Briahnna awoke after one of those entire days and found blue eyes gazing down at her.
“Long week?” Jerrick asked with a smirk.
Briahnna reached out and grabbed his arm, reenergizing. They were still connected through physical touch. “Hmmm,” She sighed and swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. “At least you’re good for something,” she said, smirking back.
Jerrick shrugged.
Stretching, Briahnna cocked her head to the side. “Is there a reason you’re here?”
“Word of your ability is spreading. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“Okay.” Jerrick turned to walk away. Briahnna reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned around and she threw herself into his arms. She felt him tense up then relax and wrap his arms around her, leaning his head on hers.
“I have tomorrow off,” Briahnna said. “Healer Kyar says that I have decreased his work significantly and that I need a break. Well, one where I’m not sleeping the entire time. So do you think that maybe you could visit me?”
Jerrick smiled. “I can’t during the day, but I can come tomorrow evening. I’m sorry I haven’t been here to see you sooner. We’ve pushed Thornhold back, and it takes about a half-day to get to the battlefront now. We’ve been switching troops every week on the front lines. My troops went this week because we’ve had some time off.”
“Okay. As long as I get to see you tomorrow.”
“Of course.” Jerrick kissed her gently and left.
Briahnna began her rounds, changing and cleaning wounds, checking stitches, and changing linens on the beds. Keeping busy always felt good. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with herself tomorrow.
“Ah, my Bumble Bee, once again faithfully working to keep the hive running.”
“Father!” Briahnna ran into her father’s arms. “What took you so long?” Looking behind him she saw Darian grinning at her.
“We had to make sure things were in order at home so that Darian and I could be here together. I’m going to be passing the crown to him soon, and he needs to know everything and be comfortable wherever he may be,” Rinald said.
“The perks of being the only prince,” Darian said sarcastically.
“He also needs to know how to give orders without putting himself in harm’s way,” the King added.
“Can I join you tomorrow?” Briahnna asked. “I have the day off, and I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself.”
“As long as you know how to stay out of the way,” Rinald smiled.
He let out a slow breath then changed the subject. “Briahnna…”
Briahnna looked away, knowing what her father was most likely going to address.
“You left quickly.” His eyebrows rose, wrinkling his forehead. “You left unescorted. What were you thinking?”
Pursing her lips, Briahnna tried to think of a good reason for her quick escape.
“Think hard, Bumble Bee. I want a good excuse.”
She could never lie to her father. “I overheard you and Jerrick speaking…I knew he wanted to marry me right away, and it frightened me.” Ashamed of herself, Bri looked down.
Rinald nodded, not seeming to be a bit surprised. “Are you sure, that you want to marry him, Bri? I would never force you into something you didn’t want.”
Briahna stepped forward earnestly, “Of course. It was just so sudden, and I was surprised, frightened…maybe even a little angry.”
Darian let out a bark of a laugh. “Oh Bri, a little?”
Ignoring him she looked at her father. “It was an impulse. I just did it without really thinking. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I wasn’t thinking about anyone else.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m such an idiot.”
Darian put an arm around her. “You were just being you.”
She pushed him away. “Thanks,” she said sarcastically.
“No, Briahnna.” Rinald paused. Briahnna felt like he was looking into her soul, and she squirmed. “I understand. Jerrick probably should have consulted you first. However, you do not make it very easy for him you know.”
“I know. Mother has always told me that I’m stubborn and even a little pigheaded.”
Her father laughed, “Well, the first step to recovery is admitting it.” He paused. “How is Jerrick?”
“He’s good,” she said, eager to change the subject. “He’s coming to visit me tomorrow evening.” Briahnna leaned toward him and whispered, “We can’t feel each other’s emotions outside the forest.”
Surprised, Rinald grunted, “Interesting. That was probably a good thing to learn. We’ll have to look into it. Well, I must be on my way. Just have the guard direct you to my tent in the morning.”
He and Darian left after another hug and a kiss to the top of her head.
. . .
Briahnna awoke the next morning, dressed, and went straight to the guard.
“Hello, Princess.”
“Reed! You have guard duty?”
Reed smiled at her. “For today. I am to escort you to your father.”
“Thank you. I was a little afraid that I would just be given directions and then I’d get lost. It would be pretty typical.”
“I think your father thought the same thing,” Reed said laughing.
She followed him to a large tent settled in the middle of the camp. They entered, but the King was not there. Reed questioned a few of the soldiers milling around, obviously not involved in the battle today, and led Briahnna to the large stable tent sheltering the horses. They mounted two horses and rode out of the camp.
Shortly after leaving camp, they came upon tens of thousands of Mageian soldiers, and Briahnna saw the large walls of Thornhold not far away. Reed spotted the king and led her to him.
“They moved forward in the night,” a soldier told Reed as they approached.
