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Chapter 12 - Plan B
Celia's POV
I waited a few more minutes to climb down so there would be no chance of the men hearing my noisy descent.
I looked down too quickly and felt a moment of dizziness. I swallowed deeply a few times to get my emotions under control.
If John could fool those men and find a way to lead me to him I could certainly climb down a tree.
I took a deep breath and slid my gaze down the trunk only far enough to see the closest branch.
Going down was the hard part.
There were always those few moments of free fall as you dropped from your branch to land on the next one. I swallowed my fear and began going down.
I reached the bottom fairly quickly and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
My skin felt clammy and I felt unsteady on the ground.
I was tempted to sit for a moment and rest, but I didn't want to fall too far behind.
There would be time to rest later.
***
I made my way to the camp and looked around thinking about what needed to be done. Our bags could stay up in the trees if I camouflaged them better; maybe tie them higher up. People rarely thought to look above them when walking through a forest.
The big question was what to do with the horses... They wouldn't exactly be easy to hide...
After removing all signs of the camp, I decided to take the horses back to the village. It seemed like the smartest course of action since I didn't know how long it would take to rescue John. The village was half a day's ride away by horse and the return trip would be even longer on foot, but I had no choice. There was no way I could follow John with two horses in tow and not be caught.
At least it was already dark out, meaning that John's captors would probably only go far enough to make a camp for the night. I planned to use every minute of my time to get to the village and back; I couldn't afford to let them get too far ahead.
Putting Shadow on a lead I kept on steadily through the night, having only the light of the moon to light my way. I could hardly make out the trees before me and all the landmarks that had been so obvious during the day were nothing but shadows now. I glanced up at the stars, my only way to orient myself in the dark and hoped against anything that I was going in the right direction. I couldn't afford any mistakes now.
I lost track of the time and could feel the horses tiring under the relentless pace, but I couldn't stop. The slow journey chafed at me taking so much longer than I expected, but I had to keep going; in this race every second counted.
***
I had seen the moon rising steadily as I rode, and it was just now beginning to travel back down as my weary steps finally brought me to the edge of town.
Now what? I looked around me from the cover of the trees and saw the town deserted below me. How was I supposed to find someone to help me in the dead of night?
Keeping to the edge of the forest I made my way towards the city gates where I was sure sentries would be posted.
As luck would have it I saw a familiar face as I approached, at least I was pretty sure it was...
I quickly dropped the reins over a branch and walked into the glare of the torch light and the man standing there.
"What's this? What brings a Lady out so late in the night?" He asked kindly.
"Excuse me Sir, but might I be addressing Sir Corry of Newberry?"
"Why yes dear, and whom do I have the honour of speaking too?"
"We met at the castle good Sir."
His face crunched up in thought and I saw when realization hit him.
"Ah yes, you were the young girl awaiting the Prince's arrival when we brought the news. What are you doing so far from home? And at this hour no less?"
"I came after him of course."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Did you? And how goes the search?" He asked with genuine concern.
"There's been a... temporary setback."
His eyes crinkled to a look of worry. "Is there anything I can do to be of assistance?"
"There is actually. I need someone to look after a pair of horses for me, if you would be so kind."
"A pair of horses you say? Yes, I think I have just the stable for them. And I assume discretion will be required?"
I nodded in relief.
"Very well. Now where are these horses?"
"Just over there." I said pointing to the line of trees.
"I'll take care of them then, and you go off and take care of your own business" He said sensing my urgency.
"Thank you!" I curtsied before realizing I wasn't wearing a gown and gave him a sheepish smile when he hid a smile.
I think I liked this Knight.
With another round of thanks I walked briskly into the forest and only broke into a run when I was safely out of sight.
***
I ran as fast as my tired body would take me, aware that every minute brought me closer to the Prince. I kept as straight a path as I could; the trees passing me by in a blur. I had to stop a few hours later, drawing ragged breathes as I looked up into the sky. The sun must be just starting to rise, and though it wasn't yet visible above the tress, the sky was coloured with a pale pink light.
I supported myself against a tree to catch my breath, but not moving sent me into a panic so I stumbled along in a brisk walk allowing my breathing to come back to normal. I mourned the loss of a night's sleep that would have helped make this task more bearable. When I could breathe again I reluctantly broke into a jog, going only slow enough to trace my path along the familiar landmarks. Each one I saw heartened me a little more and finally, just as the sun rose to its greatest height signalling afternoon, I reached our old clearing and began to walk slowly, listening for the sound of movement or voices.
