In which our two adventurers find themselves in an entirely different world…
I need to also make note that Everly's song in the previous chapter is "Breathe" by Anberlin.
Enjoy!
Chapter Three: Capture
In her dream, the unicorn was back. This time it was prancing around so nervously and letting out such agonized whinnies that Jack could barely mount. In her heart, she truly didn't want to hear what the unicorn wanted to tell her. She knew it would only be terrible news. Still, she swung up onto the troubled animal and they galloped through the sky towards Stormhold.
This time the unicorn did not stop by the crater. The magical woods of Stormhold had a habit of swallowing up damage much faster than the woods of England's world. Jack figured that the crater would be gone in a few days, tops.
But they went straight towards Jack's home. The woman could see that the party that had gone after the star had returned to Bendel. They were in drunken revelry downstairs, probably wrecking the whole of the ground floor, Jack thought. The unicorn wasn't interested in that. It took Jack to the upstairs window that had opened from her parents' room. Since it was a dream, both Jack and the unicorn made it through the window quite comfortably.
What awaited them was less comfortable. The star, dirty, broken, ruined, knelt before Bendel. He was the only person in the room besides the poor creature.
The witch's curse on him hardens his heart against her pleas, the unicorn whispered to Jack.
Is there any way to end the curse? Jack wanted to know.
The unicorn nodded. I do not know it, it said, but there is an end to all things evil.
"I have to find it," Jack said aloud to herself, not caring because Bendel couldn't hear her anyways. This was her dream.
The star on the ground stirred. Jack watched as she lifted her once-proud head to look at Bendel's knees. She didn't dare look into his face. She had been too much abused.
"Please," the celestial woman whispered. "End it."
Bendel drew a thin dagger from his belt. Bending, he grasped the star's neck and lifted her to his level, forcing her to look into his eyes.
"You're welcome," he said softly as he used his dagger to draw a red line across her throat, ending her once-glorious life. Then he let her body fall to the floor of his parents' bedroom. "For you, Mother and Father," he said to himself. As he shouted for someone to come clean the mess of the star up, the unicorn was taking his twin sister back to her room in England where she slept.
Jack was up in a heartbeat. In a cold sweat, she nearly flew to Everly's room. Later, she would wonder what in the worlds had possessed her to get the clearly very American cultured, coiffed, and very much still a girl Everly, but it was Jack's first instinct. To her surprise, Everly was already awake when she got in there.
"Jack?" she cried, "I couldn't sleep. What's going on?"
"Come with me," Jack said, taking her arm and pulling her towards the door. "We're going over the wall."
Neither woman stopped to think that both of them were wearing nightgowns as they stepped into the English summer night. It was humid, and the clouds covering the moon and stars promised rain soon, though perhaps not until morning.
The gap in the wall had gone unguarded since the old guard had retired twenty years ago. No one had come to replace him, and no one cared to. You just didn't cross the wall. Besides, the field across which it ran had grown heavy with great weeds taller than the women working their way towards it. Proper English ladies and gentlemen wouldn't dare go through it all.
The other side of the wall, the Stormhold side, had turned into a great forest.
When the two women were about to jump the gap, Everly stopped short. Jack still had her arm, so this caused her to stumble. She turned to the younger woman, annoyed.
But Everly was looking straight into the forest on the other side of the wall.
"Victoria," she said quietly, "Forbade me."
Jack nearly exploded. "You're thinking about that now?!"
Her companion looked at her, startled.
"Honestly, Every! Would you rather have Victoria angry at you or someone die because of you?"
"Jack, what–?!"
"No time!" And with that, Jack pulled Everly through the gap in the wall, into Stormhold.
The forest was still young, and so thick with smaller trees and bushes that made running nearly impossible. So Jack walked fast, dragging Everly behind her. She was beginning to regret bringing the younger woman. Everly was every inch a lady, or trying to be one, and not used to this much exercise. Besides, every few steps she would ask Jack another question, to which Jack would reply curtly. She just wanted Everly to be quiet.
Finally, after an hour, they reached the edge of the forest. Before them lay a great plain, behind the horizon of which lay Jack's destination.
