In Which They Split the Party
Justina and Bea were each under one of Kite's arms, trying to keep them from collapsing. Every step sent pain jolting through Justina's ribs. Kite was fading, their weight settling on Justina and Bea. Kite had taken the worst of the attack, an ax to the shoulder, buying time for Justina to burn the maps and letters that might have betrayed the rest of the resistance. The soldiers had not been pleased.
I doubt my bones are truly broken, but damn. If I'd known how much a beating actually hurts I don't know if I would have had the courage to burn those papers. I never thought ignorance would help me to do the right thing.
A stick in the underbrush snuck under the shuttered lantern's light and stuck Justina right in a deep bruise on her shin. She cried out in pain and stumbled. Kite moaned as she dipped under them and a fresh gush of warm blood soaked into Justina's shirt. Bea paused while Justina recovered.
"Keep moving." The soldier behind them barked, poking something sharp in Justina's back. She staggered forward.
They walked through the woods for what seemed like an eternity. When they reached the road they found horses, more soldiers, and a medic. The medic took one look at Kite, swore and did something with bandages and a water bottle. After some whispered debate between the medic and the man he called "Sargent." Kite was bundled onto the medics own horse. They started down the road. They moved slowly with only lantern light to help the horses keep their footing. The soldiers were alert for an ambush.
After the second time Kite almost slipped off the horse they allowed Bea up behind them to keep them upright. Justina was attached to their saddle horn by a rope tied around her wrists so Bea would not be able to take the horse and run without dragging Justina along behind her.
Justina gritted her teeth. Every step hurt, especially when she was out of step with the horse and the lead rope jerked. But at least I'm not trying to carry another person's weight anymore.
Lupe's grip on Xanaria's forearms was unyielding.
"You can't just run off into the night. You don't know what you are up against, Sleeping Goddess, you don't even know what direction they went!"
"Let me go!" Xanaria snapped, but she didn't struggle against Lupe's hold.
"Promise me you won't do something stupid. If Greyson's men were going to kill them they would have done it here, not taken them off somewhere else."
Xanaria glared at her. "We can catch them! They'll be heading back to camp. We can cut them off if we take a shortcut through the forest!"
"They are on horses and we are on foot. We don't know how long they've been gone and there are too many damn soldiers for us to win in a head to head fight! We need a plan. We will get our people back but we need to do it smart so we don't get them killed." She lowered her voice as she saw she was getting through to her fiance. "Can I count on you to help me? You have the best skill set of any of our people and we won't be able to help anyone if you get yourself killed. Please, don't lea-" Lupe swallowed the rest of her sentence looking down.
Xanaria, hearing the unspoken don't leave me again, deflated and slumped forward resting her forehead on Lupe's shoulder. Lupe let go of her arms to hug her.
"She's not a trained fighter." Xanaria mumbled quietly. "She's been in over her head since before I met her and everything I do hurts her more than me."
"This isn't your fault."
"Isn't it though? If we hadn't caused mischief while scouting they wouldn't have had any reason to send people out to look for us. This attack seemed planned. They must have-"
"Shhh. Don't spiral, dearest." Lupe stroked Xanaria's hair. "We will find her. We will find her together and with a plan to rescue them all. But we need to do it right."
The soldiers' camp was a chaotic mess when Justina's captors reached it. Something had been on fire and the lingering smoke made the horses restless. Justina looked with hope but couldn't see any lingering glow from the camp. They must have got the fire doused fast. Pity.
The Sargent swore and after a brief discussion he rode on into the camp alone. Bea and Kite were brought down from the horse and the medic began to mix up something sharp smelling in a stone mortar. Kite was panting, eyes wide and unfocused. Bea held them, murmuring reassurance they didn't seem to hear.
The leader returned before long with a grim expression. "Stop that." He snapped at the medic who was smearing the poultice on Kite's shoulder. "It's time to move. Now."
"I just need a little time to wrap this."
"That one will not be coming with us. These lowlifes weren't alone, it seems. The others have cut loose all the camp's horses. We only have what we brought with us and we need to get back to the keep. We can't be slowed down by an outlaw who isn't likely to live anyway. We've been ordered to leave them where they fall."
"This isn't right, Sargent!"
"You can stay with them if you want, but the Baron will not be pleased."
"At least let me give them something for the pain!"
"Don't waste-" The Sargent broke off seeing the medics expression. Turning away he finished. "We won't wait for you."
Justina's lunge toward Kite was brought to an abrupt choking halt by a fist on her shirt collar. Bea clung to them with white knuckled hands until, out of patience, a soldier hit the back of her head and she collapsed. Justina choked out a cry and the hand on her collar tightened. The medic, silent tears creeping down his face, gave Kite a white powder from a twist of paper in his bag and hurried to pack up. Justina was loaded onto a horse with her arms tied around Bea's unconscious form. In a distressingly short amount of time they were off. It was a much smaller party that rode away; the Sargent, the medic, two prisoners, and five soldiers. Only as many people as they had horses for. The rest would follow on foot.
