Dill tried to grab my arm, but I ran from the house into the bitterly cold air. My limbs burned with the desire to be as far from the table as possible. The same purpose in mind, the direction I traveled did not matter. A rock hit my foot, and I crashed into the ground. Small cuts stung my hands, even my cheek, but I ignored it, focused solely on forgetting the scar in my side and escaping the wretched house.
The aching in my calves and lungs from sprinting seemed to help. With one shiver, sobs threatened to rack my entire body. Nausea came first. I was able to lift myself to my knees before I started to heave. Acid burned in my throat, less corrosive than the scorching rejection. I clutched at my middle, choking down the sludge.
Armadillo found me like this. Kneeling beside me, he tucked my hair back before turning away to let me vomit my small breakfast into the snow. “I’m sure you don’t know the whole story, Jenny. She missed. That’s for certain. Perhaps she missed on purpose.”
“Missed on purpose? Yes, Dill, I’m sure that was it. My own mother tried to murder me. Damn shame that her knife slipped.” Tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Quiet. Let’s look at the facts. She did not aim for your chest clearly. She did not continue until she was assured that you were dead. And if we’re going on the presumption that she is the woman from Dunver, she even took time to heal you. She brought you to your father, didn’t she? Well, what if she couldn’t have you?”
I furrowed my brow. Rationality cracked through the devastation. “You mean… that because she and my father were not wed…that she might not have been allowed to have me? What if knowing she could heal me…she staged it? Or she did it to rid herself of me and then found a more suitable option. Do you really think that could be it?”
He brushed his thumb under both of my eyes, swiping away the tears. “Of course, I do. No woman would ever be stupid enough to want to kill you. Would you like to go back to the archives and see if you can find a recent document on her?”
I hesitated, “I…I’m not sure. I suppose so.” A rustling in the brush distracted me.
Dill grabbed my wrists and helped me stand. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I thought bears were only in the east,” I teased, wobbling on unsure legs. I studied the bushes again as nervous as Dill. “But then again, I’m not sure that’s a bear.” I followed him out of the woods. The tall trees overhead were familiar, a source of comfort. “I am so misplaced in the city. It is no wonder they scoff at me,” I murmured.
“When I was young, I was under the illusion that the people of Eirodin judge only based on intellect. When my family visited, my father took me into the heart of the city to observe the people and laughed as my ideals crumbled before my very eyes. I do not believe his laughter has ever stopped ringing in my ears.” His eyes were far off.
“You live to please him, don’t you?” I asked. When he did not reply, I continued, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I do the same. My father often tells me that his inn will be mine someday and it is not a fate that I fight, no matter the discontentment it brings me.”
He turned from me, still not speaking. When he finally looked at me, he said quietly, “You mentioned once that you have an excessive dowry. Though I am sure marriage is still several years from you, but your father has not selected a suitor for you?”
I smiled, “My dowry has been a joke between my father and I for many years. I am sure it is not that great, but I worry about his choice of a suitor,” I confessed.
“You fear he will choose someone unsuitable?” Dill asked, cocking his head.
I studied my feet, “If he did, I would fear my own reaction.” I struggled against my words. When he lowered his eyebrows in confusion, I added, “You see, when I was a little girl, I rarely voiced my opinions especially if I disliked something.”
“So you worry that you will wind up working at your father’s inn wed to man who cares nothing for you or the reverse for the rest of your life? That does sound a bit bleak.” He inched closer to me. He held his hand under my chin. “Jenny, your father would never bind you to someone without your consent. He cares too much for you.”
I met his gaze as he gently tilted my chin up. My lips tingled while he brushed his thumb over them. My eyes fluttered closed. “Dill,” I breathed against his skin.
“Hmm?” He cupped my chin, but I barely felt it there as my heartbeat thundered through my entire body. His touch removed all numbness from my body. All thoughts of murder, scars, curses, and mothers were gone. There was only him and me.
At the sound of heavy footsteps, our eyes flew open. My cheeks burned; Armadillo’s were no paler. “What was that?” He asked, his eyes darting around.
“The innkeeper said a redheaded girl and a kid with glasses were headed east for the day. What’d she call them again?” The voice of gravel made my gut drop.
“She named them as Genevieve and Armadillo. I can finally imagine why they chose Natalie and Felix,” A deep bellowing voice replied, chuckling.
Instinctively, I ducked behind a sturdy and thick tree; Dill dove beside me. “They must have been tailing us since we left Dunver,” I remarked, watching them walk.