"Alright," she told Everly, pulling her along, "We only have to cross the field, then descend the cliff. It should only take a couple of hours."
Everly was already nearly exhausted, but her eyes were still bright with excitement. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but Jack cut it off with a look.
"Save your breath," the older woman said softly. Her voice was low and dangerous. "We need to be silent in our travels from here on. Besides, you won't tire yourself out as much while you're running if you aren't asking questions." Then she took Everly's hand in her own again, and they were off across the field.
Every was just beginning to feel like she couldn't go for another step when suddenly, the field ended. It dropped into a ravine, at the bottom of which was an ancient-looking small castle.
"Now doesn't that look like the inviting place?" Jack commented, pulling Everly down a rocky pathway towards the castle. "Hopefully we'll at least find some breeches and shirts there."
"Breeches and shirts?" Everly gasped.
"Darling, you're wearing a nightgown," Jack rolled her eyes. "And we need men's clothes to move about comfortably in this world. We have a long travel ahead of us, and we need to be comfortable for our journey."
"But where are we going?" Everly asked, sliding down the rocky slope and then grabbing hold of Jack when she tripped.
"My home, though it's not much of a home anymore. Look, I have a twin brother who's intent on hunting out and murdering stars. Don't ask me to explain it all, confound it, and please stop asking questions. For now, trust that we need different clothes. You'll learn more with time."
Everly didn't say anything more, but stopped at the large doors to the castle when they arrived there. She watched, eyes still bright with excitement, as Jack grabbed one of the heavy door handles and pulled the door open. They stepped into an immense entrance, huge, dark, and covered with glass. Every window was broken, the glass shattered all over the floor, banisters, and stairs. There were two stairways, leading up to some sort of veranda with a large table placed on it. A fountain of water ran from the veranda to the first floor, making the only sounds audible in the castle.
"This is the place of a murderer," Jack breathed. "Let's find some clothes and get out. I don't like it here."
She stepped forward, pulling Everly with her. As soon as they stepped into the decrepit castle, a whole mass of bats flew from the open windows above the veranda, screeching and flapping their wings wildly. They swarmed around the young women, making both drop to the floor. Everly screamed as they rushed against her, their leathery wings brushing against her skin, and Jack just sighed, holding her hands over her hair to keep the rodents from getting tangled there.
The bats rushed out the front doors, leaving the girls alone.
"Come on," Jack said, getting up and pulling Everly up along with her. "Everly, you're going to see things in this world you thought you'd never see. You may as well be warned."
"What else?" Everly shuddered.
"Creatures you never thought existed, animals that you've only heard of in stories, and all sorts of pain and ugly scenes," Jack said, stepping over more glass and then moving towards an open doorway in the side of the building. "Here's a bedroom. There's bound to be some clothes in here."
She was right. There, on a large bed in the dark room, were several shirts and breeches, all folded up neatly at the foot of the furniture.
Without any more questions, Everly slipped out of her nightgown, grateful for the undergarments she had to help form her feminine figure even when wearing men's clothing. She was surprised at how comfortable the clothes actually were, though quite large. She hadn't expected men's clothes to be so comfortable and free. Her shirt was a pirate shirt that laced up in the front and hung long, about down to her lower thighs. Her breeches were loose and free flowing, and she tied them to her waist with a brown strip of leather waiting on the bed. She felt strangely giddy with all the excitement, and she turned to Jack, pleased with herself and wanting to show the other girl what she had accomplished.
She found Jack to be dressed in a similar outfit, but with dark brown breeches rather than black. The woman's hair was down and wild, making Everly wonder how she hadn't figured out before that Jack was from a different world. The woman also had a sheath held against her waist, and in it was a sword, long, almost to the woman's ankle.
"Are you prepared to go?" Jack asked, moving towards Everly, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Yes," Everly nodded, following Jack back into the center of the room. "How far away is your home?"
"Several days, I'm afraid," Jack said, glancing back once more at the menacing chandeliers that loomed above, the table on top of the veranda, and the general destruction of the place. "Come on. I want to get out of here. We'll find food along the way."
