Kiara nodded and watched him continue to kick the little pebble along the dirt road. “Do you think you’ll ever visit the Forgers again?”
“Maybe in a few years.”
“Why not sooner?”
Nate shrugged, “Well, I’ll be in Zayin most of the time if I’m not traveling around with Sir Ethan to tournaments, so I won’t have much time to go back to Deceiver’s territory - which I’m happy about.”
“I can understand why. I wouldn’t want to live there when I could be here,” Kiara mused, gazing around at the splendid natural beauty of the land. Spring was a wonderful time to be in Malcolm’s kingdom. “What about your father? Will you see him again?”
“Um….” Nate gave a heavy sigh and pursed his lips grudgingly. “I want to, but again, I don’t know if I would have the time or opportunity.”
“You could always send him a letter…” Kiara looked up hastily with a sudden epiphany. “Oh, what if I tried to convince my father to reinstate him to the kingdom? Then he could move back on this side of the mountains and you could visit him whenever you were able.”
Nate looked back to Kiara and smiled at her enthusiasm. “You can try. And if you can persuade Malcolm, I’d be very grateful to you.”
Kiara beamed back and resolved to talk to her father as soon as she arrived home. She looked back down to the trail for a moment in thought and her smile faded.
“Will you ever go back to see Tasha?” she asked mournfully. Kiara really didn’t like Tasha at all. She wouldn’t have minded if Nate went to visit the Forgers or his father, but if he dared to go see that awful woman, Kiara felt her heart would shatter within her chest.
“Absolutely not!” Nate retorted. “If I see her and that brother of hers again, it’d be too soon. I would sever all connections with them if I could.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh…” Nate paused, realizing that he would have to tell the whole story. “Well, I didn’t tell you what she did.”
“What did she do?” Kiara asked, horror filling her heart.
“Tasha is one deceptive creature. She still wants me, so she came up with this awful scheme to make it seem that I had fathered a son with her.”
“What?” Kiara exclaimed, both shocked and terrified at what he had just said. Nate turned to her and tried calm her down.
“No, no, listen. She has a son, but he’s not mine. She just tried to manipulate me into staying with her by telling me he was mine.”
“Oh…” Kiara looked away with a breath of relief, “Why would she do such an evil thing?”
“She’s always been like that. It’s her job to manipulate and seduce… I’m only disappointed in myself for believing her. I was almost going to actually stay with them.”
“Why?”
“It’s just the way I am, I guess. I thought it would have been bad of me to abandon the boy if I really was the father. But, that night, I told Tasha that just because I was staying for the boy’s sake, didn’t mean that things could be the way they were before I left her.”
“And that provoked her to tell the truth because there was no point in keeping up the charade?” Kiara said with a tone of understanding.
“Exactly… But, they are in a tight spot financially. Tasha makes a living off of indecent practices, so I told her that I’d send some money every now and again, but to not expect me to ever come back their way.”
Kiara looked up to Nate and gave him a weak, reassuring smile. “I think you did the honorable thing, either way. If he was your son, it would have been right to stay with him… But, I’m glad you didn’t.”
They locked gazes for a moment, knowing that the feeling was mutual. Nate was the first to break away and look towards the sky. Flying high above was a falcon. He stopped and peered suspiciously at it. The bird had leather straps around it’s ankles and a small cap, meaning that it wasn’t wild. As they walked in silence, the falcon did not bank to the right or the left, but kept steadily gliding above them. A few times, it let out a short screech for seemingly no reason.
Nate stopped, looked behind them along the road and grabbed Kiara’s arm to hold her back.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, skidding to a stop and glancing between him and the direction they were coming from.
“We’re being followed. That falcon hasn’t let us out of its sight for at least a mile,” Nate replied, scanning the road and the tree line carefully.
“Who’s following us?”
“I don’t know… Quick, go to the woods.”
