Scars Of Defiance (2 page)

Victor had such an over-inflated ego that it was hard for
Sierra to be around him. It didn’t help matters that his incredible good looks
and charisma had girls falling at his feet left and right. She had to shake her
head in amazement at the idiotic attempts of other girls to win his attention.
Of course, it wasn’t just Victor they wanted. Riley was equally handsome, with
a toned, muscled body that he was happy to show off whenever he could. Being
Victor’s best friend gave him access to all the top-of-the-line exercise
equipment and personal trainers.

Together, Victor and Riley were a lethal combination. They
could have any girl they wanted, and they usually did. It was Riley who sought
to date Sierra, not Victor. In their junior and senior years, Riley stepped up
his efforts to win Sierra over. He would follow her and stalk her around the
clock, and arrange to have her sit next to him in class. She couldn’t stand it.
Riley was a big fake. Sierra didn’t want a guy who couldn’t act normal. It
confused Riley that she didn’t fall for his charms like the other girls — or
maybe it intrigued him, because he kept trying.

Then, one day during the summer after graduation, Sierra’s father
took her for a drive. She remembered the moment well since it was only four
months ago. On the drive, he asked her if she wanted to marry Victor Rawlings.
Of course her answer was a resounding
No
. Then the confusion set in. Why
in the world did Victor want her to be his bride? It was so unexpected and unexplained,
but no more so than when her father suddenly died after he told Reginald that
Sierra didn’t want to marry Victor.

His death, ruled as a heart attack, seemed so sudden and
unexplainable. He hadn’t had any health problems before that, and then out of
the blue he died. Sierra immediately suspected foul play. She had been
overtaken with grief at the time and wasn’t able to think straight enough to
investigate further. Involving the law wasn’t an option. Reginald Rawlings
was
the law.

She thought it was no minor coincidence that her dad’s death
had occurred immediately after she rejected Victor’s marriage proposal. She
should have suspected forces beyond her control aimed at placing her in the
palace with the spoiled son of the dictator.

Even though Sierra had just turned eighteen, Reginald
insisted — no,
demanded
— that she come live in the palace “for her own
protection.” She had been selected to be the bride of the future ruler of
Rendier, and as such it was entirely possible that her life could be in danger
now. The fact that she had declined the proposal didn’t seem to matter.

It had been four months now since her father died and she
had been taken to the palace. Four months since Reginald Rawlings basically
admitted to her that he had murdered her father, and four months of attempted
escapes and brutal beatings when she failed. Hopefully, she had been beaten for
the last time. If this escape attempt worked, she would never have to see this
country again. She wouldn’t have to marry Victor, and she could live her own
life.

Sierra had gained the friendship of an important ally within
the palace, Dr. Roth. He tended to her injuries after every beating Reginald
issued. At first, she felt he was trying to keep a safe distance from the
situation, but as time went on, she saw his compassion for her plight.

It went against the Hippocratic Oath for him to look the
other way and ignore the crimes and suffering inflicted on Sierra. He became
determined to help her escape, to flee the country and her horrible captive
life. So he allied himself with the dangerous insurgent underground in an
effort to secure safe transportation for her across the border. Why they agreed
to help, she didn’t know, especially when they had tried and failed to kill
her. The only thing she could figure was that Dr. Roth had some pull in the
decision to help her cross the border.

On that fateful day four months ago, as Reginald confessed
his evil deed to her, she learned that she had been chosen to become Victor’s
bride not because he cared for her but because she was the last living female
of the Montgomery monarchy, the only surviving legitimate heir to the throne of
Rendier. Reginald hadn’t even known that she existed until she and her parents
emerged from hiding. Then he put two and two together, realized that his son
and Sierra were about the same age, and conceived of his foul plot. He employed
Donald Montgomery only so he could keep a close eye on Sierra while she grew to
adulthood. She realized now that even if Victor hadn’t asked her to marry him,
Reginald would have arranged it. Her father had stood in Reginald’s way, and he
had been eliminated. She had to wonder if her poor mother had tried to
interfere too.