King Rinald looked livid, turning to the voice of the soldier, spotting Reed and Briahnna. With his hand he gestured them forward to join him.
“What I would like to know,” he said to the general in charge of the troops, “is how we were unaware that they were moving through the night.”
“They move like a lion stalking its prey. It’s quiet as the wind.”
Rinald clenched his teeth. “The wind is not quiet. Were there not guards on duty? Are we not keeping an eye on our enemy day and night?”
“I believe the guards fell asleep, Your Majesty. Thornhold has never tried this before. I believe they were waiting for us to relax and let our guard down.”
The King tensed with anger. “Well, it would seem that our guard let us down.” Briahnna had never seen her father so incensed. It was unnerving.
Rinald turned in a circle as he addressed everyone around him. “It would seem, gentlemen, once again Thornhold has shown competence we seem to lack. I suggest that we not let our guard down again.” He started ordering the generals and captains to their positions and started talking strategy about how to push Thornhold back once more.
Briahnna looked up when everyone started scrambling around in a commotion and gasped at the walls of Thornhold moving closer. The sight was astonishing. She had never seen anything like it.
Rinald grabbed her arm and ordered her back onto her horse. She, Reed, Darian, and the King moved away from the soldiers and away from the oncoming battle. She could feel the agitation rolling off her father.
“Once again they caught us off-guard.” King Rinald flared his nostrils and growled, “How did this happen? We were too sure of ourselves. I was too sure of my Kingdom and our powers.” He was talking to himself now. He shook his head and looked at Darian. “Any suggestions, son?”
Darian’s eyes were wide with awe. “It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Rinald snorted. “My son is even inspired by our opponent.”
Once the Mageian troops were in formation, King Rinald shouted, “Move forward!” And a horn was blown.<
br />
They began to move forward rather rapidly, trying to regain a small amount of ground, women bringing up the rear of the formation. She watched as two groups broke off from the sides and began heading toward the breaks in the walls, ready to intercept their opponent when they emerged.
As if trying to prolong the inevitable, the walls slowly began to spread apart. Silence filled the air as everyone held their breath in anticipation. A flare of fire was signaled in the air and all chaos broke loose.
Fire was thrown into the wall-breaks as Thornhold soldiers and their shields streamed out to take down the magiks. They were faster than the eye could see, and only when the wind blew at them with wicked force did they slow. They could jump unnaturally high, and so they jumped and dodged the mages powers flowing endlessly at them.
Briahnna cringed, hearing sword clash against sword, screams on top of war-cries, and arrows whistling through the air. She couldn’t look away as she watched a Thornhold soldier drown in a bubble of water, then saw the magik who produced the bubble of water pass out from exertion and be taken from the field.
So many soldiers, so many screams, so much destruction.
Messenger after messenger came and went as they informed and took instructions from King Rinald.
She couldn’t see how anyone from either side could possibly win or gain any ground. To her it seemed hopeless and wrong.
Briahnna turned her horse and urged him into a gallop back to camp, back to the infirmary, back to where she could see the living and not the dying. Back to hope. If there was any left.
. . .
Jerrick emerged from his tent when he heard horses’ hooves outside. He exhaled in relief when he saw Samson and Abriel ride into camp. Slapping them on their shoulders after they dismounted, Jerrick asked, “Do you have news? Any information?”
“The king and prince are placed directly in the center of their camp,” Samson said, entering the tent and grabbing paper to draw an outline of the Thornhold troop’s stronghold. “The walls make a complete octagon around their troops. Within the octagon are pulley systems that mechanically run the walls. Four people per wall operate the mechanics of them. Two lines of troops line up behind each wall, each line consisting of about one hundred men. They are reinforced with one thousand more men behind each of the two lines, rotating and switching with the outside troops every other day. They keep about five thousand outside of the octagon for emergencies and as part of the rotation.”
“And King Estrod and Prince Desmond are in the center of all of this?” Jerrick asked.
“Yes,” Samson and Abriel answered in unison.
“Good work.” Jerrick smiled and nodded. “Get some rest. I have things I need to see to.”
Jerrick headed straight for the infirmary after talking with his two friends. He had been waiting most of the day for them to return from their mission. They had been gone for five days. If they hadn’t returned on day five then they would have been considered prisoners of war or dead. He was relieved to know they were unharmed.
From a distance he saw Briahnna sitting on the ground near the infirmary tent against a tree. Her head was leaning against the trunk, eyes closed, forehead creased in distress.
Jerrick crouched beside her quietly, leaned in close, and whispered, “Bad day?”
Screeching, Briahnna took a deep breath. “No warning? Really, Jerrick, you scared the living daylights out of me.”
Jerrick laughed. “You scare easily. What’s the matter, Bri?” he asked, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“I spent the day with my father and Darian. Well, I guess it wasn’t my entire day, just a small portion, really.”
“And it was that bad?”
