About a half an hour later, a loud rapping sound penetrated Thea and Nikandros' door.
A familiar voice followed a soft rustling in the hallway, "Just me...sir." The innkeeper said quietly.
Nikandros' eyes narrowed. He had heard the innkeeper's reluctance. Nikandros had been trained to be suspicious of anything, and anyone. It came naturally now. He crept to the door and looked through a small crack in the wood. Several men stood in the hallway quietly, one holding a large sword against the innkeeper's neck.
Creeping back to the bed, he quietly roused Thea, "One moment!" Nikandros called and fake yawned, pretending to be sleepy.
"Take yer time." The innkeeper retorted. A loud thump followed his answer with a quiet groan.
Thea slowly opened her eyes. Instantly, she noticed Nikandros' concerned expression, "What is it?" She whispered.
Nikandros pressed a finger to his lips, in a universal signal for quiet, "Climb out the window. No time to explain." She nodded and hurriedly hiked up the skirt of her dress before slipping over the window sill towards the street below.
Not a second later, the door was forced open and the men stormed inside. They narrowed their eyes as one stepped forward, holding his sword against Nikandros' neck before he could react. Nikandros pretended to look completely shocked, "Wh-wha-aat do you wa-ant?" Nikandros asked, pretending to be frightened out of his wits.
The man snorted, "We know who you are. You can drop the act, assassin." Keeping his eyes on Nikandros' the man barked, "Search the room, find the girl."
"Assassin?" Nikandros asked keeping the act up, "Sirs, I ain't an assassin!" He protested, eyes wide.
"Just shut yer mouth."
The men reported back the findings of their search, "She's not here."
The man watching Nikandros scowled, "Where is she?" He growled to Nikandros.
"Wh-where is wh-who?" Nikandros stuttered, still pretending to be frightened.
The man rolled his eyes and punched Nikandros in the face. "Where is your friend?" He spat.
"Wh-what f-friend?" Nikandros asked, stunned by the blow, his ears ringing.
The man ignored Nikandros, "Go search for her. She probably got out by the window." All the men left accept for two.
The man chuckled quietly, "Even if we don't find your friend, I'm sure we'll still get quite the bounty for you." His eyes gleamed evilly.
"B-bounty? For me?" Nikandros asked, pretending to be astounded, "Wha-what did I do?" The man pulled out a worn parchment and held it out for Nikandros. "Why this is for an assassin!" Nikandros exclaimed, "not for me!"
The man looked confused for a second. He pulled the paper back and inspected it. He shook his head, "No. This is you." He confirmed, more for himself than for Nikandros.
"No, that ain't me for sure." Nikandros shook his head, "I'm a loyal citizen to the king. I would never try to kill the prince."
"Well never mind that. You can tell that to the king." The man grabbed Nikandros roughly by the shoulders and held the sword against his neck. He motioned for the other man in the room to come forward, "Tie his hands nice and tight." He snarled, "And if you try to escape, assassin, I will not hesitate to cut you."
"But I ain't no assassin!" Nikandros protested.
They ignored him and tightly tied his hands in front of him. They began to push him forward, when one of the men suddenly felt a sharp pain on his head and slumped to the ground, unconscious. The other man turned around and frowned.
It was Thea. She held a small plank of wood and dropped it to pick up the unconscious man's sword.
The remaining man, so surprised, just stood there frozen. Thea didn't hesitate to run the blade through him. He followed his comrade to the floor, the life quickly leaving him.
Thea left the sword sticking out of the man's body and hurried over to her husband. "Are you okay?" She asked, concern evident in her voice as she untied the ropes on his hands and threw them to the floor in distain.
"We just need to get out of the inn." Nikandros said firmly. "Then we can decide what to do."
"I'll do my best, but I don't know how long I can walk. That scene took a lot out of me." Thea responded.
"I'll carry you." Nikandros said promptly, "First though, we need to get out of here. Can you climb out the window again?" He asked. Thea nodded and didn't wait for a response. She once again pulled up her dress slightly and climbed out the window. Nikandros followed suit.
Once they were on the ground, Nikandros pointed towards the forest, "We'll head for the cover of the woods." Picking Thea up, Nikandros started jogging towards the woods.
When they arrived in the woods, Nikandros kept going until they were deep into the forest. He set Thea down and sat facing her,
"How are you feeling?" He asked.
She smiled, "I'm okay to keep going."
"No, we'll stop for now and decide our next move." Really, Nikandros needed a break. As light as Thea was, he was exhausted. But he would never admit that to Thea.
"Okay. Just tell me when you are rested enough." She smirked.
"Rested?" Nikandros asked, "I'm fine." He smiled reassuringly. "So what are our plans?" Nikandros asked, "What would you like to do? We can't stay in Gondor."
"I have no clue. But I think we should keep going as soon as possible, considering that those men found us relatively easy." She reasoned.
Nikandros nodded and stood up, "Then let's keep moving." Gently picking Thea up, Nikandros started jogging again, although his body shrieked in protest, "Do you think," he asked between heavy breaths, "that we should leave Gondor?"
Thea didn't answer.
"Thea?" Nikandros stopped and looked down at his wife, concerned.
She slowly looked up into his eyes, alarm written on her face, "I-I'm starting to-" She stopped mid sentence and leaned over, vomiting again, the meager bites of bread coming up quickly.
Immediately, Nikandros set her down. Concern was clearly written on his face.
She clutched her stomach as tears ran down her face. "It h-hurts..."
"Oh, Thea." Nikandros whispered, stroking the side of her face softly, "I can't bear to see you like this." Tears formed in his eyes, "Is there anything I can do?"
Thea stopped vomiting and laid down on the ground, gasping, "H-hold...me..." She whispered, closing her eyes tightly as if to shut out the pain.
Nikandros wrapped Thea in his arms and held her close. Resting his eyes, he thought of all Thea and he had been through together. All the memories that they had shared together. The tears beginning to fall, Nikandros reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "Look." He whispered. In his hand was an old, battered, ripped paper bookmark. "Remember when you made this for me?" Nikandros asked through tears.
Thea opened her eyes and put her hand up against her mouth, stifling sobs. "Y-you still have it? I rememb-ber that...day," She paused to take a breath, "like it was y-yesterday."
Nikandros held Thea close and wept freely, "I love you so much." He sobbed.
Thea was shaking as she spoke, "I-I am so...sorry. I tried...to be s-strong." She cried.
Nikandros took a shaky breath, trying to calm himself and be strong for Thea, "Shh," he soothed, "You've done the best you could." He kissed her softly. Thea managed to curb her tears. She kissed him back, never wanting to let go. As they held each other amidst the forest, the sun slowly set, casting eerie shadows upon the couple.
Well howdy there readers!!!! I dearly hope you are enjoying this story:) It is definitely one of the best stories plot wise that I and my friends have ever written. So please spread the love and hit that beautiful little vote button because guess what...you are wonderful!
Ithildae, Evara, and Aris
Writers:
Thea: Ithildae
Nikandros: Evara
Mercenaries: Ithildae
Innkeeper: Ithildae