I flopped down on the river bank after he left. Hopefully he would return. Of course I didn't expect him to come back for me. I was just going to slow him down wherever he was going. The sounds of the running water met my ears and I was reminded of the water trickling nearby. I rolled until I was at its edge to dip my hair in. I scrubbed the dark soot from my locks watching it wash away in a cloud of black returning my hair to the bright blonde color. The water was refreshing and offered a much needed cleaning. I sat up to allow my hair to dry. There was a sound in the trees and I froze.
He didn't make noise when he walked.
I scrambled on my hands and knees to curl up against the nearby log. The unfortunate color of my dress wouldn't help conceal me but the flatness of the skirt would. I squeezed as close to the log as I could sliding practically underneath it I concealed myself into the nearby bush. Loud feet crashed out of the forest and stopped at the edge of the stream. I nearly gasped at the sight of the two guards.
Parson's guards crouched down and scooped handful after handful of water up to their lips. Eventually the frequency of their scooping slowed and they sat back on their heels then flopped down onto the ground. I noticed one of my shoes in the grass and silently cursed my stupidity. Hopefully they wouldn't notice it.
"This is ridiculous." One guard chuckled. "There's no way she made it this far, she is a woman after all."
"They probably already have her back at the castle." The other guard grunted.
"What do you think Parson has in store for her?"
"I don't know it's probably something bad." The other guard replied with a laugh.
I stayed curled up against my log hopping the man I was following didn't return any time soon. He was in for a surprise if he did.
"Should we get back?" one guard asked after offering a large belch.
"I suppose." Said the other as he got to his feet and readjusted his pants.
"But we will walk slow so when we get questioned we can say that we spent all day looking for her."
"Agreed." said the other.
I stayed in my hiding spot for long after I could hear them crashing through the trees. Then a hand grabbed my ankle. I thrashed around kicking for all I was worth until I saw him. He chuckled at my expression.
"You nearly scared me to death!" I growled accusingly. Slowly I eased out from my position against the log and proceeded to wipe the mud off of my skirt and pick the twigs out of my hair. I noticed him watching me out of the corner of his eye. He had something with him a thick looking fabric. In the other hand he held a foul smelling mixture. Even standing at least six feet from him I could smell what he had in his hand. It made me wrinkle my nose.
"Give me your foot." He commanded and I extended my leg reluctantly. He grabbed my foot and smeared the smelly goo all over it then wrapped it up in the thick fabric. Then he proceeded to do the same with the other foot wrapping it then securing it into place.
"Thank you." I said and he nodded in reply. With that he took off walking again. Not wanting to be left I scrambled to my feet to follow him. Walking was much less painful with the concoction spread all over my feet.
I didn't know where we were going or why we had to keep up an unstoppable pace to get there but it didn't matter. I wanted to get as far away from Parson and his schemes as possible. We walked for the rest of the day only slowing down once or twice to listen. I still didn't know his name or where he was from but I wasn't going to ask. Instead I stayed quiet and let my mind wander. I was so deep in my thoughts that I didn't notice that he had stopped until I nearly crashed into him. He turned to glare at me as I attempted to stay upright. He looked at me for a moment longer than necessary then sighed and pulled back the branch in front of him extending his arm so that I would go first. I walked out in front of him to discover a village.
I had no idea that this village was out here so deep in the woods. It was protected by a dense cover of trees making it nearly invisible. Even with the smoke from the fires it still wouldn't be visible so far out. My eyes were wide as I took in the sight. Eventually he walked past me and I rushed to keep up with him. He paused for a second outside a house then pushed open the door. All eyes inside turned to us. There were two little girls seated around the table their looks confirmed that they were siblings to the man I was traveling with.
"Always in time for dinner." Said a soft voice as a woman walked into the room carrying a pot of soup "Oh, hello." Said the woman with dark grey hair and a friendly face. "Who's this?" She asked walking towards me with her eyes on the man I was with as she wiped her hands on her apron. He simply shrugged then stepped forward to sit in a chair at the table then dig into an unattended bowl of soup. She scoffed then took both of my hands in hers taking in my appearance. Her eyes lingered on my short skirt. "Please forgive my son." She chuckled. "What's your name dear?"
"My name?"
"You do have one don't you?"
"Of course I do.... It's Maria." I said giving her my mother's name.
"Maria, it's nice to have you here in our house. My name is Lori." She said. "How did you meet Rylan?"
