mandag den 30. april 2012

So sorry!

Dear readers (all ten of you)

I'm afraid there's going to be a small delay. I have a lot of stuff that I had to do last week and this coming week, so there is no update today. I will try to get it out during the week, but if I don't succeed, at least there will be an update on the normal time next week. Sorry! At some point in the near future, I promise! I've reached a difficult place in the story, and writing the next chapter has turned out to be a challenge.

Sorry again.

Love
Clarice

søndag den 22. april 2012

Chapter 9, part 3


Keeping a slow pace was almost more than she could manage as the rider behind her came closer and closer. Only the thought of an arrow protruding from her back made her slow down.

Finally he reached her.

"Halt," he ordered in a strong accent.

She did not ask any questions but did as he said. He jumped off his horse and went to her, studying her face. He was tall and blonde, and looked weirdly appealing. His face was almost angelic. Catherine took a deep breath and greeted him.

"Can I help you, sir?"

"I am looking for someone," he said. His voice was harsher than she would have imagined.

"Not me, I assume?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"No. Not you. But it is very strange that you should be here. Who are you?"

"My name is Ca - Camille."

"Well, Camille. Why are you here at this time? What are you doing?"

"I don't see how that is any of you business," she said, fighting down her rising panic.

It was the wrong reaction. She was pulled off Pello with a scream of fear and found herself held close up between the sweating horse and the assassin.

"It IS my business."

"I'm just travelling. I'm staying in the woods. Please!"

"Alone and unharmed? I find that hard to believe. You are not a fighter, I can tell. If I wanted you right now, you would not be able to stop me." He grinned.

Something happened in Catherine at that. The panic disappeared like a thin fog. Without hesitation she used her free arm to drag her knife and push it towards the man's neck. He did not seem to be afraid when he saw what she had done. He grinned at her again then stepped back to allow her to breathe. She stared at him.

"You stay away from me."

"You're not the one I was looking for. Have you met any travellers?"

She shook her head.

"I've been going this way for most of the day and I have seen no one."

"He went back on his horse, nodded at her and went back the way he had come. Catherine watched him go, sheathed her knife and went to vomit in the grass. She sobbed again and tried to wipe herself clean. The feeling of the man on her was still there. It felt as if he was still looking at her.

She cried a little, then wiped her face and went to get Pello who had been wandering slowly down the road. She took off as well, this time daring to g a little faster. Her arm was no longer hurting as badly as before and she began hoping that it might not be broken at all. Perhaps it was just a bad bruise.

It took her a few hours to reach the river. When she did, she stopped. They had been travelling to the west of the city and their route today had been slightly to the right of the route from the previous days. She hoped she was correct in assuming that she had to go to the right in order to travel north. There were a few stars out, but she did not know which one to follow. taking a chance, she went to the right.

The water was very calm, and it proved to be no problem to go through the shallow water at one side of the river.

Less than 500 meters down the stream, there was a loud whistle. She went towards the sound. Prince Alexander came out to meet her on the uneven bank of the river.

He looked furious.

"Catherine!"

"Sir, I'm sorry for what I did. But it worked. He went back. I'm fine."

There was a pause.

"You will not disobey me again, girl!"

"No, sir."

He made a sign for her to follow him into the trees that were in front of them and she found his horse waiting there. She allowed Pello to grass next to it and turned towards prince Alexander who seemed to have something he wanted to say if his impatient stance was anything to go by.

"Did you really make him turn back?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well then... We cannot stay here either way. But I need to see something. We are leaving here in a moment, you might as well get ready."

Catherine followed his advice and went to have a drink of water. She washed her face as well and hurried to have a bite to eat. The small, fiery glows emitting from under the princes cloak where he was hiding on the ground made her uneasy, but she did not want to show it. She would need to get used to magic now. There was little doubt in her mind that the prince would somehow make sure that they survived. After all, he had fought a war. She could not imagine that assassins could get him. He would stop them.

More and more, she had come to think of him as a hero. He clearly had the best interest of the people on his mind, even if that meant not expending the lands further as long as that meant bloodshed. He got angry often and easily, but it was usually over quick. Sometimes, like tonight, he even had a quite good reason. Not that she appreciated the many outbursts at her inability to be something she was not.

With that in mind, she carefully stepped across the stones towards her horse. She moved with all the grace of a princess. She smiled in the middle of all the danger and haste. She knew how to do it now. And she had practised her hand writing. It was no longer ugly. She just needed to learn how to spell some more words.

