Warning! Contains a certain word that's not used in polite society. I think you will understand when you come across it. It describes him so well…..
Chapter Four
"Aunty Gena?" Leah whispered in my ear.
"Yes?"
"Will we ever see Mama and Dada again?"
"I hope so," was all the answer I could give.
We were trekking through the forest now. From what I had heard or been told, we were only a couple hours walk to the Narnian border. My heart nearly soared with hope. Oh, what a sorely missed word! I thought I had forgotten how to hope after so many years in slavery, but there it was, that light feeling in my chest that made me feel as if my feet had sprouted wings. We were going to make it!
Oh Joy!
I started to walk faster, jogging through the close knight trees careful not to trip. Time passed quickly after that and it was dark before any thought of resting crossed my mind. I lifted Leah out of her sling and, leaving the baby in his, plopped down in the dirt.
"We will sleep here to-night and find food in the morning." I told Leah confidently.
It was not forced.
We curled up in one of the trees encircling roots and drifted off the sleep.
I had a strange dream about a badger and a fox. They approached us while we slept.
"Are they died?" asked the badger, prodding me in the knee.
"No, of course not," replied the fox.
"What should we do with them?"
"I suppose we should report it to the border patrol. It looks like we have another slave looking to escape over the border. He'll want to be there to make sure they make it across unlike the last one."
"What happened to the last one? He didn't make it over the border?"
"Oh, he made it over the border…with an arrow in his back. He died soon after words."
That was all I could remember of it, it started to fade the moment I woke up. Of course, remembering the contents of my dream wasn't exactly on the top of my list of things to do when I opened my eyes. It was quickly bumped down by 'surviving to cross the border'.
I woke up to a strange zinging noise followed by a thunk that sounded just above my head. I slowly raised my head and looked up. An arrow sat quivering in the trunk. My eyes stretched wide and I followed the flight of the arrow back to its sender.
A man on horse back was sixty yards away, bow in hand. I recognized him as one of the house guards. I whipped my head around to see if I could spot anyone else.
I couldn't.
That didn't necessarily mean much but it gave us a chance. I hopped that they had split up to search the forest and weren't waiting behind the next line of trees. Waiting for me to run like a startled rabbit.
I saw the rider move out of the corner of my eye and I looked back at him. He raised a horn to his lips and blew. Once, twice, three times he blew.
I felt myself grow pale; he was calling to the others.
I scrambled to my feet and heaved the half asleep Leah back into her sling on my back. The baby, thankfully, didn't stir. I glanced over at the man once to make sure that he was still in the same position, and bolted forward. I was ten yards down the path before the third note had faded and didn't look back.
I heard the eco of hoof beats farther off, all of them behind me. This was good, we still had a chance to make it through this. Suddenly, there was a winnie from my left and a horse burst out of the trees and came to a stop in front of me.
The rider was none other than Master Braden.
I felt like a deer cornered by a hunter. I must have looked just as terrified as I felt because he smiled. Seeing that sadistic, predatory smile on his face melted away most of my fear and replaced it with determination.
I was not going to let this sick bastard get away with it.
He will not win. He will not drag me back to that miserable existence.
"Why such an angry face, darling?" His twisted smile didn't falter.
I stepped in close and spat a good one all over his face.
"Now now," he said, pulling out a handkerchief and wiping his face. "Why don't you just come back nice and quiet? How does that sound? I'll even let the little ones go unpunished if you do what you're told. Isn't that generous of me? I think so."
"Over. My. Died. Body" I growled.
He looked so shocked that he almost fell off his horse. I have to admit, I was just as shocked that I was capable of saying something like that and meaning it.
And mean it I did.
I turned and darted around the horse's rear, giving it a hard smack as I passed by. It reared and Braden had to fight to stay on. He managed to keep it from bolting, unfortunately, for that was the effect I was hoping for.
I didn't look back, not even a quick glance, as I ran forward. I knew he was following. I tripped but managed to catch my self before we hit the ground. I scrambled up awkwardly and was about to bound off again when a voice reached my ears.
"Psst! Up here!"
I looked up and met the eyes of a fox sitting up in the tree.
"No time to chat now, follow me if you want to keep your skin intact." He jumped down and disappeared among the trees.
I was surprised by how human his voice sounded. Being so close to the Narnia border did bring in stories of Talking Animals with human voices, but it was one of those things you really didn't believe until you had seen it. Or, well, heard.
