The Lord Son's Travels (14 page)

Chapter 16

The
knocks on the door started softly, but grew with repetition.
 
Finally the banging broke into Elenna's
dreams and brought her back to wakefulness.
 
She sat up in bed, yawning, as the knocking continued.

"If
that's you, Adrien, and you seriously think we're going to have practice now,
I'll show you some hits you'll never forget," she threatened out
loud.
 
She glanced down and saw she
was still in her under-dress.
 
The
maid had only gotten off the outer gown before Elenna shooed her off.
 
She climbed out of the warm covers and
padded barefoot to the door.
 
It
wasn't her companion but Limmett, wrapped under a cloak and gazing about
fearfully.

"What
is it?" Elenna demanded at the sight.
 
Limmett cast one more look behind her, then snuck into the
room.
 

"There
are men here," she whispered fearfully.
 
"The mistress let them in.
 
They are soldiers from Allè-dôn.
 
They say they are looking for a pair of men."
 
She glanced up to Elenna's eyes.
 
She frowned.

"Why
are they seeking these men?" she asked.
 
The girl shook her head.

"They
wouldn't say.
 
But they described
the men you travel with."

"Did
your mistress say we were here?"

"No,
not yet," the servant answered.
 
"But I fear you will be seen in the morning.
 
You saved me this morning, my Lady.
 
I hope my message is helpful for
you."

"It
is," Elenna replied, a thousand concerns flying through her brain at
once.
 
"Thank you, Limmett.
 
Could you perhaps get a message to
Bran, my servant?"

"Of,
course, my Lady.
 
I will have him
meet you in the stables with your mounts."
 
She returned to the doorway, and pointed silently down the
hall.
 
"These men are in the
rooms at the end," she whispered.
 
"Go quietly!"
 
After the servant departed, Elenna pulled out her bag and dug in for her
riding clothes.
 
She dressed the
best she could in the dark, then stuffed her new clothes into the bag.
 
Her hand fell on the history book on
the table by the bed, and she decided to take it along as well. She left a gold
coin in its place, hoping that it covered the book's value.
 
All packed, she crept from her chamber
to the door across the hall.
 
She
tapped gently, watching down the hall on alert for any movement.
 
A few seconds later, the door squeaked
open a few inches.
 
Adrien peered
down at her in confusion.
 
He
blinked when recognized her traveling clothes and cracked the door open a
little farther.

"Where
are you going?" he asked.
 
Before
she had finished explaining, he pulled out his own bag and started shoving
items inside.
 
Forgetting the
impropriety of it she entered his room to wait for him out of the view of
anyone who might enter the hall.
 

"Time
to go," he exclaimed, as he picked up his bag.
 
She hefted hers over her shoulder as he blew out the candle
and opened the door.
 
She could see
nothing but complete darkness until her eyes readjusted to the lack of
light.
 
He held out a hand to guide
her down the pitch blackness of the hall, past the room of the Allè-dônian
soldiers to the stairs.
 
She
followed him step by step to the first level, trying not to let her luggage
bags bump against the walls.
 
He
stopped at the foot of the staircase, unsure of the proper direction to
follow.
 
The stable was connected
to the inn by a door behind the kitchen, but that was also the location of the
innkeeper's family quarters.
 
Adrien decided to go through the front of the inn instead.
 
He and Elenna crept into the main
lobby; deserted as it should be several hours before dawn.
 
They crossed to the main door.
 
Adrien gently twisted the knob and
pushed the door open, to find himself staring into the eyes of one of the
soldiers from his own regiment.
 
The young soldier, eye to eye with his old commander, could only stare
for a second.
 
This was all the
time Adrien needed to push him aside and pull Elenna with him down the porch
steps.

"‘Tis
him!
 
‘Tis Adrien!" the
soldier cried out.
 
Pandemonium
erupted upstairs as the soldiers flew from their beds, stumbling around in the
dark, cursing until someone lit a candle.
 
They had no idea they were even close to the fugitive Lord Son, much
less expected to look out their window and see him racing full speed to the
stables with an unknown figure in tow.
 
Elenna did her best to keep up as Adrien half dragged her inside to
Madoc's stall.
 
The horse reared
and whinnied, confused by all of the sudden commotion.
 
Elenna patted him gently, soothing him
with soft words, as Adrien grabbed the first saddle he saw.
 

"Where's
Brendan?" she demanded, as he fastened the saddle on their mount.

"I
don't know.
 
Hold the reins,"
he ordered as he turned to Baldwan. Adrien saddled him up
 
as well, anticipating any minute he
would hear the footfalls of the approaching men.
 
As soon as the last buckle of Baldwan's saddle was fastened
he swung onto Madoc's back and helped Elenna to climb up behind him.
 
She complied while still keeping a tight
grasp on Baldwan's reins.
 
Adrien
urged Madoc to the stable door, with the riderless horse following closely behind.

"We
can't leave Brendan behind!" Elenna exclaimed, clutching her arms tightly
around Adrien’s chest for anchorage as they galloped from the building.
 

"Here!"
Brendan yelled from behind the stable.
 
The soldiers had raced out of the building, their uniforms half-draped
around them, and recognized his voice.
 
