Chapter Two
The arrogant bastard. How dare he tell her, ‘No,’ as if this wasn’t the most critical time in their history? And, he had dismissed her like some silly little girl. No, she would not allow it. She was Elsbeth Beaumont, and this was too important.
She studied him for a moment. The man was big, his shoulders alone looked like they took up half the room. He wasn’t pretty, not like Julian, but there was an attractive animalistic quality about him. Something that pulled at her insides.
He was male, all man. The rough timber of his voice. The way he smelled of leather and campfire. How the ale flagon almost disappeared in his hands. Even that scar on his left eyebrow. Everything about him reminded her that she was a woman.
No, Elsbeth, she thought to herself. Focus. You need this man to get you to Sinstra. After that, you will never need see him again.
How dare he tell her, ‘No’? And, why wouldn’t he stop staring at her chest? Her eyes were up here. Men!
“Mr. Drake,” she said in an exasperated voice, “I am aware that I am asking a lot. I am sure you have important things to do, such as …” her mind drew a blank. What would a man like this do each day? Wrestle bears? Maybe carve out caves to live in?
“That medallion,” he said, interrupting her.
Elsbeth despised being interrupted. Her uncle did that to her. It was as if they didn’t think what she had to say was of any importance.
“As I was saying,” she continued.
“The medallion,” he said again, “where did you get it?”
“This?” she asked as she pulled it up to look at it. To the rest of the world, a simple gold coin with a small hole drilled in the top for the silver chain to pass through. To her, the most precious of possessions. When she was eight, her mother had taken her aside and told her that the medallion would bring her luck. That it was passed down from mother to daughter and that she would be expected to do the same.
“My mother gave it to me,” she answered with a frown. Why was he focused on the medallion? They needed to discuss what it would take to get him to change his mind.
“I will take you, in exchange for the medallion,” he said.
Her heart jumped, he would help. But, the medallion, she could not give that up.
“I have other gold. I told you. I can pay you.”
“No, it must be the medallion,” he said. His eyes refused to leave it. He watched her fingers rub across it like she had done a thousand times before. She looked down at it, again. An inch and a half across. A two-headed dragon in flight, beautifully stamped into the metal. Elsbeth had never seen another coin like it. But still, it was only one coin. She could give this man a bag of gold coins.
“Why?” she asked.
“You don’t need to know,” he said with a teasing smile. “If you want my help across the Forbidden Forest, then that is my price. The medallion around your neck. The moment we reach Sinstra, then the medallion is mine. Do we have an agreement?”
She looked up at him. His emerald green eyes had changed. More focused, more serious.
Her mother’s medallion, though, could she part with it? Her stomach turned over at the thought of losing it. But, there was no other choice. Her people needed her. She must do this. Julian was the only chance she had of gaining her crown.
She dipped her head in acceptance, “Very well, Mr. Drake. Once we reach Sinstra, the coin is yours.”
His shoulders slumped in relief as he smiled at her. “One more thing, Elsbeth,” he said.
Her heart jumped at the sound of him saying her name. It sent a warmth down her spine. Who knew that a simple word could hold so much power?
He smiled at her. The bastard realized the effect he had on her. “I am your guide,” he said. “Not your slave, not your servant. If we are to survive the next few days, you must do what I say, when I say it. No arguing. No complaining that the task is too hard. I am in charge in all things. Can you do that, Princess? Can you surrender control?”
Her stomach curled up into a tight ball at the thought of surrendering control to this man. Her mind immediately thought of what it might be like to surrender her body to him. She couldn’t push aside the visions that danced into her mind. Allowing him to take her. His big arms holding her next to him.
What would it be like?
No, Elsbeth, she thought, that is not what he meant. Stop being silly.
She swallowed hard and nodded her head, “I understand, Mr. Drake. When it comes to the trail and crossing through the forest, you are in charge.”
He smiled. He’d recognized her tight definition and why she had been so specific. A spark jumped into his eyes and for some reason, she was sure that he was having the same visions as she. The thought turned her insides to mush.
For the first time, she realized, this trip was going to be so much harder than she had anticipated. A sense of dread mixed with anticipation washed over her. She looked away, less he see what she was thinking.
He chuckled and asked, “When do you wish to leave?”
“Now,” she said, glancing at him from under her brow, waiting for an explosion at the quick timing. “Once they discover I have left the castle, my uncle will send the King’s Guard to look for me.”