Nate didn’t have to tell her twice. Kiara scurried off into the trees and he followed soon after. The falcon let out a even louder, longer screech and soon after, Kiara and Nate could hear the shouts of other men farther back along the trail.
“Go, run!” Nate ordered in a hushed whisper. “And be as quiet as possible.”
Kiara nodded and began gracefully running through the forest, trying to stay out of sight from the path. Nate ran after her just as quietly, leaping over logs and dodging branches. Soon, they could hear the pattering of horse hooves from the road.
She glanced towards where the trail was and saw a crossroads coming up. Kiara could just barely read the sign, saying that Aleph was to the left, while they were veering towards the right.
“Nate, the sign!” Kiara whispered to him.
“We’ll find our way back later, just be quiet,” he replied.
He looked up and saw four men on horseback, trotting along the road. Suddenly, they stopped and dismounted to take to the woods.
Nate ran up next to Kiara, took her hand and guided her deeper into the forest, away from the men. The falcon still followed them from above and let out another squeal to tell the men of their change in direction. The men quickly took the hint and fled after the two deeper into the forest, where the trees were clustered more closely together.
Kiara ran as fast as she could to keep up with Nate, feeling her heart pounding rapidly within her chest. She assumed they were Deceiver’s scouts coming for them. After a few moments of silent running, listening to the leader give orders to the others, Kiara and Nate stumbled upon a small clearing.
Immediately, Nate took out the bow and arrow from his pack and gave it to Kiara, then motioned for her to hide on one side, while he would hide on the other. Kiara did as she was told and bolted to the left, hiding behind a thick oak tree. Nate disappeared to the other side of the clearing, just as the soldiers made their appearance. All were wearing Deceiver’s red soldier uniforms.
The falcon hovered overhead, looking confused as it screeched twice, then fluttered down onto its master’s extended forearm.
“Where did they go?” the leader asked impatiently.
“I don’t know,” the bird tamer replied, looking about the clearing with the others.
Kiara peeked out from behind the tree towards the other side of the clearing where Nate was watching them all with intense concentration, thinking of a plan. If only that bird had kept flying without them, then they could have run back to the trail and perhaps hijacked the scouts’ horses.
Nate crouched down to pick up a small stone by his feet. But, just as he did, a twig under his boot snapped, the crack echoing in the clearing. All the scouts’ heads shot towards Nate’s hiding spot. Without any direct order, Kiara pulled out an arrow and shot it in the direction of the trail from where they came, being careful to aim for a cluster of thick bushes.
The men didn’t see the arrow wiz past their shoulders, but the rustling of the bushes was enough to draw their attention away from Nate’s side of the clearing. The leader turned back to his men.
“You two stay here. We’ll go ahead and check it out and yell if we find them.”
The leader and bird tamer ran to where the arrow had been shot, while the other two stayed behind, hands on the hilt of their swords, ready for a fight. Kiara looked over to Nate, who gave her an appreciative nod. He soundlessly maneuvered himself around the edge of the clearing to position hi
mself behind the two scouts.
Kiara watched with scared eyes as Nate quietly stepped into the clearing, his father’s dagger firmly clenched in his fist. He snuck up behind one of the scouts and in one foul move, wrapped a hand around the boy’s mouth and slit open his throat. Kiara winced as the blood splattered over the grass.
The other scout turned around, and upon seeing Nate, gave a loud shout before his throat was pierced by the rogue’s dagger. Kiara burst from her hiding place and ran towards Nate and the corpses
The remaining scouts heard the yell of their comrade and ran back towards the clearing. Nate took Kiara’s hand in his after sheathing his bloody dagger and pulled her along.
“We have to get to Heth Gorge. We’ll take care of the rest there,” he said briskly, running as fast as he could with her in tow.
“Did you honestly have to kill those men?” Kiara asked in disbelief. “Would you rather them kill you?”
“No.”
“Then you should be thankful. Come on.”
