The amazing Ms. Britain is the genius behind these characters. My imagination has just high jacked them for a bit. I have no financial gain from the publication of this story. My sole gain is of finally getting it out of my head and out there to share.
Rated M mainly for being overly cautious.
_
Zachary muttered a curse under his breath as he held tightly to Karigan. The world around him was blurry and gray; a result of her ability masking them both from pursuers. Karigan's drooping shoulders were a testament to her exhaustion. She had managed to hold steady to their invisibility for over an hour. Now they rode Condor through the woods, sacrificing the speed of an open road for the cover of the forest.
Has she ever held on to her ability this long? He worried as he shifted her weight more securely against his chest. She was nearly unconscious from the drain of the magic; the icy water drenching her clothes wasn't making this mad escape any easier.
Letting the horse guide them, he kept replaying the attack in his mind. He hadn't noticed anything amiss. As aware of her as he was at all times, Zachary did remember the moment when Karigan suddenly looked around. She must have been warned by her horse, he thought, a second later all the other mounts went wild. Then They charged in.
They. Groundmites. Twisted creations bent on savage butchery. He still felt horrible pangs for the ones he and Karigan left behind amidst the madness.
"I followed my orders, stuck with the plan," Karigan whispered, "I got you out of there."
Surprised, the king realized he must have been worrying aloud. "Of course, we followed the plan exactly, Karigan." He spoke soothingly, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "I'm just worried for the others. There weren't many groundmites; they just came so suddenly." Feeling her stiffen in his arms, he guessed she must have been worrying, too. "I am sure the others are fine."
Even though he had complete confidence in his people, his words were spoken with a strength he did not feel at the moment. He just couldn't erase the sick feeling in his gut when he saw Karigan fall from her horse into the semi-frozen river. That heart wrenching ache when for a split second, he thought she might be gone from him forever. And it would have been all his fault.
The plan she spoke of was his idea. Before his wedding, he wanted a chance to see his country - truly see his country as a citizen would and not a king. Instead of touring from province to province in a lavish entourage (one he would have hated but been forced into for protocol's sake), he decided a small group of weapons with himself and a green rider was all the company he needed. He had argued tirelessly with his advisers, Captain Mapstone being the most vocal in her arguments. Finally, the plan was formed. A group of eight composed of six Weapons, a green rider, and the king would dress in common traveling clothes. The group would be large enough to dissuade most bandits, but small enough to attract little attention. Surrounded by those trusted few, Zachary would be able to travel a pre-agreed upon route taking him through a majority of the kingdom. A green rider would meet the king and his weapons at prearranged locations to relieve the current rider. The relieved rider would travel back to Sacor City to report and keep the castellan and Captain Mapstone updated on their progress. And Zachary could finally see his kingdom for himself. He could see the condition of the roads, talk with the locals, and view the lands without the interference of the lord governors. If any of them knew he would be visiting, they would undoubtedly arrange for him to only see the best sides of their governance.
And if their little traveling group met with trouble on the road, the green rider on duty was to get the king away from danger and allow the Weapons to handle the situation. The king and green rider would then proceed quickly to the next arranged meeting place.
Zachary would have the added boon of having each of the 4 most senior riders stationed for a week at a time with his party. Which meant one whole week of Karigan. Karigan not running from him, not finding other duties to keep her away, and Karigan not being allowed to treat him as highborn.
"Karigan," he spoke softly over the steady sound of Condor's hooves, "I know you trust your horse, but where is he taking us? We need to get some place where we can get warm." Night still approached swiftly and coldly in the north, even as spring came to the rest of his country.
He had to strain to hear her reply, her voice was so hoarse with the cold. "Rider waystation. Not too far. Can get dry clothes and a fire." She said the last with a shudder that made Zachary's bone's ache in sympathy.
"Should you stop using your brooch? We should be far enough from pursuers, and they shouldn't be able to follow us to the waystation. Isn't that correct?"
"Hmmm," Karigan sighed her agreement, allowing the brooch's magic to end. Suddenly, the world seemed to jump to life in front of him. He saw the large, dense forest they were in and knew they were near the town of North. And then Karigan slipped, and only Zachary's mad grab under her arms kept her astride Condor.
Under any other circumstances, he would be reveling in this close, prolonged contact with Karigan. Instead he held her close, trying to offer her what warmth he could, and any pleasure he might have taken from these moments holding her were marred by his worry at finding shelter.
It was in this moment that Zachary suddenly felt his skin crawl. Feelings of confusion and nausea rolled through his mind and body. The waystation? He had trouble holding onto his thoughts when every instinct in his body urged him to turn and flee. Fighting back against the magic, Zachary wrapped his arms tighter around Karigan. With one arm about her waist and the other crossing from under her arm to her opposite shoulder, he held his eyes closed. When his hand brushed the brooch on Karigan's lapel, the nausea began to fade. His mind cleared and when he opened his eyes, he saw the horse had brought them to a log cabin-like structure.
He draped Karigan as best he could over Condor's neck and dismounted. Walking the horse to the lean-to meant for messenger horses, he noticed that it was built so the wall it shared with the cabin was the brick wall of the fireplace. Patting Condor's neck, he said, "Well, it looks like we should all be warm, soon enough." He loosened Condor's tack before shouldering Karigan's weight and carrying her inside. The dim glow from the newly risen moon shown through the open door enough for him to make out a sturdy wood chair in the corner and a bed against the wall. Shelves of supplies took up all available wall space, with the exception of a soundly made cabinet which must house the spare uniforms and blankets.
As gently as he could, he set Karigan in the chair, thankful this one was made with arms. Her exhaustion had so overwhelmed her, he felt sure she would have fallen without the additional support.
Quickly now, he grabbed the pieces of firewood in the stack by the door and set to getting a nice blaze started. Glancing back at Karigan, he noted the blue tint to her lips. Gods, using the brooch so long nearly froze her last summer! In his concern for her riding in the cooling evening after having fallen into the river, he completely forgot the danger her brooch posed to her with magic fluctuating wildly. "Got to get her warm," he growled to himself.
With the loud protesting of wooden legs across the floor, Zachary nearly swung the bed too close to the fire. Instead, it stopped just 3 feet away from the cheery crackle. He pulled blankets from the cupboard, laying some down on the mattress and leaving some aside to cover her.
Kneeling before her, he held her icy hands and called, "Karigan, Karigan you have to wake up. Karigan!" Tapping her cheeks did little good to rouse her. "Karigan, I have to get you warm. Oh, please forgive me for what I'm about to do." With that last muttered as nearly a prayer, Zachary began to undress her.