Rowena Through the Wall: Expanded Edition (33 page)

"No. Cedric will be here soon."

He nodded in understanding.

I would inspect the trunk in private, without Cedric nearby.

"I have Sargon's sword, if you would care for it."

I shivered. "You keep it, please."

"Then I will leave you now. By the way, I've arranged a quiet meal for your family tonight in these quarters. We will all be together tomorrow."

He raised a hand to touch my cheek and a wave of emotion washed over his face. Before I could move forward, he left the room.

A great commotion signaled Cedric's entrance. Our belongings followed and we spent a quiet night unpacking.

Late in the evening, a messenger arrived with a note addressed to me.
Knight to c6.

Alone in my room the next morning, I dressed in my faithful rose muslin. I planned to head to the stables, since Kendra had gone to see the caber toss trials with Logan. It surprised me that Richard was cool with this, but I guess he really did trust the two of them. What a difficult triangle.

I only dealt in pentagons.

Today was going to be a great day. I didn't feel sick, the sun was shining warmly and Lightning waited in her stall.

The square was busy. There see
med to be a lot of men wandering around―men I didn't know.

Then I spotted Gareth. He was talking to Janus. It was the first time I'd seen them since arriving. When Gareth caught sight of me, he grabbed his brother's shoulder. I was about to join them, but
something in Gareth's face warned me off. Not far from them, Richard and Cedric were deep in conversation.

Strange…

Thane greeted me at the doors to the stable. "Rowena, I―

"Che Ghiell!" someone bellowed.

My heart leapt to my throat. What was happening?

Th
e mood of the crowd changed instantly. There were yells and a blur of action. Without warning, the yard was full of Norland men with their daggers out. A swarthy looking man threw Richard to the ground and pinned him with a sword. Gareth cornered Cedric, his broadsword pointed at his chest while Janus held a dagger to Cedric's throat from behind. All this time, everyone had thought Gareth helpless with his wounded right shoulder.

Little did we know that he was left handed.

The tension in the yard was unbearable. I felt like we were all standing on the edge of a precipice, arms linked together, waiting for that one small move that would pitch us all over the cliff.

"Rowena!" Gareth called. "Come here now. We'll get your things later."

I gaped at him as if he had grown three heads. "Are you out of your mind? We're in the middle of a tournament here and everyone has pledged
no
violence."

"I've got it under control," Gareth yelled. "You and I leave now. My men will follow. No one else." He aimed his broadsword at Cedric's heart.

"Gareth, stop! Don't kill him. No killing."

I used my classroom "stop-a-riot" voice. It worked.

All eyes in the courtyard were on me now.

"Okay, I am totally fed up. Gareth, I'm not going anywhere. This has got to stop. You can't go tossing me back and forth like

I'm some sort of prized toy. Did anyone ever think to ask me what I might want?"

No one answered.

"Don't you realize I'm going to have a baby? We need to come to an agreement. Maybe I spend six months with you and six months with Cedric. Maybe I stay here with Thane until we get this sorted out. We can work something out. But I am
not
going anywhere today. And this violence is going to stop right now."

"Negotiate?" Cedric said in disbelief. "To share you? Are you mad?"

My lips pursed in anger. "I am still queen until the coronation. That means I'm the highest-ranking person here. Gareth, order your men to back off with the knives. You will not challenge Cedric. Or get Janus to do it or anyone else." I strode toward Gareth and the crowd parted. "Let me make this absolutely clear. If Cedric dies, you will never see me again. And if you die, ditto. As a matter of fact, if a single person dies today in this yard, I'm outta here. Believe it."

Whispers could be heard from the gathering men.

"I'm the queen," I said in my firmest
Alice in Wonderland
Queen of Hearts voice. "You
will
obey me."

Gareth frowned. I think Cedric actually sniggered.

Thane emerged from the crowd and stood before me. "Rowena…Norland's men won't obey you over him, and my men won't take orders from you, even though you are their queen. A queen doesn't command troops here. She is owed protection."

Oh hell. He made it sound like a bloody beehive, where the queen was just guarded in some back honeycomb and had no life of her own. What a bunch of male chauvinists.

"What are you talking about?" I fired back. "What about Boadicea? What about Queen Elizabeth the first, who ruled over the entire British Empire, including all the colonies?"

Again, there was a wave of baffled mumbling.

Too bad. I was on a roll.

I jabbed a finger into Thane's chest. "I've read more battle strategy than the whole freaking lot of you. I can shoot a gun as well as any man. And I can do it from horseback. So don't give me any chauvinist crap about being a woman."

More mumbling again.

Maybe it was the word
gun
or maybe I lost them all at
chauvinist
. I don't know. Get a dictionary, people.

"Perhaps these times haven't happened yet in our world," Thane said gently.

He reached out but I backed away.

"No!" I said, furious. "This is too much. Where is the rule book here? I need to see a job description. What is the point of being queen in this piss-poor world if it doesn't come with any power?"

Cedric burst out laughing. "Isn't she magnificent when she's angry?"

Several others joined in the laughter, which I'll admit was a good thing. It's hard to kill somebody when you're laughing at someone else.

But I was beyond furious. If I'd had a rifle, I would have shot them all―including Thane. And believe me, I wouldn't have missed.

I stomped my foot like a five-year-old, then fled up the steps to the castle. They could bloody well kill each other for all I
cared now. They could slice each other's throats and throw the bodies to the wolves.

