by Scarlet Rose
That night he saw signs that he was nearing the city. He knew that meant it would be sometime the next afternoon before he would reach it on foot, so he found a place to sleep before the sun went down.
Considering himself lucky to not have run into any grolls, Aaron found a nook inside a bed of bushes to burrow into. He drifted immediately to sleep, dreaming of finding Nayla safe inside the city.
Chapter 11
Thick clouds rolled in overnight, casting deep shadows across the plains. Aaron guessed the storm would hit him within an hour, so he ate quickly, and left.
He ran as much as he could stand to run. After just a short time, the downpour began. The water made his pack feel as heavy as a boulder. Mostly, he tried to keep his eyes on the ground to keep from tripping in the mud.
Once in a while he would look up to make sure he still headed in the right direction. One time he looked up and a splash of yellow caught his eye.
Three people trudged through the mud ahead of him. Two were clearly men, one was a woman dressed in yellow. They moved slower than he did; the girl looked too exhausted to move very fast.
“Hey there,” Aaron yelled ahead.
The three of them whipped around. The woman was Nayla. “Aaron?” she yelled over the pounding of the rain.
Aaron charged ahead until he could reach out and embrace his sister.
Her eyes were rimmed in red. “I thought you were dead! We couldn’t find your body.”
“I’m sorry, Nayla. I’m so sorry. I ran off that night. I wasn’t even there.”
The two guards looked nearly as relieved to see him as she did. The two people they were hired to keep safe were both still alive.
“Let’s keep moving,” commanded Aaron. “We need to get back to the Atarris before more grolls find us.”
Aaron and Nayla walked hand in hand while one of the guards walked in front and the other behind. Progress slowed as the rain continued to muddy the landscape.
What Aaron thought was late afternoon came, and their pace slowed. The sky grew darker, and the storm raged harder. They could only see ahead of them by the light of the lightning flashing through the sky.
So intent were they on putting one foot safely in front of the other that the snarls of the grolls nearby caught all four of them completely by surprise.
Nayla screamed. The three men grouped themselves around her. Four hairy bear-like men surrounded them. They stood at least a head taller than all of them, and their fingers ended in massive claws.
“What a surprise,” one of them growled. “Just the one we were looking for.”
Aaron had never heard of grolls speaking their language before, although not many people lived to tell the tale of their attacks, either.
They grunted in what appeared to be their own language, then three of them dove in towards the two guards. The third, the one who spoke common, watched the battle intently.
One of the grolls raked a claw across one of the guard’s legs, sending him sprawling to the ground. He whimpered as blood gushed from his wound. The groll cut the guard’s arms up as they wrestled on the ground together, but didn’t kill him. He left him there, immobilized.
Nayla squealed and backed away. Aaron wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her to him as the other guard threw himself at the oncoming attack.
But, they were all exhausted, and the grolls were not. The second guard was easily taken down with a claw to his chest and bite through his neck, leaving only Aaron and Nayla in the fight. Neither were skilled in fighting.
The grolls stopped attacking then. Two of them grabbed hold of Aaron by circling around behind him, and the third snatched up Nayla. The one who spoke before stepped up to face Aaron.
“You are the one Master wants.”
“What do you mean? Who is your master?” Aaron tried to sound tough, but he was scared down to his core.
The groll snarled. “Take the boy. Kill the girl. Leave the guard that isn’t dead. Someone will need to live to tell the tale.”
The one who spoke walked up to the terrified and injured guard. “I have a message for the Princess. This must reach her ears only. If anyone else hears it, I’ll personally hunt down your entire family and eat them alive.”
The guard stuttered and shivered. “I s-s-swear. I … I’ll only t-t-tell her.”
“Good. Tell Princess Veronica we’ll take care of him until she comes to get him. Tell her to head straight east beyond her borders. I will find her and guide her to my master. Do you understand this?”
The guard nodded fiercely then scooted away from the groll.
The groll in charge turned and headed east, gesturing for the others to follow.
Aaron and Nayla both screamed, as he was dragged away kicking and screaming, unable to watch the beast descend upon Nayla.
Her screams grew horrified and frantic before suddenly cutting off.
Aaron kicked, screamed, and cried until he passed out from exhaustion and despair.
Chapter 12
Veronica woke to the sound of a teakettle whistling on the stove. She scrambled out of the bed and out into the main room of the little home.
Marissa and Clarissa were in a corner set aside as a kitchen. Each of the women scurried about cooking up some breakfast.
Veronica slid into the wooden chair and watched the two move about silently. A moment later breakfast was done, and she was scarfing down the most delicious batch of spiced bread and fried eggs that she’d ever tasted.
Still, neither of the women spoke to her. After they cleaned up, they sat back down on the bench seat together and dived back into the book.
Veronica sat watching them for a time, wondering what she was supposed to do. Finally she got brave enough to interrupt their whispers.
“Will you tell me what happened to me yesterday?”
Clarissa looked up to her with a glare, but Marissa smiled sweetly at her. “We don’t really know, child. Give us some more time to figure that out, will you?”
