Except we weren’t all here. “Where’s Link?”
“He’s still coming, your grace,” Marcus answered gravely.
“Hop on off, Wyatt. You alright?”
Wyatt obeyed, sheathing his sword before dismounting. “I’m well. Thank you for the rescue.”
I nodded, but barely heard anything else. I turned Daisy around and went back to the entrance. The men were walled in by two gray masses of rock that assured me the guys would be safe until the vine monsters chilled out. My eyes scanned the landscape for signs of Link, who should’ve been right behind us.
When movement caught my eye, it wasn’t Link on his horse, but simply my Untouchable, running for all he was worth from too far away. I swore, not thinking it all the way through as I called over my shoulder for the others to stay where they were. They cried out in earnest for me to stay with them. A few trotted over to me, and I knew if I didn’t go now, they’d block my path. “We’ve got to get Link,” I told Daisy, warning her before I snapped the reins.
13
Nothing You Could Say Could Tear Me Away from My Guy
My horse didn’t want to go back for Link, but she didn’t dare disobey. I didn’t know a whole ton about the land, but I knew that Link didn’t stand a chance, running instead of riding. A warrior to his core, Link ran with an expressionless determination to get to safety, no matter what monster chased him down. He was still a football field away, and there was a vine monster in his path, but that didn’t stop him. That seemed to be the way with the Untouchables.
Daisy was warning me to turn us back, but I couldn’t leave Link to fend for himself. Bastien had gone to rescue my Lane. I couldn’t let him come home to a dead Link. That thought sent a chill up my spine. What kind of a world would this be without Link to make us laugh? What would be the point of rebuilding if such a goofy soul was destroyed out here, in the middle of nowhere? I kept Bastien tight in my heart, vowing to myself that he wouldn’t lose another friend. Roland had been enough of a blow, but I knew he wouldn’t get back up if Link was taken from him. I couldn’t begin to imagine how Madigan would function without Link. People underestimate the value of play. They’ll fight for rights and freedom easily enough, but fighting for the ability to play is just as important. If I let Daisy talk me out of this, or if I’d listened to the soldiers’ cries for me to stay back with them, the best smile in all of Éireland might cease to exist.
I couldn’t imagine a more tragic loss.
Link shouted at me to turn around, but I didn’t obey. I didn’t slow until he was close enough to get on the horse behind me. He hopped on, his hands trembling as his arms wound around my waist. “You’re mad! Tha’s foolish, Rosie! Ye don’t come back out when there’s a Caisse D’épines on the loose!”
“I love you!” I replied simply as I dug my heels into Daisy’s sides. She didn’t need the prodding, though. She took off back toward the others with lightning speed (or, you know, a horse’s speed). Her voice was a steady stream of worries that we wouldn’t make it back to our hidey hole between the mountains. When another mammoth trunk split the ground not ten feet from where we were, I was starting to wonder if she might be right.
I held on tight, Link’s arms caging me in as he gripped my hands that held the reins. We rode hard and fast around the trunks that were thicker than the length of Daisy’s body. The vines spun every which way as they swung down toward us, swooping in our path and grabbing at us with a ferocity that pushed a scream out of my mouth. I could no longer convince myself that I was in a video game.
Link bent his upper half over mine, smooshing my chest to Daisy so we were more aerodynamic. It wasn’t until he cried out with an agonized “Ah!” that I realized he was shielding me with his body, taking the beating so I didn’t have to.
Link held on tighter now, and I could tell he was in pain. He was breathing through gritted teeth, and letting out low growls and grunts with every turn we made to dodge the vine beasts.
I don’t think anyone would’ve judged me if I burst into tears when we finally crossed through the gap into safety, but I couldn’t break down until I saw the scope of the damage that had been inflicted on my friend. He dismounted with a noise of distress, and fell to his knees, leaning over on all fours like a dog as he panted through the pain.
My legs were rubbery, and I tripped after I got my leg out of the stirrup. Wyatt steadied me and offered me a drink from his canteen. “Easy, easy. I can’t believe you did that.”
