by Leilani Love
“The King announced our wedding is to take place in a fortnight,” she said as she made her way to the bed and sank onto it.
Elizabeth put down her needlepoint and walked over to the cabinet. Guinevere closed her eyes, hoping when she opened them she would be just waking up from a nightmare. She reached up and pulled on the neckline of her dress, trying to loosen it so she could catch her breath. “Elizabeth, I would rather die than end up like the Queen. When we were little I remember hearing her laughter down the halls and tonight she sat there staring into nothing as the King’s mistresses clung to him like ivory on the castle walls.”
The floorboard squeaked, and Guinevere opened her eyes to see Elizabeth standing before her, a glass in her hand. She took the cup and brought it to her lips. The smell of the bourbon made her nose tingle before she took a sip. It burned on the way down. She gasped, sitting straighter, her eyes bulging as she fought to catch her breath.
The burning was enough to bring her out of her frozen state and she noticed how Elizabeth’s lips had quirked into an amused smile. Giving her friend a mock glare, she handed the cup back to her.
Elizabeth turned away to put up the cup. “Are we done feeling sorry for yourself?”
“My throat is on fire, but yes I know there is nothing to gain by my little pity party,” she said, noticing for the first time that she was still facing away from her.
She finished whatever she was doing, and then took her seat next to the window again. “What are you going to do?” she asked, taking a sip of bourbon.
“Probably learn to drink bourbon like you and your dad before I kill myself.” She reached up and slowly began to remove the pins from her hair that Elizabeth had so carefully put in earlier. When her father had told her he couldn’t get her out of the marriage contract, she had begged him not to make her follow through. She had even asked to become a nun. He’d told her that if she didn’t follow through that thousands of their people would die. When she nodded in understanding, a tear slid down his weathered cheek, and she had hugged him tight. She knew then that she had no choice.
“Are we staying in tonight?” Elizabeth asked.
With a shake of her head, Guinevere stood. “No, help me out of this dress. Your father should have the horses ready for us and with everyone in the castle at the ball, sneaking out tonight should be easy.”
Chapter 3
Arthur and Lancelot made camp that night several hours out of town. With a whistle, Wulf showed up at his side. Wulf was Minx and Snow’s youngest grandson, and always traveled with him. Arthur’s father had rescued a wolf alpha, Snow, and his brother, and over the years the pack of wolves had grown. Arthur scratched behind Wulf’s ear as he carried a large rabbit between his teeth.
“You caught us dinner,” he said.
Lancelot chuckled. “I swear you live a charmed life, Arthur. Women throw themselves at you, your pet brings you dinner, and there is not a cloud in the sky.”
He shook his head as he skinned the rabbit, while Lancelot started a fire. His father had taught him to cook rabbit when they’d gone trapping. “I am not sure why my mother was so dead set against the two of us traveling to Camelot to sell those furs. We’ve made double what we would have made in one of the smaller villages.” Arthur said while prepping the rabbit for the fire.
“Probably the same reason my mother is. She thinks we will give all our money to the women like Amanda and others like her.” Lancelot said with a big wolfish grin.
Arthur shrugged, “Even stopping there we still made more money than ever before.”
As the rabbit sat over the fire cooking, Arthur leaned back against the tree and stared at the colors of the fire. His thoughts drifted to earlier when he’d met the beautiful Guinevere. Lancelot had called her the Ice Princess. After seeing her with those children, Arthur had asked around and he doubted those rumors he’d heard about her punishing children and setting them to work sewing her clothes. Although he wondered where she took the children, he didn’t get the impression it was anywhere to hurt them.
The horses neighed, drawing Arthur out of his thoughts. He looked at Wulf, and then pointed to the woods. The wolf ran into the woods and he knew he would stay close enough to be called back if needed. He moved the sword closer to himself, covering it with the blanket while Lancelot slid his blades into the underside of his gauntlet.
He was about to turn his attention back to the fire, when the clap of horse’s hooves on the forest floor stopped him. Perking his ear, Arthur could make out at least one carriage approaching. Within moments, two men wearing armor and the familiar red and gold colors of Camelot approached.
Lancelot didn’t look up but turned the rabbit on the fire. His dark hair fell over his eyes, which Arthur knew were still taking everything in.
“It is illegal to hunt on the King’s land,” the older of the two of the guards informed him.
He noticed Toothless there was missing almost all his teeth when the guard spoke, and the rounded belly made him think he hadn’t missed many meals or been required to do any real work for a long time. In fact, he doubted the man did much more than ride on his horse and bark orders.
“Oh, well, good thing I brought this rabbit with me,” he said.
The second guard had a set of ears that looked like he could hear a mouse fart and his lips quirked in amusement. Toothless, the one who had spoken in the first place, shot Arthur a glare. “You expect us to believe you traveled with a dead rabbit for what is a two-day ride through the King’s land? What kind of fool do you take us for?” The guard spat at him as he brought his horse closer.
The guard lowered his sword, and then poked Lancelot in the back. “Hand me that rabbit,” he barked.