She looked at him, knowing he wouldn’t want to hear this. “They were on the battlefield.”
“What?” he cried. “What part of ‘be safe’ do you not understand?”
“I had Reed with me,” she said, trying to plead her case. “And I was with my Father and Darian. Do you really think they would have let anything happen to me?”
“I’m actually surprised that they let you go there at all,” he said angrily.
She rubbed her temples like she was trying to wipe away the memory. “Well I don’t plan on returning, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Maybe that’s why your father allowed it, to keep you from ever wanting to be there again.”
She turned to him with tears in her eyes. “You have to do that?” she asked. “You have to fight and kill and keep yourself from being killed?”
Jerrick closed his eyes, knowing how troubled these things would make her, and took her in his arms. “Bri, this is war. You know that I do.”
“It just didn’t seem real. I didn’t really grasp it until I saw it. This is horrible. It has to end,” she sobbed.
“It will,” he reassured. “I have a plan, Briahnna.”
“Good, I can’t stand the thought of it carrying on for much longer.”
He took her hand and led her away from the tent. “Come with me,” he said, pulling her along. “You need a little distraction.”
Jerrick pulled her to a hill on the other side of camp, traveling up and over it until they reached a cluster of trees. They went through to where a river with a small inlet was running on the other side.
Jerrick took his shirt off, and Briahnna glanced away quickly, but not before getting an eyeful. He laughed at the blush left on her cheek.
“Seriously, Bri? We’ve been swimming over a hundred times together.”
“Yeah, but…we weren’t betrothed then...It wasn’t a big deal,” she stammered.
Jerrick walked in front of her and wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s not a big deal now,” he whispered.
“Fine, but I’m not getting in that water. It’s not that warm anymore.”
“Awe…Come on little Bumble Bee Bri,” he taunted, sticking out his bottom lip. “Are you going to let a little cold ruin our fun? You’re going to look like a frightened little kitten sitting up here all alone. Of course…” he paused, “I wouldn’t mind comforting my little kitten.”
Briahnna’s mouth dropped open, eyes wide, and she stood immediately, tugging off her sandals and outer blouse. “I don’t need comforting,” she said, blushing furiously as Jerrick laughed.
“Run in on the count of three,” she said, glaring at him from the corner of her eye.
“Fine. I get to count,” he said shrugging. “One. Two. Three!”
Briahnna ran as fast as she could, stumbling and tripping over rocks, then finally face planting into the water. She gasped coming up for air and looked around only to find Jerrick laughing hysterically on the shore.
She forced a ball of water at him, but he stopped it and looked around it at her, shaking his finger, “Uh, uh, uh, Little Bee. Temper, temper. You said run. You didn’t say I had to run with you.” He grinned at her. “It’s nice isn’t it?”
The ball of water dropped, and Briahnna shoved him when he walked up to her. “Yes. If you like your water scalding.”
Jerrick snorted. “Please. It’s perfect, and you know it. Now stop backing away from me.”
She squinted her eyes. “I don’t trust you.”
“What do you think I’m going to do?” He stopped and raised his eyebrows. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I’m not worried about you hurting me.” She stopped and waited for him. She felt the mud beneath her feet as he walked to her. He smiled, happy that she actually listened to him.
“Good. I don’t want to talk anymore.” Looking at her lips, he took her waist in his hands and kissed her.
As his kiss deepened, Briahnna found it more and more difficult to concentrate. Then with a push she found the cold water and pulled it to them. It soared through the air, and she pulled herself away from Jerrick, letting the water crash over him.
Jerrick was shocked. He coughed up a torrent of water then dove into the warm inlet and came out looking for Bri. She wa
s running out of the river with a very large grin on her face.
He chased after her, grabbed her around the waist, and threw her over his shoulder. He ran two hundred feet to the frigid water and tried to throw her in. Circling her arms around his waist, Bri held on for dear life, making him tumble, causing them both to fall into the water. They stood up coughing, grinned at each other, and raced back to the warm inlet.
Sitting up after immersing herself in the warm water, Briahnna beamed at Jerrick. “I can’t help thinking this isn’t what you had planned.”
Jerrick exhaled and laughed, then lay back. “I never plan when it comes to you Briahnna. You always surprise me.”
. . .
Jerrick returned Briahnna to the infirmary at the early hours of dawn. Giving her a chaste kiss, he made her promise to marry him the next time they both returned to Mageia. Then he returned to his own tent, determined and ready.
Storming into his troop’s tent, he shouted, “Samson! Abriel! Get up, eat, and meet me in my tent within the hour.”
Chapter 20
Samson and Abriel entered Jerrick’s tent shortly after he had ordered them there, curious as to what he wanted this time. They both paused when they saw Jerrick. He was geared-up and battle-ready.
“What’s going on?” asked Abriel. “We’re not scheduled for battle today.”
Spirit (Legend of the Dragons Book 1) Page 12