They stepped outside and began to walk away from the castle and up the steep incline. It was difficult just beginning the walk, for the ground was both slippery and rocky in different places, making the travel cumbersome. Everly was unaccustomed to such labor, and she trudged along behind Jack, who had trained herself well in surviving difficult terrain.
Neither woman saw the man sitting astride a gallant stallion, watching them from the tops of the cliffs. Dark eyes followed the two figures, and Alvar smiled slyly from atop his steed. He leaned over the horse's neck in a casual manner, draping his arms across the horse's thick mane and smiling with satisfaction. He had waited many years for this, and he found it amusing that Jack and her comrade would be walking about wearing his clothes. It seemed luck was on his side tonight. He had just come back from bathing in a lake not too far away. He could have missed Jacqueline's return. Ah well.
Alvar sat up on his horse and then urged the stallion forward, pressing him to move swiftly towards the field the two women were approaching. Jacqueline may have avoided his grasp before, but he was resolved that she wouldn't do it again.
The rain began less than ten minutes later, drenching Jack and Everly as they climbed up the cliffs and stepped onto a large grassy field. The adrenaline and energy Everly originally had was now gone, leaving the young woman exhausted and in great want of sleep. Her muscles were in complete pain, and she trudged along weakly, trying to keep up with Jack, who walked with a strong, determined step.
They hadn't been walking on the field for five minutes when Jack stopped abruptly, and Everly, in a sleepy stupor, collided with the older woman's back.
"Jack?" Everly asked drowsily. "Can we maybe stop and rest? I'm so tired."
"Shh," Jack warned, putting her fingers on Everly's lips and moving her head about cautiously, as though looking for something. "Someone's coming."
"Maybe they can help?" Everly yawned.
Jack turned her head again, her dark eyes gazing suspiciously over the field, and she let out a sharp gasp when she caught sight of a magnificent stallion clambering up a slope and then moving rapidly towards them.
She knew that stallion and she knew his rider.
"Great heavens above!" she gasped, grabbing Everly's arm and beginning to run, fast, back towards the cliffs, hoping to get down and hide beneath some of the great rocks. "Run, Everly!" she demanded, a cold sweat breaking on her forehead.
Everly did as she was told, though she was too tired to move very quickly and she hadn't trained herself to run.
The horse, naturally, could outrun Jack with ease, and within seconds, he was running alongside her, making it so Jack was directly next to Alvar. Jack's eyes widened with fear as she glanced up into Alvar's face and saw the darkness there. In an attempt to keep her friend safe, Jack let go of Everly's arm and shoved her away before she dropped to the grass and scrambled for safety, staying low to the ground in the hopes of evading Alvar's outstretched arm. She heard the stallion, Excalibur, by name, slide to a stop and snort, and she listened, struggling to her feet, as someone landed in the grass near her.
She knew better than to try and outrun Alvar on foot. He had the reputation of being a stealthy hunter, and running would give him good excuse to trap her in a way that was far from comforting. No, she wouldn't run, but she would turn to face her adversary.
She pivoted, turning so sharply that Alvar nearly collided into her. Before he could attack, the woman's sword was drawn and she was holding it before her bravely, making him stop abruptly.
"I've been waiting for your return, Lady Jacqueline."
"I noticed," Jack growled, continuing to hold her sword in front of her protectively.
"So has Garris. He's been so worried about you."
"He doesn't have enough other women to satisfy him?" Jack growled, catching a movement from the corner of her eye.
Everly had recovered from her fall and was moving slowly towards Jack, unsure about what to do. Jack met the girl's confused gaze, and implored Everly, silently, to stay there.
The shocked young woman from the United States really couldn't have done anything if she wanted to. In her day and time, in her world, it was considered scandalous for a man to even be seen, just briefly, without his shirt on by any woman. But this man in front of her wore no clothing on his upper body. He was naked from the waist up, showing great, powerful muscles that lined his body. He had, on his left forearm, a tattoo, yet another completely taboo thing in Everly's world, of a vine wrapped around his arm, and intermingled in the leaves was a lithe dragon. Everly felt so much disdain and guilt at seeing a man in such a condition, that she very nearly went into shock.
