Chapter Three
Luke paused at the intersection of the road. Around them, a thick forest grew. Luke’s horse danced nervously beneath him. It was a perfect spot for an ambush. He glanced one way, looking deeper into the forest. Then, he turned his head the other way, toward Kernwith Castle. That was the way Luke expected Urien to go, toward his home and familiar lands. He glanced at his trusted man, Peter Valance, with a scowl. “Are you sure the old woman said this way?”
Peter nodded his dark cropped-haired head and steadied his horse. He pointed off into the distance at a path through the forest. “She said they went through there.”
Luke reined in his steed, steadying him with a firm hand. It didn’t make sense. Kernwith Castle was straight down the road. Had they headed into the forest to throw followers off the trail? Luke pictured Nessa being dragged through the forest. Her hair tangling in branches. Her clothes ripping on sharp thorns. He clenched his teeth. God’s blood, that Urien! If he had harmed Nessa, Luke would kill him. He glanced back at Peter. “Take the road and make sure Urien didn’t take her in that direction.”
Peter nodded and sped past them toward Kernwith Castle.
Luke spurred his steed and led the rest of the men into the forest.
The group of knights followed the trail through the forest. The path Urien and his men had taken was obvious by the horse-trampled leaves and broken branches. At least they were easy to follow. At sunset Luke and his men came upon an empty campsite. A doused fire was surrounded by crushed grass and leaves where the men had rested. They couldn’t be more than a day’s ride behind them. Luke dismounted and walked the circular perimeter of the camp, searching. He made out three different paths into the forest. Urien’s men must have taken trips into the woods to relieve themselves or for sport. Luke scanned the three paths. He wasn’t sure which trail they had taken when they departed the camp. His booted feet crunched on rabbit bones as he moved about the camp.
“My lord,” Alec Malot, a sturdy fighter, called. He pointed to a tree.
Luke turned. He scanned the tree, but missed it the first time. When he looked again, he noticed something white stuck into the corner between a branch and the trunk. He stepped closer and reached out. It was the bone of a rabbit. He stared down at it in the palm of his hand. It looked like a small piece of a rabbit leg. He scowled. What was it doing in the tree? He lifted his gaze to look at the forest. One of the trails was beside the tree. The trodden path looked to have been used by many people. He glanced at the rabbit bone again. Had it been haphazardly tossed there? Luke looked at the path again. Or was this a sign from Nessa? She was bright. But was she that bright? It only took Luke a moment to decide. “This way.” Luke hoped he was right.
Nessa was exhausted when they finally stopped for the night on the third day. Earlier, at one of the quick rest stops they made, she had seen a knight in chainmail enter the camp, speak with Urien, and depart. On the left side of the knight’s face, a thick scar ran from his jaw to his hairline. He had never been in the camp before and wasn’t one of the eight men she had been traveling with. It was strange that a knight had spoken to Urien, but she quickly forgot about it. Three days’ ride with these madmen was making her bottom sore and her hope die. At least she had managed to keep the rouse of being Mel up.
Now, as darkness covered the land, she bowed her head between her arms. She longed to be back home. To see little John hop on one foot in the rain. To ride her favorite horse, Lancelot, across the field. To have Mel reprimand her for her wild hair. Mel’s hair was always perfect. Beautiful. It never dared to untangle from the braid Mel occasionally wore it in, or come free of her fillet. Nessa sighed. Even now, wild strands stuck to the bark of the tree she was resting beneath. She was surprised her hair hadn’t given her away to Urien. Her shoulders slumped. She wanted to go home.
There had been enough quiet time during the ride for her to plan an escape, a daring escape. The only time she was left alone was when she relieved herself. Someone was always near, but they didn’t watch. And if they weren’t watching, she could sneak away. It was a plan. Now that it was dark and the camp was quiet, she knew it was time to put her plan into action. But she was afraid. She was afraid they would catch her. She was even more afraid that Urien would soon realize she wasn’t Mel. She had to get away before he realized his mistake. She cupped her hands around her head as if she were hiding. She had been awake all night, waiting. Waiting for the right moment. She knew she had to try. Urien was taking her farther and farther away from her home. The farther they went, the harder it would be to get home.
