Rafe had not found it easy to go to sleep that night. In general it was not a problem for him. Years around a camp fire had provided him with the enviable ability of falling asleep with a rapidity that those who had not spent time on the march would have imagined impossible. In conflict he had soon learn to take his rest when, and however, he could.
Tonight had been different.
Although he had accepted that the images of his first battle, along with all those he had engaged in after, would be with him for the rest of his life, never had they been so vivid before or had he been so unsuccessful in blotting them out.
The night had been cold but he knew, even as he shot into a wakeful state, that it had not been the cold that pulled him from his uneasy slumber. The fire was burning low, but he was aware that any movement he made would be visible to those who lurked in the darkness outside the glow of light cast by the flames.
He lay still, knowing he had a choice to make. He could wait until the fire had burnt down to embers, but there was no saying that the shadowy assailants would wait that long to attack. Or he could drag Adele and Eda awake and make a run for the horses. His sword was at his side, along with his bow and spear; it was possible that they could make it.
Possible but improbable. Although he knew the horses could not have wandered far, in the darkness there was little chance of finding them quickly. It seemed to him that the best option, as was so often the case, was to wait.
And so he waited… and waited… and waited a little longer, battling his impatience and feeling his grip on his restlessness slipping inch by inch. Finally he found himself wishing that they would attack just so the intolerable wait was over.
“Adele?” His voice was so soft he doubted it would wake her, but he dared not whisper any louder. He knew her head to be resting on Charger’s blanket just the other side of Valliant’s blanket where his own was pillowed. After a moments hesitation he moved his hand along the ground towards hers. His actions were necessarily slow, so as not to be observed, and it seemed an eternity before his fingers came into contact with her warm hand.
Yet when he had hold of it he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He wished to wake her up slowly so he could alert her to their predicament, not jerk her from sleep with a betraying start. He considered thoughtfully for a few moments and then turned her hand, palm uppermost, gently brushing his thumb over her soft skin. After a little while he felt her tug away sleepily, and tightened his hold in a warning pressure.
“Be still, Adele!” he whispered hoarsely.
For a moment there was no answer, and then she returned the pressure of his grip.
“Finn?” Her voice was low and drowsy, lifting slightly at the end in inquiry.
“Adele, when I tell you, I want you to run, as fast as you can into the forest… are you listening to me? Stop for naught.”
“Why, what is wrong?”
Rafe wondered whether or not to tell her, what if she panicked? What if she screamed? He sighed knowing that he had no choice but to tell her.
“We have been followed and in a while they will attack. I will hold them here while you try to escape. T’would be best if you could find at least one of the horses; Charger would be best but Valiant would do, both know the way to Valrek. Take both if you can, ride one whilst the other rests. Whatever you do, do not stop before you reach Valrek. Do you understand, Adele? If you stop you will not survive.”
He knew it was brutal to say it, that it did not inspire confidence, but she needed to understand that her life hung in the balance.
“Finn? What will you do?” Suddenly Adele felt very alone and fearful at the thought that they might lose their guide.
“If I can I will come after you, but you are not to wait.”
If I can.
“You mean if they do not kill you?” The question was simple, calm.
“I do not know how many of them there are, Adele. At my best I could take no more than five, maybe one or two more if they are unskilled. ‘Tis unlikely that there will be so few.”
Adele’s hand trembled in his but her voice, as it floated over the space that separated them, was steady.
“Could you not run with us?”
“No.”
And it was as simple as that. The plan had been formed, Adele knew it would prove pointless to argue with him. He was mad, he was foolish, and he was very, very brave. Perhaps there were some who would say it was his duty, but she saw the action for what it was and gave him his full due. She could not help but feel that so honourable a man should not die, and she closed her eyes to pray that this eventuality did not befall him. A tear slipped from beneath her tightly shut lids and she bit her lip.
“Eda?”
Rafe noted that Adele’s voice was roughened slightly and he heard Eda moan softly.
“Eda, be quiet and lay still!”
There was a few seconds pause, and then Rafe heard Eda’s voice; bewildered and a little panicked.
“Adele, what… ouch!”
“Eda, please be quiet,” begged Adele.
“You pinched me!” Eda’s voice was confused and hurt.
“Eda, please just listen; we have to run.”
“Run? Adele, ‘tis the middle of the night!
“I know ‘tis the middle of the night, Eda, but...”
“And where would we run to anyway? We are in the middle of nowhere.”
“Eda, please be silent and listen!” Adele’s voice held an authoritative note. “When the signal comes we have to run in to the forest.”
“What signal?” asked Eda more confused than ever.
“You shall know when you hear it,” replied Rafe.
When the attack came it was sudden and loud. Adele felt that if she had been woken from sleep by it, she would have been too disorientated to move. She had been awake and tense, but not so tense as the man protecting them. Before the first shout had come to an end Rafe was upon his feet, sword in hand, and ready to meet the attack.
