Escape the Woods

by Gabriella Catherine

  “Please be careful. And take care of Jack for me.” I said the last part quietly, not wanting to hurt my brother’s confidence. He liked to think he could take care of himself, but I knew he was young and vulnerable, and his combat skills were still lacking.

  “I will. You just worry about staying safe while we’re gone.”

  “Don’t worry, my father has that under control.” I attempted a grin.

  He looked at me a moment longer. “Farewell, my lady.” He reached out and took my hand, lifting it to his lips to kiss it gently.

  A pleasant sensation ran up my arm and across my shoulders. His lips were warm against my skin. He looked up at me, squeezing my hand. Then, much too soon, he let go and mounted his horse.

  Cordel walked over to stand in front of me. “I wish you well while I am away,” he said emotionlessly.

  “And I you.”

  “Goodbye.” He nodded to me.

  “Goodbye, Cordel.” I hugged him around his waist. He seemed slightly startled, then barely made an effort to hug me back. I wished he wouldn’t go, but much too soon he pulled away, and he and Jack mounted their horses.

  “Until we meet again.” Cordel nodded to Father and me. I would have been crying, but I was more frightened than sad. I knew Jack, and I knew his behavior wasn’t natural. Even Cordel seemed much more tense than usual.

  I watched the two of them turn their horses and began to ride off, leading the small section of the army in the courtyard out into the village.

  Jack gave me one last sad glance.

  Once they were through the gate, I walked numbly up to my chamber. My legs seemed incapable of holding my weight, so I sat on the edge of my bed. I didn’t dare wish my brothers would return any time soon. They were gone, and I didn’t know where they were going, when they would return, or if they would return all in one piece.

  I felt lonely, like there was no one in the whole world who could comfort me. Perhaps Jack could, if he were there. But I shouldn’t have even thought about Jack. It would be a long time before I saw my kind, loving brother again.

  I longed for Kolton to be with me in Darrenberg. I could still feel where he kissed my hand, and couldn’t help but wish it was my cheek or lips he was kissing.

  I went to my window and looked out at the woods beyond the town walls. The woods where my brothers, Kolton, and Father’s men rode. I missed them already. I missed Jack. And Cordel. Why did he despise me so? What had I done to make him dislike me? The way he looked at me, like I was a petty, immature child he couldn’t be bothered with, hurt me more than he’d ever know.

  Tears filled my eyes and my body began to shake. From fear. Anger. Sadness. Once again, my chamber walls seemed to be closing in on me, suffocating me. I clutched at my chest. The need to be free from the stone walls, from my father, overwhelmed me, and I turned away from my window and ran from my chamber, my bow and quiver in my hands. I was aware I wasn’t allowed outside the castle walls, but in that moment, I didn’t care. I needed to get out of here. I needed to ride as far and as fast as I could. To clear my head. To be by myself.

  I pulled the hood of Kolton’s cloak over my head so I wouldn’t be recognized and went to the stables. There were very few horses left — my brothers and their men had taken most of them. The remaining horses were Caleb, two of my father’s hunting horses, and one of Cordel’s black stallions. I had always wanted to ride one of the huge stallions, and now that no one was around to stop me, I saddled it and pulled myself up onto its back. The horse was so tall and high up from the ground, I hesitated for a moment. But I overcame the fear and I rode out of the stables and into the dark night, heading for the woods.

  CHAPTER 25

  The wind stung my eyes as I rode at a high speed out the back gate and into the woods. An aching pain rose up inside the back of my throat and inside my ears, a pain from holding back tears. But now that I was out here with nothing but the trees and my brother’s horse to hear me, I let myself cry.

  I rode deep into the woods, farther than I had ever been before. I purposely didn’t go in the same direction my brothers had gone, instead following an unfamiliar trail. I wanted to clear my head, to be alone, and to be outside of the confining stone walls of that miserable castle. I did my best thinking out in the woods.

