Never After ((ON HOLD))

The cottage in the woods

"You can't leave in your condition," my handmaiden told me, but my mind was already set.

Finding riding gear that assisted a growing belly was difficult but I managed. Pulling myself up into the saddle of my horse, however, was the hardest part.

Again, I managed.

"Someone should accompany you," the captain of my personal guard insisted, trying to keep up with my canter.

"No one else needs to be there," I informed him as I kicked my horse into a gallop.

The road to Loramar was highly traveled— heavily populated at all hours of the night and constantly patrolled. I had no fear for myself or my unborn child as I rode between the kingdoms. Chances were, word of my departure would reach the city before I arrived, and perhaps that would be for the better.

It would protect them from what I wanted to do to them.

And as expected, the royal guard of Loramar welcomed me as I dismounted. But I didn't stop for instructions or wait for directions. I knew exactly where I was going.

Holding my cape around me to block out the chill of the night wind, I walked not to castle but beyond it. Through the gardens and the orchards. Into the thick of the woods that surrounded the city and blockaded it from the rest of the world.

Maybe that's what Thespan planned when he built the small cottage. A hunter's retreat, she was once told. Perfect for the nights where the hunt lasted beyond the setting of the sun. Protected from the elements and comfortable enough to remain should  the unexpected occur.

By the sounds I heard as the cottage came into view, it seemed they were not planning on this unexpected occurrence.