Cam POV
Chapter 9: Behind Enemy Lines
The day had started out so well, thought Cam as she ran for her life.
Earlier That Day:
Cam ended her sparring session with Zach, giving a final kick and knocking him to the ground briefly, then pinning his arms to his sides, and forcing him to concede.
She brushed herself off, and offered Zach a hand. She pulled him up easily, her arms no longer the twigs they had been only weeks before. It had been 2 weeks and three days since she had persuaded Zach to teacher her defense, and Cam had never been more eager to learn. Not even her harpsichord lessons had taken such a hold over her mind.
But even her concentration for her lessons was unable to erase the constant anxiety filling her stomach the eerie calm before the storm she knew was coming.
She wished for the days when a hug could solve all the troubles in the world, and any injury could be kissed away with a mother's lips.
"Good work Cam," praised Zach, who aside from wounded pride, seemed un hurt by the blow Cam had dealt him.
"All thanks to you," she said, as she pecked him on the check in a kiss. Cam could still not quite understand how their relationship started in the first place. She remembered something bad happened, or something right Zach had did, and then kissing. Kissing was part of it. But what did that make her to Zach? Or Zach to her?
In anything she did, there seemed to inevitably be conflict. She couldn't decipher her true feelings for him. Was it love? She didn't know, having never loved anyone such as Zach. It wasn't friendship, or was she confusing her troubles and fears for emotion?
Cam scowled and wished her thoughts away. Someday, after she was married she would have time to sort this out. In the mean time, she decided more kissing could never hurt.
"Oh no, the thinking face," Zach said, noticing her knitted eyebrows.
"It's nothing," Cam lied.
"Sure," Zach drawled sarcastically. "You're a better liar than that Cam. You just want me to ask."
"No!" Cam flushed.
He shrugged. "Your loss."
Inside the castle, the roof provided a welcome relief from the sun. Cam's once delicate porcelain skin had already seen the effects of her days spent training. Her skin was much darker than she had expected, and it was most definitely not attractive to the general public. But Cam did not care, her skin showed her efforts and her prowess as a warrior. She wore its coloration as a badge of honor, instead of a shame. Her hair too was gleaming to a nearly white color, and small strips were accented in different shades of blonde. That was one benefit of the sun, her hair had never looked so glorious, Cam thought, though she would never say something so vain in front of Zach, or anyone else. Zach would tease her endlessly.
He was such a tease these days, Cam thought. The normal bustle of castle activity greeted them as they walked into the entry hall. The glamor of the palace needed to be kept with thousands of tiny details the staff cared for magnificently. They seemed to be out doing themselves in the presence of Cam's "suitor", as if Zach even bothered to examine the cracks of golden filigree for dust. Whatever the reason, the palace was shinning these days, despite the muddy boots, dusty cloaks and other filth which was now common to see tracking though the halls.
Cam had provided housing and eating for the soldiers scouring the country in search of the robbers. The men slept in cabins constructed near by, but they marched daily for their meals in the grand dinning hall, where Cam joined them nearly every meal. She made it her goal to learn each of their names, a formidable task as there were nearly one hundred and fifty in total, though half that was stationed at the palace at a time, while the others spied or searched for the Robbers, who had moved their camp into further reclusion as if they too sensed the nearby presence of enemies in their lands.
Cam hoped the latest contingent of spies would have better news than the others so far, as there was word they had picked up a trail, and were close to discovering the hiding place. She prayed there would soon be such a discovery, as finding the elusive head quarters would mean an induced end to this nonsense.
At the lunch table, Zach bumped shoulders with some soldiers, laughing with them, and then shaking their hands before moving to sit with two more, Cam remembered their names this time. Harrison, and Hunter, she believed. Zach had spoken kindly about these two in particular.
It was amusing for Cam to see Zach interact with the pair, as they were not much older than Zach himself, though both looked considerably more care worn. Living life as a farmer was not work for the weak- Cam knew how much strength and perseverance it required to eek a living from the hard and stony soil of her native land.
Zach caught her staring and smiled at her, before returning to his conversation. Cam turned back to her food, and was startled to notice the seat next to her already filled, though she would have sworn it was empty not moments before.
An unfamiliar face greeted her, though Cam was sure she would have noticed if she had ever seen the young man before. A thin white scar went from his eyebrow tip to hair line, but it was not the scar that fascinated her, it was the color of his eyes. They were nearly violet, and utterly astonishing. They drew her in with their foreign nature. Never before had she seen anyone with eyes such as these.
She was startled from her reverie by his outstretched hand.
"I'm Edward, Your Highness,"
"Do call me Cam, Edward."
He smiled, an odd half smile. "Indeed I shall."
She changed the subject, "Are you a new recruit?"
"Yes, I traveled from the very far north to join, and Capitan Zachary admitted me to the force."
"Oh well then, welcome to the south, and thank you for your service."
"You are too kind, Your Highness," he said, but went on before Cam could correct him. "You and the Prince, you are betrothed?"
"Yes," Cam conceded reluctantly, as most of the public was still in the dark concerning her and Zach's relationship- which was the way she liked it.
