it's completely dark.”

  Just then we heard the curfew bells ring. I let out a breath. Now we would have to persuade the guards to open the gates, which were now closed.

  “Let’s hurry.” Cordel began running.

  I snatched up the rope that was still tangled around my hand, and Cordel, Jack, and I ran through the woods in almost complete darkness. I scraped my leg on a sharp tree limb but didn't feel much pain, so I kept going, trying to keep up with my brothers. They seemed to have an endless supply of energy as they ran back to the meadow without pause.

  Sir Jeremiah stood at the Darrenberg gate, looking anxious. “My lords, my lady! We have been searching for you. Are you all right?”

  “We're fine,” Cordel replied.

  Finally, we stopped, and I was completely winded.

  Sir Jeremiah said to two other guards who stood with him, “Go find the duke. Tell him we have found them, and Lady Scarlett is unharmed.”

  “Yes, sir,” the two guards said, then ran off toward the castle.

  “Forgive me for asking, my lord, but what was your delay?” Sir Jeremiah was the only one of our father’s knights who would ask Cordel something like that. He was my father's most loyal knight, and my father trusted him completely.

  “Just a woods adventure,” Cordel said, amusement in his voice.

  I didn’t find it funny, but it was nice to hear him speak without tension in his tone. Shaking my head, I untangled the rope from around my hand.

  Sir Jeremiah looked at me, confusion in his expression. “You … tied Lady Scarlett up?”

  Cordel frowned. “More like we had to pull her out of a ditch. But she is fine now. I think.” He turned to me. “Are you all right, Scarlett?”

  “Yes, I only bruised my hip a little. But it doesn't hurt much anymore.”

  “What about your leg?” Cordel asked, looking down at it.

  I’d forgotten about scraping my leg on the limb and was surprised my brother had noticed at all. Looking down, I saw a stain of blood on the hem of my dress. “It's only a scratch.”

  “It looks like more than a scratch, if I may say so,” Sir Jeremiah said.

  “We'll be sure to have a healer tend to it,” Cordel assured him. “Actually, I think I could use some healing as well.” He rubbed the side of his head and winced. Blood tinged his fingers and matted his hair.

  The three of us walked through the gate and into the village. Guards swarmed the grounds. They said Duke William sent them out to look for us when we all went missing.

  When we made it into the castle, Father approached us. “What has happened? Where did you go?”

  As my brothers and I explained, his expression darkened.

  When we finished our story, he pierced me with a stony glare. “Why did you leave the castle without Sir Malachi?”

  “I was with her.” Jack stepped forward. “I allowed her to go. Blame me.”

  “She knows better! She’s not a child.”

  “Then why do you treat me like I am?” I asked.

  Father didn’t reply.

  “I knew what I was doing,” I replied. “I brought Jack with me. I had my bow and plenty of arrows. What else could I have done?”

  He raised his voice, “You must learn your place! You are my daughter — the princess of Darrenberg. You are valuable. You’re not a worthless street child, like all those friends of yours.”

  Hearing him talk about my friends like that caused my blood to burn. I wondered if he was aiming his remark at Derex, if he had seen us dancing together at the ball. “That is arrogant of you to say. They are kind people, even if they aren’t rich and educated like you.”

  “Scarlett.”

  “I understand, Father. You don’t want me to end up with a poor merchant’s son.” Bitterness rang in my voice. “Well, I’d choose sincere kindness over arrogance and wealth any day.”

  Cordel and Jack stared at me. Father looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t answer me.

  And I didn’t care. I was done with this conversation. I turned and walked to my chamber.

  The stone walls of the castle seemed to be slowly closing in on me. I felt trapped here, and Father seemed bent on keeping it that way. I promised myself then that when I did marry, it wouldn’t be to a man who kept me locked up and suffocated in his castle. No, my husband would allow me the freedom I desired. Merida would tell me my standards were too high, but I knew I couldn’t marry someone like my father who insisted I stayed safe and avoided adventure my entire life. Truthfully, I’d rather still be down in the gorge than feeling trapped inside the walls of the castle.

  I peeled off my mother’s scarlet dress and prayed it wasn’t ruined from my struggles in the woods. Britta had a tub of warm water sent to my room so I could bathe and wash my hair. The cut on my leg burned as the water touched it, and my sore muscles ached. As I sat in the warm water and washed my face, I thought about everything that had happened that night. I couldn’t seem to process the fact that Cordel had gone to such great lengths to save me from falling down that ditch. Why had he done it? I thought I meant nothing to him.

  Because he’s a good person. That was why. He would have done it for anyone.

  But he hadn’t even appeared angry with me for what I put him through. He seemed willing to do whatever it took to save me. And if he hadn’t been there, I was certain I would have still been on that gorge, clinging for my life. Although Jack would have tried to help me, I knew he didn’t have the strength to lower himself down with sticks and carry me to the top like Cordel had.

  Cordel helped me simply because I was his sister. He was a good man, and he would have saved anyone. I wasn’t special in his eyes. He saved me because it would’ve hurt his dignity and pride if he had just left me there.

  That’s what I decided to tell myself.

  CHAPTER 11

  I walked through the town, on my way to bring a basket of food and warm blankets to Silas Elis’ house. Merida offered to accompany me, and of course Sir Malachi walked
beside me with his hand on his sword hilt.

  We walked through the cobblestone streets and turned onto a side street in the poorest part of town. An uneasy feeling always went through my stomach when I came here. Although Darrenberg was a wealthy region and there were much poorer people in the world, I felt bad for the children born into these families. Some of their parents chose alcohol over their families, but many were doing the best they could and still could hardly afford to eat.

  Little Silas was playing in the patch of grass outside his house, and he ran over to hug me. I gave him the basket and helped him carry it into the house. Then Merida and I sat in the grass in front of the house and talked with Silas.

  My lower leg was much less painful, two days having passed since I cut it on the branch in the woods. I had it washed and bandaged, and the healer even suggested stitching it up, but I hadn’t thought it necessary. Stitches were far too painful for a cut like that. It wasn’t very deep, and hardly anyone would notice if it left a nasty scar, considering it was on my shin.

  Cordel was still recovering from his head injury. I heard he was experiencing extreme headaches and had slight bruising on his skull. The rest of his injuries weren’t severe.

  “Lady Scarlett.”

  I looked up to see Derex Peterson coming out of the house beside Silas’. Merida and I stood and walked toward him.

  He met us half way and bowed.

  “It’s good to see you again, Derex,” I said.

  “You as well, Lady Scarlett.” He smiled his pleasant smile at me.

  “I’d like to introduce my good friend Merida, daughter of Bezilo Pierce.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Merida curtsied.

  “It’s a pleasure,” Derex said, bowing again.

  His hands were stained red, a telltale sign of a butcher. They had been washed, I could tell, but blood was still caked around his finger nails, and his skin was died dark red from the residue.

  “So, this is your home?” I looked up at the half-timbered two-story house. Vines climbed the walls and the paint was peeling. How different his life was from mine.

  “Yes,” he replied, “my parents, seven siblings, and I live here. It's crowded, but it’s all we could hope for and more. We are blessed to have been able to come to Darrenberg. The town we lived in before was poverty stricken and the laws were unjust.”