  I heard a sound to my left and looked that way. I just barely made out the silhouette of a man on a large horse, riding parallel to me, several yards away. He was looking at me. I jerked my head to the right. Two more men on horseback rode to my right, also a few yards away.

  Then, the loud rumbling of horses’ hooves began to surround me. Men came from the left, the right, behind me — everywhere. I didn’t see any red or gold on their armor, only black. My heart pounded, and so did the hooves of the horse I was riding. I urged it to go faster, digging my heels into its sides. But the army following me sped up also, closing in on me.

  I began to untie my bow from the saddle and reached for one of my arrows. I shot the man closest to me, and he fell to the ground.

  The army sped up, forming a circle around me and trapping me.

  A man broke free from the circle and pulled his horse up next to mine. I loaded my bow but, before I could shoot, the man yanked it from my hands, throwing it to the ground. He wrenched the quiver from my back. Then he reached out and grabbed both my upper arms. I struggled to get free from his grasp. He dragged me off my horse and pulled me onto his, forcing me to sit side-saddle in front of him.

  “Let me go!” I screamed as Cordel’s horse pawed the air. Then it ran the edge of the ring of men that surrounded me. They made a gap, allowing the horse to run free.

  All the horses came to a stop, with me in the middle of them all on my captor’s horse. Panic rose in my throat, and the breath left my chest. Oh, God, help me out of this!

  A man with the same broad build as Cordel rode slowly toward me, but he was not my brother. My captor’s grasp felt like iron bars, and struggling was pointless.

  “Lady Scarlett,” the man riding toward me said. “I was on my way to find you, but instead you made things easy and came to me.” He came so close, he was able to reach out and run the back of his finger down my cheek.

  I slapped his hand. The sound echoed off the trees that surrounded us. He quickly drew back his hand, looking amused. “A feisty one, eh?” He glanced back at his companions and laughed.

  “What do you want with me?” I said through clenched teeth.

  The grin fled from the stranger’s face, and he leaned over, bringing his face mere inches from mine. His dark hair was filthy, his face sported several days’ worth of stubble. A deep scar ran across his forehead. “Revenge.”

  Thoughts began to race through my head. I remembered the day out in the woods with Malachi — the two men saying someone was going to get revenge on me. Was this what Father and Malachi were talking about in the library that day?

  The man backed his horse up a few steps. “Bring her to me.”

  My captor dismounted, then reached up and grabbed me tightly around my waist.

  I pulled away. “I can get down on my own.” He fastened a tight grip around my arm and held tightly to it as I slid from the saddle. I walked to the horse of the vengeful man. He painfully dragged me up onto his horse, his nails digging into the skin of my arms. When I was forced to sit in front of him in the saddle, he put his arm around my waist, pulling me against him so I was unable to throw myself to the ground.

  I felt his lips and his hot breath against my ear as he said, “If you scream or call for help, I will slice your pretty face until you bleed out. I promise it will be slow and torturous.”

  I trembled with fear and didn’t dare to say a word. My heart pounded as he pulled me tighter against his chest.

  He called for the men to follow him, and they set off, riding at a dangerously high speed for the darkness and the thickness of the woods. I estimated about fifty men following behind me and my captor’s horse, but possibly more. It was hard to tell in the
black of night.

  I tried to keep myself as far away from my captor as possible, but he held on tight. I considered throwing myself off the horse, but I would be trampled by his followers. For a moment, I wondered if dying that way would be better than whatever these men planned to do to me. Perhaps I needed to take the opportunity while I had it.

  The thought of Jack was the only thing that stopped me from lunging off the horse.

  Damn it. I didn’t even have an arrow in my belt like I usually did. I rushed from the castle so fast, it slipped my mind. My bow had been my only weapon, but that had been taken. I had no way to defend myself. I didn’t know what to do. Unarmed, I didn’t stand a chance against even one of these men, let alone all of them. I didn’t know where they were taking me or what they planned to do to me. Would I ever see my father again? Would I ever return to the castle, ever sleep in my bed? Would they torture me? Kill me? Take advantage of me? Sell me for money?

