Page 21 of Always
The panic that had been building inside my chest over the past several hours of hard riding had swelled into a heavy stone weighing me down more than anything ever had in my life. I didn’t have the time to analyze why I was so frightened. All I could do was react on instinct and training.
The crown princess had been brave all night and clung to the bag containing her baby sister. She rode low and hadn’t made a sound except to soothe the crying babe from time to time. Already at three years of age, she was a girl I could admire. Someday she’d make a worthy queen, one I’d be proud to serve. If I could manage to keep her alive.
In the jagged cliffs above, I located the large stone I’d seen from afar. I slowed my horse and began to rise on its back. “Stay low, Your Highness, and hold on.” I straightened to my full height and balanced on the horse’s hindquarters. Then, allowing the momentum of the steed to give me a boost, I leaped and found a foothold in the rock wall. Hand over hand, I climbed up the stones, using the crevices in the wall as leverage for my feet. When I finally pulled myself to the ledge where the large stone rested, I glanced down the ravine to see that the leader of the wolf pack had already bounded into the narrow passageway.
I didn’t have much time, which meant I had to act right away. I shoved the stone, pushing at it with every ounce of strength in my body, the strength I’d honed and developed over years of grueling drills involving riding, running, swimming, crawling, and climbing We’d been trained to go days without sleep and food, all the while constantly fighting and exerting ourselves. In fact, the training was so intense at times, those who couldn’t handle it died or dropped out of the king’s army.
All the hard work had prepared me for any conceivable situation, including the possibility of taking the royal family to safety. While I was holding up physically, as I knew I could, I wasn’t able to shake the strange new fear clutching my heart.
Don’t let your emotions get in the way of what you need to do, I silently admonished myself as I heaved my full weight against the boulder. It slid, and smaller rocks crumbled away. I grunted and pushed the stone again, this time moving it far enough to dislodge it from the ledge. I didn’t watch it fall. Instead, I shoved at the rest of the rocks of various sizes, sending a shower down with it.
The boulder picked up speed, barreling into other large rocks and knocking them loose until an avalanche of stones poured into the ravine and formed a wall between the wolves and us. The steep pile of debris wouldn’t hold the fierce creatures for long, but it was enough of an impediment to give us more time.
I scrambled down and sprinted to catch up with my horse, racing until I grasped its tail. Swinging up behind the crown princess, I urged the steed to move faster.
If my memory of what I’d learned about the eastern Iron Hills held true, the old mine would give us shelter for a few hours, at least until I had the chance to explore the old tunnels and see if I could discover another way out. Otherwise, I’d fight the wolves to the death.
Ahead, in the flat side of a cliff, an opening beckoned me. Braced along the edges with beams, the door wasn’t tall, and I flattened myself against the princess and satchel as I charged through. Felicia had already dismounted and stood ready by a thick slab of wood, which she began to shove over the door. The rusty bearings screeched in protest against the equally rusted iron track, and Felicia moved the door mere inches.
I jumped from my mount and pulled the door from one end as she pushed from the other. The metal scraped and screamed until with a final shove the door slid closed, shutting out the last few inches of light. I didn’t know how intelligent the wolves were, whether they’d be able to figure out a way to slide the door open, but I wasn’t taking any chances. I fumbled for a beam to wedge it in place.
Only after it was securely sealed did I stand back and attempt to catch my breath.
“Praise God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” Felicia whispered, exhaling shaky bursts of air that mingled with the heaving snorts of our mounts.
The sunlight coming in from the cracks around the door dimly illuminated the cavern. It wasn’t large but was spacious enough for the horses. I’d figured it would be since the early miners in these parts had once used mules to help transport loads of ore in carts out of the tunnels and down the ravine.
I emptied the contents of our supply pack and located flint. In no time, I made a fire and lit a torch. “I need to explore and find a way out,” I said as I started toward the main drift that descended gradually into the heart of the mountain.
Felicia nodded, already busy soothing the babes, who’d both begun to cry the moment we’d stopped moving. She’d taken bottles from the bags and given one to Princess Constance, and now the two fed the babes.
“The wolves will be outside soon,” I warned. “But don’t be frightened. They won’t be able to tear through the door easily.”
I’d hoped my declaration would offer some comfort to Felicia, but instead, the bottle in her hand shook even more. She looked up at me from where she knelt in the rocky debris. She’d lost her veil, and her hair had come loose from the simple plait she’d used for binding and coiling it. It now hung in long, tangled waves that begged to be combed back.
I couldn’t take my gaze from her beautiful eyes, so wide, so filled with fear, and yet so trusting. I shouldn’t look. I despised myself for my weakness. Yet for a precious few seconds, I allowed myself the pleasure.
“Tear through the door?” she finally managed, searching my face. I wondered what she saw there and whether she liked it. It was a strange thought. I shouldn’t care about her impressions of me. Nevertheless, I wanted her to think as highly of me as I did her, for once again, I’d seen the depth of her character reveal itself during the hard ride last night and today. She’d endured my pace without complaint. Although she’d grown weary, she’d persevered as well as any of my comrades would have.
“You have nothing to fear, my lady,” I said. “If the wolves break inside, I’ll fight them away.”
“Can you battle them all?”
“Aye.” I wouldn’t worry her with the fact that there would be at least three other wolves joining the pack within the next hour—the few that had lagged behind the punishing pace of the leader. I’d sensed their trail. In addition, I’d learned most black wolf packs from the Highlands traveled in groups of six. I would have to use every trick I knew and every ounce of training I’d ever had in order to defeat six. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was possible. At least I prayed so.
The best solution was to find a way for us to escape, and I had to do so now before more danger came upon us. I lifted my torch and shone it down the abandoned mine.
“You are a godsend,” she said softly.
Her words stopped me. Something shone in her eyes, something I couldn’t name, but speared my chest with the desire to hold her.
A godsend? Had God sent me to Felicia and the princesses? Was He at work in bigger ways than I’d believed possible?
As I ducked low under the wooden beams bracing the cavern and started down the slope toward the maze of tunnels running the length of the Iron Hills, the urgency inside me swelled so that my chest hurt. I had to find a way to keep Felicia and the princesses safe.
The thought rippled through my body, pressing down on me with that same frightening weight I’d experienced before. And suddenly, I realized what had happened. I’d allowed myself to do what my commanders had cautioned against. I’d allowed myself to care about my charges rather than staying impersonal and objective.
Felicia and the princesses had become more than just my assignment, more than mere bodies that needed guarding. They’d become real people I admired, whom I’d gotten to know and was beginning to cherish almost as much as I did my own family.