There was only silence.
Creeping up to the edge of the trees I noticed that it was still as empty as I had left it the night before.
The midday sun caught on something on the ground and I remembered how John had dropped something on the ground.
I walked under where the net had been and bent low to the ground, laughing when I found what he'd left behind.
It was a shiny brass button.
***
I wound my way carefully through the trees, stopping often to look for any signs of passage, and collecting buttons along the way.
It was an easy path to follow, but only if you knew what to look for. The brass color blended into the surroundings, but would cast of a spark of light if you saw it at just the right angle for the sun to bounce off of.
My main concerns were that John would either run out of buttons to drop along the way, or it would get too dark out for me to find them.
The path wound around in curves and circles in many places, sometimes even doubling back on itself, but went steadily further away from the village and ran roughly parallel to the river.
After a few hours of this tracking I reached a set of three buttons in the ground. I assumed it meant I was now close to the camp.
I marvelled again at his planning and now strained my ears for any hint of noise. They must be around here somewhere...
There, a chuckle from my left.
I edged slowly in that direction as the sounds became more distinct.
They must have felt pretty safe here, and been confident of their 'hiding spot' to make such a commotion. As I got closer the sounds resolved into friendly banter, laughter, and the occasional swear.
I was grateful for the approaching dark helping to conceal my presence and knew I would need to find somewhere to lie low for a while. Climbing a tree, while my best option, wasn't a possibility. Besides the noise and time it would take me to get up there, I would have to pick one far away from the clearing and might not have a good enough view. Besides, I didn't know what would happen at any given moment and might need to act fast. Being high up in a tree would not be a good thing if that were the case.
I settled for a place across the camp site where two trees were growing close together. There was also a tall bush between the two that would provide some protection during the day, and some room below it that I could roll under if I had to. I hoped it wouldn't come to that though, or those thorns would be downright uncomfortable.
I squatted down restlessly.
I was not a wait-in-the-bushes kind of girl.
I looked around the clearing until I saw with relief that John was leaning back against a tree. His hands were still tied, and from the looks of it, his legs were bound as well, but otherwise he seemed to be unharmed and in fact, appeared to be asleep.
Figures.
Only he could fall asleep under these conditions.
The boy didn't get stressed out about anything. Except being King... I suppose compared to that this was nothing to him. I rolled my eyes and smiled to myself glad I had managed to find him.
The three men who'd led him here were sitting a few feet away around a fire, and one other man had joined them.
Nothing interesting happened while I waited. Men came and went, disappearing off into the trees and coming back sometimes empty handed and other times carry bundles of supplies. Where did they get them from?
It occurred to me there must be other groups scattered around out here and they must trade among themselves. There was a makeshift village set up right here in the forest.
Amazing.
It was so dark now that I could only keep track of the men from their silhouettes cast by the fire. One more man had arrived by this time and I was getting anxious. That meant there were now five of them to two of us, and one was tied up. We were seriously at a disadvantage here and I didn't like the odds if I had to step in and do something.
The men finally settled down and went to sleep. I waited for a few hours before risking any movement and slowly made my way around the camp. I squinted around keeping track of my steps. The last thing I needed was to snap a twig.
When I made it around to John I could hear him taking deep, even breaths. I hope he was a light sleeper.
I moved my hand around to cover his mouth tightly to muffle any involuntary sounds. His body tensed immediately, but he didn't make a sound. I leaned down close to his ear and whispered quietly. "It's me."
His muscles relaxed and I felt his lips curl up into a smile under my hand. I quickly removed it and settled down beside him.
"I guess you found me okay," He said and gave me a nudge.
I chuckled quietly "I don't know how many times you had to fake a stumble to leave me a trail," I shook my head even though he couldn't see it, "But I have to admit it was a brilliant idea."
He stayed silent, but I knew he appreciated the compliment.
"So... how are you holding up?"
"It could be worse I suppose, they're not a bad sort," He murmured.
"Have they questioned you anymore?"
"Only for my name, which I said was Robert."
"Fake name, clever. Anyway, what's the plan for getting out of here?"
