Oath and Kingdom [The Swordbreaker Archives]

Chapter 26: The Failed Soldier

Lynette and Loki wandered on, waking in the morning to follow the sun's direction, and ending the day unsure of themselves.  Their journey seemed unending.
Lynette took it as a good sign.  If they were being followed, they were too far ahead for anyone to find them.
Lynette's sleep was beginning to return.  She felt better rested, but not quite enough to sate her dreariness and anxiousness of the wood around them.
Loki remained watchful too.  She could see the change in him now.  In the few months since they left, he had grown slightly taller than her, but his frame grew thinner with each day without true nutrition.
They ate through half of their supply, rationing each meal and taking any opportunity to hunt that the woods offered.  Though their days still remained rather quiet, each night they would spend some time talking about their old interests and memories together.
"Do you remember the rumor that Lars was a bastard?"
Lynette looked at Loki and snorted.  "It did not last very long.  We all look too. Much alike.  Why do you bring that up?"
"I was thinking about what would happen if we returned and all of a sudden he was king, but the people revolted against him because they truly thought he was a bastard."
"Well, what about Nathaniel?"
"I suspect he would have been murdered by traitors to the crown because of his sinful ways." Loki smirked.
"Sinful?  Sure he is callous, but I was not aware of this.  What exactly do you mean?"
Loki looked wide-eyed at her suddenly, shocked she had not heard of it.
"You know he spends a lot of time in the city, right?"
She nodded.
"Well, my father has had to retrieve him a number of times when his guards failed to find him.  Mostly from the whore house.  There was one time in particular though, that they found him in a back alley covered in blood."
Lynette froze, uncertain she heard him right.  "Wait, what happened.  Why was he going into the city?"
"My father assumed he was lonely, and well now that he is older he has other urges."
Lynette nodded in understanding, stopping Loki before he could say more.  "Well, that does not explain why he was covered in blood.  Did he ever say anything about it?"
Loki shook his head.  If my father knows, he did not tell anyone.  I only overheard some conversations he held with my mother when he was frustrated.  He did not give away much detail, if Nathaniel even gave away any details.  As far as I know that was the last time he visited the city.  That was almost a year ago."
"Do you think whatever happened made him stop, or do you think my father punished him in some way?"
Loki shrugged.  "I do not know.  All I know is, whatever happened risked the royal family's trust with the commoners.  Maybe this cult that is after us has something to do with that incident.  They just never had the chance to do anything about it because none of the royal family has been in the city since that happened."
"But they specifically wanted me.  I do not see what that would have to do with what Nathaniel did.  We do not even know if he was the victim of a crime, was simply a witness to one, or was the perpetrator.  We do not know if it was even a crime at all!"
"It was serious enough to scare my father.  I think that is enough evidence to think Nathaniel was involved in some bad people."
"But it does not mean he was involved with the people attacking us.  If they were involved, I think my father would have been more cautious about it.  He would have made us leave to Dalmooré after the first attack.  He believed it was a simple group of commoners looking to scare us a little."
Admitting that hurt.  Lynette did not understand why her father did not feel threatened.  Now, after hearing Nathaniel go through something just as serious in the came city, she did not understand why her father did not try a little harder to protect his children.
She worried what may have happened in the time since their disappearance.  Did he try harder to protect his family, or are they still at home, waiting for Lynette to return or the king's men to find her.
"Lynette, your safety is the priority of all of Callmandonia now.  Those who tried to hurt you, everyone will be against them."
Lynette's brows furrowed.  Though he could see his sincerity and belief that it was true, she did not believe him.  "Not all of Callmandonia agrees with my father's ways, Loki.  No matter where we go, we will always be at risk of losing our lives.  I understand you want to believe we could be safe somewhere and I appreciate your hope, but I am sorry I cannot see it."
"You have to believe in the goodness of the world," Loki tried to reason with her.  "Without it we would not be alive.  Do not forget Kilton and Tilde so quickly.  It has only been a few weeks since they helped us."
Lynette nodded.  "The further we go, the less we are likely to come across people so willing to help.  Now, we should rest.  It is only going to become more difficult to travel once the snow starts to fall."
Loki turned away, pulling a blanket over himself as he understood what she meant.  She did not want to speak anymore about her family or their predicament.  The longer they remained running, the worse she felt about her fate.
They both lost themselves, hungry and frightened.  If they could not find help quickly, then they would truly be lost.

The night quickly changed to dawn, the sun beginning to rise into the bare trees.  Lynette woke to find Loki asleep, the fire long snuffed out with snow.  She could see her breath on the cold air.