They soon broke through the tree line to arrive at Heth Gorge, a wide canyon with a raging river running through it. Thankfully, there was a rope bridge stretching across the deep chasm they would have to cross. Nate reached into his pack and pulled out his spare knife, handing it to Kiara as he led the way across the rickety bridge.
Just then, the two scouts emerged from the tree line.
“There they are!” the leader shouted. The bird tamer released the falcon into the air and the two scouts ran towards the bridge, swords drawn.
Nate and Kiara forgot about trying to be safe and began running along the wooden planks of the bridge. Just as they were about to reach the other side, one of the planks broke in two under Kiara’s foot, causing her leg to fall through. What was left of the plank broke off from the rest of the bridge and plunged down half a mile to land in the river. Kiara let out a shriek and tried to pull herself back up, but it was no use. She was stuck. And in the intensity of the moment, she couldn’t figure out why.
“Nate! Help!” she cried out, holding onto the rope railing, trying to get her knee and ankle released from the grips of the bridge. Nate quickly turned and rushed back to her as the two scouts were gaining on them. Nate bent down and found the problem. The hem of Kiara’s dress had somehow gotten caught in a thick splinter from an adjacent plank as she fell through.
He quickly unhooked the dress, hoisted her up and helped her to the other side. They just barely reached the end as the scouts came to the middle of the bridge.
“Cut the ropes!” Nate ordered.
Kiara pulled out the knife and vigorously began cutting what held the bridge together. The scouts saw this and tried to run faster, thinking they could get to the escapees before the bridge would collapse.
Nate and Kiara cut through all four sets of ropes in a matter of seconds, causing the bridge to buckle and fly out from underneath the scouts’ feet. Deceiver’s men screamed, unable to grab onto the elusive ropes in time. They plunged to their death in the frigid waters below.
Kiara and Nate looked over the edge of the gorge, down to the pair of struggling figures among the rapids as they caught their breath.
“That should buy us some time,” Nate said while panting. Kiara glanced to him, then up to the sky, where she saw the falcon still hovering overhead. She swiftly pulled out an arrow and shot it towards the bird, skewering it mercilessly through its chest. The bird let out one last screech and tumbled towards the river.
Nate looked to Kiara. “Did you honestly have to kill that bird?” he asked.
Kiara laughed. “Do you want it reporting back to Deceiver our whereabouts?”
“No,” Nate said with an amused smirk.
“Then you should be thanking me.”
Nate wanted to kiss that silly girl so badly, but he only scuffed up the top of her head with his palm. She giggled and batted his hand away. The two took one last look down the gorge, then set their minds to finding the path again, glad to have narrowly avoided the jaws of death once more.
Chapter 21
After another hour or two of walking, Nate and Kiara came upon a small village between Heth Gorge and Nun River. It was, indeed, a very small town with only the minimal necessities of an inn, one or two taverns and various shops and establishments surrounded by little huts and homes. In Kiara’s mind, it resembled the city of Peh just outside of Deceiver’s territory where she and Nate spent the night at the inn, only without the ruffians.
As they walked through town, looking for a place to rest, Kiara noticed that Nate seemed troubled by something. His eyes were cast down and his lips curled into a forlorn frown that made him look as if he were ill.
They soon arrived at an agreeable tavern near the edge of the town. Inside, this tavern was nothing like the one in Peh. It was much lighter and not as foul smelling. Everyone looked friendly and obliging, rather than ruthless and intimidating like the thugs were.
Nate and Kiara took a table towards the middle of the room. Soon, a young waitress came to give them two mugs of water. While they sipped their water in silence, sitting across from each other, Kiara still noticed that Nate looked depressed and distance.
She sighed and set down her mug, wishing she could do something to make him feel better. Upon looking around and noticing the slight similarities in the structure of the tavern to that of the inn at Peh, she let herself smile nostalgically.
“Doesn’t this tavern remind you of that one at Peh?” she asked whimsically, hoping to brighten his spirits somehow.
