“Please stop! I can’t run any further!” she gasped and pulled Adam’s hand. Losing a firm grip, she stumbled and almost felt to the ground. “I am tired, hungry, lost and scared! And it is all your fault!” she snapped, trying to catch a breath.
“My fault?! I just saved you, in case you haven’t noticed! And this is not the best time to have this pointless argument, so keep moving! There are thieves and slave traders in this forest so unless you want to meet them, we’ll continue. But you are welcomed to stay here and wait for a prince on a white horse, If I’m not good enough for your highness.” he snapped back from the darkness. For a moment, she stood in the darkness and tried to recognize shapes around her. Tall and old trees spreading in all directions, quiet noises of something walking on dry leaves and branches, howling wolves and owls seemingly approaching them. That was enough for her to feel even more terrified, but still dubious about Adam’s intentions of saving her. And his inability to shut his mouth.
“Not so tough now, huh? Come on, we need to move on and find a better place to make a fire. Then we will go to the nearest town from which you can go wherever you need to go.” he continued with calmer voice and tried to find her hand in the darkness. Her eyes started to recognize the shape of his tall silhouette and slightly stepped backwards. The shock from the whole situation was still too fresh, her heart racing and thought swirling in confusion. Maybe it was all just a bad nightmare and she would wake up in the comfortable bed with Berno standing above her complaining about how long she slept? But the sound of Adam’s voice reminder her about a though reality.
“Do I need to repeat myself? Or do you want to play a game who is going to capture or eat you first? This is not a fancy court, little one, but real life.” Finally finding her lose hand, he tried to push her forward, but she stepped back with surprising strength and his dark figure froze in place.
“I don’t want to stay here, but I need to know what happened. And If Berno and Emma will be all right. Do you think those men will hurt them?” she sobbed, trying hard to hold tears.
“Nah, I wouldn’t worry about them. Jahn is a jerk, but he wouldn’t hurt his sister. Emma’s been dealing with guys like that since she was a kid, not everyone was pampered in life.”
“Oh, that is a…relief.” She replied quietly, hoping that he was right.
“Can we go now?! I really don’t want to be eaten or traded.” Impatiently pulling her hand forward, they stepped into the darkness. Madie gave up and let him guide her, running numb, tears rolling down her face and the world around merging in a blur. Among trees was a short glimpse of light, similar to the one she saw earlier close to the inn. But she didn’t have time to stop and investigate it. The pain spreat to her legs and head and the last thing she heard was Adam complaining about her running too slow and whispers of several thin voices talking at once. And then the whole world turned black.
-------------
The warmth was very comfortable, but the floor less so. Keeping her eyes shut, the cracking fire wood gave her a feeling of safety, like back home in her chamber.
“Please serve my breakfast and prepare the bath, I will get up shortly. And change the bed cover, it’s very itchy.” she said, still half-asleep.
“That is my cloak, so little appreciation would be nice since I’m freezing. As for breakfast, it’s a woman’s duty to take care of food.” The voice was tired, but cheerful. Madie felt as If someone slapped her and quickly sat up, forgetting about headache and dizziness. So it was not a bad dream? She could feel a cold breeze and shivered. Looking around, it was hard to tell If it was morning or evening. They were still deep in the forest with no visible path and tall branches letting in very little light. Quickly checking her clothes, she managed to find what she was looking for – a small pendant, still strangely warm. Adam was sitting opposite, with dark circles underneath eyes and even messier hair than she remembered, just starring at her.
“Don’t worry little one, I’m not a thief. You’re lucky you threw those coins at me and that Emma likes you. If I wouldn’t help you, she would kick my ass. And now get up, we need to keep moving. You just dropped yesterday and I had to carry you all the way here.” He finished like If nothing happened. Madie frowned at him. He had no idea what was really in stake. Or maybe he had organized the whole thing? What If he wanted to blackmail her family? Frowning at him, she moved backwards.