Marcus was white with fear. “Your majesty, if you die, the kingdom perishes! You can’t go throwing yourself into…” He caught himself mid-lecture, realizing that scolding me wasn’t his place.
I indulged in a few swallows, but pushed the canteen away so I could get to Link. “He’s hurt!” I said in a wobbly voice. I needed Link not to ever get a papercut. I needed the Untouchables to have a life of fluffy pillows and candies at every turn. I needed them to never have a bad day, a stubbed toe, or you know, a wallop across the back from a tree monster.
I dropped down next to him and started to peel off his shirt. My fingers trembled as they skated over his skin, taking in the foot-wide mark that stretched across his entire massive back. The others gasped at his scars, most of which had been tattooed over. The zipper designs went every which way on his body, making him look like he was constantly being unzipped, and his innards might spill out.
“What can I do?” I asked him quietly, worried that we hadn’t thought to travel with a healer.
“Get the lads away,” he whispered, his words coming out through gritted teeth.
I raised my shaking voice just a little to be heard. “Is everyone here? We all made it?”
Marcus answered for the group. “Yes, your majesty. We lost two horses, but other than that, we’re okay.”
“Good. Awesome job, guys. Marcus, can the tree monsters get at us if we stay behind these mountains?”
“No, your majesty. They can’t cross pure rock of this size.”
“If we’re safe here, then let’s break for the night. The horses need to rest, and we wouldn’t get much farther now anyways, since it’ll be dark soon. Go on over there, so I can talk with Link, alright?” I was usually more diplomatic, but the narrow escape had made me slightly more direct.
“Yes, your majesty. Only make sure you don’t linger near the gap. It’s possible for one of the vines to snake through.”
“Thanks, man.” When the others left for an area a safe distance from us with the horses, I positioned my body between Link’s and the gap, knowing he wasn’t ready to move just yet.
“Go on,” Link said, his eyes on the rocky dirt as he remained on all fours. “I’ll catch up.”
“Okay,” I replied, with no intention of obeying. I remained by his side, silent through the echoes of his pain.
His panting grew more uneven, and I wondered if he might faint. His skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, showing off the divots in his flesh from his many scars. Beneath the relief of our safety, a deep sadness washed over me, replacing a bit of my optimism that I needed to survive. I needed to be able to hold my head up and believe that everything would somehow be okay. Seeing deep abuse like Link’s? It took away a little of that belief in the goodness that kept me from hardening over. Link was my sweetie pie, and yet, he’d been worked over and sliced open too many times to count.
“Go on,” Link repeated, still gripping the ground through waves of pain.
“I did. I’m over there with the guys right now,” I lied lamely.
“They can’t see me like this. We’re unstoppable. They need to believe tha. They need to see us as something tha keeps them safe, otherwise they have nothing. Don’t let them see me, Rosie.”
It was the same logic that made me stay inside until the beak-marks had mostly faded on my body. If the people saw me injured, they knew whatever bested me would aim at them next.
I glanced around and spotted a little divot in the mountain just a few yards away. “Can y
ou move? There’s a spot over there where you can take a breather.”
“Aye.” It took a few tries, but finally Link stood, grimacing with every step as I led him toward the private mini cove. It was just big enough for the two of us. I was careful with his body as I slowly lowered him to the ground. His muffled “oof!” didn’t inspire much confidence in a speedy recovery, but he was able to move around, which was something. I quickly retracted my hands from his once he was in place, wary of the bite that always came when Bastien was wounded. If Link was anything like Bastien, the anger was still coming. Link looked up at me with a hard expression, so I braced myself. “Ye shouldn’t have come back out.”
“Okay.” I replied simply, unwilling to fight about it. “Next time a possessed tree tries to take you out, I’ll just let you die.” I lowered myself next to him, but kept a foot of space between us, the shade falling over my knees. “Can I have your fancy knife when you croak?”
Link snorted. “Ye want my knife?”
