The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 26

"Have you seen a girl, about this tall, carrying two swords on her back?" Aaron asked a couple, gesturing towards his shoulder height.

"She has grey eyes, brown hair tied in a ponytail, and wearing clothes like mine," I told an old woman selling sweets.

"She was the one who beat Eric in the tournament; you sure you haven't seen her around?" Rachel said to a guy with a sword, probably a fighter.

Time was ticking. Aaron looked more and more anxious and worried. Even Rachel was getting restless. "Katherine's a smart girl, she can defend herself, nothing should've happened to her," Rachel said to me as we weaved through another aisle of vendors. "If anyone tried to kidnap her or something—oh god, you don't suppose Lord Victor showed up and snatched her!"

"No, no that's impossible," I stated firmly. "Lord Victor has no idea where we are. Besides, even if she was captured, I believe Katherine's smart enough to have left behind some sort of a marker or signal to tell us where she went." Rachel nodded, agreeing.

"No one has seen Kath!" Aaron wringed his hands, circling back to us. He looked so worried I felt bad for him.

"Aaron, don't worry, I'm sure she's okay," I reassured him. "Katherine's a smart girl, and her skills are more than enough to defeat anyone that tries to kidnap her. I'm sure she just, um, wandered off or something." Aaron looked slightly comforted with this idea.

Rachel had the brilliant idea of checking the inn that Katherine's group was staying in. "Maybe she was tired and just went back to sleep," Rachel suggested. We went up to the bartender and asked if Katherine had returned.

"No, sorry, m'lady," he said. "No one's been in here save for some tired old folks. Your friend hasn't come back—she's the one with the swords and ponytail, right? I heard she won the tournament too, beating up that douche bag Eric."

"Yeah that's her," I said. "Well, if she comes back, tell her that we were looking for her."

Thirty minutes was almost up. We began to head back to meet up with Ashley and the others when someone called out to us.

"Hey! You're Aaron, right? Guy who won the cloak?" A guy in his early twenties ran up to us, stopping before Aaron. He had a mop of blonde hair, sparkling green eyes, and a bright smile. He wore a white cotton T-shirt, splattered with some mud or dirt, with faded blue pants, and he had a pair of farmer's boots on his feet.

"Yeah that's me." Aaron responded. "Uh, who are you...?"

"A friend of mine told me that you guys were looking for the girl who defeated Eric, and I hurried to find you guys because I think I saw her pass by a while ago." We all snapped to attention.

"Really?! Where?" Aaron asked. The guy pointed towards a small hill off to the side. "I saw her walking towards there after the tournament, carrying a cup of juice or cider or something. She seemed a bit...sad." He shrugged.

"Oh my gosh thank you so much!" Aaron shook the guy's hand eagerly and took off in the direction he pointed out to us. We followed, yelling thanks over our shoulders.

"Yeah, no problem!" the nice guy waved and called out after us. "Congratulations, by the way!"

Aaron charged up the hill, Rachel and I sprinting after him. He stopped at the top and looked around.

"She's not here..." Indeed, there was only a lonely haystack against a building, with no sign of Katherine.

"Where could she have gone?" Rachel wondered. Aaron bent down to pick something up.

"Guys, it's a cup." He sniffed the contents. "Apple cider. Didn't the guy say Katherine was holding a cup of cider?"

"And look here." I crouched down and pointed at a dark stain on the ground. "She didn't finish her drink. Judging by the size of this puddle, I'd say the cider was only half finished when she left."