“Phillip reminds me of someone,” Nalick observed.
“Someone?” Leila asked.
“I think I knew his father. He taught me how to ride horses and fight and he died eight years ago protecting me while we fought in a war.”
“A noble?” Leila asked. Nalick nodded. “Then, you would know his grandparents. Could they take care of them?”
“They don’t know anything about Phillip. Andor did everything he could to take care of his family. Before we left for the war, he tried to tell his parents about their mother, but they would not listen. I heard that their mom refused to marry anyone else because she hoped Andor would return. He never did,” Nalick explained.
Leila shook her head. “How can you just turn your back on your family?”
“I don’t know,” Nalick replied. “I have never understood it either.”
As they walked through the gates, Nalick nodded as Nikias and Javed bowed before leaving. Nalick walked Leila to the staircase. He paused to gently caress her head, hugging her to his chest.
“Not joining me again?” Leila asked.
“Too many plans to be made,” he sighed.
“Do you need any help?” Leila asked.
“You will have your part too. Enjoy them not bugging you yet about everything,” Nalick referred to the priests. “I have a feeling your freedom will be short lived.” Leila raised her eyebrows. She was curious about what else she would have to do to please the priests.
Chapter 18
“Could we work in the garden?” Leila asked the nervous young priest. The boy nodded, relieved that this time his orders had been correct.
For the first time, Anatolio was not close behind her, but Leila continued on to the garden without him. He must be running late, she thought. Sitting down next to the priest, something seemed out of place. Carefully, Leila scanned the walls. The priest seemed to not notice the difference. I must be over analyzing it, she thought. But again, Leila felt something was not right.
“How about we continue this later,” Leila suggested to the priest, too distracted to listen to him.
“As you wish,” the priest said while gathering up his papers.
Leila continued to scan the garden. Anatolio had never been this far behind before. Something is wrong. Leila watched the priest standing to leave. He bowed to her and turned to walk to the door on the left side of the garden. Leila stayed where she was and watched him. He casually pushed to open the door, but found resistance as it did not open. Leila quickly jumped to her feet. Something was wrong. Leila dashed over next to the priests as several men appeared from within the garden. Several more men scaled down the walls. One man lunged to stab the priest. Leila quickly disarmed the man and picked up his weapon.
“Stay right behind me,” she told the priest.
Behind one of the trees emerged a man clapping. “I expect nothing less from the famed ghost.” The man bowed to her extravagantly. “You are outnumbered twenty to one. I am sure you would not have a problem fighting all these men alone, but can you protect the priest behind you the whole time?”
Leila glared at the man. He was correct. She could easily fight twenty to one if she only had to worry about herself. Being a live target meant they would never do anything to harm her. The priest was not needed and thus expendable in their eyes.
“Don’t worry about my life,” the priest said to her. “I live to serve my god and my king. If it is my time to die, then so be it.” The young man shook in his shoes.
“What a brave priest,” the man across from Leila said. “Come with us and we will spare the man behind you.”
“And how do I know that as soon as I lay down this sword you will actually spare him?” Leila questioned. “Jahangir is not the kind to spare people so easily.”
“So, you knew we were coming?” He kept his distance, though eager to approach her.
“Seth has never been good at keeping his mouth shut when he is excited about something,” Leila replied, angling the priest behind her to protect him.
The man held up a key. “This key will open the door behind you. I will give it to you, if you come with us.” There was no way for her to protect the priest and herself at the same time, and it could be hours before anyone would check on the garden. She checked one last time and knew she was caught.
“Fine,” Leila said. “Give us the key, and I will stay.”
The man did not hesitate. Leila was good for her word. He threw her the key. The priest bent down and picked it up.
“Leave now,” she said to the confused priest.
“Come with me,” the priest whispered ready to bolt and pull her along. Leila was the best fighter anyone knew, but she was still his queen.
“I can’t. I said I will stay, so I will stay.” Leila waited to hear him unlock the door. The priest hesitated. “As your queen, I am ordering you to leave. Find Nalick and Anatolio. Tell them I have been taken.” The priest could not disobey her command. He opened the door. “Lock the door behind you.” The priest removed the key and placed it in the door on the other side. As he started to slip through the door, he paused. Leila handed him the sword she was holding. “Protect yourself and make it to Nalick alive,” Leila told him, and he shut the door. Leila stood in front of the door until she heard the lock turn and his footsteps race away. Calmly she walked over to the man she had negotiated with. “What now?” she asked, standing toe to toe with the man.
“You truly are as amazing as everyone says you are.” The uninvited guest motioned and several men tied her arms behind her. “I’m Argon,” he introduced himself. “Too bad I agreed to work with Seth; otherwise, I think I would be taking you home for myself.”