He didn’t explode, instead, simply nodded his head, as if she had asked him to step across the street.
“Well then,” he said as he pushed himself up from the table, holding out a hand for her, “we should get started.”
Her head barely came to his shoulder. The man was tall, and very strong. His arms looked to be the size of small tree trunks.
Swallowing hard, she began to make her way to the tavern door.
They had barely made it two yards when a greasy giant stepped into their way. He was almost as big as Drake. With small beady eyes, and long, lanky hair that hadn’t been washed since last summer. She gasped when she saw the lecherous look in his eyes as they traveled over her body.
“Where you going?” the man asked Drake, his stare never leaving her breasts. “I thought we’d share.”
Drake stepped in front of her and shook his head. Then, with a movement so fast it barely registered, he struck the man in the throat. One quick hit and the man was on his knees, his hands wrapped around his injured throat, gasping for air.
She blanched at the quick violence. How dare Drake do such a thing? There had been no call to act so violently.
“Thank you,” Drake said as he reached over the now kneeling man and retrieved the man’s pack. “We will be borrowing this for a few days. I’m sure you won’t mind.” Drake dumped the contents onto the table and slung the empty pack over his shoulder.
He grabbed her elbow and started guiding her out the door, all the while keeping himself between her and the other men in the room.
Once they were outside, she yanked her arm from his grasp and turned to give him a piece of her mind.
“Why did you do that?” she demanded. “He hadn’t struck at you. He hadn’t touched you. Why hurt him like that?”
He looked back down, his brow knitted, like he was trying to figure out a strange new puzzle. At last, he leaned back and laughed.
“You are serious,” he said with disbelief. “The man wanted to pull you into a corner and rape you. What is more, there were five other men willing to hold you down while he did it. As long as they got a turn afterwards.” He shook his head, obviously unable to believe someone could be so naive.
Her insides hardened. The coarseness of his words struck her. Was that what the man meant? Had she really been in danger? She had been so set on getting help that she had never really examined her surroundings. A fact that must not be allowed to happen again. This world was different. She no longer lived in a high room of a strong castle.
“Come on,” he said as he took her arm again, “we have to hurry. Knowing you, you probably left a trail a mile wide for the King’s Guard to follow.”
She hurried after him as he marched quickly across the yard to the barn.
“Where are your things?” he asked.
“There,” she said, pointing to the three bags in the corner, “The bay in the next stall is my horse. And, the roan next to her is for the bags.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, Princess. You are special.”
She frowned as she tried to understand what he meant. The frown was quickly replaced by a sense of shock as he started pulling things from her bags. Some he stuffed into the new pack, other he threw aside.
When he tossed her underthings into the mud, she screamed and tried to pull him away.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, as she tried to put her things back without him seeing. She pushed at his shoulder. It was like trying to move a barn. The man didn’t budge.
“We have to travel light,” he said as he continued to transfer things. At last, he finished. Stepping across the barn floor, he retrieved another, much larger pack, from a dark corner. She knew instantly that this was his.
“But, the horses?” she said. “I am sure Benjie can carry your pack as well,” she said.
He just looked at her and shook his head. A new fear began to build inside her as she waited for him to explain. A coldness gripped her as she realized what he was going to say.
“We’re not taking the horses,” he said, giving voice to her worst fear.
“Why not?” she asked. Her hands on her hips, she needed to get to Sinstra. She was not going to walk all the way.
“Why not?” he parroted back at her. “Because horses draw dragons like honey draws bees.”
The air left her lungs. He said it like it were real. As if he truly believed in dragons.
“Come on, Princess,” he said as he took her arm once again. “We have a long way to go.”
She almost fought him then and there. But, she remembered her goal. Julian. She needed to reach help, and this was the only man who could get her there.
They continued on. She thought back to the way he had called her ‘princess.’ She hated it when he called her ‘princess,’ she determined. He said the word almost with a sneer, using it like it was an insult or something. She much preferred it when he called her Elsbeth. The word rolled off his tongue, like it was important.
Sighing to herself, she skipped to try and keep up. The idiot’s legs were too long. It was going to be a rather frustrating trip if he kept this pace. Her heart raced - the pace of their journey was the least of her problems.
She would be alone with this man. What was more? It would be impossible to stop him if he wanted to take her. The next thought that jumped into her head was to wonder why she would want to stop him.