Arranged (9 page)

Bartus' yellow eyes scanned the girl's cell. "I will announce her innocence to the council at midnight. You cannot move her to a more suitable room until then. However, you may make her more comfortable."

Qwinn nodded. Midnight was still hours off. Bartus followed the others. Mar was still trying to convince Morinell that she had seen wrong. The woman didn't even look his way.

Qwinn hurried down the hall, gathering things as he went. He ordered food to be brought to her cell. He finally returned with a pillow and a new tunic for her. He set the items beside her, tucking the pillow under her head. The food came and he had it placed within reach also.

Alone again with Alison, he watched her curiously as she curled on her side. Her face scrunched into a grimace of pain. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he lifted the blanket over her calf to expose her foot. He had noticed how she moved carefully. His eyes roamed over her swollen shackled ankle. A deep bruise was turning her skin purple. It looked painful. He frowned, wondering if one of his men had caused this.

Anger flooded him in a hot flood. His men would not go unpunished. He closed his eyes, containing it. After the rage subsided, he looked down at her again, thankful that she had not been injured worse. He focused his energy, calling on the magic in his blood. Warmth spread through him as his arms began to softly glow.

He gently circled her ankle with his hands, allowing his magic to leave him through his hands. He kept his eyes closed, using all of his concentration. In his mind's eye, a vision of her broken ankle came into view. The small bone was in the completely wrong area. With a deep breath, he shifted the bone with his mind, slowing moving it into the right position.

Alison moaned softly, but didn't pull away from his touch. Though he wanted to open his eyes to see her, he controlled himself.

Alison felt that something in her body was changing and it pulled her from her dreams. As she grew closer to consciousness, she sensed that she wasn't the only one in the room. Her eyes flew open and she froze. He was there, the tall one that spoke her language, the one that kept coming back.

As if sensing that she was awake and startled, Qwinn opened his eyes and pulled his hands gently away from her. He hadn't completed the healing process, but he knew that now that she was awake, he wouldn't be able to concentrate.

Her eyes remained large with fear. Even in the dark, he could see the beautiful green color that shone from them. Without a word, he moved a few feet away, giving her space. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her.

She swallowed hard as she watched him back away. Though it was dark, she could still see a basic form of him. His dreads hung low down his back, some locks hanging over his shoulder. Though they looked so primitive, they seemed to suit him. She frowned at her thought. "What is going to happen to me?" She asked, remembering the room full of Vidarian, and the old woman jumping into her mind.

He didn't say anything. After a moment, she realized that he wouldn't answer. "What did the woman find?"

Another tense moment of silence, then, "You are innocent. You are no longer a prisoner."

Hope swelled in her chest. She touched her shackled legs, realizing for the first time that her ankle didn't hurt. As she looked at it closer, she noticed that the swelling was all but gone and the dark bruise had disappeared. He had been touching her when she awakened.

"You will not be able to go free until the council is informed of your innocence."

The hope died as quickly as it had come, leaving her with a hollow ache in her chest. She sucked in a shuddering breath, her hand still feeling her ankle. "Why did you heal me?"

He remained inhumanly still, staring at her.

"What is going to happen to me?" She tried again. The tension in his shoulders grew. Without a word, he stood and turned to leave. She sighed heavily, pulling the blanket up around her neck. The sound caused him to pause and glance back slightly over his shoulder.

She instantly silenced herself, thinking that she'd made him angry at her. Who knew what he would do. However, after a moment, he continued out the door of the cell, sliding the board into place. The guard stationed outside the cell bowed to the king.

Qwinn ordered more blankets and food brought to her. The guard bowed again and hurried off down the hall. Almost instantly, another guard took his place.

From there, he angrily made his way to the training courtyard where he knew he would find his warriors. He opened the door and his eyes roamed upon his men angrily. He would make an example of those who dare disobey his direct orders. Lavtis was lucky he was dead.