Leila glared at him as one of the men wrapped a blind fold around her eyes and gagged her to keep her from screaming, which was not exactly her style anyway. She was walked near the wall and a man tightly grabbed her around the waist. They carried Leila away and out of the palace. Leila tried her best to keep track of the time, but the blind fold did not let her see the sunlight. Suddenly the cart they were traveling in stopped. She felt someone pick her up and move her outside the cart. Leila still could not see as she felt something pierce the skin on her back below the royal emblem on her shoulder. Gently she was placed back in the cart. The ride continued. When the cart finally stopped, it was night time. Someone grabbed her gently from the cart and chained her to the wheels. Carefully someone removed her blindfold and gag. She stared at Argon.
“Such a pretty girl,” Argon said as he stroked her face, “A waste to give you to Jahangir.” He moved his face closer to Leila.
Leila was working on removing her hands from the chains as he spoke, but reacting to his comment, Leila spit in his face. It disgusted her to have a man such as Argon touching her. As he raised his hand to slap her, someone stopped him.
“No one is allowed to touch her,” the man said from behind Argon.
Leila felt sick to her stomach. She knew who the man was before she even saw him. Behind the flickering firelight, Seth appeared alongside the angry Argon.
“Long time, no see,” Seth said to Leila. Leila gave Seth a defiant stare in response. She was still standing within inches of Argon and carefully she tested the length of the chain on her legs. Leila would not be able to kick him; so instead she stomped with her full force on his foot.
Argon yelped in pain and glared at her furiously. Leila laughed and waited for his reaction. Seth would not be able to stop Argon as he was twice Seth’s size, and Argon was very mad. Three men jumped up from behind to restrain Argon.
“Employing a hot head now?” Leila asked the other courier.
“Feisty as ever, I see,” Seth replied, moving closer but staying out of her range.
“So what’s in this for you?” Leila asked. “Did he finally agree to let you have his daughter?”
Seth was surprised that Leila knew but tried not to show it on his face. “Do you think I need anything other than an offer to catch the famous
ghost?” Seth had spent the last four years working in her shadow. Every time he went against and tried to beat her with an assignment, she was always victorious.
“So you are doing this purely for your own enjoyment?” she replied. The three men holding Argon down continued to struggle with the large man.
“That girl needs to learn some manners,” Argon complained, straining to stand.
“And you don’t?” Leila retorted spitting in his direction but missing. Argon growled, but he could not remove the men holding him down. More men approached Seth from behind. Confident that he had Leila restrained, Seth did not move away as they talked.
“We have three couriers following us and Lior is mobilizing their army,” the first man replied.
“Which couriers?” Seth asked.
“Two are from Roger’s company and one from Canor,” the second man reported. Leila smiled. She had not seen Marx in a while. Marx would not pass up the opportunity to help her, especially if it meant beating Seth. Seth returned to the group of men sitting around the fire.
“Argon, keep your men here and distract anyone that comes this way. My men will keep moving with our prize. The sooner we get to Jahangir, the safer we will be,” Seth said to his men. Quickly, half of the camp began to pack up. Seth returned to Leila.
“Seems Marx has plans to rescue you,” Seth said as five men restrained Leila and began weaving the chains around her so that she could not move. She did not reply.
“Put her back inside,” Seth commanded as they tied the blind fold back around her eyes. Gently she was lifted and laid down on the pillows inside the cart she had been riding in.
Leila sat in the dark and silence for the remainder of the trip. She had tried to loosen her arms, but her left shoulder was throbbing from whatever pierced her skin earlier. She could feel it was not making her sleepy like she suspected, but instead it was making the whole left side of her body weak. Leila could still move, but it took more effort than normal. It would be a waste of her energy if she continued to struggle. She did not like sitting in a room and not seeing it. Leila wiggled until the blind fold was off. Then she propped herself up against the pillows and wall and waited. Mobilizing his army, I wonder how Nalick is taking this, she thought.
Leila was in complete darkness. The windows were covered by thick shades that did not allow any light in the room. Softly she drifted off into a light sleep. Leila would need all her energy to get away for a third time from the castle of Jahangir, as each time she returned, he had made adjustments to better hold her.
After what Leila guessed had been almost two days with only brief stops along the way, she could hear noises outside her ride. Faintly people talked now outside her cart. As the days had progressed, Leila was getting weaker and weaker. As the ride yet again came to a halt, Seth conversed with the guards to the palace. The guards wanted to see her, but Seth would not let them. After the cart passed the gates, Leila followed the route in her mind leading them to the castle stables. The cart stopped, and the door opened. Leila adjusted her eyes. From sitting in complete darkness for days to the soft glow of the sun setting, the stables had a fuzzy glow. Two men gently picked her up and placed her on her feet. Leila felt a bit unstable and noticed her balance had also been affected by the weakness she was feeling in her left side of her body.
“It took longer than I expected, but to see the great ghost not as strong as normal is quite a treat,”
Seth teased. Leila adjusted for the difference in strength and stood eye to eye with Seth.
“I don’t know what you did, but it still won’t be enough to stop me,” she glared at him.