They rushed as a pack in the direction to the noble.

"Drop
Baldwan's reins and hold tight!" Adrien shouted to his fellow rider over
the din of the arriving soldiers.
 
Elenna complied, then tightened her grasp around his waist, laying her
cheek flat against his back.
 
He
leaned forward and turned Madoc towards the fence separating the paddock area
from the main street.
 
Madoc made
the jump easily.
 
In the confusion
Baldwan followed the example of his familiar companions and jumped as well,
following behind them by several paces.
 
Elenna gritted her teeth and hoped as Brendan ran out from the shadows
towards his mount and tried to catch the reins bouncing by the side of the trotting
horse.
 
He gripped them and yanked
hard, stopping Baldwan long enough to climb into the saddle.
 
He spurred hard to bring the horse to a
full gallop to close the distance between himself and his companions.
 
Soon the inn was out of sight behind
them, the shouts of the soldiers as they tried to ready their own rides faint
and distant.
 
No one else came
outside to see what had caused the ruckus, though many citizens double-checked
the locks on their doors.
   

"Good
morning!" Brendan called brightly as he caught up with his friends.
 
They raced side by side down the middle
of the empty road.
 
Elenna loosened
her suffocating embrace of her fellow rider to his relief and turned to face
the new arrival.

"How
was your evening?" she asked calmly.

"Fine.
 
And yours?"

"Uneventful."

"When
we finally are free of this Ladyforsaken town, we will travel through the woods
for a few days," Adrien announced.
 
"They'll not find us there."

"Like
they wouldn't find us here?" Brendan replied sourly.
 
He had been hoping to escape the
traveling life for a few days at least; even as a servant it was better than
the never-ending road.

"Cheer
up," Adrien encouraged his downcast friend.
 
"We should see another town in a week or so."

"I'm
pleased to hear," Brendan answered sourly.
 
They were passing the last of the houses towards the north
end of town.
 
Above them, the moon
was near zenith, shining on the acre after acre of fields surrounding
them.
 
Adrien suddenly pulled up
his reins to bring Madoc to a stop.
 
In the silence of the night, they could faintly discern the sounds of
pursuit far behind them.

"Where
shall we go?" Brendan asked. The road ahead traveled uphill;
 
in the bright moonlight any traffic
would be visible for several miles until cresting the edge of the valley.
 
The fields on both sides of the road had
been planted with corn that had reached its full height of eight to nine
feet.
 

"There
are no other options," Adrien pointed toward the cornfield on the northern
side of the road to the beginnings of the woods beyond.
 
"Distance yourself from us, but
make for that huge elm.
 
They won't
know which path is mine so they will need to split up as well.
 
Go!"
 
Brendan dove into the field, the top of the corn only inches
above the top of his head.
 
In a second
he was only visible as a wave in the corn leaves flowing across the field.
 
Adrien and Elenna rode along the road a
few minutes more before Adrien turned them into the field between two widely
spaced rows.
 
The leaves brushed
against them, scratching and scraping their exposed skin.
 
Both hunkered down in their seats,
trusting Madoc to find the easiest path through.
 
The rustling of the leaves prevented them from hearing any
chase behind them, giving them no clue how near or far their pursuers now were.

After an
eternity of riding, they reached the far edge of the field.
 
Madoc stepped out into the woods, as
his riders brushed off the remnants of the field from their faces and
clothes.
 
Adrien rose up and spun
around in his seat, searching for movement in the field behind them.
 
Halfway back toward the road, he could
see two waves of movement produced by their pursuers.
 
The elm was twenty feet away from their location.
 
As they watched, Brendan and Baldwan
burst from the field, and turned to their direction.
 

"Where
to now?" Brendan panted, watching the soldiers' progress through the
field.
 

Adrien
pointed in the direction of the moon.
 
"Keep him over your
left
shoulder.
 
We should run parallel
to the road."
 
They raced off
again the best they could through the
 
forest.
 
Luckily
the forest was old growth, with little underbrush to slow their passage through
the trees.
 
The pine needle
covering of the ground left no trace they had passed, but the slippery carpet
slowed their horses considerably.
 
Every fifteen minutes or so, Adrien would motion for a break, and listen
in the silence of the forest for any sounds of pursuit.
 
After several hours, he announced
wearily he had heard nothing of the soldiers for enough time to assume they had
taken a different path or had dropped behind.
 
For caution's sake they continued on for another hour, until
the horses were so exhausted they could barely move.
 
They stopped to rest and water their rides by a small creek,
deep in the heart of the forest.
 
At some point that night in their flight from Falmat they had crossed
borders into the Kingdom of Angor.

"I
can't believe who they sent," Brendan announced with bemusement, as he
filled his cup in the stream.
 
Adrien had chosen a half-uncovered boulder as a seat, as Elenna
stretched out on the ground.
 
She
was the only one in her riding clothes.
 
Brendan and Adrien still wore yesterday's dressier outfits from town.

"To
think they would send Malvin for us," Brendan continued.
 
"I thought we would be more
important than that!
 
He couldn't
find his..."

"Brendan!"
Adrien snapped, motioning to Elenna.
 
Brendan nodded sheepishly and continued, "...horse with his
mother's help."