Lupe's crew salvaged what they could from the destroyed campsite and regrouped in the forest. Everyone agreed that they should go after their missing friends but they argued about who should stay behind. In the end they all went and no one was happy about it. They followed the road and Eire, who had helped Lupe with the armory, used his bat ears to listen ahead. Xanaria was getting jumpier the closer they got to the encampment, but she tried not to let it show. Not everyone had her restraint.
"Are you sure you don't hear anyone?" Connor asked for the third time.
Eire snapped. "Yes! I am still sure! I can't hear any people's sounds. And with a group that big I would hear something if they were close! If I hear something I will tell you."
"But we're really close to-"
"I know. Will you shut up?"
As the barest hint of dawn began to fade the stars. Xanaria tripped over Kite's legs. She swore quietly and scrambled up to a kneeling position.
"Kite?" She asked, reaching out.
Mouse whirled and, seeing Kite, threw herself down by their side. A quiet, keening noise escaped the girl's throat. She checked for their pulse with fingers that shook.
"They're alive." Mouse gasped and began digging in her pack for medical supplies. "Kite's alive. What kind of person puts a poultice on someone and doesn't even bother to wrap it?"
But Xanaria wasn't paying attention, she was looking wildly around; half convinced that the pre-dawn shadows hid Justina's body too.
"I'm going to scout ahead," Xanaria said.
Lupe hissed, "Wait!"
But Xanaria was already moving. She ran down the final stretch of road to the camp not caring if Eire was wrong and it was full of people. She found the scattered detritus of broken and spoiled objects abandoned when the Baron's men made their hasty retreat. She searched everywhere she could imagine but found no trace of Justina. As the morning light stripped away her last hopes, Xanaria swore, and cut down a big flap of canvas torn from the side of one of the tents. Maybe Lupe will let this be a peace offering.
When Xanaria got back to the others she found Mouse had finished wrapping Kite's arm and gotten them into a more comfortable looking position. She was dribbling water into their mouth with intent care.
"The camp is completely abandoned." Xanaria said. "Lets get Kite undercover in one of the remaining tents. There's a little one upwind of where the fire started that looks untouched. And maybe we can find supplies or medicines amid the debris."
"Sleeping Goddess, I never thought I'd regret doing a good job wrecking this place." Mouse muttered.
Xanaria laid the canvas out flat and had Mouse and Eire lift Kite carefully off the ground while she slipped the canvas under them. Arranging everyone around the edges they all lifted together. Even walking carefully it didn't take long to reach the tent. Mouse didn't want to just leave Kite on the ground so everyone was sent out to find what they could in terms of bedding. A small pile of bedrolls and pillows had soon been gathered, all at least a little damaged. Stacked up the collection made a decent bed and with Kite tucked in, Mouse settled by their side to keep tending them.
Xanaria took up pacing around the camp looking for any clues she might have missed before, but she didn't let herself run off again. She was still walking, trying to think, when Lupe found her.
"Is this helping you?" Lupe asked quietly.
"I need to do something."
"I understand. I really do. But our best bet is to get Kite conscious. They'll be able to tell us what they overheard before they were left behind."
"I know, I know. And they're a good person. We can't leave them. But honestly, Lupe, you don't need me for this! If I knew which way to run I would leave Kite in Mouse's very capable hands and go after Justina. There is nothing I can do to help them."
"What about me? You would run off and leave me behind?"
"I would beg you to come with me. If you decided you couldn't, I would swear to do everything in my power to get back to you in one piece."
Lupe did not look reassured.
Xanaria got quiet as she said, "You have your responsibilities, and I have mine. Even though the two of us are a much smaller band."
Lupe sighed. "If you want to help, maybe you could start reading those papers you stole. There might be something in there that would give us a clue."
Xanaria took the first full breath she'd had since learning Justina was gone. "Thank you! Yes! You're brilliant!"
She gave Lupe a quick kiss and dashed off to grab her pack.
Xanaria scanned page after page of orders for locations to search, reports on rumors about where the rebels might be, delivery reports, and the like. Her eyes kept trying to glaze over. When she finally found something she almost missed it. She had to reread the paragraph before it sunk in. She snatched up the sheet of paper and ran back to the small tent.
Lupe looked up when Xanaria entered and gave a weary smile, "Perfect timing! I was about to come find you. Kites awake and said the soldiers plan to take Bea and Justina right to the Baron's keep. I know this is bad news, but at least we have a direction now."
Xanaria just stared at Lupe not really hearing her.
"Lupe," she said, holding out the paper crumpled in her hand, "He has your parents. The Baron has your parents."
