Brigan could still feel the warmth of Fire's body pressed against his own as he readied his horse in the stable. Big had already been saddled and waiting for him but he found that he lingered, one foot in the stirrup and one firmly planted on the ground. I promise I won't leave her. He heard Fire's voice in his mind as if she was there with him. He hadn't wanted to let go of her, he had only just come back to her and now he was leaving her already, and this time he may not even come back. Brigan pushed that thought from his mind, as soon as he had let go of Fire he had resolved to do whatever it took to come back to her. Hesitantly he climbed onto Big's back.
A commotion in the courtyard just outside the stables caught his attention. His head snapped up and his ears strained to hear what was going on. "Princess Hanna!" a voice he recognized as Neel's shouted as what he assumed to be Fire's guard poured out into the courtyard. Brigan's mind reeled, why would Fire's guard be looking for Hanna? He started to dismount from Big.
"Lady Fire!" This voice belonged to Musa. "Lady Fire!" she shouted, her voice straining with an emotion Brigan recognized all too well, fear. Brigan was running before he even realized that he had begun to move at all. His eyes took in the scene before him as he emerged into the courtyard beneath the great tree. Instantly he saw Fire's guard, his eyes searched desperately for her as Musa continued to call out for her. "Commander," she said, her voice desperate. "Commander," she said again.
"Where are they?" he asked, his voice calm but his mind racing.
Musa shook her head, her eyes down cast. "She was coming down the ladder but she passed us when she heard the Princess' dog crying."
"Where are they?" he said again, his tone betraying him, revealing a piece of the pain he was feeling in his heart.
"Papa!" a little voice cried out.
Brigan's heart skipped a beat. "Hanna!" he called out into the darkness, turning around looking for his daughter.
By this time a crowd had begun to form in the courtyard, including but not limited to Brigan's family. Nash came bounding outside to him. "What's going on?" he asked.
"Papa!" Hanna cried again as she appeared in the light of the torches of the courtyard. Brigan ran to her then and wrapped his arms around his daughter breathing a small sigh of relief. "Papa, they have her." She said through tears.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, taking her small face in his hands and looking at her.
Hanna pushed his hands away from her face and backed out of the circle of her father's arms. "They have Fire!" she shouted, trying desperately for them to understand her. "They're taking her!"
Without so much as a word Fire's guard along with Nash broke into run. "Stay with Aunt Clara!" Brigan told Hanna as he ushered her towards his sister. "Watch her!" He followed after his brother and soldiers, catching up to them easily.
"Lady Fire!" Musa continued to shout into the night. They were nearing the river now, Brigan could hear the soft lapping of the cold water against the posts of the bridges. A ways before them he saw of flash of red by the river's edge. He stopped running, his brother and soldiers stopping with him.
"What is it?" Nash asked, his voice showing his exhaustion. "Brigan?"
"There, by the river!" he pointed up ahead, the silhouette of a boat on the river just barely visible. "Fire!" he shouted, his voice filled with panic. He broke into a run again, his fear and panic driving him faster than he thought possible. Fire's guard was shouting behind him as they too spotted the boat. As they grew closer they could make out shapes that had to be her captors. The boat started to drift away from land into the middle of the river. Brigan pushed himself harder. "No!" he shouted in anguish. "Fire!" he cried out to her, his voice echoing off the buildings of the city. The boat was growing closer and closer now to the edge of the city and he knew if he let it leave he would never catch it. "Fire!" he screamed her name in his mind to her. "Fire, please!"
Brigan's body crashed into a metal fence separating him from the boat that bore Fire away from him. "Fire!" he shouted in anguish. He heard his brother catch up to him, and felt his hand rest on his shoulder.
"No," Musa said, her voice shaking as she watched the boat drift away. "Commander," she said. Brigan was silent as he watched as well. "Commander?"
"Brother," Nash said as he squeezed Brigan's shoulder.
"Mount up," he said, his voice as hard as steel. "Find them, bring her back."
"You heard him," Musa said. The sound of Fire's guard retreating away from him was welcome comfort.
"Brother," Nash said again.
Brigan looked up at his older brother, Nash's dark hair fell in his eyes. "Leave me," he said, his voice low.
Nash nodded, he squeezed Brigan's shoulder once more and then started back towards the palace.
Brigan looked back to the river. The boat was almost out of sight. He felt his eyes stinging at the thought of losing Fire. He fought with his sense of duty. His heart told him to find Big and follow the river until he found Fire, but his head reminded him of where he must go and what he must do. This was the eve before a war and he knew he needed to be where the war was. When he looked back up the boat was gone and so was Fire, and his heart ached at the thought of not going after her.