"You are lucky, then. To marry the one you love. Life indeed has a sense of humor."
"Yes, it seems as if the Fates themselves spite me with my destiny."
"Your sister might have agreed."
Cam sucked in a breath, utterly shocked that this man knew. Her suspicions were immediately aroused, though she quelled them. It was not so unreasonable that he would know about Cassy, though it did seem a strange topic to bring up.
"You know of Cassandra?"
"I was acquainted with her in the older years." He said cryptically. "Those times are long passed, and indeed, the times of old were blissful. Alack, I ramble. I must see to my duties in the company. If you will excuse me, Your Highness."
"Yes, yes. Please, any other time you are free from your charges, I beg of you, engage me in conversation. I would very much enjoy talking to you more freely."
"I'm sure we will have plenty of time to discuss later," and with that, he disappeared.
Perplexed, Cam finished her meal quickly, then extracted Zach from the midst of an arm wrestling contest, and escorted him to an empty room. She closed the door.
"Zach, I need you to remember someone for me."
Zach, who Cam knew was on the verge of making some inappropriate comment, which Cam found endearing despite her annoyance, was silenced by her serious air.
"Sure Cam. Who?"
"A young man, he couldn't be so much older than us. Tall, strong,"
"You're describing the entire army."
"Just wait. He was handsome,"
Zach scowled. "I'm handsome."
"He had the most unsettling eyes, there were dark violet, like a flower. I'm not sure how to say it correctly." She said, ignoring Zach. "And a scar, thin and white. I'm sure it came from a dagger, stretching from his eyebrow to hairline."
"He isn't ringing a bell," said Zach.
"He said he talked to you, just arrived from the North. He claimed you let him into camp."
"No, I didn't," Zach said, and Cam felt her stomach drop.
"We need to find him."
"Why? What's happening?" Zach asked, but Cam had already broken into a run, heading out the door, and outside to the grounds.
"He could be anywhere. He must be trying to get off the grounds, he know I will figure him out soon."
"Hold up, and explain to me what exactly is the panic for."
"He's a spy! He knows!"
Zach swore. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, it explains everything. He acted strange, and he knew about Cassy."
"What?"
"Yes."
"We've got to find him!" Zach said.
"That's what I've been saying." Cam injected. "Split up. I'll look this way, and you go the other way, he has brown hair. Stop anyone on the roads and check for the eyes and scar. Meet up here in two hours max."
She started off in the opposite direction, running as fast as she could without stumbling. It was lucky, she thought, that it was not dark. She turned to the east, and searched through the palace gardens, but there was no sign of "Edward" anywhere.
Continuing, she made it finally to the edge of the grounds, where the stone fence marked her property. There was a hole, which someone dug underneath, allowing a slim person to slip though and escape.
"He's gone through the hole!" she stamped her foot in frustration, then followed, determined to catch him. She got to her knees and slipped to her stomach, pulling herself under her only protection. Her stomach felt tight, and it scraped painfully on a rock, tearing a gash in her silk shirt, modified into a women's blouse for her training. She was glad now that she had not changed into skirts, for the chase would have indeed been impossible in such attire.
It seemed ironic to her that the very wall used to protect her was now the means for her downfall's escape.
Outside the wall, the land was flat, filled with grass. The fringe of the forest was visible nearby. To her left was a hill. Cam searched the surrounding landscape for any traces of the spy. There was not a single human in sight. In frustration, Cam climbed the hill, determined that if there was any man in sight, she would at least have a better view from elevation.
It again seemed ironic that such a precaution turned out to be so dangerous.
The top of the hill loomed above her, as Cam walked quickly up the steep slope. The hill was large, and wide, so that she could not see if anything was happening on the other side. She reached the top.
Nothing.
There was nothing to see. She tried to swallow her anger, and managed not to scream in frustration at her futile attempts. She felt a breeze ruffle her hair, as she turned to head back down the hillside.
She kicked at the rocks, and hoped Zach had better luck than her.
Cam hardly noticed the figure climbing silently under the wormhole under wall, until it was too late.
"Well, well little Princess." This time, his accent was no longer native, he sounded strangely foreign to match his eyes.
To her credit, Cam nearly made it. Without a word, she sprinted harder than she had ever run, around Edward and dove head first towards the wall, hoping to get her head under in time to scream for help, and hopefully escape into the grounds.
Her shoulders had just slithered under the fence when the man grabbed her feet and pulled her roughly backwards. Her head slammed into the wall, and Cam felt light headed flashes of pain, and her vision nearly faded.
"There's no one to hear you, even if you made it out to scream. They're not looking in this direction."
He towered over her, flat on her back, and the black flashes in her eyes made the image only more terrifying.
Cam's tongue was thick, her brain dazed from pain, and a wet trickle of blood spilled onto her shirt.
"You may as well come quietly, as there is know way you will be able to subdue me long enough to run, especially with that head injury."
Cam struggled to her feet, and attacked with a punch to the gut, which never made contact, as Edward grabbed her wrist and twisted until it cracked.