It snowed in the night, but she was too exhausted to notice.  She felt the dread set in.  There was no way to cover tracks in this snow.  It was just deep enough to not melt, but harden.
She shuffled over to Loki and woke him.  He startled, relaxing when he saw Lynette's calm.  "We have a bit of an issue.  This snow is not going to melt."
Loki looked around, shaking some of the snow from his hat.  He then looked up at the sky.  There were a scattering of white fluffy clouds visible above the trees. "We should still keep going.  It may snow again in a few days.  I suppose that is all we can hope for."
She nodded, stood and shook away any remaining exhaustion.  She cleared the horses of snow and gathered their supplies as Loki buried the fire.  They head out shortly after, Loki scanning the forest around them one last time.
Lynette shivered with a sudden cold chill from the freezing air.  "I have this feeling something is wrong."
Loki looked as she stared behind them. "I feel it too, but I am hoping it is just from the cold.  Let's go, before we make too much attention of it."
Lynette's dog jumped up on the horse in front of her, his paws wet.  She brushed off any snow to keep him as dry as possible and took off after Loki.
Their morning remained rather cold, but they kept on going.  The horses seemed to be fine, but after a while their feet were too wet to continue.
They stopped around midday for a break, and tended to the horses.  They dried their legs and wrapped them, hoping to prevent any damage from the hardened snow.
The dog remained at her side the entire time.  He listened to the woods around them and sniffed.  Possibly their next meal.
"We should probably eat while we have stopped," Lynette approached Loki when she was done.  Loki stood up, finishing tending to his horse's legs.  He nodded, pulling the satchel from behind him and rummaging through.
He stopped when the dog growled.  Lynette turned to the dog, his ears perked as he sniffed the air and stared back from the way they came.  They grew very still for a moment, then the horses shifted, spooked.
"Someone's in pursuit," Loki swiftly mounted his horse. Pulling the reins to keep it in control.  The dog began to bark, a shadow visible in the distance, growing quickly.
Lynette quickly mounted and forced the horse after Loki's, sprinting through the snow and up a hill.  They sprinted up, forcing the horses faster as the ground leveled out.  Lynette took a glance back, spotting the dog just behind them, and their pursuer further behind, still not quite visible through the grey blur of trees.
He was still gaining on them.  She could now hear the clinking of chainmail against armor.  A soldier.
It did not matter if it was one of her father's men.  She sure he was not alone, and either way they were at risk of being caught by a cultist.  For all she knew, he was one disguised as a soldier.
He was only a few strides behind them now, and Loki took this moment to turn in the saddle, arrow in hand and bowstring pulled tight, swiftly shifting it to place and loosing it on their pursuer.
Lynette did not see where Loki hit, but the soldier was knocked off the horse and fell to the ground, his horse remaining in pursuit.
Loki slowed them, turning his horse to approach the man.  Lynette followed, recognizing the guard as he removed his helmet, looking at the arrow that had pierced between the shoulder blade and the armor on his arm.
"Loki, leave him be.  He's not a threat."
Loki turned to her, his eyes darkened as the adrenaline continued to course through his body.  Something about that look made Lynette shiver.  She never saw that kind of anger in him before.
"We do not know that.  He could be working with one of them."
"I am trying to save you two.  You understand there are a lot of people looking to kill you, Lynette?  Not just those people who took you in the city."
"Or the ones who took me from my bed?" Lynette retorted.  "Did you even know that?  They were different people working for the same group.  I could have died if I did not escape them."
The young soldier froze.  His hand was on the arrow, but he had not pulled it from his arm.  He looked up at them.  "I am sorry no one told me that.  I am not sure anyone even knew.  How did they get into your room?"
"My balcony.  An Aves took me.  No one saw him because he quickly flew into my room and grabbed me.  When I escaped, I went to the only person I could trust."
The young soldier nodded.  They paused in silence for a moment before Loki approached the soldier.  He pushed into the arrow slightly, making the soldier remember he was injured.  He cried out in pain as Loki quickly shifted, trying up his ankles.
"Loki, what are you doing?  He's harmless."
"I do not trust him.  He just became a kings guard a few months ago.  We do not know if he is a traitor."
Lynette sighed, knowing she had to agree with that.  She did not know this soldier's name yet, but she did know he was nice to her.  Still, she did not know him, and neither did anyone else.  Not in just a few months.
He probably joined the search party to either prove his loyalty or to capture her for the cultists.  The fact that he was alone made the latter more likely.