Fiercely, Dill shushed me. He peeked his head around the tree. “Damn.”
“They’re idiots,” I mumbled, deepening my voice and circling my hands around my eyes like glasses. “They couldn’t catch our trail if I pissed it for them.”
Dill smacked my shoulder, resounding in the woods. “Would you be quiet? I understand; I underestimated them. You can gloat later,” he whispered fiercely.
“Wait, Ace, did you hear that?” Goliath asked, turning toward the tree. “Hey!” His eyes met mine. “Ace! I found them!” He lumbered toward where we were frozen.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Dill grabbed my wrist and dragged me deeper into the trees. We ducked beneath the branches while we let others whip at our arms. The snow crunched under our feet, our boots revealing our every move. “Keep running. Come on!”
“Dill, this is not getting us anywhere,” I panted. “You go ahead and follow my lead.” I grabbed the top of a sapling and bent it to the forest floor. When Ace came close, I released it. As he stumbled back blindly, I balled up a wad of ice and threw it at him.
“Argh!” He scrubbed at his eyes, squeezing them shut. “That could get infected you know!” Another snowball zoomed past my head and hit him again. He tumbled.
Dill watched the spectacle, admiring his handiwork. He raised an eyebrow at me. “You are insane.” When I grabbed his wrist and offered an urgent glare, he snapped out of his trance. We weaved through the woods until we collapsed into a clearing.
I coughed, the short sprints compressing my lungs. When I could control my breathing, I studied the area around us. The river burbled in my ear. “We have two options. We either go across the river or we can go backwards. I do not—” Meaty hands lifted me by my waist into the air. My body went rigid, unable to even scream.
“Or we have option number three,” Goliath rumbled in my ear. “What do you say, Armadillo? Do you walk to your fate civilly or do I drag your unconscious body?” He smirked when Dill put his hands up willingly. “Atta boy. Varick will be pleased.”
I squirmed at his hands tightly groping my ribcage. “Do I have those same options?” I asked as he threw me over his shoulder. My hair fell downward.
“Ah, you have a sweet voice. I wondered what it sounded like. Unfortunately for you, no. Varick is much less pleased with you than he is with your boyfriend. You see, love, Lister is now jailed because of your assault claims in Dunver. And Tristan, poor boy didn’t stand a chance against your pretty charms; he found his morals and went home. He told me never to underestimate you.” When I kicked his chest, he tightened his grip.
“Let me down!” I continued to flail my legs at him. After he grabbed my ankles and suspended me by them, I held my dagger tightly in its scabbard instead of fussing.
“Will you settle, you little chit?” With my nod, he set me on the ground and pulled a length of rope from around his waist. I struggled against him, but he still managed to bind my wrists and my ankles. He turned to Dill. “Come on now. Make it easy on me. She is not going anywhere, so where would you go?”
Dill cursed at him, but nonetheless held his hands behind his back to be tied. “I cannot believe that innkeeper told these idiots where we were going.”
“These idiots seem to have a knack for kidnapping you,” Ace commented, returning to Goliath’s side with his eyes streaked with red. He kicked snow in my direction. Flecks of it clung to my back. “I managed to get the dirt out,” he scowled.
I trembled, parts of my dress already soaked with ice, perhaps a touch of fear as well. “I could replace it with spittle if you’d like,” I offered. “It’d be no trouble at all.”
“For the boy’s sake, I hope you have an excessive dowry. That is, if you’ll need it after tonight. No one will find your face so pretty when Varick’s through with you. You’ll be hideous.” He flicked my chin up, nothing like Dill’s delicate caress earlier.
I swallowed, refusing to give into panic. “You seem to manage.” My head snapped to the left, a loud smack echoed in the clearing. My cheek stung.
“With your venomous tongue, it’s a wonder the boy wants you now.” He pulled me up by underarm. “Ready to go, sweetheart?” He planted a kiss on my cheek.
I recoiled. “You disgust me.” Attempting to mask my frigidity, I stood rigidly.
Dill merely sniggered behind me. “I have a question for you, Ace. How do you plan to carry her because I am certain you’ve realized that her ankles are bound?”
Ace scooped me into a bridal hold. His chest radiated heat. “Oh ho, let me say you will not be the only thing shaking tonight if things go accordingly.” He gripped at my chest. “I usually like them a bit fuller.” He chuckled as my face flushed.
Hot indignity flooded me, slowly converting into a swelling anger. I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything that could worsen my situation.