Qwinn found one with a spear, practicing with his targets. He found the other talking with a few other soldiers on the side of large training courtyard. He called both their names loudly. They rushed to him, bowing their heads and putting their fists over their hearts. He studied them. One seemed to think that they were going to be rewarded for their good work, and the other seemed worried; as he should be.

"Repeat the orders I gave you last night," Qwinn said sternly.

Now they both seemed uneasy. The first one spoke up. "You told us to capture the girl before she escaped from the woods."

The second nodded in agreement.

"Now tell me, did you follow my orders?"

The second one swallowed hard, confirming Morinell's story.

"We captured her, your majesty," the first finally spoke up. The men around them were quiet as they listened to what was going on. A few whispered to each other.

"Not before you played with her a little though. Or am I wrong?"

They both cast their eyes down. Qwinn growled slightly, turning his cold black eyes to the men around him. "Those who do not follow my orders will be punished."

Both men met his eyes with fear. Qwinn motioned for his biggest warrior to step forward. The two tried to hide their quivering.

"Thirty lashings. No mercy," he ordered. The large warrior nodded, ordering a few warriors around him to grab the two and tie them to the wall as he took hold of his whip.

Qwinn only stayed for the first two lashings. Their screams filled the night air as he made his way through the hall. He frowned deeply, he hardly felt better from the punishment.

Suddenly Jabr came racing down the hall. "The Torin have found a way through the south gate!" he blurted.

As if doused with cold water, Qwinn was instantly awake. "Gather the warriors. We leave immediately."

Jabr rushed off as the king strode quickly through his castle. He didn't want to alarm his people, however, the Torin were very dangerous. He entered the armory and grabbed a
Linus
bark shield, along with a sharp sword. Soon others joined him, dressing for battle. Helmets were put on, arrows and bows strapped to backs, daggers placed in holsters, and nets gathered into pouches. Some of his warriors grabbed their slings and stones.

With a strong jerk of his head, he motioned for his warriors to follow. They hurried to the hills where the Ou'tani grazed. They resembled horses; however, they had long necks and a short face. Their four eyes easily say through the night. The warriors mounted swiftly and were off. The warriors hooted to each other in excitement for a fight. It had been some time since the Torin had breached their borders. Qwinn led the group, needing the fight just as badly as they did. He needed to wipe Alison from his mind, for even a moment. He never felt more alive than during a battle.

They hurried through the town, the houses packed together slowly growing less and less. They passed the fields where their food was grown and entered the outskirts of his kingdom. Guard towers had been posted all along the wall, but as they grew closer to the south wall, he found that one of the towers had been completely torn to pieces.

He raised his hand to slow the warriors with him. They dismounted the Ou'tani and tied them to the trees before grabbing their weapons. Every warrior had their eyes scanning the trees and the hole in the wall. Qwinn stepped forward carefully. It was quiet. Too quiet. He knew that the Torin enemy was still out there, waiting. He held up a fist and pointed a finger to the trees. Three nodded and took the lead to the hole. The rest fanned out, each tensed and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Qwinn took the middle, heading straight for the hole. He knew the Torin well enough to know that they would not make a way into the city and leave. It was a trap.

Qwinn peered into the dark trees along the other side of the wall. If he peered hard enough, he could almost see the gray eyes staring back at him. Silence filled the forest and Qwinn tensed. The Torin King flew from the darkness, roaring a signal to the others. The forest was alive with movement as Torin warriors burst through the hole. Qwinn raised his sword and lunged at their king.

The beast landed on its two powerful hind legs, finding its balance once again on its front two legs. The body of the beast was pure muscle and highly deadly. Qwinn faced his opponent as the men around him fought. He drowned out the sounds of battle and concentrated solely on his enemy. This was not the first time they had dueled. They were both excellent warriors, it was safe to say that they were evenly matched. The beast bared its long fangs, venom dripping to the ground.

