A Father's Sin

Strangers From A Distance (Chapter Sixteen)

 They both probably did not notice I was following them, or they knew I was and they didn't care or they were confident that no harm would come to me. I mean armed men approaching the castle sounded like a dangerous situation just begging to happen.

The excitement I started to feel left no room for a logical amount of fear to be felt. Even the guards looked like they were also excited, they don't see a lot of action around here do they?

"Eli you will speak to them first and inquire of them what they seek, there is no reason for me to scare them with my appearance if they are just passing by."

"Yes my Lord."

"I and six men will go ahead, the scouts reported the group to be a party of 12 and the other guards will take up positions ready to attack and defend if necessary."

"Very well, Bella you will stay by my side."

That was an order that left no room for a retort, so I nodded and stood beside him. We stood where we were and Eli and his men moved forward until they were at the edge of the forest.

"Come out from behind those trees we know you are there."

Eli spoken loudly without shouting and his voice carried through.

Men stepped out from the darkness behind the tree, if was as if they appeared out of thin air were I not looking at those trees I would have sworn there was nobody there.

"Alright then, since we no longer have surprise on our side come on out lads all of ya!"

That voice... it belonged to a very pale skinned man, really tall and heavyset. You could easily pick him out from the group not because of his jet black hair that was a sharp contrast to his pale skin but because of his height. Have I seen him somewhere before? I felt like I know him. Eli spoke then,

"I take it that since you needed the element of surprise, you came here to attack us. Why?"

"You have something that belongs to me, I thought the old man was crazy at first but here we are. There is indeed a magnificent castle somewhere beyond the forest. Now where is the terrible monster, he has me to contend with."

"Shut up Gabriel, we didn't come here to contend with anyone. We are searching for Isabel, we only want to find her and take her home."

The one speaking now also looked familiar; his dark brown hair fell in waves from under his hat. On anyone else it would have looked silly but he wore it well.

"Adam..."

The one called Gabriel said with small bouts of contempt. Five other men who clearly stood out from the rest of the group whispered to themselves at the side. They looked very gruff and somewhat dangerous; they looked like mercenaries considering how they were armed.

"Let me do all the talking okay? Stand over there and be the good little farm boy that you are."

"Tommy where was I?!" A little round man with whiskers answered from beside Gabriel

"Contending..?"

"Ah yes!"

"Enough."

Bevan's thunderous voice echoed through the clearing. I did not notice that Bevan had come out of the shadows and was in the open now this drew a look of shock on everyone's faces even Eli and his men were shocked apparently their master never directly handled these matters.

"What is it that you seek?"

He demanded with authority, vicious looking, thunderous voice and all. Eli and his men recovered quickly from their shock, Gabriel and his friends needed a little more time. As soon as they all recovered Gabriel and his men all drew their weapons Gabriel at the forefront with a pump action shotgun in his hands, his right thumb was holding the trigger guard with the rest of his finger.

Was he going to shoot at Bevan? The other men drew their weapons too but they did not have the same crazed look that Gabriel had in his eyes.

"What have you done with her... where is she you monstrous abomination!!!"

Gabriel said lifting the shotgun to the nook of his shoulder. There was no uncertainly there and then that he would shot him. I acted without thinking, jumping in between Bevan and the group. The castle guard a little behind him now on his right and I a little human girl in a night dress and navy blue robe and very wild brown hair was in between an almost ten feet tall vicious looking individual and a bunch of very armed scared and angry looking men. Where did my sense of safety run off to?

"Don't shot him, he is not a monster!"

I yelled at the armed men, what? Did I think my deeply tanned skin was impervious to bullets, spears or knives?

"Bella is that really you?" The one called Gabriel was looking at me now like he knows who I am and I should know him too, but he didn't put his gun down still the rest of the group did but he didn't.

"I... know you?" I said looking more closely at him now. Bevan pushed me gently to the side and stood facing them again.

"She is the one you seek?"

More a statement than a question, he said to the one called Adam but the one called Gabriel answered instead.

"What have you done to her, why does she look at me like a stranger?! Bella and I did not agree on many things but at least she knew who I was before!"

"Calm yourself Gabriel, Isabel do you know how I am?" The one with wavy brown hair and kind eyes called Adam was speaking now.

Isabel? Was that me? "I don't know do you know who I am...?"

"Yes..?"

Before he could carry on speaking her was interrupted by Gabriel; "Unhand her you foul Beast!" it all happened really fast, before Gabriel finished speaking he fired his shotgun and again without thinking I jumped between him and Bevan.

Bevan behind me moved very fast and took me in his arms and spun very fast turning his back to Gabriel and holding me protectively in his arms. He took the shot pellets from the shotgun in his back, but not all of them. He was very fast but he wasn't fast enough, before he turned with me in his arms one of the shot pellets hit me on my right shoulder.

I don't know what it was; maybe it was the pain the shot pellet in my shoulder left in its wake or the shock from the sound of a fired gun this close or maybe both? But it triggered something in my brain and the eyes of my mind opened and before I lost consciousness I knew exactly who I was, where I had come from and why I must have needed up here.