The Everlands Chronicles: The Truth

by A. J. Bell

  “You shouldn’t have come,” he said. He then let go of my hands and stood up. I stared at him, confused and hurt. “It’s not just my cousin I’m worried about.” He paused, looking for words. “About a month ago, when we got reinforcements from Abilene, she came with them–”

  “She?” I didn’t follow.

  “I took one of my servant girls for myself.”

  I gasped at the confession. The wound that had already been opened by his resentful attitude deepened with his words.

  “I’ve promised to marry her upon our return to Abilene.” He paused, waiting for my reaction. I was staring into nothingness, dazed, trying to absorb the words he had just spoken. Tears welled up in my eyes. “She has come here to be with me on this journey, until I can return home and make her my wife. Everyone here knows of our engagement – she has a very tender heart. I can’t hurt her like this.”

  He offered me his hand to help me stand up, but I didn’t take it. I felt like the air had been taken away from the tent, and I was having difficulty breathing again. “Engaged? He’s engaged?” I whispered in pain.

  “So are you… to my cousin.”

  Was there a reason for me to tell him again that Victor was marrying somebody else, that I was free to love whom I pleased? No, not anymore. His mind was set. He had chosen another woman. I stood up, speechless. I tried to fix my dress and my hair, reliving in my mind the words he had spoken, which made me feel less than the dust of the earth I walked on.

  “Please say something,” he pleaded, but I couldn’t speak. I was still thinking about what to do next. I was still confused and astounded when she came in.

  “Oh, Dorian! I didn’t know you had a visitor. I’ll come back later,” she said. She was a plain girl, but the happiness she radiated made her look pretty. She was a few years older than me, and I recognized her familiar face.

  “Jane?” I said.

  “My Lady?” Surprisingly, she gave me a hug when she recognized me. It took me a few seconds to hug her back.

  “Do you know each other?” asked Sir Dorian.

  “We owe our happiness to her, Dorian,” said Jane, walking to his side. “She was the one who encouraged me to come and see you. My Lady, can you believe this! We’re to be married as soon as we return to the Abilene, and it’s all thanks to you.” I said nothing. “I didn’t mean to interrupt; please forgive me,” she said apologetically and started to walk towards the door. This time, I reached for her hand. “Please, do stay, Jane… I was on my way out,” I said.

  “The roads will soon be dark. It’s not safe to start your journey right now,” said Dorian, genuinely concerned. I noticed she went back to hold his hand. I looked away, immediately hurt by the sight. I needed to get out!

  “I stayed too long already, My Lord,” I said, and this time, I started to walk towards the entrance.

  “My Lady,” Jane called. “Will you not stay for dinner? I made some stew – Dorian thinks it’s the best he’s ever had. It’ll keep you warm on your journey.”

  I understood his reaction now. My request of staying for dinner reminded him of her cooking dinner for him. She looked so innocent. I wondered if she would be asking me to stay and eat her food if she knew, a few moments before, I was kissing her future husband.

  “Thank you Jane, but the sooner I leave here… the better. Congratulations on your engagement to Sir Dorian. I can see the two of you will be very happy together.” As I turned around to face the exit, the cold hit me straight in the face. As I was about to cover my head with the hood of my cloak, I remembered it wasn’t mine. I turned back to face Jane. “I almost forgot. Sir Dorian misplaced this back in the Everlands,” I said, undoing the strings of the cloak I was wearing – his cloak. I wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and tied it carefully around her neck. “It’s only fair that it stays now here and keeps warm the woman he truly loves.”

  I gave one more step and saw the envelope I had carried on the floor. It had landed on the ground instead of the table. I picked it up and gave it to him. “I can’t be trusted with a simple message. I almost forgot what I came here for. This is Your Majesty’s wedding announcement. He would love to see you both at the celebration in eight weeks. Goodbye now.” I walked out and asked the first soldier I saw to guide me to the stables. Stardust was having a drink when I got there, but I couldn’t wait. I saddled her up while the stable boys just stared at each other. When they tried to offer some help, I said, “I need none.”