The plane bounced and swayed as it pushed forward through
the storm, climbing unsteadily through the clouds and blinding snow. The right
side of the plane dipped as they cornered north toward Baylend, the only country
bordering Rendier. The small country of Rendier descended from the main
continent as a southern peninsula extending into the ocean. The two countries
were separated by the Trejo Mountain Range, which formed an impassable border
over thirty miles wide separating freedom from tyranny. The only road cutting
through the mountains was closely guarded with a gated border, which eliminated
the option of fleeing the country by vehicle. Hiking through the mountains had
its own perils. If one survived the harsh wilderness and wild animals, one
would still need to have advanced mountain-climbing skills to navigate up and
over the treacherous peaks. The mountain range was like a brick wall that
rendered passage from one country to the other all but impossible.

The coastal waters around Rendier were also heavily
patrolled by Rawlings’s naval forces, so escape by boat was out of the question
as well, which left flying the only option. Dr. Roth helped Sierra secure a
spot on the secret plane which the insurgents used periodically to ferry
defectors across the border, but for a hefty fee.

The expense involved in fleeing the country truly shocked
Sierra, but she realized that buying freedom is expensive, and it was worth it.
Air traffic controllers needed a lot of money to persuade them to turn their
heads while a covert mission took place under their noses. Airport guards were
also eager to accept bribe money. The meager wages they received from Reginald Rawlings
was hardly enough to support their families, who like most of the citizens of
Rendier lived in poverty.

And the expense didn’t end there. Once Sierra arrived in
Baylend, she would need to pay the proprietors of the crosser home for taking
her in and caring for her.

Over the course of several years, the rebel insurgents had
set up a network of crosser homes just over the border in Baylend. These were
essentially high-security safe-houses run by families who made it their
business to guard and protect defectors from Rendier and help them become
integrated into Baylend society.

Of course most people in Rendier couldn’t afford to escape
the ruthless rule of Reginald Rawlings. The only reason Sierra could do so is
that she had cashed in her father’s life insurance policy after his death, a
policy funded by one of Rawlings’s banks. In a round-about way, she realized,
Rawlings was responsible for her father’s murder and was now inadvertently
funding her escape.

But an even greater irony, it painfully occurred to her, was
that her father’s life insurance money was being used to fund the flight that
might very well take Sierra to her death. A hot tear slid down Sierra’s cheek.
She missed her father dearly. If only she had just said yes to the marriage
proposal, maybe he’d still be alive today.

*****

“Did she make the plane?” Clive Roberts asked, an unlit
cigar dangling between his lips. He held the telephone receiver to his ear with
his shoulder while he rummaged through his desk drawer to find a lighter.

“Yes, Mr. Roberts,” the voice on the phone told him. “I
dropped her off just in time. I should tell you, though, that I had to take out
one of the gate guards. He hadn’t been affected by the poison, and I couldn’t
risk him seeing Sierra leave. He’d have sounded the alarm.”

“That’s fine. I’ll make some calls and have the body removed
before anyone discovers it. You did your job well, son. Stop by and I’ll give
you your payment.” Roberts found his lighter and puffed the cigar as he lit it.

“Thank you, sir. Let me know if I can be of service in any
other way.”

Roberts hung up the phone and sat back in his chair as
swirls of smoke hung in the air. His personal aide sat across the room on a wooden
chair.

“Was it a successful departure, Mr. Roberts?” he asked.

“Yes. The plane crossed the border undetected.”

“Do you need me to take care of a body?”

“Yes, a guard at the rear service gate. Work your magic on
this one. We can’t have Reginald thinking he needs to be suspicious.”

“We should have just killed her while we had the chance. You
know that Reginald will find her and bring her back.”

“Yes, I figure he will. He can’t let the last Montgomery
slip from his grasp. But I want the good doctor to join our side, so we’re
playing his game. When they bring her back, we’ll dispose of her then.”