Loki tied him to a tree, pulling the arrow from his soldier and tending to his wound as Lynette sat in front of him, just out of reach.  Her dog sat quietly beside her.
"Tell me how you found us." Lynette demanded, her voice nonthreatening.
He looked up at her, taking her frame in fully for the first time since they knocked him off of his horse.  He then did the same to Loki before replying, his expression showing surprise by the way they looked.  "I came across your camp.  I saw the way your horses went and followed.  I did not think it was you, but I was hopeful."
"Why are you alone?  Usually search parties consist of more than a few kings guard."
"I went off to see if there was any game.  We have been traveling at night.  There are three of us.  When I went back to tell them, they were dead asleep.  I could not wake them, so I felt I should go after you before you escaped."
"Only three," Loki's brows rose in disbelief.
The soldier sighed.  "We split from the group a few days prior.  The knight in charge wanted us to split and cover more ground.  With the snow coming, he knew our chances of finding you were higher."
Loki's dark gaze remained as he continued to question the king's guard for her.  "Tell me what you know of our pursuers.  The ones who took Lynette as well as the others you were so inclined to mention earlier."
"The ones you speak of, they are in pursuit of an old prophecy.  A prophecy that mentions a Brightstar knight."
"What would a knight have to do with a prophecy, and what does it have to do with me?"
"It depicts one of the Brightstars.  A woman.  I am not exactly sure of the details, but that is the part of it your father's hand mentioned to us before we left to find you.  They see you as important, and your father is worried their intention is to sacrifice you."
"But you do not know that?" Lynette's brows rose in question.  The soldier shook his head.  "What does my father know about it then?"
"As far as I am aware, not very much.  He knows of the prophecy, but not the details.  Those cultists, as well as a number of other groups, seem to know those details.  We have heard of another group trying to ensure the events of this prophecy come true.  We are not entirely sure of the intent of this group."
Lynette sighed.  She knew their intent was not a good one.  Otherwise, their two pursuers would not have tried to kill them.
"Are there others looking for us?"
The soldier looked unsure, but that uncertainty made Lynette believe so.  "There are many looking to make this prophecy true, and many trying to prevent them from making it happen.  We do not know of any groups specifically, but we worry someone might try to take advantage of your disappearance to capture you."
Lynette looked at the soldier who quieted, nothing left to say.
"My father believes the castle is safe despite the fact I was taken from my bedroom.  I will not go back.  I am no longer safe no matter where I go, so my only hope is to keep running to a place that is harder to get to."
The soldier nodded.  "I wish I could be of assistance, but if you demand to leave, I cannot stop you.  I cannot join you either.  I will be seen as a traitor."
"I am not going to kill you if that is what you are suggesting."
The soldier shook his head.  "Take my supplies and my horse.  I will tell them I was attacked by a pair of nomads desperate for food.  Leave me tied I am sure they will find me by nightfall."
Lynette looked at him, surprised.  "I cannot leave you defenseless."
"You must.  Otherwise they will come find you."
Lynette looked into the soldiers eyes.  He was only a few years older than her, about Lars' age.  He had been part of the king's service since he was a child.  He was accepted as a guard after being trained personally by the head of her father's army.
Though they did not know each other well, he was always kind to her.  She could see the sincerity in his eyes.
"There is one more thing I can do to help.  Once you find the settlements of the elves, ask for the elf named Sililé Algírmin, he may know something about the prophecies."
"How would you know that?"
He turned to Loki.  "Your father spoke of him when I saw him last."
Loki inhaled deeply, understanding.  Although Loki did not know of the elves personally, he knew his father had knowledge of every elf that might remain.
"You must go, before they find out I am gone," the soldier stated.
Loki turned to him, stepping away to do exactly as he instructed.  "Thank you."
Loki took his horse, tying it and any of the supplies that slipped to the ground when the soldier fell from him.  Lynette stepped up to the soldier, taking any of his weapons.  He turned close to Lynette, his mouth opening as he tried to explain something to her.
"We found the Aves and his companion.  Did you kill them?"
Lynette paused, staring into his eyes.  The brown was light enough to give away how fearful he was for her.  She nodded to him.  "Well then, I must say if it is you, you will become very powerful and kind ruler.  I hope to survive and serve you long enough to fight by your side."
Lynette's brows furrowed, both surprised by his words, and embarrassed.  "I am sorry.  I do not remember your name."
"Wyland Pierce."
Lynette smiled.  "Thank you Wyland.  I will not forget this."
She quickly mounted her horse, Loki ready to leave.  She tied his sword to her belt tightly before the dog jumped into her lap.  They bolted off at full speed.