“Well, I was going to ask for your collection of fancy dresses, but I’ve already got enough of those. Plus, what else would we bury you in? I was thinking you could wear something pink and lacy when we put you in the ground for being prideful, not accepting help when it comes riding in on a horse to save you.”
Link laughed, and the sound surprised me. I turned toward him, my eyes wide that he was capable of joy, and that he wasn’t snapping at me for being near him when he was vulnerable. “Now tha’s a good reason for me to stay out of harm’s way. Are ye alright?”
“Are you serious? How are you even thinking about me right now? What can I do for your back?”
He waved off my concern as if he’d merely fallen off his skateboard. “Nothing. Just going to bruise up nasty by morning, is all. I might be a little stiff, so if ye plan on seducing me tonight, ye might have to be on top.”
“Fair enough.”
Link extended his arm, motioning for me to come in for a snuggle. “Tha’s better,” he said when I cuddled into his side, my hand on his chest to soothe his jumping heart. “Ye should’ve stayed back, where it was safe with the others.”
“Okay.”
“It was dangerous, what ye did.”
“Okay.”
Link sighed, and tightened his arm around me. “Ye saved my life. No way was I going to make it. When my horse went down, I barely got on my feet before the Caisse D’épines came after me. Nasty bugger.” He shook his head, as if confused. “Ye risked your life to save me. Why?”
I blinked up at him, as if the reason for that should be obvious. “Because I love you. I thought you knew that.”
“Aye, but I’m supposed to save ye, not the other way around.”
“Okay, well then next time, it’s your turn to rescue me.”
“Bastien would never be the same if he lost ye.”
“Hello, the same thing could be said if he lost you.” I pulled back and tapped my neck tattoo, reminding us both of my ink. “I’m in the Brotherhood. You’re my people. I would never leave someone I loved to fend for themselves. You think this means that I’m under your protection? Fine. It also means that you’re under my protection.”
Link gaped at me, as if the concept was foreign to him. When he finally spoke, he pulled me closer, positioning his legs so I was sitting between them, curled up against his wide chest. “Katya is Nicholai’s lady. She has a thing for expensive clothes, but doesn’t like to pay for them. One of the rights of the Untouchable is tha we don’t have to pay for anything ever again. Still, we don’t like to be tyrants and go around robbing people. So we take what we need, and tha’s all. Katya takes full advantage of the privileges of being married to Nicholai. One of the seamstresses got her measurements wrong, so Katya went to the shop in a rage, showing off her tattoo and demanding the woman’s hands be cut off for making such a big mistake.”
I shuddered. “You’re joking.”
“I wish. Of course, we did no such thing. When I told her no, she picked up a pot and tried to whack me over the head with it.”
“She sounds swell.”
“Yeah. Nicholai drinks a lot.”
“I’ll bet.”
Link ran his palm up and down my back slowly, as if we’d chosen this spot to decompress just for fun, not because we’d been chased here by a monster. “She’d do crazy things like stir up fights in the village, then send us in there to defend her honor – as if she had any.”
“Dude, that sucks.”
Link’s arms tightened around my form. “Tha ye rode out to save me? It’s true honor ye have, Rosie, and I’ll defend ye till the end. People assume we don’t need anyone to fight for us, but we do.”
I turned in his arms when I picked up on the forlorn note of insecurity in his voice. Sitting up on my knees, I tugged him forward, so he could rest his forehead on my shoulder. His arms banded around my hips as he gave himself permission to breathe. “I’ll always fight for you, Link. You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”
He exhaled into my neck, as if my words were the sweetest lullaby he’d ever heard. My hand trailed over his back, my fingers careful with his enormous burgeoning bruise. His head remained on my shoulder as my hands found their way to his arms, massaging his biceps, and working my way up. I rubbed his meaty shoulders, wondering when the last time was that he’d taken ten minutes to be kind to his body. Link groaned into my neck, deflating as I worked my way over the unbruised parts of him, massaging and letting him know that he wasn’t alone in this. He didn’t always have to be the strong one. I would take care of my Untouchables when they needed me.