  I was about to mount Stardust when Dorian took my hand. “I don’t see your escorts,” he said.

  “Because I brought none,” I said, mounting my mare.

  “You came alone!” Dorian sounded alarmed.

  “I’m well known for doing things without thinking, My Lord, as you’ve already witnessed yourself. It’s not the first time I’ve done something stupid, so don’t feel concerned about my wellbeing. My body can heal easily,” I said, looking straight in front of me so I could ignore his azure gaze.

  “What about the wounds in your heart?” he asked.

  “Those,” I choked on the words, “no longer concern you, My Lord.” I loosened his grip, snapped Stardust’s reins, and galloped out of the camp and into the forest – not looking back.

  I continued for a couple of hours until I found the Gypsy camp. Even though it was late, they were still awake.

  Chapter 25

  Vince’s welcome gift to me was a nice blanket, a warm drink, and some leftover roasted wild pig.

  The snow had done a good job covering the ground, but the wind had ceased, so it wasn’t so bad to sit by the fire. Yet, the outside temperature had no control over how I felt on the inside.

  “How did it go?” Vince asked.

  “It’s none of your business,” I said kindly. What I actually wanted to do was scream that it had been a waste of time and that my heart was broken. Jane was so lovely, so how could I even try to hate someone like that. I really wanted to, but I could see why he had chosen her over me.

  “Not good, I see.”

  My kindness ran out, and I looked at him, annoyed. “I’m tired,” I told him. He pointed at his little tent. “Feel free to use my tent,” he said. Following his advice, I lay down, but sleep wouldn’t come. Whenever I would close my eyes, I felt Dorian’s lips on mine. When I opened them, I felt the sting of my reality, and the image of Dorian and Jane’s hands intertwined made my heart burn with the flames of sorrow. As I tossed and turned, Vince came in.

  “You seem restless,” Vince said.

  “I didn’t ask your opinion on the matter,” I said sourly, even though I knew it wasn’t his fault.

  “Forget I said restless. Let’s try bitter instead.” I looked at him, enraged, but he ignored my angry gaze. “Come with us to the mountains,” he added.

  “There’s no reason for me to go up there,” I said.

  “I don’t think you have a reason to stay behind either,” he replied. “But if you come, I might be able to give you a reason to stay.” He got closer to me.

  “What kind of reason?” I asked.

  He leaned closer yet. “Have you thought of the kiss we shared?” I shook my head. “Then marrying me would be out of the question, but we could still get to know each other better. What do you have to lose?”

  I got up and grabbed Heaven’s hilt. I pointed Heaven at his neck at first, then I swung it a couple of times in front of me.

  “I’ll make you a deal, Vince. If you can defeat me, I’ll go with you for a few days,” I said. “A good fight will surely lift up my dampened spirits.”

  “Deal,” he said, grabbing his own blade.

  We came out of the tent and took our fighting stance. The other men gathered round to watch us. Soon enough, our swords began clashing. I couldn’t take it casually because Vince wasn’t. He was truly trying to defeat me.

  All I needed was a bit of encouragement. When his sword hit Heaven’s body hard, I felt a rush of energy run through my body. Suddenly, it was no lon
ger cold, but it was warm, and I was winning. Vince didn’t know all the things I could do with the sword, so I almost impaled him twice.

  “This is only a pretend fight,” he said. “You’re supposed to let me win because you want to come to the mountains–”

  “When did we make that arrangement?” I replied, hitting his sword again.

  “Protect her!” I heard Dorian yell at his men. I lowered my sword, looking for the man whose voice I recognized, even in my sleep. Vince tried to stop me from joining the battle that had begun. Everlands soldiers were swarming the camp. No doubt, our pretend fight must have looked very real to Dorian, and he was trying to protect me.

  “Dorian!” I yelled. My eyes locked on his for an instant, and then he fell to the ground. An arrow had pierced his left shoulder, and a second one had gone through his chest. I ran to him and fell on the ground beside him. The white snow was changing to crimson red with the blood of my beloved Dorian. Victor commanded his men to cease the attack. “My Lord! Can you hear me?” Dorian grunted in pain. “He needs help!” I said.