A clatter of hooves startled me out of my thoughts and had me running after the fox as if someone had lit a fire under my butt.
I caught site of his (I assumed that it was male by the voice) bushy tail flashing around a huge tree. Now, the whole forest was made up of relatively big trees, but this thing was colossal. It had to be at least six times bigger than any of the others in the entire place. If not bigger.
The baying of a hunting horn and the bark of dogs reached my ears. They had brought the hunting dogs? That settled it. Run now, gawk latter. I had no wish to die by having my throat ripped out and mauled to a bloody mess. That was something I wouldn't wish on anyone.
Oh, who was I fooling? I wouldn't wish that on almost anyone.
"Hurry! They're coming!" came the fox's voice.
Scrambling up and over three foot high roots is hard to do carrying two children but I managed not to slip. An arrow passed me, missing its target by mere inches.
Leah screamed, the baby whimpered in his sling.
"Hold on, we're almost there," I said soothingly while another arrow imbedded itself in the trunk where my hand had just been.
I must have made it across the border because the trees were suddenly moving. One lifted me high off the ground in the safety of its branches. Below, the dogs had caught up and were leaping for me and snapping at my ankles.
"Eek!" Leah and I shrieked in unison.
The baby gurgled happily as if this was all great fun.
I yanked my legs up onto the wide branch with me after one of the biggest dogs got way too close to biting off my feet.
A horn blast came from somewhere farther into Narnian territory. There was a boom and a bunch of men on horse back came galloping into the clearing beneath me. They fought off the dogs with swords and spears. It was a gruesome sight even if all the blood was coming from the dogs. None of the horses or riders seamed to be bleeding at all.
No, I thought. Not horses and riders.
It could have been a trick of the light, but I was certain that I was seeing the legendary centaurs that lived within Narnia alone. Why were they here? Were they…the border patrol the fox had mentioned? They had to be. Why else would they be here except to get rid of the trespassers?
I peered down again as Master Barden and his men rained in there horses just before what I assumed was the border line.
"Why are you here Talmarine?" A voice boomed out, loud and gruff. It carried the air of command so I had to assume it was the leader.
A centaur stepped forward. His horse end was a roan with a black tail. He had wild black hair and piercing eyes. His arms were well muscled and he wore leather plate armor on his torso.
A shiver ran down my back. In all honesty, he scared me. But, taking into consideration that most men scared me, that didn't amount to much.
"You know what we are after. Give us the girl and we will be on our way."
I froze.
Would they give me to them just like that? I was sure they knew I was here. The tree hadn't picked me up on a whim, had it? No. I doubted it. Why would it do that?
"Girl? What girl?" The centaur asked, glancing around. "I do not see any girl here. You must be mistaken sir."
He said 'sir' like one would say 'snake' or 'spider'.
"How stupid do you think we Talmarines are?" Master Braden asked incredulously.
I slapped a hand over my mouth to stifle a giggle. Had he really just asked that?
"I think you're lying to us. You're hiding her somewhere." He continued, kneeing his horse forward.
Two more centaurs leapt forward and bard his path with there crossed spears.
"Do not presume to cross the border." The leader commanded.
In response to Braden's narrowed eyes, he added, "Do you really think that one girl is worth shattering the fragile peace our two countries have shared in the last decade?"
Master Braden backed off and looked to his men. "Fall back. We will leave it for now." 'For now' echoed in my head. He would be back then.
And with that, he turned and rode away. His men followed close behind.
"That went better than expected." A voice at my elbow said.
"Ah!" I jumped and almost lost my balance.
To my relief it was just the fox. "The name's Felix. May I be so bold to ask yours, pretty lady?"
I blushed slightly. "Genevieve."
The fox nodded. "It suits you." He stamped his paw on the tree's trunk a couple of times. "Could you let us down Madam Oak?"
The tree bent down and we slid gently to the leave strewn ground.
I studied the group more closely as I got to my feet and they all started walking towards me.
A hard lump formed in my throat. Every last one of them was a man.
It was going to be a long day.
Some of you reading this may be thinking that I'm a…. What's the term? A prude? Is that it? I don't know. You'll have to let me know if that's it.
Random info that might explain some things: I am homeschooled, people. I am never surrounded by the things I am told go on in public schools. Public schools are pretty close to alien to me.