Lost but Loved

Chapter Twenty Three: Revealing the Truth

"Lucy, you go too far." Jasper walked towards her, and she grabbed Trace's sword and twirled it. "Lucy. Put it down. You have not the authority to condemn people."

"I am Commander. All prisoners of war are mine to deal with as I see fit. The lord will wait his ten days in a cell, King Jasper. He is a prisoner of war, kept by the King Henry, if his story rings truth. The man is mine. Trace, help me." She brushed past Jasper and took Aetos's arm. "Here," she handed the sword back to Trace and instead took a dagger out from behind her back. Trace felt the magic in the air. She was learning.

Together they led the prisoner down to the dungeons. "Which cell, Commander Miller?"

Lucy grinned. "Any one you please, Aetos. Except," she added, her eyes turning dark. "The last cell. The last cell is to never be used again. I will deal with that later. Remind me, Trace, dear." He nodded and his cheeks slightly reddened. "Choose, now. I must get dressed in a proper tunic and eat at length. I could eat like a wolf!" Trace glanced at her, wondering if the wolf Lucy was this Lucy.

Aetos sighed, knowing he could not fight the fierce girl, and nodded towards a bigger vacant one. Lucy shoved him in there harshly, and slammed the door shut. "You will come out in ten days. I will personally release you." She turned and walked away. Trace stayed behind, and when he was sure no one was listening in other cells, he pressed his face next to the grill.

"You must pardon her. She has grown tough and brittle towards men. They have wronged her many a time. Women, now she trusts them."

"But my daughter... she was supposed to be the perfect lady. She was going to be smart, sophisticated, clean, neat, quiet. This girl that claims to be Lucy is loud, rough, cunning, dirty, and unsophisticated. She is not the daughter I wanted."

"But she is your daughter. If you knew, you would be proud of her. She can fight well. Smart. She can speak three languages and is learning her fourth. She reads. She is strong. Free willed. Fierce. But compassionate. Loving. Patient, at times," Trace chuckled to himself. "She has grown up a farm girl and it is the only way she knows. Forgive her for being rough. The past few days have been horrible."

There was a pause, and a shuffling sound from within the cell. "Tell me then, servant. What has happened?"

Trace sighed. He didn't appreciate it when people called him servant. "A being called Black Shadow has been haunting her. Black Shadow made her kill her best friend, Jane. Now, just that night when she was murdered, Jane had been married to Prince Jayce. According to laws, Lucy was beheaded."

"Impossible! She was standing right there!"

Trace shook his head and leaned against the door. "She hasn't told me yet, but I think Black Shadow occupied her body, then brought her back to life. He didn't want her to die, not yet." He fingered the jar and heard the scream in his head again.

"She is beautiful, though, isn't she?" Aetos said, pondering about things. Trace smiled as he pictured Lucy.

"Indeed. And lithe. Like a panther."

"And sneaky. Are you talking about me?" Lucy peered around the corner, a big grin on her face. She had washed, dressed in a light red tunic with dark blue trims. The scabs on her arms had peeled off, and they were slightly bleeding. The scar on her neck stood out, and the outside of her left ear was still black. Clipped to her belt hung her trusty dagger in its sheath. 

"Adorn said you hadn't come up yet. Why are you still down here?" Lucy took Trace's arm and pulled him along the dark corridor.

"Who is Adorn? And why do you need me?"

Lucy sighed and scolded him as if he should have known who Adorn was. "Adorn is the guard. And I need you to come with me because I thought you wanted to hear my story?"