Here's the next part. Thanks to Robin for beta'ing. Hope you all enjoy. Char :-)
ONCE UPON A TIME: Part 5
It was with heavy hearts that the young knights rode out from Castle Wayne. Their minds were filled with dread and hopeless. They had no idea where to begin their search for the Princess, and they only had a week to complete their quest.
"Where are we going Richard?" Timothy asked as they rode away from their home.
"I don't know," Richard answered his brother as he stopped his horse. He waited for them to ride beside him before continuing. "Barbara was taken from Gotham. We don't know who took her or why? I don't know where to begin."
"What did father suggest?" Jason queried.
Richard looked at his brothers as a sad expression formed on his face. "Father ... wants us to be safe." His brothers looked at him as understanding washed over them.
Jason shook his head. "We can't give up. We have to do ... something."
"I know," Richard said as an idea came to him. "We'll ride north and gather our men. They'll help us."
Jason smiled, "And the more men we have in the search, the better our chances of finding the Princess and saving our family."
Richard looked at his youngest brother and noticed the lost expression on the young boy's face. "How are you Timothy?"
The younger boy looked at his brother with sad eyes. "I've always wanted to be a knight, to go with you and Jason on a quest, but I never wanted anything like this to happen. What will the king do to father if we don't find the princess?"
Richard sighed. He hated to answer that question, he didn't want to think of the possibilities. "Timothy, I'd like to say that everything will be all right, but I cannot. If we fail, if I fail, the king will execute father. I don't know what he'll do to mother, Uncle Alfred and Aunt Leslie."
"Then we won't fail, brother," Jason declared as he spurred his horse into a gallop northward.
Richard and Timothy spurred their horses on as well, and the three headed toward their garrisoned men.
Selina sat by her husband. She stared at the ropes binding his hands. She knew he allowed this allowed himself to be captured to protect her and their children. He was the Dark Knight, the best warrior in the kingdom. Her husband could have fought his way out of their home last night, could have gotten away, but it was more important that their children were safe.
Bruce looked at her, his eyes said so much. Selina placed her hand around his arm and smiled at him. "I love you, my lord," she said as she leaned her head against his strong shoulder.
He closed his eyes and sighed. "And I you." Then he opened his eyes as he felt the wagon they sat in start to jerk. They were on the move to Gotham. He watched the guards who flanked the wagon as it left the gates of Castle Wayne, his mind was on his sons. "They'll be all right," he said voicing confidence against their shared concern.
Selina was comforted by his words. At least her children would be safe. But ... Bruce. She leaned in closer to him, taking in the smell of him, the feel of him. Silently, her tears flowed down her face.
As Richard and his brothers rode the north road, they saw three riders coming toward them. Richard smiled as he spurred his horse into a gallop. "Roy!"
"Richard," Roy called out as he rode toward his friend. The captain of the Wayne garrison pulled his horse up as Wallace and Garth pulled up beside him. He noticed how his friends were attired. Something wasn't right.
"Garth, you're wounded," Jason said looking at Garth's bleeding shoulder.
"It's nothing," Garth replied.
"We ran into some Picts near the border. Fought with them," Roy began.
"Where are the rest of the men?" Richard asked with authority.
"All dead," Wallace replied. "We're the only ones who got away. That's why we were heading toward the Castle reinforcements."
"You won't get any there" Timothy stated sadly.
Roy turned puzzled eyes toward Timothy, then anxiously looked back at his friend. "Richard? What's going on?"
Richard shook his head as locks of his dark black hair fell into his face. "It's ... too complicated. So, the Picts were raiding our lands again?"
"No," Wallace stated. "They were coming from the south, headed back toward the border, toward their lands."
Richard pondered the statement. "Were they alone?"
"Alone? There was a British girl with them. A captive we assumed. We tried to rescue her, but we couldn't," Roy added.
Richard felt his chest tighten, "A red head?"
"How did you " Garth began.
"The princess," Richard sighed as he closed his eyes in a thankful prayer. She was still alive.
Jason looked around with fire in his eyes, "Then lets ride and bring her home."
Richard thought quickly, "Jason, Timothy and I will follow the Picts, but we won't engage until the three of you catch up with us."
"Where are we going?" Wallace asked. It was clear he was anxious to get back into the fight.
"I need you three to go to Castle Wayne. The king and his guards are there. Tell them what you saw, who you engaged. Save our father and follow up with reinforcements," Richard ordered.
"Save the Duke?" Roy asked. "Save him from what? Richard, what's going on?"
"The king thinks that father had the princess kidnapped. He ... father ... our family ... they're his prisoners."
