Rebecca’s roasted yams and wild game hen were delicious. While nothing compared to Caroline’s, considering all he’d eaten recently was a handful of berries, Matthew certainly could not complain.
Her mother was blind and deaf as the result of a high fever she had suffered a few years earlier. Rebecca had explained over dinner that though several suitors from nearby villages had asked her parents for her hand, she had declined their advances. She felt it was her duty to take care of her mother, particularly in her father’s absence. She was a sweet girl, and Matthew felt extremely welcome in their home.
He had mentioned his journey was a long one, and she had insisted that he spend the night. The little cottage had a loft overhead, the perfect place for him to rest in private. He had declined at first, eager to resume his journey, but she was insistent, and he finally accepted.
Following her up the narrow ladder to the small space, Matthew tried not to notice the curve of her hips. There were a few items that needed to be moved aside, an old bucket, a two-legged stool, but there was certainly enough space to spread a blanket, which she did. “I regret that I can’t offer you more comfortable accommodations,” she said apologetically. There was only one bed in the house, and Rebecca shared that with her mother now that her father was gone. The old woman was already tucked in and snoring beneath them.
“No, please, don’t apologize,” Matthew replied. “I’m so grateful for your hospitality.” Even if the floor was hard and the covers were scratchy, it was much better than the hollow log he had slept in the night before or the tunnel he had called his bed the night before that. In fact, this might just be his most comfortable night since his kidnapping.
Rebecca finished spreading the woolen blanket on the floor, leaving another for him to cover up with. “I don’t have an extra pillow, but when this was where I slept, I used this old dress.” She pulled the item from the corner and folded it up placing it at the top of the makeshift bed. “There. That should do.”
The ceiling was low, and Matthew couldn’t stand up straight. With one hand on the rafters, leaning to his right side, he was much closer to her height. As she turned to approach the ladder, Rebecca bumped into him, and he placed his free hand on her arm to steady her. “Pardon me.” Her words were soft, and he noticed her bottom lip trembled slightly as she glanced up into his face. The firelight from the room below illuminated her gray eyes, and he found himself caught in her gaze.
Rebecca was an attractive woman, and it had been so long since Matthew had felt the soft flesh of a woman’s body. As she stood looking at him, he couldn’t control himself. His fingertips trailed down her arm and around her back, finding the lengths of her blonde locks and twisting through them as she moved even closer to him. Thoughts of his wife entered his mind, and then of Angel. He wanted to honor Margaret’s memory and to be faithful to the woman who had sacrificed so much to help him escape. But Rebecca was here, and he could tell by her expression that she was willing, eager, to satisfy his cravings. She leaned into him, her body pressing against his as her hands rested against his chest. Closing her eyes, she turned her lips towards his.
Matthew brought his lips down softly to meet hers. He was gentle at first, but as Rebecca began to moan softly, his hands cupped her bottom, and he pulled her in tightly, his tongue exploring her mouth while her arms encircled his neck.
As he took Rebecca to the floor, fumbling with her dress, her hands on his belt, his only thoughts were of finally releasing the carnal desire he had repudiated for so long.
The carriage jostled about violently, more so than any time Katherine could remember. She was huddled on the floorboards, wrapped in her brother’s arms. Eleanora and her mother were hunched down in the seats, attempting to brace themselves against the jarring motion of the quickly moving coach, but it was most difficult, and they might have felt the pain from various bumps and bruises if they hadn’t been so completely terrified.
The alarm had come in the middle of the night. Katherine, the baby of the family, had been fast asleep, completely unaware of the impending doom surrounding the castle, her home. Her mother, Queen Deloris, had scooped her sleeping angel up into her arms, wrapped her in a blanket, and rushed her off to the waiting carriage. Eleanora and James had followed closely behind. Even as they entered the escape vehicle, they could see the first wave of soldiers from the Great Heathen Army swooping down upon the town’s people. It wasn’t until the carriage began to move that Katherine awoke from her pleasant slumber. She was confused at first, unsure where they were or what was happening. As the horses took off, she began to see flashes of light around her. She pointed them out to her big brother, smiling an enchanted smile as the sparks lit up the sky in hues of yellow, blue, and red.
James had held her tightly, and it wasn’t until she heard strange noises outside of the carriage that she became frightened. A group of guards rode along each side of the coach, and Katherine could hear the snarls and snorts of the horses as they ran, blazing away from the castle in a fury.
Katherine glanced up at her mother’s face. She was crying, clutching a handkerchief. Eleanora was also sobbing, clearly terrified of what might happen. James was doing his best to be strong. He continuously whispered in his baby sister’s ear, “It’s all right, Baby Katherine. We will be all right.”
But they were not all right.