  I told myself to breathe so I didn’t pass out. Each breath burned, but who knew what they’d do to me if I were unconscious?

  After riding for about a half an hour, it had grown darker, and I could hardly see five feet in front of us. The men slowed their pace, but I was still jerked every which way when an obstacle came into view that had to be swerved around.

  Most likely these men were a bunch of robbers, unwelcome in any town, forced to live in the forest and eat whatever they could find. But why would they capture me? The man I was riding with obviously knew I was Duke William’s daughter. I had always thought my title would protect me, but in this case, the opposite proved true.

  The men finally came to a stop in a large clearing. My captor dismounted and slid me violently from the saddle.

  “What are you doing with me?” I asked.

  He gave no answer.

  “Please, let me go.”

  The man dragged me, holding me firmly against his side. He refused to answer me.

  “Duke William will know about this. He will have you hanged. You’ll regret this.” I tried to pull free, but he was too strong.

  Finally, he spoke, “Duke William won’t be alive long enough to kill me, because after I’m finished with you, my tribe of warriors will attack Darrenberg and kill him. And now that your imbecile brothers are gone, there is no one to stop us.”

  His words made my heart stop beating. This couldn’t be happening. Tears of rage blurred my vision. “No, please! Please, don’t do this!”

  “Be quiet!” His hot breath burned my skin. Saliva spewed from his mouth and wet my cheek.

  I continued to cry out. “Please! My father never did anything to you. He’s innocent. I’m innocent!” I cried harder, screaming and trying to get free. Clawing at his hands and arms. In my desperation I nearly broke free, but another man came and he, too, grabbed hold of me.

  Fighting was useless.

  “You only think your father is innocent,” the man growled.

  “What are you talking about?”

  They slammed me up against a large tree. The man I had ridden there with ripped off my cloak and handed it to one of his men. I watched him walk off with my precious cloak from Kolton. Anger roiled inside me, and I raised my fists, ready to tear his throat out. I screamed at him. Lunged toward him. Punched him across the face twice.

  He grabbed my shoulders and threw me against the tree. My head spun and my vision blurred from the impact, but I was satisfied when I saw blood dripping from the man’s nose and temple.

  Two other men brought over an iron chain and put cuffs on each of my wrists. Then they began wrapping the rest of the chain around the tree and my body, securing me to the trunk.

  “Stop!” I screamed, lunging forward over and over again, trying to break free. I didn’t care if they hurt me. I didn’t have the self-control to be quiet anymore. I yelled and swore, trying to pull my arms free so I could fight them.

  They secured the chain around the tree and walked away, leaving me there, my back pressed against the rough bark.

  God, please save my father and brothers. Save the people of Darrenberg. Don’t let them suffer.

  The leader called out, “We’ll camp here tonight, then set out for Darrenberg Castle before dawn.”

  The men placed sticks and logs onto a pile, then they lit it. Unruly fire began to spread over the mountain of wood.

  In the firelight, I got my first good look at my captor. He looked strangely familiar. And when I heard him talking with the other men, his deep, spine-chilling voice was also familiar. I studied him as he walked around the camp.

  Of course! It was the man who had talked to me in the village several weeks ago – the man who had asked me for directions to the blacksmith’s. Perhaps that was how he knew who I was. He tricked me into giving my identity away so they would know who I was.

  Malachi had been suspicious of him. As always, I should have listened to him.

  Though it was cool outside, I was sweating from fear. Each time I took a breath, the chains pressed deeper against my chest. I felt like I was in a nightmare, but the cold air and sharp metal chains were too vivid to be a dream. Fear gripped me, nearly suffocated me. I felt as though a hand was squeezing my lungs, and I was incapable of drawing a breath.

  The leader of the tribe shouted, “We will all sleep well tonight, and even better tomorrow night. The princess of Darrenberg is ours! And we will treat her like what she is: the daughter of the most irrational, arrogant, merciless ruler Darrenberg has ever seen! We will kill her and rip her body to pieces and bring her back to show her father, just before we do the same to him.”