Roy, Garth and Wallace looked at each other, then back at their comrades.
"What! How can King James think the Duke would do something so treacherous?" Roy yelled. Roy's loyalty to Lord Wayne knew no bounds. The Duke had brought him to Wayne lands when he was a young lad, after Pict raiders had killed his parents and burned his village. The Duke of Wayne had given the young boy a home, taught him the ways of a warrior, allowed him to grow up with the Duke's own sons and eventually made him Captain of his guard.
Young Timothy looked up. "They're going to kill father," he said, his voice tinged with sadness.
"No they won't. We won't let them," Roy said. His eyes met Richard's, "We'll get the Duke, then we'll all catch up with you."
Richard smiled at his friend. "We'll make sure the princess isn't harmed." Richard and Roy clasped hands as they started to ride in different directions. "Roy," Richard called back, "they may have already taken father and started for Gotham."
"We'll find them. And we'll all see you soon," Roy said as he waved at his friends and then rode off toward Castle Wayne.
With a smile on his face, Richard led his brothers north. They knew who they were looking for now. And Richard vowed that the Picts would pay dearly for the grief they'd caused.
"Do you think we're heading in the right direction?"
"Yes, Stephanie, we are," Dinah replied as she looked at her younger sister.
Stephanie turned her young blue eyes toward Dinah. Her hair tied in one long braid fell over her shoulder. "You don't think Sirs Richard and Jason are responsible for Barbara's abduction?"
Dinah set her mouth determinedly. She knew Jason. Granted, they had only just met and she had only known him a little over two days, but she knew him well enough to know he wasn't involved. She had seen Barbara's bedchamber, there were obvious signs of a struggle. If Sir Richard had wanted to take the princess away, Barbara would have been happy to accommodate him. There wouldn't have been a struggle. "I'm positive."
"Do you have any ideas what we're going to do when we find whoever took Barbara?" Stephanie asked.
"No. But we'll think of something." Dinah spurred her horse into a gallop and continued their trek northward.
Roy, Wallace, and Garth rode up on the hill overlooking Castle Wayne. Looking down, they saw the road leading to Gotham. They saw the king's men and the wagon carrying the king's prisoners.
Roy's eyes narrowed as he watched the scene before him. "Let's go," he said in a low growl as they headed toward the caravan.
The Gaul pulled up his horse and wheeled the chestnut colored stallion around. His senses had told him riders were approaching. "Your Grace," he called to the king.
The caravan stopped as the king's guard's prepared for an assault from the approaching horsemen. Lord Bruce's eyes narrowed into recognition as he watched the three young men approaching.
"My lord," the captain of the Wayne guards called as he rode up, his right hand striking his upper chest in salute, his head slightly bowed.
King James' eyes narrowed as he recognized the totem of the Bat on their clothes. Wayne's men. Silently he stared at them, waiting for them to speak. He noticed the Gaul to his right, his hand upon the hilt of his sword.
It was the somewhat brash young redhead who spoke up, "I ... my lord," his green eyes darted to his Duke in the wagon.
"Go on," King James pressed, "What is your business?"
"My men and I engaged the Picts near the northern borders. They had the princess with them"
King James' eyes grew wide. "The princess ... my daughter!"
"They lie!" the Gaul shouted. "This is treachery."
Wallace seethed at the affront, "We don't lie. We lost all of our garrison in that fight. The three of us are all that are left."
The Gaul didn't let up. "King James, it is all lies. They had no way to know the princess was missing "
"Richard told us. Told us everything," Garth replied as he applied pressure on his still bleeding shoulder.
"Richard told them. That dishonorable cur. Your Grace this is a ploy. They seek to trap us, capture us all, or worse."
Roy's green eyes flashed with anger, "You arrogant "
"Enough!" the king shouted.
Richard squatted down looking at the tracks on the road. Jason and Timothy watched him. His face was serious as he studied the tracks, his horses reins in hand. Richard stood up and remounted. "This way," he said as he turned his steed in a northwesterly direction.
Timothy rode up close to his oldest brother, "Richard ... what do we do ... if we find the Picts. They killed all the men except for "
Richard looked at his brother. "Don't think about that. We've got a job to do. A job we're capable of doing, all three of us."
Jason rode along side them so Timothy was in the middle, "We're knights after all all of us. Sons of the Dark Knight. The Picts haven't met us yet."
As they headed toward the border lands, they heard screams in the distance.
"Barbara?" Richard softly queried at the sound. His heart skipped a beat with worry as he spurred his black steed onward, his brothers close at his heels.
The young knights raced toward the sound of the lady's scream. Their only hope was that they weren't too late.
To be continued