Nate looked up from his mug and glanced around and nodded. “Yeah, I guess it does…”
“Do you remember when we were dining there, how that thug came up and was being rude to me?” Kiara leaned her elbows on the table, grinning to Nate.
Her smile proved infectious. “Yeah, I remember how mad I was for him talking to you like that.”
Kiara giggled. “I was furious, too, but I was determined not to show it so much. You surprised me, though, when you defended my honor like that. I was scared you’d kill the guy.”
Nate broke into a chuckle as he recalled the event. “Yeah, I sure felt like killing him. Did I defend your honor adequately?” he asked, the usual luster returning to his eyes.
“Yes, you did…” Kiara took a sip from her mug and giggled again as she set it down, “I feel so stupid for annoying you like I did for those first few days,” she admitted, holding her head in her hand.
“It’s alright… I mean, you did annoy me, but I can understand why. I’m only sorry for losing my temper with you like I did so many times.” Nate took a swig of his drink.
“You were justifiable in your outbursts. I should have acted more mature and kept my mouth shut… Why were you so quiet all that time, anyway? Did you just not want to talk to me in return or was it something else?”
Nate shrugged and looked around. “I guess I was just too nervous to talk back. I was originally very unwilling to help you… Honestly, my only agenda for bringing you back to Aleph was to maybe claim some reward or favor from Malcolm.” Nate’s voice was laced with shame and regret.
“That’s changed now, though, hasn’t it?”
“Yes. All I wanted to do for those first few days was just get the journey over with…” Nate opened his mouth as if to continue, but pursed his lips together and smirked at a thought.
Kiara tilted her head cutely. “And now?”
Nate paused and looked up to her with a soft, limpid gaze. “To be truthful, a part of me doesn’t want it to end.”
They smiled to each other and Kiara blushed. “Me neither,” she said softly.
The waitress came up alongside the table to take their orders. Nate simply asked for a beef sandwich and Kiara ordered the same. The two were silent once more, trying to look everywhere else but at each other.
“You have really seemed to grow up since the beginning of this trip,” Nate commented thoughtfully.
Kiara smiled. “How so?”
; “Well, you don’t talk as much anymore. You don’t ramble on and on as much as you used to and you just seem smarter.”
“I’ve always been smart. I just choose to be ditzy sometimes because some people find it cute and amusing,” Kiara replied, taking a sip of her water.
“I admit, after seeing you ditzy last night, it is a little cute, but after a while, it does get annoying.” Nate sat back in his chair and watched her nod in agreement.
“And it’s hard to keep it up when I get angry or frustrated. I have a bad habit of wanting to lose my temper and act very unladylike.”
Nate chuckled, remembering how she had made an outburst towards Deceiver and that thug in Samek. “I can see that…”
Kiara smiled and bit her lip, looking around the tavern at the people and families eating at the other tables. “What was your favorite part of the trip?” she asked inquisitively, wanting more than anything for conversation to fill the silence. His eyes drifted up to the ceiling, thinking carefully with a concentrated look.
“I believe my favorite part was when we had to go through the Field of Fire.”
“What?” Kiara was shocked. “How could that be your favorite part? It was the most dangerous!”
Nate laughed heartily. “That’s why it was my favorite. The more adventure, the better. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“No,” Kiara couldn’t help but laugh as well. “I think my favorite part of the trip was when we visited the Forgers and your father. It was so nice to just talk with them and spend time relaxing instead of running for my life all over creation.”
“I agree that it is fine, but I get bored with that easily.”
The waitress soon returned with two beef sandwiches on wooden plates and a pitcher of water. As the lady left, Kiara peered into the cup to make sure it really was water before taking another sip. Nate saw this, smirked, then took a bite of his sandwich.
“What was your least favorite part of the adventure?” Kiara asked before biting into her own sandwich.
“Are you interviewing me?” Nate asked sarcastically, perking up an eyebrow at her.
The Princess and Her Rogue Page 43