He sighed "Well, I came up with two ideas. Plan A is that they let me go. They still seem to be deciding what to do with me, but they want to wait for two more men before making any decisions."
"I see, and what about Plan B?"
He mumbled something I couldn't hear.
"What was that?"
"That... you help me?" He asked it as a question.
I couldn't help but feel a bit hurt. Did he still doubt I would help him? After coming all this way?
He seemed to take my silence as a no.
"I understand," He said quietly, "It's my mess, you shouldn't have to clean it up again, but don't worry, I'm sure I can talk my way out of this," He said with faked nonchalance.
I reached over and squeezed his hands with mine "I'll always help you John. Always. Don't you ever dare doubt that" I said firmly. I hope he didn't hear the wobble in my voice.
I felt his eyes on me and once again felt like he was seeing me for the first time. He shifted around and closed the space between us so that his right side was pressed against my left. I blushed feeling the heat from his body and was grateful for the dark.
His shoulder leaned into mine and I felt his breath against my ear. "Thank you," He whispered.
Not trusting my voice I only nodded, knowing that even if he couldn't see it, he would feel the motion from how close we were sitting.
We sat like that for a while when it occurred to me that the enemy was only a few feet away, and I was sitting right here in the open. Granted, it was too dark to see, but I shouldn't be taking chances. With a sigh I started to get up when John stopped me with a whispered "Wait."
I turned back to face him.
"Will you... umm... stay until I fall asleep?" He asked nervously. I felt the shock pass over my face and was glad again for the dark. I bit my lip, not wanting to refuse but knowing it was dangerous to stay here any longer. Even as I thought this my body settled back against the tree, and the agreement left my lips before I even registered the words.
"Of course"
His muscled relaxed against me some more and I heard his breathing get steadily slower and even.
This was new.
Having him depend on me.
And willingly at that... But maybe he was only trying to make up for the coldness from before.
Yes, I'm sure that's all it is, though the thought made me feel surprisingly disappointed...
He must be asleep by now.
With a sigh I gently slipped out of contact, missing the weight against my shoulder. I shook my head. Focus Celia, tomorrow's going to be a long day.
***
I woke up feeling tired and sore from my restless sleep last night just as the camp began to stir. Men were getting up and stretching, poking up the fire, and making their usual forest jaunts. I watched tensely for the two men John said were expected and hoped they would show up soon.
They untied John's hands and gave him some food, which I took to be a good sign.
I had learned the names of all the men so far from their conversations last night. Besides Jer, the one who had led John, the man who I'd taken to be the leader was called Cal, and the third man who'd been there was Jory. One of the newer men who was small and squirrely looking was called Mason, and finally, there was Brice, a tall scowling man with severe features. He was the one that most worried me.
While the rest of the men did look relatively good natured as John had said, this one didn't seem like one to give up a captive without a fight. I could only hope that he wouldn't go against Cal if he opted to let him go.
If it came to a fight I would be hard pressed. As good as I was, even I couldn't take on five fully grown men with two more still to come. Perhaps I could make some kind of bargain? Or maybe just a distraction would do so John could get away.
Of course, knowing John he would be difficult and suddenly decide it wasn't chivalrous to leave me behind. He would have an attack of conscious only then, at the worst possible moment. I rolled my eyes at the thought. Besides, John was blindfolded on his way here, he wouldn't have the first idea where to go, and even though I knew roughly which way to go we would be no match for locals. There were too many things that could go wrong.
Just then two men stumbled out of the trees looking travel worn and exhausted. They were greeted enthusiastically and relieved of their heavy packs. The man in front looked questioningly at John and whispered conversation broke out with many hand gestures towards the captive, who was now tied up again.
The second man was blocked from my view and I strained to see him so I could figure out how much of a threat he would be.
Finally the first man moved and the second came into view.
I squinted to see him better. He was short and had a frazzled, but kind look about him. He seemed familiar to me and I tried to place him. Was he someone from the village? Or from the Inn I had stayed at? He looked toward John and I followed his gaze to see that John was pale and looked about to be sick.
Odd, he had been fine just moments ago.
I looked back towards the man and suddenly realization hit, I knew where I'd seen him before. His eyes widened as he continued to take in John and recognition lit his face.
My blood ran cold.