Jack's brief distraction was all Alvar needed. In an instant, his sword was out and slamming against Jack's, throwing her off-balance. She stumbled back and then pushed forward, blocking his attack with her sword. The sword in her hands was heavy, being a broadsword, and she hadn't used a sword in a long while, so she was weaker and more unprepared than she would have liked to be.
Everly wanted desperately to help as she watched Jack and the warrior engage in a ferocious swordplay, but she knew nothing of swords and believed that she would only make things more difficult for Jack. She also couldn't bring herself to look at the fight much, because it was entirely immodest of her to look at Alvar's fine-tuned, muscular body, and she gasped and grimaced every time his body came into contact with Jack's. She was amazed that the sophisticated, mannerly, completely gentlewoman would even know how to hold a sword, never mind use it so well, and that she would let herself get so close to this unclothed man.
She was also completely astounded by this whole new world she found herself in. Swords? Women running around in men's clothing? Warriors that fought with a vengeance? What a strange place!
Jack spun wildly, bringing her sword up and hoping to catch Alvar across the stomach, but he jumped back and then swung forward, bringing his blade slicing through the fabric of her sleeve and dragging across her shoulder. She didn't shout, but hissed in pain through her teeth. One hand immediately went to her shoulder, and her eyes darkened when she felt the liquid oozing out onto her fingers. With a shout of rage, she lunged forward, dodged low, and then slammed her sword against Alvar's leg, but only the broad side of the blade hit the man, and while it would leave an enormous bruise later, it didn't put him off now.
Everly grimaced as the two continued to fight, her eyes closed, but hearing every move. Jack was tiring fast, and the loss of blood was making her somewhat dizzy. Her sleeve was dyed a deep red, making Everly want to retch when she was brave enough to look up.
Jack let out a cry, and Everly forced herself to watch as her friend fell, landing hard on her back and elbows. Alvar went down with her, landing with one knee in between her legs and his hands holding his sword to her throat. Everly then looked away again, blushing furiously at the position of Alvar's body in line with Jack's. How absolutely inappropriate! How could such a man bring himself to be so immodestly close to a woman's body, when he was partially unclothed and she was sprawled helplessly on the ground?!
"My, how I hate having to put you in this awkward position," Alvar scowled, moving one hand to his side and pulling out a chain of sorts from his breeches' pocket.
"Don't lie, you rat!" Jack gasped as he grabbed one of her wrists and wrapped the chain around it. She watched, eyes wide, as the chain magically clipped itself into place around her wrist and glowed eerily. "You act like such the gentleman, yet you'd knock a woman to the ground and hold her captive! How dare you!"
"If I wasn't a gentleman," Alvar sighed, letting the other end of the chain wrap around his wrist and clip into place. "Then I'd be demanding you return my shirt to me."
Jack let out a cry of mortification and her cheeks flamed red as Alvar got to his feet and pulled her up with him.
"Now you can make this simple, Jacqueline, and come along with me, or you can make it difficult and I'll drag you behind Excalibur. It's your choice."
"You'll take me right back to Garris," Jack shouted, struggling against the cord wrapped around her wrist and breathing heavily as the loss of blood was taking its toll.
"It's my responsibility, as his warrior," Alvar said simply, leading her towards where his stallion stood.
"How about your responsibility as a human?" Jack gasped, her wrist hurting as he dragged her along. "You know what Garris has in mind! His whole castle knew what that man wanted from me! How can you return me to such a being?"
"My lord's matters are none of my concern, excluding this one," Alvar said easily. "He had me wait for your return, and here you are. He'll be most pleased to see you."
In a last act of desperation, Jack reached out and grabbed hold of the dagger, positioned snuggly in a sheath against the man's muscular forearm. She brought the blade slipping against the bare skin of his chest, dragging it from his collarbone down to his side.
And then, the most peculiar thing happened.
