Queen of Lost Stars (Dragonblade Series/House of St. Hever) (11 page)

Madelayne had managed
to throw herself off of the wagon bed when it got stuck in some dark, slick mud near a lively brook. She had stopped fighting for a while as the wagon lurched across a meadow, away from the main road, lulling her abductors into a false sense of security by pretending to faint. But that act was cut short when the wagon became stuck in a quagmire of soppy earth. Feeling the wagon falter, she came to life, slugging her captor in the face and throwing herself off of the wagon bed.

She had stunned the man enough so that she could get a good start on him but she didn’t head back towards the road. She ran into a grove of trees to the south, a thick smattering of foliage that the brook ran through, and tried to hide. She could hear two men coming for her, speaking angrily to each other as they drew near, and she hunkered down in the thick bushes, trying to stay low and out of sight.

God help her, she was terrified. Moreover, her bruised body was rebelling and everything about her hurt desperately. Her thighs and torso ached from the exertion and she was physically incapable of running for very long and certainly not for very far. Walking had been difficult enough, but she feared she had truly hurt herself by fighting off her attackers. It was her own damnable fault and she knew it, but there was nothing to be done about it now. She had gotten herself into this situation and she was determined to get herself out of it. Wrexham wasn’t far off but she realized she wasn’t going to make it there by dark. She was fairly certain her abductors weren’t going to give up on her so easily and she didn’t want to chance coming out of her hiding place any time soon.

She was in a thick cluster of branches and bushes, tucked down by the base of a tree. It was the perfect hiding place, actually. It also gave her a chance to rest, something she desperately needed, so she sat low against the tree trunk, rolled up in a ball, and listened as her abductors began searching close to her. They were shaking bushes; she could hear them, which worried her when they would come to her bush. She was thickly protected but if they took a good look between the branches, they might very well see her. She was still in her black cloak, which was good camouflage in the dim light of the forest, but there was still a chance they might see her.

Therefore, she couldn’t rest completely. Her ears were attuned to what was going on around her and even as her abductors moved in her direction, shouting and poking sticks into thick clusters of bushes, they suddenly veered off and headed away from her into an area that was evidently more thickly clustered with trees and growth. Madelayne could hear the men speaking of the perfect hiding place and they even began calling out to her, telling her to show herself because they would beat her if they found her. Relieved they were moving away, Madelayne considered moving out of her hiding place and making a break back towards the road in the opposite direction.

But it was sheer exhaustion that kept her where she was. She was horribly sore and weary from the fight and from the walk, and her legs were cramping up from the position she was sitting in, but still she was afraid to move, afraid that she wouldn’t be able to run fast enough if the abductors happened to see her flee. They were still far enough away that she might have a chance to escape them and she seriously weighed her options at that point. She was afraid of what would happen if she left her hiding place and she was afraid of what would happen if she did.

After careful consideration, she decided that it would be better if she tried to run because she could hear them in the distance, beating bushes and she knew, eventually, they would make it over her way. Therefore, she had to run. She couldn’t simply wait for them to find her.

Unwinding her legs from beneath her body, she slowly rolled onto her knees, trying to keep abreast of where, exactly, her abductors were. She could hear them, over towards the west, so she crawled through the damp brush, getting her hands and knees dirty, until she emerged from the brush and into a thick bank of trees.

Carefully, she stood up and slipped behind the trees, using them as cover, as she tried to keep an eye on her abductors in the distance. She could still hear them and it gave her confidence. She was putting space between them and her. It gave her such hope and nearly brought tears to her eyes, hoping that, for once, God was looking upon her and would protect her from harm. God had never paid much attention to her in the past, but it would seem that was about to change. She found herself praying fervently for His protection.

The road to Wrexham was just across the meadow in front of her, the same meadow they had crossed in that ramshackle wagon. The grass was waist-high in some places, knee high in most, and she thought she would do better – and not be seen – if she stayed on her hands and knees. So she dropped down and began to crawl across the ground again, grinding mud and rocks into her hands and knees. She left the shelter of the trees and proceeded into the wet grass, continuing to pray for God’s help in escaping those who sought to do her harm. Her praying was silent for the most part but when she entered the grass, it became a fervent whisper, as if that would help God hear her better. She didn’t dare look back.

It was difficult to crawl in the garment she was wearing and, more than once, her feet became tangled in her cloak, but she continued on, pushing through the wet grass, heading for that road to safety and freedom, or so she hoped. She was determined to make it to the road and run, run as fast and as hard as she could, in the direction of Wrexham. Surely by the time her abductors discovered she had eluded them, she would be to safety.

God, let me get to safety and I swear I will never do anything so foolish again!

She was midway between the trees and the road and she could no longer hear her abductors in the woods behind her. That concerned her somewhat and as she was contemplating turning to see if she could spot them back in the overgrowth, she heard what sounded like thunder. It was coming from the direction of the road, south to be exact, and it grew progressively louder.

Curious, she lifted her head slightly to see where the noise was coming from and was immediately confronted with knights on horseback, dressed for battle, accompanied by at least twenty soldiers who were also on horseback. The knights were on fat, well-fed horses and wore tunics of blue and yellow.

She knew those tunics very well.

Lavister!

Madelayne forgot all about the men beating the bushes looking for her. At the sight of men from Lavister, she suddenly bolted to her feet and began screaming. She waved her arms and began to run, trying to catch their attention, but they didn’t seem to notice her. Perhaps she was too far away because no one slowed down; no one even looked in her direction. Still screaming, she ran towards the road, waving her arms wildly. While she didn’t yet catch their attention, she had caught the attention of the men who had been trying to abduct her.