The royal family was being moved to what should have been a safer location, a palace cut into the side of a mountain in the northern territory, known as Palace Olympia. To get there, the carriage had to travel through a thick forest. The road was narrow and bumpy, not meant to be traversed so quickly. They should have been relocated days ago, in the sunlight, before the invaders broke through the barricade at Waynes, but Deloris had insisted on waiting for her husband, King Jordan, to return. He had not made it in time, and his whereabouts were unknown. Her attendants had pleaded with her, begging her to take the children and go. Finally, she could wait no longer, and they had made their hurried exit.
By the time they reached the edge of the forest, arrows were flying by the carriage. They knew a legion of the Royal Army was stationed within the woods. If only they could reach them in time, perhaps they could provide enough protection to Deloris and her family so that they could make it to the safety of Olympia.
But the Heathen’s were gaining on them, and there were not enough guards to fight back. One by one, the riders began to fall. Katherine watched them topple off of their horses all around her. She hid her tiny face in James’s neck, praying that this was all just a horrible nightmare.
Suddenly, the carriage hit a rut, shuddering violently and then tumbling over onto its side. The horses were dragged down with it, the drivers thrown into the trees. Deloris knew she was on her own. Gathering up her children, she pushed her way out of the door, now facing upward, into the night. The Heathens were right behind them, slowed only by the carnage of the fallen guards. “Quickly,” she whispered. “We haven’t much time.”
Katherine could feel a trickle of blood running down her face as James handed her out of the carriage into her mother’s protective arms. Eleanora was out next and then James behind her. Deloris jumped to the ground, grabbing her tiny daughter off of the carriage, and reaching for Eleanora’s hand. The four of them took off into the woods on foot.
Deloris knew that her husband’s army must be nearby. She hoped that she would be able to hide her children in the trees and then attempt to locate help. However, the Heathens must have seen which way the queen went upon entering the forest. She could feel them close behind her.
The foliage was thick and full of brambles, which caught the children’s skin and clothing. It was a small advantage, however, because it prevented the Heathens from pursuing the royal family on horseback. Deloris could hear footsteps approaching. She quickly looked for a thicket to hide her children.
The barbarians were growing ever closer. She could hear their grunts and groans, practically feel their stale breath on the back of her neck. Just then, she saw an undergrowth that just might lend itself to her purposes. She directed her children beneath the branches, and they hurriedly did as instructed, despite the sharp thorns that poked their tender skin.
Katherine had never imagined anything so terrifying. Even in her worst nightmares, she had never felt like this. Her mother had her arms around all three of them, attempting to shelter them from the unimaginable evil that lay just on the other side of those thin branches. They collectively held their breaths, waiting, praying for the Heathens to pass them by. Heavy footsteps drew closer, then faded, repeating as more and more of the enemy approached their location and then disappeared into the night.
A cloud passed over the crescent moon, leaving them in pitch black. Katherine began to shake. She could barely see the face of her brother just an inch from her own. She watched as he silently brought a finger to his mouth, indicating that she must be quiet. She nodded her head, fully intending not to make a sound. As her eyes shifted back to the blackness before her, she suddenly saw one bone-white hand pull back the thin veil of brambles before her. Her hands flew to her mouth, attempting to hold back the scream that was forming in her throat, but just then, she glimpsed the most hideous face imaginable, pure evil in human form.
And she screamed.
The noise caused the Heathen to turn his head instantly in their direction. He had his crossbow ready, and he fired at the source of the noise. Despite the darkness, Katherine saw the arrow flying at her face, causing her to scream even louder. He had missed, however, or so she thought. She turned to hide her face in her mother’s gown only to realize the soft satin white fabric was now soaked in warm, sticky blood. She looked up to see that the arrow had landed squarely in her mother’s chest. As Deloris fell forward, gasping for breath and gargling blood, Katherine’s screaming stopped.
She had the same dream nearly every night. Sometimes the circumstances changed; sometimes she felt the arrow enter her own chest. Katherine had accepted that, inevitably, each time she closed her eyes for the rest of her life, she would find herself in this nightmare.
But this morning, the nightmare did not end when her eyes flew open. The first thing she noticed was the agonizing throbbing in her left hand. Even before she was fully awake, she could feel the ache from where her flesh had been scorched from her first two fingers. Her right arm, which had been resting on her head most of the night, was asleep and moving it even a degree caused pins and needles to shoot threw her entire limb. She knew she had deep bruises on both of her arms where she had been dragged. The area around her right wrist and both of her ankles was rubbed raw from the shackles. Even though she had jerked awake, startled by her dream, her mind would not let her come fully conscious, trying to protect her from the excruciating pain.