  The men chanted and raised their fists in the air in celebration.

  That was when I blacked out.

  ###

  When I woke up, I was still chained to the tree. My head throbbed and my vision was blurry. I watched for at least an hour, trembling in fear, as the men set up their camp and rejoiced because they’d finally captured me. I didn’t understand why they lingered and made me wait instead of just killing me off. Maybe they wanted to drag out my death and make it more torturous.

  Finally, the leader of the tribe walked over to me again.

  My head felt heavy and hung low, but I looked up at him through my disheveled hair that covered half my face. “You are a disgusting excuse for a human.”

  He seemed amused. “Is that what you think, girl?”

  He captured my chin in his hand, squeezing it tight and forcing me to look at him. He replaced the amused expression with a bitter glare. “Your father is the disgusting one. He took my father away from me, so now I’m going to take away his most precious possession … you.” He blew the hair away from my face, his breath hot and sickening. His nails scraped my skin and he jerked my head to the side before he released me.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, breathlessly.

  “I know you don’t. Duke William probably never told you.”

  “Told me what?” I demanded. “Who are you?”

  He took a step back. “Well, since your father lied to you all this time, I assume it’s only fair that I tell you everything. I am Endor, son of Gordon Leopoldo, who was once a great warrior himself. But I have taken his place, and am now the leader of this powerful tribe.”

  My heart seemed to stop beating once again. Endor? That name hid many mysteries behind it. This was him. This was Endor. The man I had heard my father and brothers whispering about for all these years.

  “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked him. “I’ve done nothing to you. I don’t even know you.”

  “Because,” Endor said. “I cursed you when you were a child. Your father killed my father, and I wanted revenge, so I swore to kill you. And tonight, I will finally have my victory! And not only will I kill you like I told Duke William I would, but I will also kill him, and eventually I’ll kill your brothers. If anyone tries to stop me, they will be killed.”

  “This won’t happen! My father will stop you—”

  He slap
ped my face, hard. This time I couldn’t hit him back, as my arms were pressed against my body.

  “Save your breath, spit-fire,” Endor said. He turned and walked away.

  I tasted salty blood on my lip and felt a warm drop trickle down my chin, onto my neck. Everything that had ever confused me before suddenly made sense. The reason Malachi went everywhere with me was because of this man and his curse. The reason my father was always so overprotective of me was because of this man. But could he be the reason Cordel went to train? To learn to defend me? To build an army to fight for me?

  Oh, it was all so clear now. Perhaps this was the reason Cordel, Jack, Kolton, and all the other guards and knights had left Darrenberg earlier. Maybe they were going to destroy this very tribe of warriors. Not because Darrenberg had been threatened, like Father said, but because I had been.

  My family, and everyone I loved, was in danger. I had to warn them.

  I had to get out of the woods.

  CHAPTER 26

  So this is how I die. Chained to a tree in the middle of the forest, surrounded by an army of men in armor.

  My body continued to tremble as I imagined the men attacking Darrenberg in the morning. Nearly all the men had been sent away by Father; there would be no one to protect the region. I thought about my dear friends Merida, Derex, little Silas, and their families. They would suffer. Some of them would be killed. If I died here, who would look after Silas and make sure he was safe and being fed? Who would warn the people of Darrenberg to prepare for an attack?

  I needed to be in Darrenberg when Jack returned. I needed to be there for him. It was hard enough for him to lose Mother, but if he had to lose me, too…

  I’m sorry, Jack. I’ve failed you. I’ll never see your soft blue eyes or hear your deep, kind voice again.

  My father would be crushed. Merida would be heartbroken. And Cordel … I didn’t know how he would feel. But I regretted not telling him how much I loved him. Not telling him how much I needed him. And I needed him now more than ever. I needed him to rescue me, like he rescued me from falling down that ditch.