"Catherine!"

The shout ripped her from her thoughts and she ran to the prince who had slumped against a tree trunk.

"You. You are incredible. Stupid, yes. But What you have done tonight..."

"Sir?"

"You changed it. We're not in danger any more. Somehow you changed what ever magic or coincidence that was going to get me killed. I will not die if we go back to the city now."


søndag den 15. april 2012

Chapter 9, part 2

When they woke up the next morning, Catherine did not bother asking about anything else. She was angry, and she was not used to the feeling. She had no idea what to do with her anger. She just kept quiet.

When the prince suddenly came rushing towards her, she tried to walk away. He grabbed her arm.

"Girl, we need to leave right away! Something has gone wrong. Somehow one of the assassins has managed to gain almost two days on horseback on us. He will be at this place in a few hours."

She understood his worry and packed her things quickly. They rode away in silence, as quickly as the forest allowed.

Catherine followed the prince, trusting that he knew where they were going. The ride was more difficult than it had been the previous days, her muscles being stiff and her mind still on the calm camp site.

"I should not have used deer blood," the prince said. "It ruined everything. I should have known."

She did not answer. He did not seem to be conversing as much as just thinking aloud.

"It's unlikely that he finds the camp, but if he does, he will track us down. There is a river a day away from here. We will ride until we reach it. If he gets onto our tracks he will lose them there. I just hope that is enough."

She heard the edge of worry in his voice and understood that what he had seen had scared him. She very much did not want him to get murdered. The thought was scary. If he dies, would she be killed as well? Would the assassins let her go, and if they did, where would she go?

The hectic ride continued all day, except for two breaks where they had drinks of water and another where the prince checked their position. When he had done so, they sped up even more; the assassin had indeed found their camp site.

"He uses magic," said prince Alexander. "I am sure of it. He does not know where we are, but something is telling him where to look next. Now he is on our trail."

After that they did not stop. Catherine had scratches all over her face and limbs from riding full speed into small branches. She had no idea how she had managed to avoid larger branches or even falling off the horse. And still she kept up with the prince, driven forward by adrenaline. He was her future, even if she would have preferred something else. She had even come to like him, at times, over the past four days. She had not hated him before, but seeing him out of the castle had made him more human.

They came to a small road. Finally they could speed up. Suddenly Catherine had an idea.

"Sir, how long before the river?" she shouted.

The prince looked back at her, brows furrowed.

"Two or three more hours, are you tired?"

"No. What way will we be taking?"

"North, what is this?"

"Ride ahead, sir," she answered with conviction.

"I will not! Stop wasting your breath."

With strength she was not supposed to have, she shouted again.

"Ride ahead! He will never suspect that we are together, it might throw him off!"

"Catherine! I already did all I could to throw him off, I will not sacrifice a girl as well!"

"I'll be fine, ride ahead!"

Prince Alexander ignored her, but she would not let him decide her fate like that. If she was to be his property, she would at least make sure he knew to appreciate her. She forced Pello to turn around and went back the way they had come. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She heard the prince roaring her name, but she willed herself to continue. She would not let an assassin waste his life if she could stop it by simply being in the way. She pulled her cloak up and drew the hood down in front of her face.

Then it dawned on her. There was no way of knowing that the man following them would stop to check her identity before firing an arrow or something like it. She might get herself killed. She no longer knew why she had though this a good idea. Scared out of her mind she tried turning Pello around again. This time he must have felt her fear. He reared and threw her off.

She came to on the ground. She could not stop sobbing, the pain and fear was almost making her faint. The prince had not followed her back. She had to get up and continue. Somehow, she had to get back on her horse and flee the place she had so stupidly gotten herself into. Her pride had led her. It was a mistake she would be sure to to repeat.

Her arm felt as though it was broken again. The only thing that got her back into the saddle was the knowledge that she might die any moment. She threw back her hood and spent a few frantic seconds loosening her hair. Maybe if she did not look like a man on the run, she would safe her life. She forced herself to tide at a pace that did not make her look as though she was fleeing.

She hoped the man was still far enough behind them that she would reach the river before he found her. The prince had said that he was far behind. She might have gotten scared for no reason.

She started sobbing again as the movements of the horse made all of her new injuries hurt. It felt as is she had a bad scratch on her cheek as well. Apparently there was no limit to how often she would present herself to her future king looking like a savage. Not only that but she must have made him more than furious by running away from him and into the path of a murderer.