She was only partially aware of the rats that had been nibbling on her toes. Through narrowed and swollen eyes, she saw a puddle of blood on the floor and wondered absently if she were still dreaming. She drifted in and out of reality, her grogginess the only barrier from the state of shock threatening to overcome her at any moment. She had gone from the pampered life of a princess to the deepest throws of a dank, dingy dungeon in only a few days, and nothing could have prepared her for the stressful toll it put on her body and her mind.
Only a sliver of light illuminated the room, that coming from under the door at the entryway at the top of the long staircase leading to the gate. She had no way of knowing whether it was night or morning. She wasn’t even sure how long she had been down here, though she thought it had only been a matter of hours, not days, since Caleb had dragged her down the stairs and chained her here. Thinking of him brought her back to reality momentarily. She wasn’t sure if the warm splashes against her hands were drips from the ceiling or teardrops, and she wove her way back into the land of slumber where neither the physical or emotional pain of her ordeal was quite as sharp.
The sun was not yet on the horizon when Caleb finally reached the castle. Hendrix had given it everything he had, pressing on at the urgency of his master when any other horse would have given up. He’d left the rest of the detail in his dust and didn’t give it a second thought. As a squire in the courtyard of Castle Caine took the reins, Caleb jumped down, hoping his horse would recover.
He hurried into the fortress, not stopping to acknowledge the few individuals who were about, even though many of them called out greetings. He pressed on, flying down the hallway, down the back stairwell, finding the guard asleep at his post.
“Open the gate!” he demanded.
Startled, and not yet fully awake, the older man, groped for the key. Caleb was out of patience. He snatched it from the man’s hand and flung the door open, carrying the keychain with him so that he could use it to open the shackles.
Rose was as he’d left her with the addition of a pool of blood next to her on the ground. Holding his breath, he approached her slowly, afraid of what he might discover upon closer examination. She seemed to be sleeping, and even in the dim light, he could see the soft rise and fall of her chest, confirming that at least he had not killed her. As he got closer, rats scurried off into the darkness, causing him to gasp in disgust. Despite the dank and dirty state of the floor, he dropped to his knees next to her. She had been asleep, but sensing his presence, her eyes fluttered open momentarily, before her head slumped against her chest again.
Seeing her this way, knowing he had done this to her, brought tears to his eyes. He swallowed the lump in his throat, doing all that he could to keep his emotions in check. “Rose,” he said softly, waiting to see if she acknowledged him. She did not, but he thought she could hear him. “I’m so very sorry,” he continued. “I never should have let my anger at the situation manifest itself against you. I hope that you can find it in your heart, someday, to forgive me.” Again, her eyes fluttered open, and though there were tears in them, she looked as though she understood what he had said. Whether or not she would forgive him was another matter entirely.
He quickly unlocked the shackles, seeing her body tighten in pain as he touched her wrist and ankles. Her right arm was twisted from being held at an odd angle all night, so he was especially gentle as he tucked it around her and across her chest so that he could scoop her into his arms. Her left hand was cradled beneath her chin and he knew the burns had to be agonizing at this point.
She rested her head against his chest, and for a moment, he reflected on how different carrying her was this time, as opposed to yesterday. Regardless of her station or her occupation, Rose was an incredibly special woman. He wished he would’ve recognized that sooner. Now, he vowed to protect her from this day forward. She had done so much to provide comfort and assistance to his brother, and he had let his rage almost destroy her. He would do whatever was necessary to make sure she was never mistreated again.
When he reached the top of the stairs, he found Caroline and Gordon waiting for him. The expression on his face must’ve said it all, so Caroline did not bother to berate him. “Let’s get her to her bed,” she said softly.
“No,” Caleb replied, shaking his head, “I want to make sure she is able to rest and recover. I’ll take her to my room.” Caroline nodded leading the way so that she could open the door.
“I’ll go fetch the physician,” Gordon said as they passed the hall that led to Russell’s chamber. Caleb nodded his agreement and continued to make his way to his own bedchamber.
Once inside, he carried Rose carefully through another doorway to a small adjoining room, one where his attendants might sleep should he care for any. There was a large, comfortable bed across from a window. Caroline turned down the bedcovers and drew the curtains. As Caleb lay her down on the soft bed, Rose stirred just a bit, her eyes fluttering.
“I’ll go fetch some water and a nightdress,” Caroline said, exiting the room.
Left alone with her, Caleb sat down next to her on the bed and brushed the hair back from her face. She opened her eyes, peering at him curiously, and then closed them again. “Oh, Rose, I’m so very, very sorry,” he whispered, hoping she could hear him. She didn’t open her eyes again, but he stayed by her just the same, until he heard Russel behind him. Reluctantly, Caleb pulled himself away from her and moved out of the physician’s way, afraid of what the man might say to him.