Pain shot up Cam's arm, so severe she did not know how she kept from blacking out completely. She sank to the ground, clutching her wrist, which looked oddly out of shape when she looked at it. A tear plopped to the ground, though she did her best to hide it from the man standing in front of her.
He crouched by her side. "Come now," he cooed, making Cam feel even sicker than she was, "we must make it to the hill, so our ride can take us far away from here." He put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me, you vile, despicable creature. Go back to the pit you came from!" she spat at him.
"Oh but Your Highness, I do believe I owe you our little talk. You invited me after all."
The walk once again up the hill was far worse than the previous trip. Edward pulled her good hand, as Cam struggled to keep her right arm from jolting and thus further extenuating the numbing waves of pain the joint was emitting. Cam no longer attempted to fight; her right arm useless and her other controlled by the iron grip of her captor. Her mind was so numb she doubted any attack she might make would actually make contact, none the less severely injure the traitor.
Edward surveyed the surrounding land, and noticed the horses galloping from the east, out of the sight of the castle guards. The hill provided excellent coverage, so the escape could be made quickly.
Cam noticed there were only two horses- one for her captor, and one for the guide. Surely, then, her capture was not entirely planned if there were two horses as riding double for any distance at any speed is uncomfortable on three fronts.
"Blast, how did they get here so fast?" he wondered aloud, then his eyes fell on Cam.
"You clever girl, you climbed to the top of the hill, and signaled for them. Indeed, the Fates have a sense of humor."
Cam had little time to contemplate his twisted smile as he pulled her down the hill quickly, to avoid any castle guards spotting their position and perusing them.
Cam feared for her life as she was instructed to ride in front of her captor. Edward did not bother binding her hands, allowing her to clutch his saddle horn with one, trembling hand. The horses raced across the country side, Cam's face nearly hitting the horses neck at the first jolt. She used all her strength to sit up with a firm back. The pounding of horseshoes was not comforting to Cam this time. Now panic coursed through her body. Here she was, wounded, kidnapped and heading into the possession of the Robbers with a spy who knew of her best battle plans. How she wanted to scream, how she wished she could throw herself from the saddle and let the horses feet stomp fly over her head. But she could do no such thing. So onward she went, and with each second, she moved farther and father away from her home. Away from Zach.
The ride could have been minutes, or hours- the time ceased to matter as the pain continued in vigorous attacks. Cam was not surprised, however, when they entered the forest, and the pace slowed. They wove in and out of trees, crossed streams, and followed a faint animal path to a large clearing where nearly forty tents were arranged around a central pavilion. The tents were lined with military precision, and each had its own fire, sending plumes of smoke into the air, but never penetrating above the thick green celling of the trees.
The horses slowed to a walk, and the rider, who had been silent the entire journey, dismounted his horse, then bowed to Cam's captor and headed in the opposite direction, where he was soon swallowed up in the tents.
There must be so many men here, more than our own army has. Cam judged, based off of the number of large tents. Despair once again sank into her heart.
"Come Cameron, and follow me."
Edward swept into the central pavilion, which was forest green to blend into the surrounding trees. Cam had little choice but to follow, and she was glad of it, for suspicious characters began emerging from the tents to view the latest capture.
"Tea? Crumpets?" asked Edward, pouring himself his own glass and offering one to her.
She shook her head.
"Oh how rude of me, I forgot you are injured. Healer," he called outside his tent, and within minutes a burly man with tattoos of eagles on his arms stepped inside the tent.
"Barker, attend to the girl. Her wrist needs to be set. With a grunt, the brute, Barker, had repositioned her joint in a wooden splint and tied it with crude cloth. Tears sprang to her eyes at the pain, but it subsided enough for her to choke out,
"Why am I here?"
Edward dismissed Barker with the wave of one ring fingered hand.
"That my dear, you shall soon see." Cam was too astonished to respond, as the flash of gold on his left hand caught her eye. On his index finger, plain as day, Cam saw the British coat of arms etched into the fine stone.
Cassandra's ring.
"Her ring, her ring you stupid, awful," the insults continued, as Cam threw herself at his hand, clawing deeply into his flesh. "You…how could you have her ring! Where is she? What have you done to her?"
"Get off, get off!" he aimed a kick at her ribs, but Cam continued scrabbling even as she her a rib crack from the pressure.
"This ring was a gift."
"You lying cheating, dirty scum. You bastard! She wouldn't give it to you, not on her life. That was her engagement ring! You killed her, you foul evil thing."
Her voice was nearly hysterical now as the curled into a ball, cradling the new pain in her side.
"But you said it, my dear. This was her engagement ring, to be given to the hand of her love. It is the token I wear with the most pride."
"No, no, you're lying." The tears finally came. "Stop lying, don't speak of her that way. You don't deserve to talk as though she loved you. She could never love any man so cruel and awful as you."
But the pieces fell into place even as Cam denounced them.
"There, dear sister," said a voice Cam would always recognize, even in her sleep. A voice she had heard in her thoughts, echoing the final words she had said, "is where you are wrong."
Lovely!
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