 The man left the room, leaving Roberts alone to think. If
the earlier assassination attempts on Sierra’s life had been successful, it
would have never been discovered that Reginald Rawlings’s personal physician, Dr.
Roth, was working against him. No, this was a beautiful discovery, and it would
be used to the best advantage of the underground.

*****

Sierra’s left hand held the leather strap above her head,
and her right hand clutched a vomit bag. The terrible turbulence from the storm
was enough to test even the strongest of stomachs. Several other defectors had
already used their bags, and she feared she would lose the battle with her
stomach as well.

She pushed her thoughts back to the reasons she fled: 
Victor and Reginald Rawlings. She remembered her father’s funeral and how the
small gathering of mourners was interrupted by the cavalcade of armored
vehicles bringing Reginald to the service. He wanted everyone to think he was
coming to pay his respects to Donald Montgomery, his trusted advisor, but
Sierra knew better. She knew how Reginald’s mind worked, and she suspected he
was responsible for her father’s death.

After the services, Reginald spoke with Sierra and offered
her residency at the palace. “There have been threats against your life,
Sierra,” he said loudly enough so that everyone could hear his expression of
exaggerated gracious concern for her well-being.

“Oh really?” Her sarcastic tone didn’t go unnoticed.

“It’s my business to know of possible threats to myself or
my family. I’ve known you since you were a little girl, and I consider you my
daughter. Please come to the palace until we can eliminate the threats against
you, for your own safety, Sierra.” He looked around to make sure the assembled
mourners were listening.

She knew there was no point in refusing him. He wouldn’t let
up until he got what he wanted. He wanted her at the palace so she could be
announced as Victor’s future bride. If she only knew then what she knew now,
she would have put him off for a day or two and disappeared, but instead she
agreed. In essence, she gave away all of her freedom and entered the guarded
gates of the palace to become a prisoner.

She remembered the first few pleasant and relaxing days of
palace life. She was pampered, and all her needs were cared for. She saw Victor
only twice, and then only in passing. She saw Riley more often, however. It
wasn’t unusual for Riley to be at the palace. He was Victor’s best friend,
after all. To see him and know he must be angry with Victor for taking Sierra
away from him made her wonder what kind of friendship they actually had.

Her lodgings at the palace were exquisite, with several
handmaids appointed to her. It seemed like a fairytale life until Reginald
caught her talking with Riley. She remembered those events from four months ago
is if they happened yesterday.

Riley found her walking the hall and pulled her into a
vacant room.

“Riley, what are you doing?” she asked. She twisted her arm
free from his grasp and stepped back away from him.

“I have to talk to you,” he insisted.

“What is it?” She impatiently folded her arms across her
chest.

“I can get you out of here. I can help you escape.”

“I’d love to get out of here, but not with you.”

“I shouldn’t have told him. I feel like it’s my fault.” He
massaged his temples as if they hurt and closed his eyes.

“What are you talking about? What’s your fault?” It shocked
her that Riley could feel at fault for anything, or could feel at all for that
matter.

Footsteps outside the door caused them to freeze in their
spots until the steps passed by and faded.

He closed the gap between them and grabbed both her
shoulders, pulling her face close to his. “He wouldn’t have wanted you if he
didn’t know I did. I should have kept my mouth shut. They warned me. I screwed
up, but I can make it better. Leave with me and I’ll keep you safe.”

“Who are ‘they’? What are you talking about?”

“We have to hurry, Sierra.” The urgency in his voice scared
her.

“I’m not going anywhere with you. You’re babbling on about
what, I don’t know.” She broke free from him and moved to the other side of the
room, putting distance between them.

“He only wants to marry you because I wanted you first.”

“What?”

 “He doesn’t truly want you. Your life will be unhappy with
him, and when he gets tired of you, he’ll move on to someone else, discarding
you like an empty milk jug.”