His cousin turned slightly and quirked an eyebrow in Arthur’s direction. When he nodded, Lancelot reached out and grabbed the end of the spit and held it up. Toothless used his sword to stab through the fleshy part of the rabbit, and then raised it to eye level.
“Looks like the King’s rabbit to me,” he said before taking a bite.
With a smile, Arthur slid his hand under his blanket and gripped his sword. Lancelot shifted in the corner of his vision. He darted his gaze at him, and his cousin shook his head. Arthur nodded his understanding and let go of the sword. He pressed his lips together as the guards enjoyed several more bites of the rabbit. In the distance, a horse snorted, and he peered into the woods. Another group of guards appeared from behind a tree, guiding a group of horses that appeared to be pulling a heavy wagon.
A young commander pulled up and glanced between Arthur and the guards. “What do we have here?”.
“Just found these two here. They apparently decided to hunt on the King’s land Commander Skye.” The older guard, Toothless, offered the rabbit he had on his sword to the guard whose uniform showed he was their commander.
Commander Skye was about ten years younger than Toothless and Ears. He didn’t have the tell-tale rounded bulge the other two men had, and easily dismounted from his horse to look down at them. Arthur had to tilt his head to look him in the eye as the Commander stood over them as if sizing them up. There was something almost unnerving about being this close to him. The man smirked and his skin crawled. “Do you know the penalty for being caught hunting on these lands?”
He shook his head. “Like I told your friend there, I didn’t hunt on these lands.”
“Do you know what the penalty is for your insolence?” the commander asked with a glower.
“I’m guessing it’s not just letting us go on our merry way and eat the rabbit we didn’t hunt in these lands,” Arthur said with a sigh as Lancelot narrowed his eyes.
“You guessed right.” He signaled to the other guards. “Arrest them and put them in the back with the others.”
Arthur had been so focused on the three guards in front of him, he hadn’t noticed that several guards had been approaching them slowly on foot. There were six in total, and before he could grab his sword from under the blanket
, there was a high-pitched whistle. Seconds later, two arrows landed deep in the chests of the guards.
“Kill them now! They are some of them!” the commander yelled as he ran back and swung up onto his horse.
The guard’s sword rushed toward his head. Arthur ducked, and then swung his weapon, blocking the blow. Lancelot rolled out of the way as the older guard tried to charge him on his horse. Before the guard could push his advantage, an arrow struck him at the same time that one of the daggers from Lancelot’s gauntlet hit him in the arm causing him to stagger back.
“Pull back,” he commanded. “Guard the prisoners,” he yelled, and several guards circled the wagon.
The horse fidgeted and there was a loud war cry. The ground began to shake. He glanced over his shoulder to find a large figure holding a war axe plowing toward them on a horse. He passed Arthur so quickly that all he could tell of the figure was that he was dressed in black, matching his horse.
The man swung his giant ax, taking out several guards and their horses. More arrows screamed through the air and shot through the guard’s the axe man hadn’t managed to hit. Voices roared in panic. The commander yelled for the men to stand their ground. The large, black horse turned, and charged back toward them. Two of the remaining guards looked around, panting, their eyes wide in fear. He wasn’t surprised when they turned in the other direction and fled.
Arthur grabbed his sword and stood up. Lancelot did the same. Arthur watched as several arrows flew past him and hit the carriage drivers in the chest. Two more horses approached, each steered by much smaller men. Both rode without holding the reins, opting instead to stand in the stirrups with a bow and arrow in hand. He watched in awe as they both grabbed arrows from their quivers on their back. One he noticed had two arrows loaded before they released their arrows.
Lancelot looked at him. “We should leave.”
“What are they trying to steal?” he asked, unable to look away from what was going on before him.
Commander Skye grabbed one of the lit torches, and then pressed it to the carriage. Flames licked all around it, until finally, the whole thing went up. His eyes widened as he homed in on the large flame coming from underneath the carriage. He stood there, almost hypnotized, until the distinct sound of people banging on the walls inside the carriage caught his attention and he noticed the commander standing back a sadistic smile on his face.
“We have to help them,” Arthur said as he gripped his sword determined to help free the people locked inside.
“I told you we should leave,” Lancelot mumbled even as he followed him. Arthur knew Lancelot would grumble but he would never leave anyone to burn to death.
By the time they got near the carriage the flames were halfway up the walls. The two smaller riders with the bow and arrows were leading away several of the guards and the giant had come back around and Arthur heard the distinct sound of metal hitting on metal as his giant ax hit the lock.
A loud cry alerted Arthur, who turned just in time to see Toothless charging at him. He raised his sword to block him. Skill-wise, he was better, but on a horse even a fat, out of shape guard had a slight advantage. Before Arthur could swing his sword to try and knock Toothless off the horse, a dagger flew past him and scratched the side of Toothless’ cheek. This gave Arthur the advantage and he swung his sword hard enough that Toothless almost fell from the horse. With a growl he looked down at Arthur. “You will pay for that.”