"Rylan?"
"Yes my son."
"He didn't give his name." I said and she turned to give Rylan a glare then she marched over and swatted him on the back of the head.
"Oiy"
"Like I said, forgive him." She said.
"He actually pulled me up into a tree when I was going for a nice walk in the woods." I said shooting him a look.
It was Rylan's turn to scoff this time nearly snorting into his soup.
"Ignore him." She said with only the force and affection a mother could manage at the same time. "You must be starving." She took my hand and pulled me to the table then sat me down on a chair. Within seconds I had a steaming bowl of soup sitting in front of me.
"Thank you." I said and she smiled her reply. My stomach growled at the sight of the soup and I remembered that I hadn't had much to eat all day long. I wanted to pick up the bowl and drink it but years of training prevented that idea. I picked up a carved wooden spoon and dug into the thick delicious soup. I wanted to lick my bowl clean but that was out of the question as well. When I stood to rinse my dish off I nearly fell down. Gripping the table for support I eased back down onto my chair.
"What's happened to her?" Lori asked her son. Rylan walked over to me and picked up one of my feet unwrapping it. Lori gasped at the sight and cuffed her son once again on the back of the head. "What did you do to her?" she asked at the same time pushing him out of the way to take my foot. She gently set my foot down then walked to the cabinet in the cupboard. She came back with a little jar of leaves. "Here." She said passing me a handful. I didn't know what to do with them so I held them. "Chew them." she said. "But don't swallow." I put a few of the bitter leaves in my mouth and chewed them trying not to gag at the flavor. Lori retrieved a bowl of water and a cloth then wiped my feet clean. "Spit." She said extending her hand and I spit the glob into her palm. She smeared it onto the bottom of my feet. "Chew some more." She instructed.
Reluctantly I put another pinch of the nasty leaves in my mouth and chewed them until she requested them. In a few minutes she had my feet wrapped up nicely. I admired her quick work for a second looking at the nice clean bandages. I went to stand up but she pushed me back down into the chair before my feet could even touch the floor.
"You have to stay off of your feet for at least a day." She instructed. "Or they won't heal right and we will have to start completely over."
"What?" I asked just as Rylan scooped me up into his arms. I grabbed a fist full of his shirt afraid that he would drop me.
"Oof what have you been eating? Rocks?"
Once again Lori smacked the back of his head. I couldn't help but smile at her over his shoulder as Rylan took me into a small room and placed me on a straw mattress in the corner. I hadn't planned to stay here in this village I had had every intention of moving on. But now that seemed out of the question at least for a day or two.
§
A crunching noise woke me up the next morning. Slowly I eased my tired eyes open to squint around the room. Sitting next to me on the corner of my mattress was one of Rylan's younger sisters munching on a piece of toast. Her leg nearly bumped my head as I looked up at her. Her face remained expressionless as she looked me up and down.
"She's awake!!" She crowed, then continued to eat. She looked at me with the same wide golden eyes as her brother as she chewed her breakfast.
"Good morning." I said to her as I propped myself up on an elbow. She didn't move from her perch as I sat up.
"Shall I change your bandages?" Lori asked as she presented me with another handful of leaves to chew. I sighed and plopped a few into my mouth. The disgusting flavor exploded making my eyes water. Lori held out her hand for the chewed leaves then smeared them on the bottom of my feet. "They are coming along nicely." She said admiring her handiwork.
"Thank you for your help." I told her.
"It's the least I could do. My son wouldn't bring just any woman into the home." I nearly gagged at her words and she chuckled at my expression. "I'm only teasing you." she joked. "RYLAN!" She called and he entered the room his cheeks red with embarrassment obviously he heard our conversation. Without a word he scooped me up in his arms. He deposited me at the breakfast table as I ran the conversation through my mind. Had there been a lot of other women?
The I realized it wasn't any of my business. The front door burst open and a girl bounced in. More like a woman bounced in. "Good morning Rylan." She said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear looking at him through her eyelashes. "Oh hello." She said to me with a slight glare. Then she turned her sights back to Rylan. "You promised to take me to see the birds today." She said fluttering her eyelashes. Slowly he stood without a word and shared a look with his mother for a split second. The girl rushed forward and seized his arm then proceeded to haul him out the door.
"Oh that girl." Lori said as she placed a bowl in front of me. "Poor Rylan." She sighed as she sank down next to me at the table. "She's had her sights on him for years."