Veronica spent that day dreaming about her last night with Aaron. She found she could pull up the details in her mind quite easily and found herself missing the touch of his fingers on her skin. She tried to imagine what Benard’s fingers would feel like, but quickly shoved the idea out of her head.
She couldn’t replace Aaron so quickly.
She went to bed early that night, both thankful and regretting the peace the women had given her for the day. It was nice to get time away to think about where her life was headed, but it also gave her time to grieve over Aaron.
Veronica woke the following morning to being slapped in the face by a lumpy pillow. The impact made her jump in terror. “Get up, child. It’s time to go.” Marissa scurried out of the room without another word.
The sky was dark and dreary, as though it would rain at any minute. Veronica pulled herself up out of the bed, and straightened her green dress. She couldn’t wait to get home and change out of it.
“Come, child. We don’t want to be stuck out in the storm.”
Marissa rushed the two of them back to the upper city and into the front gate of the castle. Soon after, the rain began to pour out of the sky.
Marissa abandoned Veronica in the entry hall without any answers. She made her way up to her room to take a bath. Then she would find her husband-to-be and figure out what her life sentence would be.
Then she would hunt down that slithery healer and force her to talk.
In spite of the rest she had gotten, Veronica felt drained. The past several days had taken their toll on her, and all she wanted was to go back to the time when it was all simple.
The tub of steaming water helped to ease some of her anxiety. She slid her hands over her body to get clean. As they slipped over her breasts, the tingling she felt made her think of Aaron.
She imagined his hands were cupping her breasts. They fit perfectly into his palms as he massaged them gently. His fingertips flicked across her nipples.
“Mmm,” she moaned.
In spite of the cooling water, Veronica felt the temperature rising.
She moved one hand down between her legs and spread her lips apart. Veronica whimpered as her finger caressed the swollen nub of her clit. She could almost feel Aaron’s hot breath against her neck. She wanted him to be kneeling over her with his mouth on her neck and his hands roaming over every inch of her body.
Then she imagined him kissing down her body until his tongue found her clit. She fingered herself faster. It felt good, but not as good as having Aaron there for real. She imagined her finger was his tongue as she massaged herself faster and faster.
Her hips rocked up and down to the motion of her fingers, splashing water over the sides of the tub. She gasped as the intensity of heat grew to new heights. Moans slipped from her mouth as she neared the point of orgasm. Her back arched up out of the water. She pinched her nipple. The sharp pain sent her ecstasy over the top and she gasped as her orgasm erupted through her body. Little quivers ran up and down her legs.
Then she relaxed back into the water to let her breathing slow.
“Oh, Aaron. I miss you so much,” she whispered.
Chapter 13
Veronica walked toward the conference room with silent determination. No one dared get in her way, with the look on her face. She needed to know what the kings had decided to do about her upcoming marriage. She needed to know how much time she had left to be free of the responsibilities of being a Queen to a man she didn’t love, and suspected she never would.
It wasn’t that she thought Benard would be a bad husband, she just knew that he wasn’t the man that made her entire body ache to be caressed.
Just before she reached the conference room, she saw the small healer slip between the guards that stood outside the towering wooden doors. The old woman tried to slip down a side hall, but Veronica charged up to catch her by the arm.
“Marissa? What are you doing here?”
Marissa looked agitated. “I hardly think that’s any of your business, child.” She snatched her arm out of Veronica’s grip and started back down the hallway.
Veronica chased her. “I need answers, Marissa. What happened to me the other day?”
Marissa stopped for a moment and stared at her. Veronica could see in her eyes that she didn’t want to tell her the truth.
For the first time ever, Veronica decided to try intentionally to hear the old woman’s thoughts. At first she heard nothing, so she pushed harder, trying to remember what it felt like those times it had happened while she was tired or drunk.
Marissa grunted. “I told you already. I don’t know. If you keep harassing me, I will never find the answers.” She turned and scurried off down the hall.
Just as Marissa turned, Veronica was finally able to dip into her thoughts. It felt different this time than it had before. She felt an invisible tie from her own mind to Marissa’s.
“I hope it isn’t true. I feel for that child if it is. No one keeps track of the old prophecies any more. I have to get in contact with Baraccus …” Marissa’s thoughts trailed off as she rounded a corner.
Who is Baraccus? Veronica thought. What prophecies? She stared at the empty hallway.
The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled her out of her thoughts.
“Veronica?”
It was Benard. She spun around to see him standing just outside the conference room doors, as if he was about to enter.
“Hello, Benard.” Veronica bowed ever-so-slightly to him, to show her respect for the future King. She did it partly out of spite, but also out of respect. Without some form of respect for a future king, she wouldn’t make it very far as a Queen.
“Where have you been?” His face showed only curiosity, but his voice hinted at worry.
“I went out into the city with Marissa, the healer. I wasn’t feeling well so she took me to see her sister.”
He stepped forward until he was within an arm’s length of her. His left hand came up to rest affectionately on her shoulder. “I was worried, but your father said not to worry about it.”
