Kailynn and Sera sat staring straight ahead in the carriage, both straining to hear anything through the doors or the small window by the driver. Kailynn's hand bumped into Sera's on the seat and without a conscious thought they both clasped hands and held on.
"Driver, can you see anything?" Sera called out softly.
"They are approaching the main blockade on the road. Now they are speaking with someone who is waving them away."
Outside the noise of the guards call and response orders, stopped completely. Only the barking of the dogs continued.
"The guard has signaled for the other guards to come to his position."
Sera closed her eyes and her mouth moved silently.
"They are surrounding The Bard and Alac. Weapons have been drawn."
Kailynn couldn't breathe, the precious air simply would not enter her lungs.
"Archers are now drawn and aiming at our carriage."
"Please Bard." Sera breathed. "Please."
"MY LADY..."
Curious thumping noises began to strike all over the carriage. Geoffrey made a strange choking sound and the small window went dark as something landed in front of it. The thumping continued and then something crashed through the roof and hit Kailynn in the stomach. Sera looked wide-eyed in shock at the arrow that had imbedded itself in Kailynn's stomach.
"Driver! Geoffrey! GO GO!" There was no answer. Sera leaned closer to the window as a small stream of dark liquid began to flow through it. Sera sat back, hand over her mouth, as she watched Geoffrey's blood pool on the seat in front of her.
Kailynn didn't feel very well. It felt as though she had eaten a very sharp stick. It was getting harder to breathe too. "Sera?"
Sera whirled to Kailynn, her eyes lighting on to that cursed wooden shaft that had pinned Kailynn to the seat she sat on.
"Kailynn," Sera smiled bravely at her. "I'm going to go get someone to look at this for us. You stay here and rest ok?"
Kailynn slowly swallowed. Her mouth was so very dry, "okay." She whispered the word and it took so much effort to get it to fall from her mouth that it exhausted her.
Darkness pressed in against the edges of her vision. Light speared into the carriage as Sera slowly stepped out of the carriage with her hands in the air. "I am Lady Beaufort! Daughter of Lord Byron Beaufort! Do NOT shoot!"
Kailynn felt the pain begin to drift away from her body. She started to feel like she would be floating if she wasn't held down by this arrow. She reached to pull the arrow out. As soon as she touched it, lightning flashed through her brain ripping her consciousness away.
❧
Kailynn awoke in a small poorly lit room. She raised her head to look around and the pain that shot through her side stole her breath right out of her lungs. Her head fell back onto the hard wooden surface. She stroked the wood with her fingers before the iron shackle around her wrist stopped her from moving her hand any further. Moving her feet, she felt a similar resistance. It was a table. A table she had been chained to. Lifting her head slightly she looked at the arrow still imbedded in the side of her abdomen. The feathered end twitched in time with her heartbeat.
How long have I been here? Where is Sera?
Screaming started echoing down the hall outside the heavy barred door to Kailynn's room. The anguished screams of pain mixed with someone else screaming for it to stop. There was a loud slap and the screams for mercy stopped, while the cries of pain continued. Kailynn had heard screams like that before. She knew those cries from the time that her uncle, er, Lord Tamien had whipped Annie with a riding crop after she had spilled hot tea on his crotch. Annie had curled up in the corner while Lord Tamien had practically frothed at the mouth as he mercilessly beat her. Over and over that crop had whistled through the air, striking any part of Annie he could hit. He had finally stopped when Kailynn had thrown herself over her weeping and bloodied friend.
Lady Tamien had begged him to stop, insisting that if his brother came home and he had hit Kailynn it would be bad for all of them. Lord Tamien had thrown the riding crop on the ground and stormed off.
She had been the one crying for mercy while Annie had been beaten. The pained screams stopped abruptly. Kailynn briefly wondered to herself if someone had intervened or if the person had passed out or died. The door to her cell blew open and standing in the doorway was Lord Tamien. He was holding a fistful of Sera's hair as she stood defiantly next to him with a large angry red hand print across her cheek.
"Oh good! You are awake!" Lord Tamien cooed maliciously as he looked down at the restrained Kailynn on the table. He shoved Sera into the room and against the table causing Kailynn to cry out in pain as the table shook, moving the arrowhead as it rested on the jostling table surface.
Lord Tamien just laughed as he turned and shut the door behind him.
"As I was saying earlier Lady Beaufort, you could imagine my surprise when your father's messenger returned with the news that you were on the Continent!" He rolled his sleeves up displaying his blood soaked hands. "So you are not where you are supposed to be or you are not who you say you are."
"I'm Lady Beaufort, daughter of Lor..."
"Yes, yes, yes" Lord Tamien cut in, "You have been saying that this whole time." He pulled a pair of large black iron shears from his back pocket. "I'm going to help poor little Kailynn here, while you tell me more lies."
Kailynn started breathing harder, realizing that it was her turn to start screaming in pain while Lord Tamien tried to pry answers from Sera. Lord Tamien reached out and gently closed his fist around the arrow while looking at Sera. "Why did you come for her? What makes her special enough to go through all of this, this wretched girl?"
Kailynn screamed at the white hot pain that exploded through her side as Lord Tamien wrenched on the arrow with his last word.
"Why do you continue to do this? You surely know that no matter what, when my father hears about this, it cannot possibly end well for you?
"I don't think you will say anything, even if you are his daughter. I'm taking my niece home." He grunted as he clipped the arrow just above the skin. He roughly rolled her onto her side. Kailynn sobbed as the pain washed over her again and again with each movement. "And for whatever reason that she is important to you, you will be silent." He yanked the rest of the arrow through Kailynn's body. Kailynn felt fresh hot blood begin to run over her back and stomach. "Or, I'll kill her before anyone gets anywhere near me. Do you understand?"
Sera nodded her eyes on the blood beginning to pool on the table.
"Good. Patch her up, get her ready to travel. A dead girl is of no use to me and you want her alive for some reason I don't care about. I leave in an hour." He flopped Kailynn's body down onto her back again. Kailynn just moaned weakly. "One hour after I leave with Kailynn, Lord Waghts will release you and your friends."
Lord Tamien wiped his hands off on the front of Kailynn's dress and wheeled on his heel to the door. "One hour." He shot back over his shoulder as he opened the cell door. "Not a second more."
The door slammed shut.
Sera rushed to Kailynn's side. "Stay with me My Lady." She whispered the words. "There is so much to tell you."
Darkness began cutting away at the threads of Kailynn's consciousness.
"No, no, no! Stay awake... Kailynn!"
Sera's face faded into the deep merciful dark.