With that the man turned and fled proving to Arthur that he was a coward. Sprinting toward the back, just in time to see the giant swinging the ax fighting off two guards. With all the guards distracted, he crept around to the back of the carriage, and eyed the large lock. Raising his blade in the air, he swung down and hit the lock. The sound of metal hitting metal was so loud it caused a ringing in his ear. Metal clanged against metal. Not even that sound could drown out the desperate screams of the people inside trying to get free. He swung with his sword again, and this time, the lock rattled.
Sweat dripped into his eyes as he swung his arms back again. “Come on, bastard.”
Before he could swing again, someone pushed him, and he crashed forward onto his face. As he rolled over, the whiz of arrows flying filled the air. They sank into the chest of one of the guards. His eyes widened as his hands flew to the arrow’s shaft.
“Well, that’s the end of you,” he muttered, rolling out of the way before the guard could land on top of him.
The giant came around the corner and swung his ax. The wood splintered, and the lock hung loosely. With one hard yank, the giant pulled the lock off and tossed it aside.
The door swung open and Arthur found himself staring into the eyes of a young boy who couldn’t be any more than ten years old. As he stood there his mouth hanging open the giant reached past him and picked up the young boy, his voice soft and gentle. “Come lad. We need to hurry.” As he helped him out of the carriage the man spoke loudly to the rest of the people in the carriage, “The children first. One at a time but move quickly.”
The soft neigh of a horse drew Arthur’s attention to the archer who had ridden up. As he reached down to grab the young boy one of the King’s guards who had been hiding behind a close tree grabbed him and tossed him to the ground.
As the guard swung his sword to attack the archer on the ground Arthur pulled his sword from its sheath and blocked the blow. The guard’s attention now on him, Arthur pushed the guard back giving the archer on the ground time to roll away. When the guard swung again Arthur countered and in an easy move the guard lost his hold of the sword causing it to fall. By the time Arthur turned back around the archer had remounted his horse and had two of the younger boys with him.
The giant helped everyone down while the other archer pointed the direction for the men to go. After the last man was out, the giant whistled, and his horse came running. He stood up as Lancelot handed him the reins to his horse. “Hurry we need to go.”
He set one foot in the stirrup and swung his leg around. A quick glance around showed him that the guards had regrouped and were fast approaching. They both turned their horses and took off at a gallop.
There were so many unanswered questions. Who were the people in the carriage? Who were the people that risked their lives to rescue them and why? Were the people in the carriage the missing men and children he’d heard about in town earlier that day?
The sound of horses behind them caused him to turn his head. It was Toothless and the other guards riding behind them. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the archer riding near him with the two young boys and the guards quickly closing the gap between them. With the extra weight of the boys it was harder for the archer to maneuver and escape the guards who were in pursuit.
Chapter 4
The sound of the hoof beats behind her, told Guinevere the King’s guards were quickly catching up. The two boys in front of her held onto the horse’s neck as tightly as they could. She didn’t need to see their faces to know they were scared. Dante, her horse was trained, and she knew, even with them holding onto his neck and mane, he would follow her commands. As she leaned forward in the saddle she whispered to the boys it would be okay as she gently kicked her horse’s sides encouraging him to go faster as she started to weave in and out of the trees.
Bors normally tried to get the King’s guards to follow him while she and Elizabeth led the men and children to safety. Tonight, the Guards were more prepared and had brought reinforcements to help secure their prisoners. Guinevere had seen Elizabeth lead the other prisoners into the woods where they had secured a few horses to help them escape. When Guinevere noticed she was being followed she led them away. Unfortunately, the group that chose to follow her were proving difficult to shake.
This was the third time they had set out to rescue the prisoners. Men and boys that had been taken from their homes on some made-up charge, so they could force them to work in the mines. The first two times the guards had not been prepared for an attack making their
escape a lot easier.
The tell-tale whistle pierced the air before she felt the burn of an arrow that grazed high up on her arm. She leaned down a bit, forcing the boys to curl up closer together. They shook in her arms.
“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered.
A frantic look around Guinevere was trying to pick the best escape route as the flash of red caught from the corner of her eye caused her to look over her shoulder. The guard pursuing her was so close that their horses almost touched. Taking a chance, she veered to the left and cut between trees.
A loud thump followed by the sound of metal hitting metal caused Guinevere to look behind her. The guard who was pursuing was now trading blows with a lone swordsman giving her a chance to get away. She clenched her jaw and drove her horse Dante even harder. Guinevere urged Dante to the right this time, a sigh of relief escaping her. She slowed and perked her ears but was unable to detect the clomp of hooves behind her.
When she finally met up with Bors and the others, she helped the boys down, and they both ran into their father’s arms. “Anyone hurt?” she asked.
Bors shook his head. “No, ma’am. We got them out just in time. Few more minutes, though…”
Elizabeth rode up. “They caught the man who tried to save you.”
Bors grunted. “We can’t save them. We need to get these people to the meeting point.”
Guinevere removed the cover hiding her face and shot him a look., “I’m going after them. I won’t get close, but I must try. He risked his life for mine.” As she turned her horse around, she let the cover drop back over her face.
Before they could argue, she rode back to where they’d originally met up with the caravan. There she found five of the guards and two men. The man who had saved her was tied up and being dragged. The other on his knees, his head down, his face covered with dark hair.