Her gaze scanned what she could see of the camp. She knew two men were in the woods on guard duty. She had seen them switch off with other men and heard them talking. Urien slept across the camp from her, maybe to watch her. He was making her uneasy the way he spoke to her and looked at her all the time. She was glad he was sleeping. The other men were also asleep in various positions throughout the camp, except one. There was always one awake. She stood, drawing his attention. He groaned and rose slowly to his feet. He moved over to her.
Nessa turned and walked the way she had gone earlier, through two trees and down a small path, away from the camp. The man waited for her near the camp, watching, his arms on his hips.
Nessa ducked behind a thick tree. The half-moon cast light down upon the tree and nearby bushes. She pushed her back up against the tree, taking deep breaths. Her only chance was now. She had a plan, she told herself. It will work. She bent down on her hands and knees and began crawling behind bushes, carefully picking up her hands and gently placing them down so as not to make any noise. She came to the end of the bushes and glanced through the thick leaves at her guard near the camp. He had half turned away so his side was to her. She waited until his gaze was turned away from her before crawling quickly to another tree. Her heart pounded as she pressed her back to the tree. He must have heard her. She had made noise as she scrambled to the tree. He must have known. She waited for him to come and discover her. But as time passed and he didn’t show, she rose to her feet. She chanced a peek around the tree. He was facing the forest! She quickly ducked back, praying he had not seen her. She pressed herself against the trunk of the tree and squeezed her eyes shut as she waited for a cry of alarm. But no alarm came and she gradually opened her eyes, releasing a held breath.
She looked to her right. She needed to make it to one more tree, where the leaves and canopy of the forest blocked the moonlight. She was confident she would be out of his line of sight. The problem was there were no bushes and nothing to hide behind between the tree she was pressed to and the tree of her freedom.
She eased around the tree again, ever so careful. He still stood near the camp, presenting her with his side. He was looking toward the camp.
Without giving herself a moment to think, she picked up her skirt and raced across the space to the next tree. One step, two, three. Her foot caught on the root of a tree and she lost her balance. She grabbed hold of the tree so she wouldn’t fall and righted herself, quickly hiding behind it. The camp was farther away now, out of the guard’s line of sight. She chanced one more glance toward the camp and the guard. She couldn’t see him any longer; he was blocked by trees and branches.
She didn’t hesitate. She ran. Deeper into the forest. Guided by the half moon, she carefully avoided trees as she ran. A whooshing sound of wind sounded in her ears with the beat of her heart. Her breath came in quick gasps. She knew how dangerous this was. It certainly wasn’t something Mel would have done. She had to do it. She wanted to go home so badly. She knew she wasn’t safe just yet. There were still two of Urien’s men patrolling the forest. She would have to be careful to avoid them.
Her breathing burned in her chest and she slowed her pace to a jog. She tried to use the moon as a guide, as best she could. She wished she had paid better attention to Loren when he was teaching her and Mel about direction and how to use the heavens and nature to guide you. For all she knew, she was going in a circle and would end up back at the camp.
She paused, breathing hard, and looked over her shoulder. The forest was dark with long shadows, but she couldn’t see anyone following her. She lifted her gaze to the sky. The half-moon shone down upon her through the leaves of the trees. She looked at the trees, remembering moss grew on the north side. But it was much too dark to see any moss. She ran her hand over the bark of the tree, but it was useless until the sun rose. She looked up at the sky again. Maybe if she just ran in the direction of the bottom of the moon and kept going that way. At least it would be away from Urien. That was what she would do. She would… She whirled and took a step…
…only to be caught in a man’s arms. She gasped. Before she could scream, a hand landed on her mouth, stifling her shout. She shook her head and began to struggle. No, no, no! her mind continued to repeat.
The hand around her mouth tightened and another hand wrapped around her waist to pull her close against a hard chest. “Nessa!” The word came out in a harsh whisper.
At her name, she stilled with dread. Had Urien’s man found her?
“It’s me. Luke! Luke of Brackley.”
Startled into disbelief, Nessa finally peered through the darkness at the man before her. She stopped her fight as his dark shadow finally took shape. His hair was longer than she remembered, touching his shoulders, but she couldn’t see his features. It was too dark. Her hands rested against cold metal, his armor. After a moment, she brushed his hand from her mouth. “Luke?” she whispered.
