Chapter 4

I can’t tell you guys how sorry I am for the lateness of this chapter, especially Doc Xenith, Hannahdoll and Steph who have supported me XD… and reviewed!

Kier sighed in exasperation.

“Come on girl, just tell me.”

“Girl now is it?” asked Ravar, raising an eyebrow.

Kier waved her comment off with a flick of his fingers. “What was this memory of yours?” he repeated.

“Please… just, leave it alone?” she pleaded.

Kier shook his head. “Tell me.”

“Why do you want to know?” she asked agitatedly.

Kier shrugged. “That doesn’t matter.”

“Why. Do you want to know?” she repeated slowly.

“I told you, that doesn’t matter,” was his cold reply.

Ravar pulled her hands from his and lay back down on the hard ground, rubbing her wristbands absently. With a slim finger, she traced the single scar that travelled from beneath it.

She immediately wished she hadn’t touched it when Kier’s eyes picked up on her small movement.

In a single bound, he leapt forward, landing with a leg on either side of her hips. Keeping her still with his knees, he grabbed the wristband she had been toying with moments before.

“Please don’t,” she whispered. In horror, she felt her eyes moisten as tears began to slide down her face.

A look of pain seemed to cross Kier’s eyes. Ravar watched as he clenched his jaw, turning away from her hurt face. Setting his jaw, he unclasped the band from Ravar’s tense arm.

Kier froze when he saw what had been previously concealed. The white ridges crisscrossed their way like an intricate web down her wrist.

“Happy?” growled Ravar, snatching back her arm and clamping the wristband back over it.

“W-was that the memory?” Kier asked shakily.

Ravar’s eyes darkened to near-black pools. “Who would do that? Do you think? To a twelve year old girl?” she spat.

“Twelve?” breathed Kier in horror.

“Twelve,” she hissed in confirmation.

“Who?”

“Your beloved king,” she replied in a deadly whisper. “And two of his lords.”

“Bastard,” he muttered. “I swear, I’ll not let them touch you again.”

Ravar laughed darkly. “You’re a little late my white knight. The damage is done and me, the only one not involved who knows,” she waved her hand in the air. “Can’t do anything about it.”

“What is going to happen?”

“Why tell you? There’s nothing you can do about it either.”

“I can try.”

“You’re too brave for your own good. It’ll be your downfall,” she whispered sadly.

“What do you know?” he asked, leaning forward, his knees tightening their grip and his breath tickling her face.

“I know a lot of things,” she replied simply, trying to ignore the way his presence was distracting her in a way she didn’t quite like.

“What does he intend to do?”

“Your king intends to start a war,” she breathed.

Kier reeled, sitting back on her hips.

“But… the… the peace treaty,” he stumbled.

“I can tell you now, one piece of paper isn’t going to go very far to stop three men set on a war. You should know that.”

Kier ran a hand through his messy brown hair. “What are we gonna do?”

“What can you do?” she retorted. “Tell someone? The moment that happens you’ll be killed. If I venture too far from the mountains, I’ll be killed and I’ll tell you right now, I don’t really want that to happen. I’m only seventeen.”

Kier leaned forward once more, supporting himself with his hands by her shoulders.

“We have to do something,” he stated.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, his eyes frustrated. “Let me think about it.”

With that, he stood, lifting his weight of her hips. Ravar remained where she was lying. Why move anyway?

“I’m going to have to tie you up again,” he said sadly.

Ravar ignored him as he pulled her into a sitting position and dragged her hands behind her back. She flinched when she felt his fingers gliding gently over the scar protruding from beneath the wristband.

Before she could protest, she felt both the bands come unclasped, one after the other. With a small thump they fell to the ground.

“Why?” she heard him whisper as he followed one of the white lines with a finger.

“Because I heard something I shouldn’t have,” she replied angrily. Not at him, but at those who had driven her to the mountains, the men who had tried to kill her and nearly succeeded.

“I’m going to do something about it,” he told her sincerely. “We’re going to get you away from Rishwal and Jay… and we’re going to do something.”

--

“You deserve to die,” stated Jay from behind her.

Was that all he could say? “So I’ve heard,” she growled in reply, her now customary answer.

“I wish to be the one to end your miserable life.”

“But it’s not going to happen is it?” she retorted absently, her mind still on the talk with Kier.

“Oh it is,” Jay answered sweetly. “I’m to be your executioner if that is what the king desires.”

“Oh I’m being taken to the king now am I?”

“You already knew that,” he spat.

“So I did,” she mused.

“You’re going to die.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“You—“

“Yeah, okay. Look, I really don’t care,” she stated. “Just give it a break? Some people haven’t had much sleep recently.”

“Unluckily for you, I’m not one of them,” he retorted.

“Ah, you’re still upset because a girl about six years younger than you beat you squarely in a fight.” She raised an eyebrow, waiting for a reply. When one wasn’t forthcoming, she closed her eyes once more and began to drift slowly to sleep.

--

Neither Jay nor Rishwal were in good spirits the next morning, the mood only dampening further when the bottom of the clouds seemed to drop as water came cascading in torrents on the small group.

“Keep walking!” shouted Rishwal as Kier’s pace was slowed momentarily by the gushing water.

Ravar hid a small smile. The man who called himself a captain was an idiot. There was no point pushing them through the rain. Someone was destined to slip on the wet rock.

As if reading her mind, Rishwal turned around. “And if one of you fall, we’re not waiting,” he growled.

“Well put,” she heard Kier mutter as he quickened his stride. Rolling her eyes at the captain’s stupidity, Ravar followed suit, her boots easily gripping the rough (although wet) stone.

Really, if either Kier or Jay were to fall behind, what would Rishwal do? What could he do without them?

Ravar glanced up as she felt eyes on her. Looking around, she saw Jay watching her. ‘You deserve to die.’ She saw him mouth. Did he ever give up?

‘So I’ve heard,’ she replied in the same manner before turning back to the front and continuing the seemingly endless march.

--

Rishwal had finally given up in his vain attempt to push the small group through the rain when he himself had slipped for the umpteenth time. Ravar smirked at the irony of it.

They now found themselves in a small sheltered cave, one of many that dotted this part of the mountain. Considering the fact that it was pouring outside, the cave was comfortably dry. It had been a mere accident in discovering it as Rishwal had lost his balance once more and found himself sliding into the cave’s dark abyss.

The rocky shelter was more than large enough to accommodate a flame but due to the fact of there being scarce wood and the fact that it would be soaked through, that comfort wasn’t an option.

Grumbling, Rishwal muttered something before settling into his bed roll and closing his eyes. Moments later, the silence of the cave was broken by the sound of heavy snoring. The ‘captain’ was indeed asleep.

Soon, Jay followed the captain’s example and unrolled his bed roll, climbing beneath the thick blanket but not before shooting Ravar a last withering glare, which was simply answered with a mocking curve of her mouth.

Ravar glanced at Kier and was surprised to see his eyes dancing with intelligence. He was up to something.

Cocking her head to the side she raised an eyebrow in question. Raising a finger to his mouth in a request for silence, he beckoned her towards him. Suspiciously she complied.

On reaching him, he quickly reached for her hands, pulling expertly at the taught rope, in moments, in fell in a pool to the ground.

Grasping her hand, he stood up as tall as he could in the confined space and made way towards the exit, grabbing packs and weapons on the way.

They were greeted with an icy blast as they stepped out of the cave. Ravar barely had time to register what was going on before Kier thrust her weapons at her.

Grinning, she returned her sword, dagger, bow and quiver to their respectful places, before following Kier through the night as he tore through the rain, deeper into the mountains.