The Torin King was the biggest of them all, and the strongest. Only the most able was allowed to lead. The beast had slick black skin as tough as armor in certain spots. Horns surrounded the crown of his head. They flared out, signifying that the King was challenging Qwinn. Its harsh gray eyes stared back at the Vidarian King, challenging.

Qwinn gripped his shield tighter and without warning, lunged with his sword aiming between the beast's eyes. The Torin king dodged with grace and snapped its large jaws at Qwinn, coming close to his thigh. Qwinn kept his momentum and spun, swinging the sword dangerously. Again, the beast dodged, roaring a threat.

Qwinn was not fazed, he studied his opponent with an astute eye, and the only sound to be heard was the thundering of his heart in his ears. The fight was hot in his blood. The beast leapt. Qwinn leapt. They collided in mid air and tumbled to the ground. The beast jostled him, causing the sword to be knocked from Qwinns hand. He cursed under his breath as he rolled quickly away from the beast, who jumped onto its four legs and raced after him, snapping his jaws with every step.

His hand surrounded the hilt of the sword and he gripped it quickly, laying on his back and swung upward. At the same moment, the Torin King opened its huge jaws and lifted its tongue. Momentarily surprised by the movement, Qwinn paused. The beast meant to spray him with
plahass
. Such an action was seen as cowardly, and so never used in a fight. Qwinn knew that if the
plahass
got in his eyes, he would be blinded, just as his father had been by the beast's father.

The realization snapped Qwinn back to reality. With a grunt of effort, he jabbed the sword up and into the beasts mouth, pinning his tongue to the roof of his mouth. A howl of agony rang through the air as the beast pulled back immediately, scratching at its face, trying to dislodge the sword.

The warriors from both sides stopped fighting and turned toward their Kings. The Torin beast gargled blood as it fought to pull the dagger from its mouth. Qwinn wasted no time in drawing his dagger and driving it through its lungs. Another cry sounded out as the Torin King crumbled to its belly.

The Vidarian warriors began to hoot in victory, chasing the Torin into the forest as they retreated. Without their king, victory was impossible. Two brave Torin warriors grabbed their King by his hide and dragged him into the gap in the wall, disappearing into the darkness, before Qwinn could attack him again.

"Should we follow?" A warrior to Qwinn's side asked.

The King shook his head. "They will not return."

Qwinn sucked in a deep breath. The fight had been too easy. He had a feeling that wouldn't be the last time he saw the Torin King.

Sheathing his sword, he turned to his men. He held up a fist for all to see then brought it to rest on his chest. They hooted and cried out. Others from the forest returned, informing the King that the Torin had crossed back over into their territory.

The King assigned ten warriors to stay with the hole until someone could patch it. He knew he couldn't hold his other men any longer, their spirits were high, they were itching to return to the palace to celebrate.

A few were wounded, but no one was beyond repair. His warriors had managed to bring down one of the Torin warriors. Qwinn walked to the body and unsheathed his sword, lifting it over his head. With one swift and powerful motion, he brought the swords down, decapitating the body. His men cheered as one of them grabbed the head and handed it to the king.

As the Vidarian warriors reached the village, they cried out in victory, drawing people out of their homes. Soon the town was in a celebratory mood. Qwinn, however, was not. The thrill of the battle was quickly fading and thoughts of Alison plagued him once again. Only about an hour from now, Bartus would tell the council of the girls innocence. Then he would be allowed to move her to a more fitting room.

He held the Torin's head high for all to see as they made their way to the palace.

He ordered the warriors to return to the armory to return their weapons before their night of celebrating. Qwinn kept his armor on. He had a few things to take care of. He found Jabr and ordered him to find a builder to properly mend the wall. He made his way to the kitchens, ordering a large feast for the celebration of their victory. Then he found himself in the halls leading to the dungeon. He paused; did he want to see her? He had been lost in thought and it seemed that his feet had led him here on their own accord.