“Come. My horse is this way.” He took her hand and began to lead her through the forest.
Stunned with relief, she willingly went with him.
He chuckled softly. “Looks like you didn’t need rescuing after all.”
“How did you find me?” she asked quietly.
He stopped, shushing her for a moment as they hid behind a tree. He looked back at her. “I’ve learned a few things.”
She knew he was a battle-hardened knight now. She knew he had fought beside her father and the prince. It had been five years since she had last seen him, five years since he and her father had ridden off with an army of men to do battle with the French. How could he be here now? How could he…? It didn’t matter. Joy and gratitude bubbled inside of her. All that mattered was that he had come for her.
When he took a step to continue their escape, she threw her arms around him, knocking him back against the tree. “Thank you for coming after me.”
Luke chuckled a warm, soft sound that rumbled from deep inside his chest. He returned her hug, holding her in a comfortable embrace. “How could I not?” He pulled back to look down at her.
For just a moment, the clouds parted and the moonlight escaped to touch his face. His eyes were deep blue and gazed at her in fondness. His nose was strong and straight. His jaw was square and peppered with a day’s growth of beard. Nessa couldn’t move, could barely breathe. She wanted the moment to go on. His hands were warm around her, holding her against his hard body. He was devastatingly handsome.
He stepped away from her and the one moment in time was lost. He took her hand. “We have to leave.”
Nessa nodded, trying to regain her composure. How could he look like that? Why hadn’t she remembered how comely he was? “There are two sentries wandering these woods.”
Luke continued their escape through the forest, leading a path of safety for Nessa to follow.
Nessa was thankful he had his back to her. The half-moon had disappeared behind wispy clouds and darkness fell over the forest, but his image was not as easy to banish from her mind. As she followed, she could see he had filled out. Did his grin still lift to one side? Did that lock of dark hair still fall forward into his eyes? Her joy at having Luke rescue her slowly evaporated. They were not safe yet. She clutched his hand as they moved. Urien would send men after her and Luke couldn’t overpower all of them.
They moved around trees. Brush crunched beneath their feet. An owl hooted somewhere. Luke stopped suddenly and Nessa almost ran into him. He turned to her, holding his finger to his lips. Nessa froze.
Luke peered out between two trees. Nessa looked over his shoulder. She saw a horse tethered to a tree near a clearing. She glanced around, but didn’t see anything. Was that Luke’s horse? Or was it one of the sentry’s horses? No, their steeds were secured at the camp. This must be Luke’s horse! Why weren’t they moving to the horse? They could be away! She shifted anxiously. She could be free, home again.
Luke squeezed her hand in warning to be still.
And then, a man came into view. The clouds parted for a moment and moonlight washed over the man. Dread filled Nessa as she recognized his grizzly beard and leather armor. It was one of the men from Urien’s camp. He had found Luke’s horse!
Luke released Nessa’s hand. He held up his hand, a signal for her to wait. He pulled a dagger from his belt and took a step forward.
Suddenly, a cry rent the air, cutting through the silence like a sword. Luke stepped back, protectively closer to Nessa.
The guard glanced toward the sound, pulling his sword from its sheath. He grabbed the horse’s reins from the tree it was tethered to and raced off through the forest with the horse.
In the distance, the sound of swords clanged and battle cries sounded like faraway thunder.
Luke glanced in the direction of the battle, and then back at Nessa. “I have to go.”
Nessa’s mouth dropped open. She looked toward the direction of the battle. It was back the way they had come, back toward Urien’s camp.
“Wait here,” Luke commanded.
“I will not,” Nessa objected. It was better to be in the midst of the fight with Luke, than to be alone in the forest. She was afraid, she realized. He was the most familiar, safest thing she knew and she didn’t want to lose him.
“Nessa,” he pleaded, taking her hand into his. “You would be in danger.”
Nessa shook her head. “I’m coming with you.” She wasn’t a fool. She would stay well out of the fight, but she would be within eyesight of Luke.
Luke grimaced. “Fine.” He led the way back. “But you will stay where I say.”