Vespasian's POV
“Thief taker? Now that’s a new one. I’ve been called many things but never something so absurd.” Vespasian said to her with a smile, though he doubted she could see it in the night. He walked quickly back to the gully, half-pulling and half-dragging the girl with him. He didn't speak to her anymore at the more, so he was pleased with her not trying to escape or cause issues with her situation. The gully appeared before them quite suddenly and Vespasian came to an abrupt half as he nearly fell into the ditch himself. The conical shaped helmets of his soldiers stared back at him. “Take her.” He ordered, and several hands roughly grabbed Celestia and dragged her down. Vespasian hopped down as well and in earshot of the captive, spoke with his Captain.
“Any movement on the battlements?” He asked, and Tiberias nodded. “Yes Sire. They seem to be on alert. I think they might have gotten whiff of our little incursion.” There were more torch lights out now and they moved quickly as if searching for something or someone. With a grunt, Vespasian gestured back towards the forest. “Time to leave lads. I got what I was here for.” He said, with a smile to Celestia and several men laughed as they knew what their Prince was in for. Vespasian still was not aware he had nabbed a fellow Royal though and soon the two dozen or so raiders were scrambling out of the ditch and heading to the forest, Celestia being dragged with them. They reached the treeline and slowed to a quick jog, as the men in the village could not accurately trace them until morning. Still, Vespasian wanted to be gone as quick as possible and he appeared at Celestia’s side, becoming the one who made sure she kept up.
“I hope the little lady is proficient at running long distances?” Vespasian asked, using a finger to wipe away a smudge of dirt on her face. He could feel her disgust at his touch and couldn’t help but laugh at her discomfort. They moved quickly for a hour, one of the soldiers apparently knowing his way back to their previous meeting point. They reached there just as morning was beginning to dawn, and Vespasian had to stifle a yawn as they came into a small clearing. There were dozens of horses tethered to trees and logs, and a few soldiers patrolled in-between the rows. Vespasian led Celestia over to his own horse, a large brown charger that neighed and stamped upon seeing his master. While the other men were quickly mounting their horses and preparing to leave, he simply stroked the mane of his horse, whispering words of encouragement into the mares ear. Finally he turned back to Celestia, “Well you sit and behave if I let you ride in front of me or should I sling you over like a common rug?”