Gordon stood in the doorway for a moment, looking at her with a scowl on his face Caleb knew was meant for him. It was evident the officer had developed feelings for the woman already, and Caleb could hardly blame him. Anyone who shared a room with her for more than a few minutes could clearly see how radiant she was—or had been before Caleb had done this to her.
Caroline came back with the night dress and whispered something to Gordon. He nodded, seeming to come back to himself, before he glanced over her shoulder at Caleb and left the room. The cook stood at the foot of the bed for a moment, watching as the physician bandaged her wounds, making tsking sounds beneath his breathe with each new discovery.
With his hands on his hips, Caleb watched, wishing he could go back in time and make different decisions. Of course, as king, he had many regrets he wished he could go back and change—such as not involving himself in the Zurconian War quickly enough to help his brother or spare his sister-in-law the awful poisoning that had almost claimed her life. Those other regrets could be partially blamed on the actions of others, though; this was completely his fault.
Caroline crossed the room and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “She’ll recover,” she said softly. He nodded, fighting tears with no possibility of forming words. “And she’ll forgive you.”
“How could she possibly?” he asked, his voice breaking. “I’m a horrible person, Caroline.”
A hint of a smile cracked her lips before she said, “No, you’re not. You just let your temper get the best of you. How many times have I told you?” She shook her head, knowing it was pointless to tell him what he already knew. “You’re a fine man, Caleb. A gentleman. A generous leader who enriches the lives of all of his subjects. One mistake does not define you.”
Her words made him feel no better. “It will define me to her, and at the moment, that’s all I care about.”
“I know,” Caroline said, that hint of a smile back in place. “She’ll forgive you,” she said again, but Caleb didn’t deserve forgiving. He didn’t deserve someone as sweet and loving as Rose. He didn’t deserve love at all, for that matter. Caroline let him be, and he focused on the angelic face on the bed, praying, for only the second time in a long time, that she would be all right.
Katherine was unsure whether or not she was dreaming. Fading in and out of consciousness, she had the sensation of movement. She had flashes of Caleb’s handsome face, his piercing eyes full of sadness. At one point, she knew she was in his arms again because she had felt them around her before. But this time was different. This time, she felt safe.
There was a bustling sound in the room around her, and she briefly opened her eyes to see Russell and a few others. She thought she saw Caleb standing across the room, and she was certain she recognized Caroline’s form. When Russell began to clean and bandage the wound on her hand, she was suddenly jerked back to full awareness, though she kept her eyes closed tightly. The pain was so severe, it was almost as extreme as when she had burned it. He was reassuring her that the worst was almost over, that the medicine he was using would make it stop hurting almost instantly and that she should recover full use of her hand. Then, he cleaned and bandaged the wounds on her other wrist, ankles, and feet, some of which she didn’t even realize she had. Though it only took him a few moments, it seemed like an eternity, and she was relieved when she felt the bed shift as he rose and walked away from her.
She heard him explaining to Caroline that the herbal blend he handed her would help her to rest. Katherine was looking forward to drinking it. Caroline’s voice registered clearly as she said, “I must help her into a fresh gown. Everyone out.” Katherine didn’t want a fresh gown, she didn’t want to move, but she heard footsteps and then the squeak of the door as a bar fell into place.
“Oh, my sweet Rose. You poor dear.” Katherine opened her eyes for a moment but couldn’t keep them that way. As Caroline began to undress her, the princess was of little to no help, but she did her best to cooperate so as not to impede the kind woman’s work. “I’m so sorry I didn’t come and get you earlier. He forbade me from it. But I should have done it anyway.” As Caroline pulled her dress off over her head, she gasped. Katherine’s eyes flew open in alarm.
“It’s nothing, dear,” Caroline said, hurrying to put the nightdress on as if she wanted to hide the sight. The woman set her lips though, and Katherine imagined she must have bruises on her arms from where Caleb had dragged her. Caroline was clearly almost as upset with the king as Katherine was.
“There,” she said once the clothing change was complete. “You’re fresh as a daisy. I will mix up this herbal tea that Russell has provided, and then you can drift off to dreamland, my love.”
Katherine nodded, but she had no idea how she might stay awake long enough to drink the concoction. Whatever Russel had used to treat her hand had worked already, and the pain was now a dull throb, a sensation she could live with compared to the fire she’d been feeling for hours.
A few minutes later, she heard Caroline enter the room but struggled to sit up enough to drink much of the tea. She took a few sips and then insisted she lie back down. Caroline gave up then, setting the cup aside. Katherine opened her eyes enough to see it on the dresser as the cook put out the light. Even though she wasn’t even sure what room she was in, Katherine had the distinct sensation that she was safe now. For the first time in as long as she could remember, the princess was not afraid to fall asleep.