As the battle waged on in the distance, Kaylee sat beside her mother and two aunts, trying to wait patiently. It was clear that none of the women were content to simply sit by, praying to receive a report soon. Many sighs echoed throughout the carriage; much shifting of gowns abounded as well.
“What if we….” Kaylee began but then paused. After all of the trouble she’d caused recently with her shenanigans, perhaps it was best not to say anything at all.
“What if we… what, darling?” her mother asked, looking just as restless as Kaylee felt.
“What if we went closer to the battlefield so that we could better tell what has transpired?” she asked, looking from her mother to each of her aunts.
They were all shaking their heads. “No, dear. That wouldn’t be safe or permissible,” Queen Margaret said. “We could potentially cause a problem that may hinder the armies’ progress.”
Kaylee understood what she was saying, but she wanted to know what was going on. What were the chances that the two armies attacking would be successful? Rafe had told her how unlikely it was that any army could march up the hill and take that castle, but with the Gradenian Army coming in from the other direction, along the ridgeline, surely that would make a difference. How many men could King Leopold possibly have?
“We should ask them to move the carriage closer to the frontline,” Kaylee suggested. “We need to be able to assess the situation.”
“Patience, dear,” Queen Helena said. “I want to see my daughter as soon as possible, but we must wait.”
Kaylee nodded, attempting to do as her aunts and mother wished. It was difficult. She shifted in her seat again, wondering if there was any way that she could convince them to let her go on her own.
Out her window, Kaylee saw a flicker of movement and realized that Storm, her horse, was meandering around outside of the carriage, her saddle still in place. She’d wondered for days if the horse had caught up with her cousin and Gregory, or had he simply been grazing out here all this time?
And how could she use his presence toward her favor?
“I… need to use the privy,” she said to her mother, hoping she looked innocent enough.
“You’ll have to go into the woods,” Queen Katherine said. “I don’t believe that is safe at the moment.”
“Mother, we’re in Norterly. It’s perfectly safe. It will only take a moment.” She opened the carriage door and smiled at all three of them. “I’ll be back directly.”
Kaylee could feel the guards’ eyes on her as she walked into the woods. None of them followed her, though, as they could likely guess what she was doing. Once she was deep enough into the woods, she made a low whistle and waited. Seconds later, Storm came galloping toward her.
Kaylee took hold of the reins and pulled herself into the saddle. The guards were onto her. Several of them shouted as she rode away toward the mountains. She was partially glad that they’d seen her so that her mother and aunts would know where she was headed, but she knew none of the soldiers’ horses would be fast enough to catch her.
Spurring her horse on, Kaylee charged toward the mountain range to the north of the one her father’s armies were assaulting, hoping to reach Rafe and see for herself exactly how the battle was unfolding.
The closer she got to the mountains, the more she heard the sounds of battle. The whiz of arrows, the sounds of horses' hooves and neighs, men shouting, the clang of metal on metal, and even the sound of cannon fire and rock crumbling.
She was headed into a dangerous situation. Once again, she knew that the wise thing to do would be to turn back, but she couldn’t compel herself to do so. It wasn’t just curiosity to see what was happening that propelled her on, but she also needed to know that Rafe was safe. She wanted to see Jenna as soon as possible, too.
The mountain she’d climbed with Rafe was just ahead of her, the one his troops were stationed on now was to the right when she came into a clearing and saw signs that there’d been a battle here. Storm slowed, and Kaylee took a cautious look around. On the ground lay various discarded weapons, a dead horse, and a couple of dead bodies as well.
Kaylee noted they wore uniforms the color of Rafe’s flag.
She took a careful look around and saw no one alive, but realizing she wasn’t armed and was riding into potentially hostile territory, she decided she needed to do something about that. Kaylee leaped from her horse and grabbed a quiver filled with arrows as well as a bow and a sword. She had no place for the sword in her dress, but she was able to stow it in one of her saddlebags. Climbing back atop her horse, she rode on.