Seth chuckled waving his hands in the air to dismiss her comment. “Trust me. This stuff can stop anyone. Even you, my dear.” Seth motioned and several men held her arms and legs as Seth checked to make sure she was tightly secured. Leila just stood still. He was being extra cautious but he would eventually let his guard down and she would find her opportunity to leave. Seth again wrapped the blindfold around her, but little did he know she didn’t need her sight to navigate this castle. Leila felt someone pick her up because she was wrapped so tightly there was no way she could walk. After the person weaved through various passageways of the castle, he finally stopped. The man carrying her then set her down in the middle of a room. Metal doors clanked locking shut. Someone’s hand removed her blindfold.
Leila opened her eyes to find she was in a large cage within an ornately decorated room. She turned her head to face Seth. He was grinning ear to ear.
“I really would like to see the famed Leila get out of this one, but I have better things to do with my time. Here,” he said while throwing clothes inside the cage. “Once I unlock you, change into these. We want you to be presentable when I take you before the king to get my reward.”
“So, if I leave before you present me, then you won’t get your reward?” she asked.
“Trust me; you won’t be leaving so soon.” Seth smiled.
“What if I don’t feel like changing?” Leila asked haughtily.
“If you are not changed by the time I return, I will dress you myself,” Seth replied. “Now be a good girl and just change.” Leila glared at him. She would dress herself as the thought of him touching her disgusted her as much as meeting with Jahangir.
“I can’t change if you don’t unlock me,” Leila said as he turned to leave.
“I almost forgot. Too bad though, I was looking forward to changing you,” he smiled and unlocked all the locks but made no effort to remove the chains.
Chapter 19
Seth left the room, but the guard that had carried Leila in still remained. She quickly unwound the chains, freeing herself. Leila tested her strength as she stretched and found her left side was still weaker than normal. Gazing around the room, the window was the best way to leave, if she could actually scale the walls; Leila was three to four floors above the ground. Leila looked at the clothing before her and changed into the thin dress. They purposely gave her a dress that would be too cold for the weather outside. It was the end of winter, and though they did not have snow in Samael, the nights got bitterly cold until summer time started. As Leila turned back around, the guard was sitting grinning ear to ear from the peep show.
“Can you come here a moment?” Leila asked him sweetly. The man moved closer. When he was within arm's reach, Leila grabbed his head and banged it against the bars. The man slid to the floor, and she removed his keys. He had several identical keys, each of which would unlock the cage. She removed a key and placed the keychain back around his waist. The free key she quickly hid in the closest pillow. She then gently walked back to the man and slapped his face a few times. He woke with a start.
“You tripped and hit your head,” Leila told the man. Men always believe sweet, innocent stories. He seemed confused but did not disagree with her. “I was going to see if you could get me something to drink,” she said sweetly. The man nodded.
The guard stood and walked out of the room which provided Leila an opportunity to quickly unlock her cage. She walked to the window and looked down. Under normal circumstances, it would be easy to scale down, but with the numbness on her left side, she doubted it would be that simple. Before she could make her decision, the door opened. Seth walked in the room.
“Having second thoughts?” Seth asked. If Leila was feeling fine, she would have already been out the window and down a few floors. “Now that you are dressed, would you care to join me?”
Leila was not going to be able to leave quite yet, so she walked back to Seth. She held out her arms to be locked back up. She would need to think of another plan, but it would be easier after everyone went to bed. They had to sleep sometime. Leila had rested for two days which meant she was not tired enough to need sleep. Seth locked her hands together followed by her feet. She could not walk very easily, but there was enough chain to allow her to shuffle. Seth continued to grin like a conquering hero.
“Well, let’s go get you your rewa
rd, though from what I hear, she will be very disappointed.” Jahangir’s oldest, and unwilling, daughter was the prize Seth wanted. Leila figured of anyone in the castle, she would be the best bet to help Leila escape. Leila walked behind Seth as two men each held her arms as she walked. Seth did not want to take any chances of losing her while transporting her. Once Leila was inside the royal chambers, Seth posted two guards at each door and window. Seth then chained her feet to a rod in the middle of the room, unchaining the rest of her.
“Please try to be presentable,” Seth whispered in her ear as the main door opened.
Jahangir was an old man, fat and balding from age. He already had three wives and over a dozen children, some as old as Leila. Using the countries taxes, he had spent many resources tracking her down and trying to keep her in his castle for the past ten years. Leila figured that with all the chasing he didn’t have much time for anything else and believed the rumors that claimed many of “his” children were not his own blood. Leila gave the man a disgusted look as he approached her. She stood tall and proud as he circled her. As he stopped behind her, she could hear Seth approach him. Together they whispered amongst themselves. Jahangir moved back around and faced her. Jahangir smiled as if he won a contest; Leila just glared back at him.
“Welcome back, dear child,” Jahangir said. “I hope they were not too rough in getting you here.” Leila did not respond. Talking to him was not worth her time.
Jahangir moved closer and picked up her arm. Leila tried to contain her disgust from being touched by him. “Such a barbaric custom. I bet it hurt a lot. I am sure my doctors will find some way to remove it.” Leila still did not reply. Leila knew enough from her previous encounters with Jahangir that he had a short temper. As weak as she already felt, Leila did not wish to test his temper.