“Are you behind all this? Do you want to ask for more money? Or power? Or somebody sent you? Berno was right, we should’ve never stopped for night because everyone is after me!” she exhaled loudly, shaking both from cold and anger.
“Whoa, little one, calm down. Don’t you overestimate your importance? I mean, I can see you are from a noble family and you are kinda cute, but get over yourself. Here, in the real world outside of your little town, nobody and nothing cares about that. So put yourself together and get ready. We are only one day away from the nearest town so you will get rid of me soon.”
Madie stood frozen for a moment and though about it. Berno said they need to avoid towns because some people might recognize her. It was a big risk, but she had to decide. And quickly.
“No. You are taking me to my final destination. There is too much in stake.” She said firmly.
“Oh, and where is that supposed to be?” he mockingly asked, raising up and extinguishing the fire with dirt. Taking deep breath, she decided to tell him the truth.
“The court of king Karl.”
Adam stood frozen for a moment, staring at her with opened mouth, blinking like If he only noticed she was sitting there.
“Wait, you mean THAT Karl? Because If you are his relative, I’ll be in prison or worse once they’ll see me with you in any town.” he finished in disbelief.
“I’ve never met him, but I need to get to his court because I’m carrying…a message for him. Please, I can guarantee you that you won’t be punished, on contrary, you’ll be rewarded with more money you would earn in a war my absence can cause. So what do you think?” she asked, carefully observing his reaction. First, he didn’t move and chuckled in disbelief. But when he noticed her serious face, the grin slowly vanished from his face.
“Well, it looks like I’m stuck with you for some time, the court is at least three day journey from here. Better start moving.”
Smiling again, Madie jumped up and clapped her hands, cheerful as a little child. Taking off the cloak, she noticed her fine overdress was torn and dirty, undoubtedly from the night run. Sighting, she passed the cloak to Adam and looked around. He waved his hand and smiled at her.
“I would prefer you to keep it. It is cold and I really don’t want to take care of you in case you’ll get sick. And also, your dress is too noble and we need to conceal them. But of course, I will ask for some compensation late, preferably in gold but I can take silver or precious stones.”
Madie involuntarily smiled and put the cloak back on. The forest was not so scary during the day and despite the cold air, it was a nice change to walk and not run or sit in a carriage. Adam was quietly walking in front of her, stopped from time to time to check the direction, although she was almost certain he got them lost several times. Unlike Madie, who was very curious and stopped every five minute to ask about something she saw. Whether it was an animal, a plant, strange sound or just anything that caught her attention. With a sigh and rolling eyes, Adam answered most of her questions. But there was one question she wanted to ask the most, but was afraid he would think she was crazy.
“So, I have another question…” she started, after they walked for some time in the silence.
“Yes, little one? That tree is an oak, like I’ve already told you. Nothing special about it. And no, you can’t eat that red mushroom unless you want to spend night in fever and pain.” He turned around and rolled his eyes.
“No, I meant, I want to ask you something else but I’m afraid you might think I am crazy.”
“Then just ask it or be quiet.” he shrugged and speeded up.
“Last night, before I passed out, I saw strange lights and heard whispers. Have you seen them, too?” she finished quietly, almost bumping into his tall figure. Frowning at her, he touched her forehead and clicked his tongue with concerned look. “I hope you’re not cursed by magical beings living in this forest, little one. That is the last thing I need.”
Madie looked at him with genuinely scared and shocked expression. What If he was right and she is indeed cursed? Maybe it is because of all the responsibility she had? Is there some bad curse in the amulet? Are those bad signs of the upcoming war? Her worried thoughts were disturbed by a loud laughter.
“Oh, God, you are so gullible! Come on, speed up.” Biting her lip and kicking the nearest pile of fallen leaves, she stepped forward and cursed her naivety and his arrogance. He is definitely getting a silent treatment for the rest of the day.
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