The first thing that went through Alvar's infuriated mind, aside from yelling in pain, was to slap that woman till she fell unconscious to the ground, but he was never given the chance. Jack was completely exhausted. She had used all her energy in the fight, and her wound had rapidly taken all of her strength from her. She saw the scarlet blood immediately line his body, seeping onto his flesh, and the sight of it made her sick and unstable. So weak was she that she fell to the ground in a heap, her whole body worn out. Her eyes closed halfway, and then she faded completely into unconsciousness.
Alvar moved to her cautiously, and with a small smile of satisfaction, he picked her up and carried her towards Excalibur.
"You can come, if you'd like," he spoke, almost looking as though he was talking to no one in particular.
Everly looked about her, her eyes completely avoiding Alvar's body, wondering if, perhaps, someone else was standing near her that he was addressing.
"I was talking to you, girl," the warrior said, swinging up into the saddle and holding Jack's limp body against his own. His dark eyes moved to Everly and met her gaze. She was surprised to see that he didn't really have a dark countenance. His eyes were dark colored, but behind their darkness was what appeared to be a far nicer interior. That surprise did little to mask her astonishment at the idea, the very idea, that Jack was being held against a bare chest, and a man with said bare chest was talking straight to her, Everly, unashamed and not caring.
"You aren't one of Garris' servants, are you?" Alvar asked, holding Excalibur back from moving.
"N…no," Everly said uncertainly.
"Then you don't have any reason to be afraid. Come up behind me."
"I…I've been taught never to go anywhere near…a…a…"
"A what?" Alvar asked impatiently, holding his energized horse back from moving.
"A man with so little…clothing."
Alvar burst out laughing at that, and shook his head.
"Do you consider my intentions inappropriate? Come now, I was returning from a dip in the lake when I saw you both racing away with my clothes. Be grateful I'm as covered up as I am. You may as well get accustomed to this sight, my lady, for I much prefer to walk about in such a fashion. Now, would you care to come along, or shall I leave you behind?"
Everly approached the stallion cautiously and then paused at his side, uncertain as to what she should do. She couldn't leave Jack, but she didn't know what this man had in mind, and she certainly didn't want to be anywhere near that bare skin. She wasn't given much time to think because, quite suddenly, Alvar reached down, wrapped one arm around her, and hoisted her up behind him. She yelped as she almost lost her balance on the horse, and she put her arms lightly around him, uncomfortable with touching so much skin. Well, uncomfortable was an understatement. Her hands quivered like crazy as just the edges of her fingertips touched his skin, too terrified to really hold him.
"Darling," Alvar sighed, rolling his eyes. "If you're trying to be more modest, I can assure you, wrapping your arms around me would be far more acceptable than letting your fingertips brush across me like that."
Everly blushed a fiery red and hastily wrapped her arms around him, squeezing her eyes shut and grimacing as she did so.
Alvar didn't take notice of it, but urged Excalibur forward, back towards the castle in the valley.
"Why are we going back?" Everly demanded worriedly as the horse cantered along.
"To get my things and provisions for the journey to Lord Garris. I also have a new cut to attend to, and I need to tend to Jacqueline's cut. It's bleeding rather badly, and Garris won't want her to return to him in any way damaged. How did you get involved in this mess?" Alvar asked.
"What mess?"
"Just being with the Lady Jacqueline is enough to get you into trouble right now."
"I don't understand. Who is Garris? Why does he want her? How is she in trouble?"
"She hasn't told you anything, has she?" Alvar chuckled. "Am I to assume you came with her from the other side of the wall?"
"That's right," Everly nodded.
"And what has Lady Jacqueline been masquerading about as in your world?"
"Just a classy young lady with good manners," Everly said, holding on tighter as Excalibur began to clamber down the cliffs to the castle.
"Lady Jacqueline is almost a princess in this world. Had she not run away, she would be a princess by now. She was given to my master, Lord Garris, for a wife. She evaded him and finally ran away. He sent me to wait for her and bring her back to him."
"He must have something terribly wrong with him for her to run away."
"No. He's a man accustomed to getting his needs met, that's all."
Nothing more was said. When they arrived at the castle, Alvar helped Everly off Excalibur's back and then proceeded to get off himself and then slip Jack back into his arms. The woman was still unconscious, and he rested her easily against his chest and carried her into the castle with Everly.
