Page 88 of The Robber Knight
“Of course. You run along, Milady.”
Dismissed thus, Ayla fled the back yard.
If I get out of thisalive, she told herself,I'd ratherbecome an old maid than marry and have a child, or God forbid,several of them!
Well yes, asmall voice in the back of her mind said.Unless a certain stunning gray-eyed merchant could beprevailed upon to be your groom, hmm?
Blushing even more furiously than before, shehastened her steps.
Garden ofBlossoms
Desperate to calm her thoughts and to find a havenwhere she could think about everything that was happening, Aylarushed to the small orchard behind the keep. Perhaps “orchard” wastoo big a word: it was really just a few apple trees and bushesgrowing in the shade of the monumental stone building and snugglingup against it like cubs against their mama bear. The trees were infull bloom now, shining with white and rose apple blossoms. Aylasmiled at the sight.
This had always been a place of refuge forher when she needed to find some peaceful solitude. She came herealmost every day—except for the last few days, she realized.Blushing, the probable reason for this occurred to her: lately shehad found refuge somewhere else, or to be more precise,in someoneelse. Solitude hadn'tseemed nearly as appealing as before.
But now Reuben was asleep, and anyway, sheneeded to get away from him for a time. She needed to thinkseriously, and being near him made it difficult to think aboutanything but him. To stare into his intense gray eyes was more thanher concentration could take. She knew, if she were with him, shewould lose herself in those eyes, and she would lean closer, achingto touch his face again...
Stop it!shechastised herself.Isenbard is unconscious;your people are in serious danger! You need to think now, notdaydream.
Wandering through the orchard, she inhaledthe sweet smell of the apple blossoms. It helped to bring her backinto the here and now. This was her home, which she needed todefend. Slowly, she reached out and plucked one of the appleblossoms from a tree. Holding it to her nose, she smelled it. Ah,how sweet.
Some part of her mind wondered what Reubensmelled like. The salve she had been using on his wounds had manyexcellent attributes, but the fact that it stank like a dog'sterritory mark wasn't one of them. She hadn't been able to smellanything of him. Would he smell... alluring?
Stop it!sherepeated in her head.Even if he did, so what?He's a commoner, and not for you! You can't get involved with acommoner, even if he would want that. And he wouldn't. Wouldhe?
She inhaled again, trying to find peace inthe familiar scent.
*~*~**~*~*
Reuben awoke with a start. He couldn’tremember having fallen asleep. The exhaustion of the fever musthave claimed its due. Though, he had to admit, the fever wasn'tnearly as bad as it had been earlier. These infernal coldcaterpillars, or whatever they were called, which Ayla had wrappedaround his arms and legs, had to be doing their job. She really didknow what she was doing, he had to admit, grudgingly.
Slowly, his head still feeling a bit dizzy,he looked around. The first thing he noticed was that the soldierwho had shared his room was gone. From the copious amounts of driedblood on the sheets of his bedstead, Reuben surmised that the manhad not gone back to his family—unless it be wrapped in ashroud.
Reuben turned his head to look out of thewindow and to turn his mind from thoughts of blood and death.
That aim he achieved immediately.
In a small orchard directly underneath hiswindow stood a slender, white figure with golden hair, clutching aflower in her hand, her nose gently brushing the petals of theblossom. It was the most beautiful picture Reuben had ever beheld,and it made him ache with longing. Ache! Him, the knight who knewno pain.
He wanted her. And he was going to gether.
But first, he had to get off this accursedbed!
*~*~**~*~*
A strange noise woke Ayla from her reverie.She was thoroughly glad of it. She had been stroking the blossom inher hand, trying hard not to remember how Reuben's skin felt incomparison. She was a virtuous maiden! Or at least she was supposedto be. The thoughts that had accosted her lately were strange, new,and frankly, somewhat disturbing.
The only problem was that they also happenedto be wonderful.
Thwak! Thwak!
She frowned. There it was again, that noise:like a woodpecker, only far off and irregular. Ayla wanderedthrough the orchard in search of the origin of the sound, until shecame to the edge of her little sanctum. Continuing, she walked tillshe had reached the inner castle wall. The noise seemed to becoming from beyond. Entering one of the towers, she climbed up thestairs onto the wall and looked out over the valley.
The noise was coming from beyond, as she hadsuspected. From beyond the river, out of the forest.
Staring out towards the distant sea ofneedles and leaves, towards what was now enemy territory, Ayla sawthe first tree fall.
*~*~**~*~*