Veronica stared up into his dark brown eyes. They looked sincere. She tried to dive into his mind the way she had Marissa’s. The process was easier this time. Again she could sense a tiny invisible cord connecting them. It stretched directly from the center of her forehead to his.
She didn’t hear any of his thoughts, though. She could, however, sense his emotions. A tiny bit of worry mixed with a large amount of attraction to her.
A hint of annoyance floated around in there as well.
Veronica released the link before she became overwhelmed. Why couldn’t I hear his thoughts? Maybe he wasn’t thinking anything specific at that moment? She didn’t understand how she could have sensed his emotions but not his thoughts. Not even in her drunken nights had she felt another person’s emotion instead of—or with—their personal thoughts. The only other time that had happened was just a few days before, when Marissa had healed her hangover.
She didn’t understand all the changes inside her.
“Are you all right?” Benard asked with a hint of worry.
She realized that she had been staring at him for too long without speaking. He probably thought she’d gone crazy. “Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” His hand moved up toward her face and caressed her cheek.
“Uhh … no. I’d rather not.” She took a deep breath to focus herself. “I actually came here looking for you. I need to ask you something.”
“Okay. How can I help you?”
“I never got to hear the details of our engagement. How long will it be before we get married? Are there any stipulations between our two families that I should be aware of?”
“Oh.” Benard’s hand dropped away from her face. “Actually the deliberations between our fathers went rather smoothly. Your father didn’t make any outrageous demands. I’ll give you the brief details. He only requested that we be married here before he gets too weak to enjoy the celebration of his only surviving child’s wedding. He requested that we not make any outside alliances, and agree to keep the Kingdom of Palinna as safe and protected as possible in these rough times.”
“I see. And, how long before we are to be married?” Veronica couldn’t keep the fear from her voice.
“Well, it will be sooner than any of us expected. King Doogan grows weaker by the day …”
“How long?”
“Five days. My family intends to stay until after the ceremony. The preparations for the grand hall will begin tomorrow, I believe.”
Veronica nearly choked. FIVE days? That has to be the shortest engagement in the history of the world. I have only five days left of freedom?
Benard seemed to notice her panic and stepped forward to embrace her. She let him, but didn’t return the embrace. She wondered if he took her anxiety as fear for her father’s health—or as fear of giving herself over to him.
Chapter 14
Veronica spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon locked in her room. She sneaked a bottle of wine from the kitchen and stared out the window into the dark storm. Tears flowed from her eyes as she silently said goodbye to Aaron, over and over. She knew she had to let him go, and wondered if the only way to do that would be to give in to Benard’s attraction to her. She knew he wanted her.
Could she let herself be with another man? She didn’t know.
The more she drank the less she felt of her pain. Her head spun with increasing intensity. Once the bottle was empty, she tossed it out into the rain. She didn’t care if it hit someone far below. It would be their fault for being stupid enough to be out in the storm.
She considered going back to the kitchen for another bottle, but decided she would rather not run into people. She didn’t want to be bombarded with their thoughts. She ate alone in her room.
Late in the afternoon, soon after dinner, she heard a knock on her door. She still felt
the effects of the wine, but her high had come back down from the clouds quite a ways.
She sat on the edge of her bed. “What do you want?”
The door creaked open, and Benard poked his head in. “I’m just checking on you. You ran out on me earlier, and you haven’t been to lunch or dinner with the rest of us. Can I come in?”
“Do whatever you want to do. Since when do I get consulted with decisions?”
Benard stepped inside and shut the door. “It’s not my fault that your father is dying and wants to see you married before he dies. Don’t blame me for you disappearing when the conference to decide these things was being held. I don’t know who is really to blame for those things, but it certainly isn’t me. I’ve done nothing but try to get along with you since I arrived here.”
Veronica stared at him, feeling a little foolish. He was forced into this mess just like she was.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just having trouble accepting all of this.”
The anger flowed out of Benard in an instant. He sat down beside her on the bed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I know it’s hard to accept. We just have to make the best of what we’ve got.”
“I understand that. Bear with me, please.” Veronica leaned over and kissed Benard. It wasn’t a passion-filled kiss, not the kind she shared with Aaron. She held herself back more than she had with the kiss they’d shared the night of the engagement.
When she released it a moment later she sat there with her eyes closed, inches away from Benard. She could tell he was letting her set the pace, and she was thankful for it.
Can I do this? Is it time? A battle raged inside her head. She didn’t know what to do, so she pulled away from him to stand again by the window. The rain reminded her of how she felt. Dark. Cold. Lonely.
“I can go if you like.” Benard spoke hesitantly from across the room. He hadn’t followed her.
“No. I’d like you to stay. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I’ve done too much of that lately.” She didn’t face him. She couldn’t. She’d decided she wanted him, but didn’t want to betray her love for Aaron. The problem was that she wanted him for the wrong reasons. She needed a memory to replace the memory of her night with Aaron. She needed it to set him aside and focus on moving forward.