The sound of another rider behind her made her heart freeze. 



Next page 

mandag den 9. april 2012

Chapter 9, part 1

They spent a few hours in silence. Catherine regretted having reminded the prince about his spell. She could understand his problem. Even his anger. He had taken a giant risk in order to have a chance of getting the throne, and now he was likely to get it simply by inheritance. He was still magically bound to a group of women and he was still forced to marry one of them. Now there was the added difficulty of convincing them to come back. Of course, he was almost done with his decision as it was, so he would most likely just send a proposal.

She hoped he would chose well. Maybe princess Lily Maria. She had seemed to like Catherine, and it might mean that she would be able to stay. Princess Iris did not trust her even a little, but maybe if the prince told her why she had been acting as she had, she would still have a chance. Lady Corinna was a more cold person, and she was unlikely to care at all what happened to Catherine. That is, unless Catherine had a chance to talk to her and convince her of her usefulness.

Their food was done. The prince handed her some of the meat and smiled at her again. She felt better. Maybe he was forgetting her comment and they could go back to the easy companionship they had been enjoying.

"I'm glad we have time for sitting still," she said.

The prince nodded.

"I'm glad you took over the cooking," he answered.

They went to bed early, but the silence was gone.

In the morning the prince checked their position again. He did not seem happy, but he did not tell her to hurry up either. She asked him what he had seen, but he just shook his head. She kept her mouth shut after that.

They stayed in their camp site for the day, which Catherine took to mean that the assassins were not closing in on them after all. She spent several hours cutting up the deer while the prince cooked the pieces. They packed the cooked meat into an extra bag. They cooked more than they could pack in order to have enough for the rest of the day and the prince buried the rest of the carcass.

"One important thing when you're out here is to try and avoid attracting predators. Either way you do not want maggots crawling across you bed at night. Bury what you cannot eat. It is better that way. But try not to kill unless you are also able to use the animal. It is just a waste."

Catherine nodded and tried to pay attention.

"I understand that you are still quite interested in outdoor living," he said.

"Yes, sir," she answered.

"Well, I doubt you are going to ever need any of this knowledge, but there is no harm in telling you."

"Why not, sir?"

"Well, what are you expecting? That I let you go live in the forest like a wild beast whenever you feel like it?"

"No, sir, but I thought I might as well be prepared."

"I doubt you will need it, my sweet. The castle is not usually attacked. And once the king's army is mine, most of our enemies will think twice before they go anywhere near our borders. Besides, I am not planning to keep this ridiculous ban on magic. That is yet another advantage. Once the wizards are loyal to us again, we will be very strong indeed."

"I understand that, sir, but do you mean that I will stay at the castle?"

He turned around to look at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Why would you even ask that? Were you doubting that?"

"Well, yes, sir. I wasn't sure."

He laughed.

"Did you think I was just going to let you go after the spell pointed you out as a person why would be of great benefit to me? Girl, where is your head? Just because I did not plan on marrying you does not mean that I am going to let you go to waste."

Catherine did not know what to say. She had been so afraid of her future and then it turned out that she did not even have a choice. It was all planned for her.

"I see," she said.

She went to sit at the fire. The flames were pale against the daylight, but the heat was a comfort to her aching body. She should be relieved. she knew that. She was supposed to be overjoyed. A life at court awaited her. A life of helping out the king himself. Important decisions would be made, and she would be a part of it. But she would not be asked. She would not be in control of her own life. There were so many questions.

She sat at the fire the rest of the day. She did not know what other jobs there were to do, and the prince did not ask her for help with gathering firewood. She supposed he did not mind allowing her a few hours to let the news sink in.

When he came to join her and they had eaten their dinner, she decided to ask the most pressing questions.

"Sir, what if I ever want to live anywhere else?"

He frowned.

"Where else would you want to live? There are several places you could go for vacations, if you want. I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement on that."

"But if I wanted to live outside of all of that?"

"I'm going to keep you around. That is that."
"And if I ever want to get married?"

"Who do you want to get married to?"
"I don't. But what if I did? And if I wanted a family like everyone else?"

"I can't allow you to be loyal to anyone else, surely you can see that? I need you - your kingdom needs you. It's your destiny."

Catherine did not reply, not wanting him to get angry again. Without knowing, she had entered into another prison. She had even spent several months worrying that she might be thrown out of it. The irony was bitter.