Kaylee was just about to head up the mountainside when a sound in the distance hit her ears. It was a scream–a female scream–and Kaylee was fairly certain that she’d heard that scream before. “Jenna?”
Was it possible that King Leopold and his men had decided to take Jenna out of the castle before the attack? Perhaps they were trying to get away with her when they’d been discovered by the group of Rafe’s soldiers who had fought them in the clearing.
Kaylee knew what she had to do. She couldn’t let her cousin be taken away again. Turning Storm, she spurred her horse in the direction of the sounds of the screams.
As she turned to go, she heard someone shouting at her. “Hey! Hey! Where are you going, Princess?”
A look over her shoulder told her that she’d been discovered by some of Rafe’s men. She didn’t pause to answer. Instead, she gave Storm another kick and headed into the woods searching for her cousin.
They weren’t too far ahead of her. Kaylee could hear her cousin struggling, screaming, and trying to break free. She slowed Storm so that she could gain a better view of what was happening without being discovered. Through the trees, she saw Jenna on the back of a horse, her hands and legs tied haphazardly as if she’d already fought to free herself.
The number of men with her was surprisingly low. Only six. From what Kaylee could tell, none of them was the king. Two men rode on one horse, which made her think that the horse that had been cut down back there had to belong to one of them.
She only had a few moments to react. She needed to get her cousin.
Kaylee had always been better with a sword than a bow, but her cousin’s struggles were causing the riders to go slower than they would’ve liked. The man on the horse with her was fighting her while still trying to stay atop the horse. Kaylee knew what she needed to do.
Quickly, she drew an arrow and notched it. Then, she aimed straight for the man’s head, sending an arrow right through his skull.
It took the others a moment to notice. The horse slowed, clearly confused, and then the other riders started to turn to see what had happened. By then, Kaylee had notched another arrow and sunk it into the back of one of the riders with a quiver. She knew that she couldn’t take them all out before they wheeled on her, but she ended a third with another arrow as the other three shouted and turned around.
As the three marauders turned to come back toward her, Jenna managed to grab the reins of the horse. The body of the soldier tumbled to the ground as she took off, riding in the opposite direction as Kaylee.
Torn, two of the marauders decided to go after Jenna while the other came for Kaylee. He had made a poor choice. She fired another arrow at him, and a moment later, he fell from his horse, grabbing at his chest where the arrow protruded.
Kaylee urged Storm into a run, chasing after Jenna and the two men trying to catch her. Jenna’s legs were tied, so it was nearly impossible for her to ride without falling off. The men were about to catch up to her. Riding and firing at the same time was not Kaylee’s specialty, and she was afraid she’d hit her cousin, so she waited, keeping pace with the men.
One of them reached Jenna’s horse and wrapped an arm around her, yanking her off the horse and onto his. Jenna screamed again, With her away from the other soldier, Kaylee pulled two more arrows, notched them both, and fired at the lone horseman, hoping one of them hit him in a place that would cause him to slow down.
The first arrow missed wide left, but the other sank into his shoulder. He shrieked in pain but didn’t fall from his horse. Kaylee was already firing a third arrow at him. This one knocked him from his horse.
Now, there was just one soldier between her and her cousin, and she wasn’t giving up.
Neither was he. The soldier whirled the horse around and stopped abruptly, holding Jenna against his chest. Kaylee then saw that he had a knife against her throat.
“Drop your weapons, or I’ll kill her!” he shouted.
Seeing the pleading look in Jenna’s eyes, Kaylee did the only thing she could. She took the quiver from her back and the bow and dropped them on the ground.
“And the blade,” the soldier said, his beady eyes boring into her. He was older than her, dirty, with spittle on his chin. Jenna’s face was only inches from his. Her cousin had been with these monsters for days.
Kaylee took the blade out and dropped it as well. “Let her go, and you can ride away. No one will chase you. You’ll live. If you don’t, you must know, these armies will not give up until they track you down.”
A maniacal laugh poured from his throat. “Just over that ridge, I’ll be in the Kingdom of Woodson, and King Leopold’s allies are awaiting our arrival. None of you will catch me in time.”