Link still bore peck marks all over his arms from the Sluagh’s ravens. They were fading, but visible all the same. Mine, on the other hand, had healed completely. I couldn’t understand the discrepancy, especially since I’d been sliced many more times by their beaks than he had.
We stayed just like that in our tender hold until the sun started to set, and my yawn gave me away. “I think it’s time for me to turn in,” I admitted. “Can you get up yet?”
“Aye. Tha…” He sighed into my neck, his body a loose noodle as my fingertips stroked the hair at the nape of his neck. “Thanks, honey. I think I needed tha.” He kissed my tattoo, drawing out a blush to my cheeks. He shivered as the slight breeze kissed the tiny hairs on his shoulders.
“You’re cold. Let’s get your shirt back on, sweetie.” I took my time working the material over his head and threading his arms through.
“No one’s dressed me since I was a wee lad,” Link remarked with a bashful smile. “The ladies are always trying to get my clothes off me, not put them on.”
I unrolled the hem over his torso, covering up the evidence of all that life had inflicted upon him. When I stood, I stared down at my adorable friend, brushing a few hairs off his forehead. “You sure you’re alright? No ribs are broken?”
“Not a one.”
It took a few tries, but eventually I got him to stand. Link did his best to posture as we walked together back to the others, but I noticed the tightness in his walk.
They’d built a fire as the night chill started to set in. I chose a spot near the horses to lie down away from the others. Link offered me the shirt he’d worn yesterday to use as a pillow. He grimaced, but got down on his knees next to me when I laid down near Daisy. “What are you doing? You don’t need to miss out on guy time for this. I’ll be fine, Link. Go have fun.”
Link laid on his back, grunting as he tried to find a comfortable spot on the hard, rocky ground. “Not out of my sight. I promised your Da I’d keep ye safe. Tuck on in here and get some sleep.”
I situated myself next to Link, curling into his side, and practically purring at the warmth he radiated. “Goodnight, Link. I love you.” The words slipped easily from my lips. Though I knew I’d said them to him before, tonight they held a note of permanence – as if we were married, and said our nightly pledges to each other before bed.
“I love ye, too.”
“Wake
me if you need me to beat up any bad guys.”
Link sniggered. “Aye. Rest well, wee Rose.”
14
Pig and Bucket
“Stop it! Let me go!”
The squeal of panic roused me with a jolt. I startled against Link, who was sharpening his blade on a nearby rock with his one free hand. His other arm remained securely fashioned around me, and rubbed up and down when I woke. “Is tha all ye needed to sleep? It’s barely been an hour.”
“What? No. Link, we have to help her!”
“Who?” The space between his eyebrows puckered.
“I have a family! Please!”
I shrieked and scrambled to my feet, pulling the dagger my dad had given me from its sheath, ready to fend off whatever foe was bearing down on us. When no one else was on high alert and a few heads craned curiously in my direction, I assessed the situation anew. The three who’d left to go hunt up some dinner had returned, bringing back a pig who was tied up, and still very much alive. My shoulders deflated and I sheathed my knife. It was only then that I realized Link was standing behind me with his sword drawn. “Never mind. It’s the pig,” I explained, trying to be cool about it.
Link’s eyebrows furrowed until realization dawned on him. “Ah, ye can hear her. What’s she saying?”
I clenched my fist, my teeth on edge. “You don’t want to hear it. It would ruin your supper.”
“Let me go! Let me go! Help!”
My stomach churned as the pig broke free of its bindings and ran around, trying to dodge the men without much success. I sat back down next to Daisy, who was sound asleep, and covered my ears. I could still hear the panic, the sheer terror that the pig squealed through the night.
“My babies! My babies! They have no one else! You don’t understand! Let me go! Monsters! You’re monsters!”
She pled with them, tugging at my heartstrings and jerking tears from me as I rocked on the grass, my hands over my ears. “I’ll make it quick,” Link promised, running to the men to lend his sword to the mix.
Untouchable Girl_A Fantasy Adventure Page 8