Madelayne heard a shout behind her and turned to see the two slovenly men burst from the trees and head in her direction. Terrified, Madelayne picked up the pace and, in a burst of speed, tore off towards the road. The collection of knights and soldiers were nearly past her now but she continued to wave her hands and shout, praying someone would see her. Praying that just one man would happen to look over and see her racing across the meadow. All she needed was one man.

Just one.

Please, God… just one!

God must have heard her because the very last soldier in the group happened to look over and see a woman running across a field with two men after her. Fortunately, the man was a senior soldier and recognized Lady Madelayne right away. With a piercing whistle, he caught the attention of several men in front of him, who in turn caught the attention of the rest of the group. Kaspian, who had been in the lead with Thomas and Ewan, turned to see what had his soldiers so excited and he was seized with relief and terror to see Madelayne running across a field of blue-green grass with two men in pursuit of her.

The battalion from Lavister turned their mounts for the field and, suddenly, horses were plowing into the grass towards Madelayne. She was so relieved that she started to cry and her legs, so achy and weary, buckled. She fell to her knees as men on horseback charged past her, heading for the two men who had been pursuing her, men who now realized they were in a great deal of trouble. The farmer and his son tried to run but the son was cut down by Ewan while the father was cut down by Thomas. Thomas then ordered the soldiers to go into the trees to see if there were any more men as Kaspian and Dolwyd converged on Madelayne.

On her knees in the wet grass, she wept loudly. Kaspian could hear her crying as he drew near. He was shaky and in great pain, but he managed to pull his steed up a few feet away from her and bail from his horse. In truth, he literally fell off the horse and had to catch himself on the saddle. His legs were quaking and his entire body was screaming with agony. But he ripped off his helm and made his way to Madelayne, taking a knee beside her as she wept and grasping her face between his two big hands. There was great emotion in his expression as he spoke.

“Madelayne,” he said earnestly. “Are you well? Have you been injured?”

Madelayne shook her head, sobbing. Tears cascaded down her creamy cheeks. “I am not injured,” she wept, his big hands on her face causing her heart to pound against her chest. There was such warmth in his expression. “I am so sorry, Kaspian. I did not mean to cause you such trouble that you would ride to my aid. You should not be out of bed!”

That was very true and he was feeling rather lightheaded now, but he didn’t speak on it. He would not acknowledge it. He didn’t want to admit that coming after her had been more taxing than he thought it would be. But the fact that she should be concerned for him in the midst of her danger touched him deeply. He’d never had anyone care for his well-being like that before and that endeared her to him even more than she already was.

“It does not matter,” he scolded softly. “All that matters is that you are not injured. But why did you leave? What happened that you would run from Lavister and risk yourself so?”

Madelayne was trying very hard to stop her tears but it was difficult. Along with her relief at finally being safe, her sense of embarrassment was great. Gazing at the man, she could feel those torn feelings rising up again, feelings of warmth and excitement for Kaspian against feelings of mourning for Cairn. It was an internal struggle that was only growing worse as Kaspian gazed at her almost as if he were glad to see her.

Almost as if he cared.

“I… I would be a burden to you if I remained,” she sniffled, trying to fight off the idea that the man might actually care about her. “You were simply being kind by asking me to stay at Lavister, Kaspian, but the truth is that I do not belong there. You were right when you said a widowed woman would face a bleak outlook and it is not your responsibility to provide for me. You are too kind to send me away so I had to leave.”

He just looked at her, greatly disheartened by her words. “So I did say something to chase you off,” he muttered, realizing his sense of lightheadedness was growing worse. “I suspected as much. Why did you not simply come to me and speak to me of your fears? I did not mean to offend or hurt you, Madelayne. Surely you know that.”

Madelayne nodded, her tears calming and nearly gone by now. “I know you did not mean to intentionally offend me,” she said. “I never thought that.”

His gaze turned soft and a gloved thumb stroked her cheek, ever so faintly. It was a gesture that sent a wild chill up Madelayne’s spine.

“Then why did you run away?” he asked quietly.

She averted her gaze. “I told you why. Because you were too kind to send me away.”

That thumb stroked her cheek again. “I did not mean to…mean to….”

He suddenly trailed off and his eyes took on a rather glazed look. As Madelayne and Dolwyd watched, Kaspian suddenly pitched right over into the grass and passed out cold.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Two days later

S
o softly sings,
the wind, my babe; On the wings of angels, may you sleep, my babe; God watches over you, my arms embrace you; never are you more content than now; Sleep, my lovely, sleep….

Madelayne finished the lullaby, a whispered sonnet. She had become accustomed to singing it to Kaspian over the past two days and it was coming to tenderly suit the man who had probably never known any tenderness at all. He had always seemed hard and cold that way. She gazed down at him, so still and silent on the bed, and her heart twisted with concern.

“He hasn’t awoken,” she said. “It’s been so long, Dolwyd. Why doesn’t he wake?”

The old man sat upon a stool and scratched his spotted scalp. “Because he did too much damage to himself riding about the countryside looking for you,” he snapped. “Had you not been so stupid, he would be well on the road to recovery now.”

Madelayne turned her face from the churlish physic. She was feeling guilty enough without his added anger. “What’s done is done and yelling at me isn’t going to help.”