"We need to travel through the night if we are going to overrun them."
Lynette forced her horse faster, towards the opposite side of Loki that the free horse was on.  They charged north, continuing for hours.  They did not stop to eat, only slowed to give the horses a rest a few times through the day.
The more they rain, the more Lynette could feel her panic settle in, and her thoughts of Wyland's claims took over her.  Not just the fact they were being pursued by her father's men at this very moment, but also the last words he spoke to her.
She did not believe in prophecies, but she was unsure that was what he truly meant by what he said.  Maybe he just meant that one day she could become powerful in her country.  Not necessarily queen, but acknowledged enough by her father to be important to his cause.
Or important to their people.
Loki caught Lynette's attention with a wave.  They had not spoken for hours, listening to the forest for their pursuers.  She looked up at him as he pointed up ahead.  She shifted her horse up a small hill, until she could see what he was talking about.
There was a small break in the forest, a single farm between them and the other side.  Unlike the bare forest they stood at the edge of, the northern part of the forest was filled with gigantic trees.  Mostly pines, but other trees as well.
"The Old Wood.  Humans do not reside there.  It is virtually untouched.  You will only find species that are in touch with the earth and its magic.  Wood Elves, Fawn and Fae.  Most others rarely remain there over a few years.  The woods are filled with other creatures that you will not find commonly to the south."
"So, in other words, it is more dangerous?"
"It can be.  Luckily I know about the creatures of this particular forest.  We are safer there from all of our pursuers."
"What are we waiting for then?" She pushed her horse forward.
Loki stepped his horse in front of hers.  "We need to cross unseen by this farmer.  We will wait until it is fully dark.  I will need to lead the way if we are going to make it across without any light."
Lynette nodded.  They both waited, watching the sun make its way west.  Lynette kept her eyes behind them as Loki fed the horses and the dog.  He offered her a small piece of bread and cheese, and she took it gratefully.

When the sun finally set and there were no signs of pursuers or the farmers tending to their animals, they took off.  Loki tied both horses to his saddle, hoping to guide them across carefully.
As a fawn, he could see better than them in the dark.  The dog could too, but his uncertainty of the forest ahead of them brought him into Lynette's lap.  She wrapped an arm around him and pet him affectionately.
It calmed her a little, but every time she looked back she worried her vision was failing her, and their pursuers were not far behind.
The darkness overwhelmed her.  She felt like air was being sucked from her lungs and the world around her was closing in.  She still sensed Loki ahead of her, his breathing the only thing still reassuring.
Their usual torches sat in her lap with the dog, there just in case it became to dark to see, or if snow suddenly picked up in the sky overhead, blinding them from their path across the fields.
Loki remained calm, continuing at a steady pace.
Lynette looked up ahead, a light suddenly catching her eye.  It was soft and green, hanging in the sky ahead of them.
"What is that," Lynette whispered into thin air.
Loki slowed slightly, still invisible in the dark.  The lights were not bright enough to illuminate their way.
"Skylights.  Usually seen in extremely cold climates.  I am not entirely sure what causes them, but it is entirely natural.  I am surprised to see them this far south, usually they only become visible in Löchven or Tunturi."
Lynette watched in awe as Loki continued forward.  The lights moved ever so slightly, like sea waves in the sky.  "Did your father tell you about them?"
"Yeah.  He saw them once before when he travelled to the very north edge of Callmandonia.  He told me they can change colors, but green is the most common to see."
The softness of the light seemed to calm her, reminding her that she was not enclosed in true darkness.  They were not trapped, but simply invisible in the night.
The sun began to peak from the edge of the horizon by the time they reached the other side.  Not enough for the sun to be visible, but enough for a line of pink to separate the sky from the ground.  Enough for the skylights to disappear, but not enough to offer a difference within the forest ahead.
Lynette could just make out the southern forest as Loki led them into the Old Wood.  She could swear shadows were gathering at its edge, but the light was too dim to make out whether her eyes were playing tricks, or their pursuers were truly there.
Loki captured her attention as the sun grew bright enough to see, but by then the field behind them was gone.  "Let's continue at the same pace.  I do not find it likely our pursuers will catch us.  There will be snowfall soon."
"How do you know?"
"Notice the sudden chill and a slight wind?  The sun should illuminate a little more by now.  I think it is coming from the west."
Lynette nodded, feeling the temperature drop.  A gust of wind passed around them, chilling her through her bones.  The wind picked up slightly.
Loki's voice softened when he continued.  "I think a blizzard is coming.  I want to keep going though, until it is no longer safe to."
"Alright, lead the way."