Kaylee arched an eyebrow, shocked to be hearing that. She had no idea King Leopold had any allies. Was this a bluff?
It didn’t matter. If the soldier believed it, he’d leave, taking Jenna with him. “Just leave her. Take me instead.”
Jenna shook her head fiercely until the soldier squeezed her tighter. “You?” he repeated. “And who are you, anyway?”
“I’m Princess Kaylee of Arteria,” she said, watching his eyes widen. She was a better prize than Jenna because of the history between her parents and King Leopold, and he knew it. “Let her go, and I’ll come with you.”
“How can I trust you?” he asked.
“I’ll come over there. Once I’m next to you, you’ll have to let her go,” Kaylee said.
His eyes narrowed even more as he weighed his options. “Very well,” he finally said. “Get off your horse and come this way.”
With a deep breath, Kaylee swung her leg over Storm’s saddle and dismounted. Jenna was whispering, “No, Kaylee. Don’t do it, please,” but she had no choice. Jenna deserved to be free. This was all Kaylee’s fault, after all.
With her hands up by her shoulders so that he could see she wasn’t armed, she approached the horse. “You must be quite fond of this lass to take her place,” he said.
“I am. She’s my cousin. I love her.” Kaylee looked into Jenna’s wide, frantic eyes. “Let her go so I can ride with you instead. There’s no room for the three of us.”
He still seemed a bit torn. His eyes went from the blonde princess to the redhead. “Put your foot in the stirrup,” he demanded.
As Kaylee placed her foot in the stirrup to climb up, the soldier let Jenna go. She fell to the ground, landing hard on her backside. The soldier reached for Kaylee. Her first instinct was to lean away from him, to try to get away herself. Why would she need to keep her word to a marauding kidnapper?
As he reached for her, Kaylee tilted back, planning to leap from the horse, but a sharp whizzing sound near her head had her frozen in fear, and then, the soldier’s eyes widened. Blood began to pour from the side of his head where an arrow pierced his skull.
Kaylee turned to see a familiar figure on the ridge above them. She looked up in wonder, shocked that Rafe had gotten there in time. He was still a great distance from them, so all she could do was wave her thanks—for now.
Leaping down from the horse, Kaylee waved at him. She could see that he was shaking his head in her general direction, likely baffled that, once again, she’d put herself in harm’s way–but that was what she seemed to do best.
Turning her attention to Jenna, Kaylee snatched up the soldier’s knife where it had fallen from his dead grasp and quickly sliced through the binds that held her cousin. “I’m so sorry, Jenna,” she said, hugging her cousin tightly.
“Kaylee! You found me!” Jenna’s arms wrapped around her so tightly, Kaylee could hardly breathe. “You found me!”
“I did. You’re safe now. We’re surrounded by armies from allied kingdoms. Your mother is waiting for you in a carriage nearby. Let’s go.”
While Kaylee was fairly certain they were safe now, there was a chance that more of Leopold’s marauders might be nearby.
Helping Jenna to her feet, she led her over to Storm. Jenna’s dress was tattered and filthy. She had cuts and bruises all over her face and arms, but other than that, she seemed to be okay. She had to pray that her cousin had not been harmed in any other way. “Can you mount?” Kaylee asked Jenna.
“I believe so,” her cousin answered. Jenna put her foot in the stirrup, and Kaylee helped her up. Once Jenna was settled, Kaylee climbed up behind her and headed back toward the carriage.
She didn’t make it far before she heard the pounding of horses’ hooves and the rattling of metal.
“What is that?” Jenna asked, gripping Kaylee’s arms tightly.
Hints of red and white uniforms were visible through the trees. “That is the Arterian Army, I believe,” Kaylee said.
“Are you certain?” Jenna asked, her voice quivering.
When King Caleb’s face appeared between the trees, Kaylee said, “Yes, I’m certain.”
Her father looked just as infuriated with her as Rafe had, but Kaylee had no response. She’d done what she set out to do. Her cousin was safe, and now, they could all go home.