Adele rose more slowly, hesitating as she saw his cloak on the floor, before picking up the heavy covering and securing it over her own. With a last look to where Rafe was wielding his sword at the first of the attackers, with all the pent up anger of his wait, she grabbed Eda’s hand and ran to the beckoning darkness of the forest.
The gloominess was frightening, closing over them with disorientating thickness. Behind her she could hear the sound of Eda crying hysterically, mixed in with the sounds of metal against metal and bloodcurdling shrieks.
Rafe did not turn to see if the two girls had obeyed his instructions. With a soldiers sixth sense he knew they had gone. He wondered how far they would get before… no, he would not even think that.
It was then that he heard the sound, familiar to every soldier’s ear. The snorting of horses as they made a charge struck him with a feeling of ice cold dread. It made his plan to make a stand whilst Adele and Eda escaped untenable. His sword crashed against that of his adversary and he pushed the blade aside, delivering a heavy blow to the man’s jaw. The warrior pitched forward and lay immobile on the floor, but Rafe did not need to wait to see the outcome. Turning on his heel, he plunged into the darkness of the wood, and prayed that he would be able to find Adele before anything happened to her.
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Adele struggled along, the weight of the heavy fur lined cloaks hampering her progress greatly. She found that pulling Eda after her through the pitch darkness was no easy thing and she stumbled. It seemed to her that the weight of the cloaks would pull her over, but suddenly she found herself supported. The weight of the second cloak disappeared as Rafe unhooked it and pulled it round his own shoulders. He broke the frenzied grip of Eda’s hand on hers and, grasping each of them by the arm just above the elbow, made his way deeper in to the forest.
They plunged through the undergrowth for a long time, but suddenly Rafe stopped abruptly. Dragging Adele against him, he flung one arm around her shoulders pulling her toward him, and pressed his o
ther hand over her mouth. Eda sank, a quivering mass of sobs, to the ground. Adele’s back was to the tree, Rafe’s breathing heavy in her ear as he scanned the darkness over her shoulder.
For several seconds they stood tense in the gloom, then Rafe looked down into her upturned face. Her eyes were wide but still calm, and he became aware that his hand was pressed over her mouth still. With a whispered word of apology he released her, gesturing that she was to be silent. He looked out again into the darkness, and whistled ever so softly. Adele listened in the silence that followed and heard nothing. She looked up at Rafe again but his face was thoughtful. After a moment he bent his head towards her and she flinched away a little. His grip tightened, he was so close she could feel the heat of his skin on the air between them.
“Stay here and keep quiet.” He looked down at Eda where she huddled, still cowering, on the floor. “Will she be silent?”
Adele discovered a lump in her throat that she was unable to swallow, so she nodded her head.
“Then keep her so.” He moved away from her and instinctively she reached out to stop him. He seemed surprised, and she released him hurriedly.
“Where are you going?”
“The horses.”
“The horses! Lord Rafe will not demand their safe return of you surely in a situation such as this?”
“That is not… do you wish to walk to Valrek?”
Adele shook her head.
“Then we will need the horses, for I’ll not carry you!”
Rafe stepped away from her and she felt suddenly unsupported. As he disappeared into the darkness she felt a blush flood her cheeks. For several seconds, as he had bent his head so close to hers, she had thought… well... imagined that he would…
He had been so close it had seemed as if his intention could only be to...
She blushed ever hotter and shook her head. Had he guessed at her thoughts? Did he know what she had supposed he had been going to do? She prayed not. Eda’s muffled sobbing broke in on her inner musings, and she sank to the ground. Passing an arm around her friend’s shoulders she drew Eda’s trembling form into her arms.
“‘Tis alright, Eda.”
“Alright! Adele did you not see those men? They were trying to k-kill us!” Eda’s voice trembled and she brushed a hand over her wet cheeks.
Adele rocked her back and forth slightly, and Eda’s weeping lessened a little. They were still sitting thus when Adele heard the snap of a twig. Her frightened eyes fell on the bow and arrows that Rafe had left behind, and she reached out, slipping an arrow against the bow string. Pulling the arrow back she pointed it in the general direction of the approaching sound. A dark shape became visible, moving towards them on horseback, and Adele closed her eyes, grit her teeth, and let the arrow fly. She still had her eyes closed when Rafe jerked her to her feet.
“What the… what did you think you were doing?” he demanded. “Do you know how close you came to finding your mark?” He shook her roughly as if to drive home his point.
“H-how…?”
Rafe made a curt gesture for silence and drew her toward the horse.
“Just get on the horse,” he whispered irritably. He wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her from her feet, and set her on Charger’s back before turning to Eda. She staggered as he helped her upright and fell against him, trembling violently.
“‘Tis alright now.”
Eda sniffed and allowed him to lift her on to the horse.
“It is?”
“All is well,” assured Rafe.
Eda nodded and rested her head on Adele’s shoulder.
“So you will believe him but not me when I tell you that all is taken care of?” demanded Adele cajolingly. Eda snuggled her cheek against Adele’s shoulder.
“Yes,” she answered simply.
Chapter Seven