“No more conversation, sweetheart? Come on, now. Amuse me.” He prodded at my side. “Come on now. I know you’re ticklish.” His fingers poked at my ribs.
I bit my lip, suppressing giggles. Each jab was a feather brushing at my skin, prickling and tingling. “You’re a filthy brute. Stop touching me!” I choked out. When he continued, I couldn’t hold in laughter any longer. “Please…” My voice broke off.
“Oh, why would I do that if you like it so much?” He tickled me, smiling cruelly.
I tried to crunch up to relieve a bit of the sensation, but I merely wriggled like an earthworm; Ace laughed at my attempts. “Stop it right now!” I heard a distinct grunt of pain and dropped into the snow. When I rolled over, I expelled the ice from my mouth.
Dill towered over Ace, sprawled out in the snow. His hands were still bound, but he managed a look of pure supremacy. “She said stop it, you disgusting oaf. I know the word is a bit long for you, but it means no.” He explained, swiftly kicking ice at him.
Goliath wrapped his arms around the back of Dill’s neck. “You had best watch it, boy. As annoying as she is, we all know who the real brain of your little operation is.”
I perked myself up into a sitting position and jostled my hip. My dagger slipped out only a small bit. Until it fell softly into my frozen and clumsy fingertips, I jerked and wiggled. Delicately straining my arm, I twisted the blade upward to the ropes.
Dill kicked out his legs, hoping to hit a soft spot on the solid mountain of a man. For a moment, his eyes caught my blade. He began to struggle more, distracting Goliath.
The muscles in my arm blazed in protest to the awkward motion of sawing with only the uppermost portion of my fingers. “Come on,” I muttered, secretly thanking William for his tips. My eyes darted to Ace who was again preoccupied with dirt in his eye. A sharp poke pierced my dress; I leapt up before realizing it was my own dagger. The dagger slowly severed each strand of the rope until I could yank them apart. My wrists were red and raw, but I paid them no heed. I scrambled to disentangle my ankles.
It was then that Ace noticed me. “Hey! You didn’t even check to see if she was armed, you big oaf?” He prepared to pounce on me, but I held my dagger toward him.
Swiftly, he pulled a sword from his waist. “Two can play that game. And I assure you, I am much better at it than you are. Come on then. Let’s see what you have.” He bounced toward me, blade forward. When I flinched, he snickered. “Come on!”
I sprang to my feet and aimed the dagger at him. “I see no need for bloodshed. I carry the weapon only as a precaution. Let us go and I’ll not harm you.” My arm shook; my hand held the blade ineptly. Both Ace and I realized how little damage I could dole.
“Please, you must kid. You are as helpless as a kitten.” With a swing of his foot, he knocked the dagger into the snow and stepped closer; my gut dropped. “Nothing to be ashamed of, most women are.” He gripped my jaw. “Now, where did we leave off?”
I thrust my knee up, hitting him in the gut. When he sank to the ground, I said, “I don’t suppose it would have hurt you much more had I aimed any lower, sweetheart.” The stark white smarted my eyes, adding even more difficulty to the task of locating my dagger. When I found it beneath a tree, I tucked it into the sheath and turned to Dill.
At the very least, his writhing had loosened the ropes, which now laid at Goliath’s feet. With a swing, he held his feet against the trunk of a great tree and thrust backward.
Goliath toppled over, Dill above him. While Goliath was disoriented, Dill huffed. Sweat beaded on his brow. Before lingering too long, Dill bound him with his own rope.
“Do you really think that will hold him?” I asked. Noticing how spent and flushed he appeared, I realized that I could no longer feel the cold that soaked my dress.
Dill sighed, “Honestly, no.” He turned to Ace, still doubled over and clutching his stomach. “Bested by a woman, eh? It stings, doesn’t it?” He laughed.
Ace attempted to stand, but groaned in pain. “Hell, of all the dirty tricks you did.”
My heart thumped a bit faster, aching with sympathy. “Dill, he’s hurt, really hurt. We can’t…we can’t just leave him here.” I had hurt him and would be killing him if I chose to leave him here. The same way your mother chose to kill you… I mused.
Dill gawked at me. “You can’t be serious. These are the same men who crushed your foot beneath a rock, treated you like an object, hung you from a tree.”
I stepped closer to Ace until a thick arm coiled around my neck, Varick Varian.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading. I didn't mean to cliffhang, but I wanted to post before leaving for Houston. So, alas, there will be more to come...probably by next week...ish...I'm just a person, okay? -Alex