"Bunch of primitive Neanderthals," I yelled to the empty hall. "I'm not staying in this miserable place one day longer."

I strode through the hall and out to the kitchen. George was kneading bread dough and he gave me a big smile. I bent down to pat Ralph, then picked up my fanny pack from a nail on the wall. Inside was a pen and pad. I wrote a quick message to Kendra and placed it under a tankard.

"Can you make sure Kendra gets this note, George?"

He gave me a puzzled nod. "Yes, m'lady."

I kissed his cheek and calmly left the kitchen, the fanny pack in my hand.

Lightning was too far away in the stables. I didn't want to go past the men. With any luck, I would never see any of them again.

I opened my mind to find another equine soul.

The connection was quick, intense.

Around the corner, a pretty mare was tied to a post. She was quite happy to let me mount. I took her around the back to the postern gate. It was guarded by an elderly soldier with only one arm. He was leaning up against the wall, fast asleep.

I had no trouble sneaking by him.

The mare was eager to run, so we did. As our minds met, I told her I was escaping from some randy male. She seemed to get the gist of my predicament. She galloped even faster.

Since everybody saw me go into the castle, I figured I'd have a decent head start. They would think I was upstairs, sobbing on my bed.

I smiled into the wind.

Nobody would expect me to leave by the back way. They would be incensed when they found out. Good for them. I hoped they beat each other silly.

Eventually someone would start looking for me. Probably Kendra, who would find my note in the kitchen. But she'd never tell anyone what I'd written. And no one else could read English.

By evening, Cedric would wonder why I hadn't turned up for dinner. I figured I had two hours at the most. At least I could be to the river before anybody started following. That meant I had two full hours to think about the men I was leaving
behind.

There was Gareth, who had started it all today with this ridiculous, very public attempt to carry me off―again. The man had spent time and money to find me on the other side of the wall. He had given me his magic jewel, the one I carried in my pock
et now, to keep me safe. If this wasn't a token of love, I can't imagine what else would be.

I thought of Ivan, my first lover here. He had vanished to who-knows-where. We couldn't be together for more than twelve hours without fighting like cat and dog. But it was hard not to feel something for the man who had risked his life and lost his liberty for me.

And Cedric, who seemed to have a physical power over me that surpassed even my darkest dreams. He professed to love me, but had laughed at me today in front of the others. I wasn't about to forgive that any time soon.

And lastly there was Thane, clever, kind and the man I wanted more than anyone I'd ever met. He had never made love to me. I felt a tug on my heart for what we had missed. Who would play chess with him now?

I would miss Thane the most.

Loneliness swept through me. I felt like Dorothy saying goodbye to the Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tin Man.

I was almost to the river when the guilt started. Real guilt. Not about the escape so much, but because I hadn't waited for Kendra. In the note, I urged her to follow me as soon as she could. I said I'd wait for her on campus. To be honest, I wasn't sure what she would do.

I took the mare up the hill and into the small clearing that had been so well used in the past month. I slipped off the horse and hit the ground with a thud. I walked along the familiar path until I reached the split oak.

I glanced over my shoulder for one last look at the valley. How beautiful it was with the river running through it and the azure sky above. I would miss the orange sun. I would miss a lot about this world.

A tear trickled down my cheek.

"Enough of this."

With determination, I strode through the trees, heading toward the portal for the very last time. Closing my eyes, I took three steps in.

I opened my eyes. What the hell?

Instead of the walls of the classroom, I was surrounded by trees. I was still in the forest. Frowning, I retraced my movements and stepped toward the portal.
Still
in the forest.

I walked around the split oak, hoping to see if something had shifted. Everything looked as it should. Holding my breath, I started over again and marched forward.

Nothing.

I could scarcely breathe. I leaned against the tree trunk and tried to figure out what to do next, where to go. I was alone in a very dangerous forest.

Even worse, the portal was gone.

Chapter 34

I raged and I cried. When I got the self-pity out of my system, I sat down with my back to the tree and considered my options.

There was no going back to Castle Sargon. I'd left there in a huff and a girl has her pride. Okay, maybe that pride was stupid, but I couldn't help it. Sometimes, for a sensible modern girl, I'm just plain stubborn.

Huel was the closest castle, but it was vacant and the way there was quite exposed. After what happened last time with Willen and gang, I was leery about even moving into the clearing, let alone wandering about on my own in the open.

I could go north to Norland Fortress, but that was almost a day's ride. And wasn't that what got me in this mess in the first place, refusing to go to Norland with Gareth? So nix that idea. Gareth was the cause of my current misery. I could hardly forgive him for that. The bloody nerve of him, making decisions without consulting me.

I went over my choices in my mind, circling them until I was emotionally wrung out. Maybe the portal would open again. Maybe there was some sort of cosmic interference that would clear in a bit. Maybe if I waited an hour or so, I could try it again.

I waited, sobbed a little more
and lay down on soft moss.

I fell into a deep slumber.

Through the pale mist of a dream, I saw my mother as she had been before she died―smiling, reaching out to me. She turned to Grandfather, who embraced her with joy, and the three of us stayed clasped
in each other's arms. We were finally together.

The mist grew darker.

My mother drew back and started to fade.

"No!" I cried, reaching for her, desperate to keep her with me.