14. The Sorrow
Thorn's eyes popped open when she felt the ice cold water cascade over her head and body. Luckily, no water ran into her mouth or nose, so she was spared the embarrassment of choking.
"What in the --" Thorn jerked her head upward, wanting to find the culprit, but immediately regretted the action. The sharp movement made a flash of pain jolt from one side of her head to the other. She felt dizzy and nauseated, which did not help the pain. She closed her head and stilled her body, not wanting any more flashes of pain like the first one.
"Well, it's about damned time." Thorn heard Torhte speak.
Thorn opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head until she met Torhte's gaze. He sat on a stool across from her, smiling at her in a smug manner.
"Well, our Thorn in a dress. I almost didn't recognize you."
Thorn tried to move an arm into a more comfortable position than behind her back, only to realize that she couldn't move it at all. Her wrists were bound behind her back, and her ankles together in front of her. And Torhte had actually spent the effort into acquiring rope to bound her.
Torhte's eyes narrowed when he was realized that he was not stirring a reaction from her.
"What a pleasant surprise I had, when Asianna ran into camp with the news that she had you."
That brought out a reaction. Torhte smiled, satisfied.
"Asianna-" Thorn began.
"Asianna has done me the courtesy of bringing you back. I've very proud of her."
Thorn blinked, trying to remember the moment before she had blacked out. Asianna had screamed, and Thorn had turned around to face the danger, and then…
"Asianna hit you with a rock." Torhte suddenly said, as if he could read her mind. "She knocked you out and then alerted us of your presence.
Thorn stared at Torhte. No. Asianna wouldn't do that to her. She couldn't!
"You're lying." Thorn gasped out.
"No, he's not." another voice said.
Thorn slowly turned her head to watch Asianna breeze into the tent. Her beautiful brown hair flowed over her cloak like water as Asianna turned to meet Thorn.
"Asianna? What is going on?" Thorn asked quietly, struggling to hold back her disbelief.
Asianna knelt beside Thorn, a hand reaching to stroke Thorn's own hair. "Oh, Thorn. Poor Thorn. Is Thorn confused?" She said softly in a tone one would use to talk to a young child.
"Asianna, did you --" hit me with a rock? Thorn tried to say. But for some reason, those words got choked up in her throat. "Are Torhte's words true?" She finally said.
Asianna gave her a slow smile. "Yes."
"But why?" Her voice cracked on the second word.
Asianna wrapped a strand of Thorn's hair around her finger. "Because I hate you."
The pain Thorn felt at that moment was worse than the pain she held felt from being rolled over by a horse, worse than the pain she had felt when being hit by a rock.
"It was always you, Thorn." Asianna grabbed the strand of hair that was still around her finger and gave it a vicious yank. "You were always the smarter one. The better one. The one with the special gift. The one that everyone wanted! I was always the victim, the back up, the emergency fill in. I was the one hiding in the background! People only cared about you! You were always more important!"
Asianna suddenly released Thorn's hair and stood up, stepping away from Thorn.
Thorn's eyes prickled from the pain that the yank and the movement of her head had caused. "Asianna…everything I ever did it was for you." She tried to protest.
Asianna gave a bitter laugh. "Liar." she said angrily. "You never even saw me half of the time! You said it yourself during the last meeting: you had never realized that I was beautiful until then! And that wasn't the only thing you didn't notice!" Asianna suddenly flung off her cloak and stepped closer to Thorn.
And Thorn stared.
"Oh Asianna, why didn't you tell me?" Thorn asked softly.
"Tell you? Why didn't you ask!" Asianna pressed one hand over her rounded stomach protectively. "I'm eight and half months into my pregnancy, Thorn. Eight and a half. Why didn't you notice?"
That's why she had been wearing the cloak. That's why the hugs had stopped at their weekly meetings. That's why she had always stayed in bed. "But--" she started to say weakly.
"You know, Thorn, the first couple weeks we were with the bandits, I tried to remain cheerful. I thought that you would save me and take us both away from the bandits." Asianna said in a hard voice. "And I waited. I waited for you to save me! You didn't come. But like a fool, I trusted you. And so I waited some more. Only within the last year have I figured out that you actually liked your position, liked being with the bandits. Liked them more than me." She said bitterly.
Asianna reached out with a hand, and Thorn watched as Torhte took it.
"Well, I figured out that you weren't going to help me. So I had to help myself." She stood, tall and proud beside Torhte. "Did you know, Thorn, that there is quite a reward out there for your capture?"
Thorn lowered her head. She didn't want to see anymore. She didn't want to hear anymore.
But perhaps Asianna was right. Maybe Thorn should have tried harder to get her free. Maybe she should have thought of some way to escape.
Oh gods. How disappointed Asianna must have been. To wait during the day for Thorn to come and rescue her, and then realize in the night that she wasn't coming. To live like that for nine years of her life. Oh gods. Thorn realized. She was a horrible older sister.
"Well, Torhte and I are going to hand you over to the King and claim that reward. Then we're going off and getting married. We're going to start a new life together." She paused for a moment. "Do you want to know what I think is the best part of my getting to start a new life?"
No, Thorn didn't want to know. No no no. But she couldn't help but hear.
"The best part is that it doesn't include you."
Thorn continued to gaze down at the ground. She kept her eyes opened big and wide, because if she shut them, she knew that a tear would escape.
But perhaps this was best. Perhaps it would be better if Thorn surrendered herself. Then Asianna could claim the prize money and have another opportunity to live life. Any life was better than one as a prisoner. All this time, Thorn had always thought of her own rage, her own pain, her own anger at being a prisoner. But Asianna had been the true prisoner the whole time. And now look at what Thorn has driven her to. To actually wanting to live a life with Torhte!
"I'm sorry." Thorn whispered raggedly.
There was a silence following her words. For a moment, she thought that Asianna hadn't heard her. Then Asianna spoke.
"Are you?" Asianna said disdainfully. "It doesn't matter. It's way too late for apologies now."