  “Get back to the tent, Elle,” said Vince. “We’ll take care of him.”

  I ignored him. I would not be parted from him. Vince tried to stand me up by grabbing my arm. Dorian raised his sword, slashed the fabric on Vince’s shirt, and then dropped to the ground. Thankfully, it didn’t touch Vince’s skin.

  “You stupid fool!” said Vince, trying to kick him, but I caught his foot with my hand before it reached Dorian. “You weren’t able to fight us while standing on your feet. What makes you think you can fight us from the ground?”

  “Shut up, Vince! This is Sir Dorian LaFonte of Abilene, His Majesty’s nephew. Your men could’ve started another stupid little war between your kin and the people of the Everlands.”

  “Is that what worries you? Because we can finish these idiots quickly, and nobody will hear a word about what just happened. Or is it the fact that you are fond of this loser? Do you deny he’s the reason you traveled here?”

  “Shut up!” I said again. My manner were forgotten whenever I was scared. “He needs this arrow to be removed and his wounds cleaned, it’s all that matters now.”

  “He won’t get help from us!” one Gypsy said.

  “My men… where are they?” asked Dorian with effort.

  “They bravely ran away back to their camp,” snorted one of the Gypsies.

  I shot a quick glance at Vince, and noticed he was thinking the same thing.

  “My Lord,” I asked Dorian. “Will your men come with reinforcements and attack this camp?” He didn’t like my concern for the men who had just attacked him, but he nodded weakly in affirmation.

  “Men, get ready to fight!” ordered Vince.

  “No!” I said. “Move the camp a few more miles into the forest, and bring my horse. My Lord, do you think you can ride with me to your camp?” I asked Dorian, who nodded again. “Vince, help me get him in the saddle. He and I will ride back to the camp together, and Sir Dorian will tell his soldiers to not attack. Isn’t that right, My Lord?” I asked Dorian. He nodded reluctantly in response.

  “We aren’t cowards!” said Vince.

  “I know that, Vince, but you tend to be very stupid. Do as I said and do not wait for me.”

  I tied Dorian’s hands together, like I did with Sir Richard back at the Squires’ Tournament. Carefully, so the arrow would not move and cause him unnecessary pain, I ducked between his arms so that they were around my waist, and we rode into the encampment. When we arrived, the soldiers were gearing up ready for battle against the Gypsies.

  “Sir Dorian’s wounded. I need some help!” I yelled. The soldiers fell silent at the sight of their general bleeding out in front of them. When some of the soldiers came to help me, I pulled out my dagger from underneath my dress and cut the rope that tied his hands around me. Then I took my bag from my saddle and followed the men.

  “Jonas,” Dorian called. Another soldier came forward. “Pull the men back. Don’t attack… don’t attack!” he said with effort.

  We then left the men behind and went into Dorian’s tent. “I need some towels, clean water, some wine, and put my sword into the fire. Bring it when it’s searing red. I’ll need two of you to help me while the rest of you wait outside. No one else must come in – is that clear?” The soldiers nodded and left the tent.

  Sir Dorian was lying on his side, moaning in pain. “We need to sit him up. One of you needs to sit behind him and give him support. The other will pour the wine on the wound after I get the arrows out. My Lord, chew on these juniper seeds; they will help you with the pain afterwards. However, we can’t wait to get the arrows out. You’re losing too much blood and we need to stop it. Do you understand?” He nodded. “Bite on this, My Lord.” I gave him a piece of the same belt Father had given me when Richard lashed my back. I carried it with me always to remember to control my anger, but Dorian refused to use it. I tried to argue. “You need this, My Lord. It will–”

  He put his trembling fingers to my lips to silence me. “Just do it quickly,” he said.

