Hi everyone. ^-^
I just up dated one through seven, these updates are the official final edited chapters. Unfortunately this means that there well be no more updates at all. I am on chapter 24 with the final edit so that's really good news for you guys. Once I am done with editing all 42 chapters I well be sending it in to get published and then you all can read it. I can not wait, I am just so excited. When it does get published I would love to hear all of your thoughts. So please don't be afraid to message me when you finish reading the whole thing.
Don't forget to vote ^-^
and as always enjoy.
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Chapter 7
The stranger
"You're Highness," One of the maids whispered to the king.
"Yes?" He replied.
The king and queen were in the Throne Room discussing matters related to the massacre of Abigail's village and the recent violence from King Rupert's soldiers.
The maid continued, "The girl, known as Abigail, is back from her walk in the market."
"Well, how did it go?" The king asked with excitement.
The maid hesitated, "Not good, Your Highness," She didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but she had to tell him.
"WHAT!!!!!?" King Victor looked startled as he raised his voice. "How.... What....? What do you mean by, 'not good'? Is she okay?"
The maid was a little afraid and she took a step back.
"Speak up!" The king demanded furiously. "She just got strong enough to go outside! And now something else had happened to her?"
"Well," the maid began hesitantly. She was shaking and couldn't catch her breath.
"Tell me, now!" The king demanded again.
She took a deep breath and summoned all of her courage and began to tell the king what happened.
"Well Your Highness," she began as she took in a deep breath. "Zander got knocked out in the village and Abigail was captured, but she escaped. She ran all the way to the castle gates, but there was a man that jumped out of the bushes and stopped her from reaching the gates. Someone said they knew each other, but he still hurt her."
"How did this man hurt her?" The king asked, looking very concerned.
The maid hesitated and then she replied, "I'm not sure, Your Highness. That's all I know."
"I'm going to get to the bottom of this, myself," The king muttered as he stood up. He turned to his wife and excused himself.
"I will be right back," he said as he hurried out of the room.
The king climbed the steps to the wooden door that blocked the last set of stairs which led to Abigail's room. The door was locked forcing him to knock. At first he was angry that he was locked out of her room in his own castle, but then he realized, it was for her protection.
He shouted, "Open this door, in the name of the King."
The guard went down to the door. "Who goes there?" He asked.
"It is I, King Victor. Let me in at once!" The king demanded.
"Yes Sir," The guard answered as he opened the door.
"Your Highness, what are you doing up here?" The guard asked. He was shocked. He didn't think that the king himself would come up here and see the girl.
When the king saw Abigail lying on the bed with the cut over her eye, his heart was filled with sorrow and HATRED for whoever did this to her. He looked at her face. She was still crying in pain, but also in fear.
"What happen to her?" The king asked as he walked up to her bed.
"I don't know, Your Highness," The guard replied.
"All I saw was a strange man with her. The next thing I knew, he had cut her on the forehead and run off."
"Did my guards find this man?" The king asked expectantly.
"No, Your Highness," the guard replied sadly.
The king looked at the gash on Abigail's forehead. Hector had stopped the bleeding but it was a bad cut. Then he looked at her whole face as he pushed away a piece of her red hair.
"Um... Your Highness," the guard began.
"Yes, what is it?" He answered, without looking away from Abigail's face.
"When I saw her with that man, she looked like she had seen a ghost or something. I guess what I am trying to say is, she looked like she wanted to be somewhere else, somewhere......... safe. She looked terrified."
The king thought of that day when he first saw her in Zander's arms. He had been told what happened, when he demanded Arthur to tell him. As the king stood there, he thought to himself, "How would I feel after watching my mom and dad get killed in front of my eyes?" And then he thought, "How would I feel to just stand here and watch my whole kingdom get destroyed." The room was silent. The king was at a loss for words. Even the guard didn't know what to say. He too was staring at the girl. She had calmed down and fallen asleep. Her face was finally relaxed and peaceful.
Boom! Slam! Bam!
"Where is she? Where is she! I need to know if she is ok! WHERE IS SHE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zander yelled as he ran up the stairs.
Zander's face was bruised and he had a black eye from the fight in the village, but all things considering, he could have been in a lot worse shape, after the way the men were pounding on him.
"Zander, you need to rest," Arthur said, as he trade to catch up with him.
"Stop this! Zander, you need to lie down!" Hector pleaded, as he tried to stop Zander from breaking the door down.
Both the king and the guard stood up as Zander burst in. Zander ran over to her bedside and got down on his knees. The king had never seen Zander act like this.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Abigail!" That was all Zander could say, he wasn't crying, but he felt like it was his fault that she had been captured and hurt.
"You know it wasn't your fault," Arthur said to Zander.
"Yes, it is!" He snapped back.
"I told her that I would protect her with my life, and that she would never have to run from anything, or anyone, anymore. But, I let her down! I was wrong! And now, she is back in bed again, and hurt again. And now, who knows when she will awake!" Zander said in frustration.
"I'd say in one days," a voice said, coming from the doorway as a man wearing dark clothes walked into the room.
"How do you know? How are you so sure about that?" Zander asked as he turned to look at the man. "Wait! Who are you? I have never seen you before! What are you doing here? And, how did you get up here?" He demanded.
"Well I heard all the commotion and I just followed the sound up the stairs. I am a doctor and I can help her," the stranger said.
"So am I and we don't need your help," Hector answered defensively as he walked up to the stranger.
The stranger looked at Hector and asked, "You see, you might be very good at doctoring regular people, but how are you with people like Abigail?"
Zander stood up and walked over to the man. "What do you mean, 'People like Abigail?'" He looked him straight in the eyes and asked, "And how do you know her name?" Zander was mad at this point and was considering reaching for the dagger in his boot.
"She is the girl with red hair, am I right?" The stranger asked as he looked past Zander, and over at the girl lying on the bed.
The room got quiet. No one had even paid any attention to what color of hair she had, they had all overlooked it. But it was true, she did have red hair.
"Yes, she is the girl with the red hair. What is the problem with that? " Zander asked curiously. "What is the problem with her having red hair?"
That was the only question that went through his head that night, because he never got his answer. As Zander was talking, Arthur ran out and summoned five guards to escort the stranger out of the castle. The guards entered the room, grabbed hold of the man, and they escorted him out of the castle without a fight.
*~*~*~* well I hope you all liked this chapter please vote please :D and I <3 you all *~*~*~*~*~*