  I ripped his shirt open, and with my eyes locked on his, I held my breath, took the first arrow with both hands, and pulled it out without hesitation. He screamed in pain and almost passed out. I quickly did the same with the second arrow. One soldier moved Dorian so that he could lie down on his side. The other one poured the wine on his wounds. With a clean towel, I put pressure on the wounds. A little lower and the arrow would have pierced his heart, and he would be no more. I seared the wound with the heat of Heaven to stop it from bleeding anymore. It made his body tense like a pulled rope, but this time he held back the screams. I took some herbs, mashed them together, and added a little water to make a paste that I rubbed on his wounds. I then bandaged them, carefully. Dorian took my hand and put it to his lips, kissing it softly. His breathing was back to normal, so the soldiers left us alone.

  “Thank you,” he said softly. I was sobbing, and I noticed as my tears dripped onto his chest that there was blood mixed with them. When I looked at my dress, I saw it was covered in blood, along with my neck and my face. It might be a stupid thought, but I could bet that Dorian was not regretting choosing Jane over me – I looked like a bloody mess. “You ride with Gypsies… That’s very interesting,” he said.

  I forced a chuckle. “Like I said, I tend to do stupid things all the time, My Lord.” He was still holding my hand. “Why did you stay behind when you saw you were outnumbered? Why did you not let your men take you with them when they ran?” I said reproachfully. He could’ve gotten killed!

  “I wanted to make sure you were safe. It looked like he was about to defeat you,” he said, squeezing my hand softly.

  “It was a pretend fight.” I shook my head in disapproval.

  “Where did you get this?” he asked suddenly, while rubbing The Secret his father had given me.

  “Your father… mistakenly gave it to me. He thought you wanted to marry me…” I said as I took the necklace off and put it in his hand, closing his fingers around it. “It belongs to Jane now, just like your heart.” More tears began to flow. I wiped the tears off my face and try to change his attention away from my broken heart. “You know, going into the forest like that was foolish! You could have died over nothing.”

  He was staring at me in pain. Perhaps I should have given him more numbing herbs so that he could rest. Surely, it was the pain of his wounds that showed in his face. Yet, my heart wondered if he felt pity for me, sitting by his side and begging for his love even though I knew his love was already taken.

  If he was going to say something else, but I’ll never know because just then Jane came in, sobbing desperately since the news had reached her. She ran straight into his arms and kissed him a few times before I exited the tent.

  “My Lady, are you hurt?” a young man asked, who was standing outside the tent. He couldn’t be older than thirteen-years-of-age. He was Sir Dorian’s squire.

  “I’m well. This is y
our mentor’s blood,” I said, looking at my shoulder and wiping my face.

  “Will Sir Dorian survive?” the boy asked, worried for his master almost to the point of tears.

  “I believe so, since he’s a very strong man. The herbs I gave him will spare him any more pain for the night, but his wound will need to be treated again to ensure there will be no infection,” I said.

  “Will you stay and care for him until he is well, My Lady?” he begged. I looked back towards the tent. I saw their shadows embraced, sharing a kiss – too much like the ones we had shared this afternoon. My heart shattered. “I can’t,” I told him. His eyes welled up with tears. “But I can teach you how to take care of him.” His face lit up and he quickly wiped away his tears. Jane came out of the tent, wiping away her own tears.

  “He’s sleeping now,” she said. “What happened?” She sounded angry.

  “My Lord will tell you everything when he is awake.” I turned to the boy again and pulled a handful of herbs out of my little pouch to show to him. “This will calm his pain. Have him chew on them at least two or three times during the day and before going to sleep.” He nodded in understanding. “And these other ones, you’ll mash together until they form a paste thick enough to stay on top of the wound. Before you put on new bandages, the wound must be cleaned. Repeat the process at least five times a day to avoid an infection.” I gave him the mesh bag full of herbs. “Do you understand that if you don’t do this right, his wounds won’t heal?” The boy nodded again.

  “You won’t stay?” said Jane, upset. “He needs your care until we get the camp surgeon to him. You can’t leave him. I beg you!” She took my hands desperately.

  “I’m sorry, but my business here is done. Don’t ask me to stay, please.” I turned to the boy for the last time. “If you do what I have told you to do, he should be well in no time.”