The Arranged Marriage (5 page)

She sighed as a sudden wave of
homesickness washed over her and she felt the sudden need to get
out of the water. She just needed to sleep, she assured herself, to
forget about the reasons why she should stay, and to work on her
plans of what she was to do when she stepped foot on to the Foreign
Lands.

* * *

The light of the moon was taking over
the sky as Rohesia started to swim out of the water. She was making
her way towards the edge when a voice came out of the trees and
startled her into stopping.

“Leaving so soon Princess?” The voice
jeered. “I was just starting to enjoy the view.”

She numbed at the notion someone had
been watching her, unclothed, and a sudden uneasiness flowed
through her veins. The voice did not belong to anyone she knew and
she wondered if a search party had finally caught up with
her.

“Why don’t you come out of the water
so we can have a little chat?” The male voice asked as the shadow
of a figure appeared at the edge of the lagoon. She knew then that
this man had not been sent by her father.

“Who speaks?” She ordered, hoping it
was just a traveller out for a bit of fun, but then she remembered
his words of when he called her Princess. Someone had followed her
here.

“Now, where would the joy be in
telling you that? Come out and I’ll show you who I am.”

She started to look around her to seek
a refuge of land where she could swim to. She was certain she could
make it before the man had chance to jump in after her.
Unfortunately he seemed to read her thoughts.

“There is no use trying to escape me
Princess. My partner is on the edge of the water and he is able to
run to any end you desire.

She was not certain he was telling the
truth. Maybe he was using the ruse of a partner to frighten her as
she saw no other figure in the woods. She would just have to take
that chance.

“Come on Princess, do you really want
me hunt you down and cut your throat?”

The realisation that this man had been
sent to kill her plummeted through her mind, and the screams
escaped her mouth against her will. He could come and get her, she
thought, but there was no way she was going down without a fight.
She continued to scream in the hope that travellers or the Mookai
had chosen this eve to motion near the Loyal, and prayed to the
many Gods who supposedly looked down on Centurias to help her out
of this mess.

Ison ceased the horses with a raise of
his hand as the view of The Loyal came into sight. The castle had
been purposely built in the trees so people would not see the gates
until they were practically upon them.

He looked at its splendour and took
advantage of the moonlight to admire its unusual grace. He noticed
how the structure of the castle was similar to his own designs for
the home he was building. He liked how it had been built for the
practical, instead of the pretty

The screams that came suddenly,
pierced the silence and put all of them on guard. They waited to
determine the direction of where the sounds were coming from and
remained still whilst waiting for their orders.

Ison did not like this. No lights were
coming from The Loyal suggesting visitors at the castle, and the
surrounding areas were not used by many travellers, especially
female travellers.

He quickly verified where the screams
were coming from and stalled his initial haste to race in their
direction. He was aware that this may be a trap that he was not
about to walk into.

“Motion with me Josa, Hanst and Logan.
The rest of you remain here until you hear my call. If you do not
hear it then continue forward on to Ecripian and send word to
Roscaar. Understood?” He asked them quickly and received a number
of nods in return.

They raced through the trees as fast
as they could when the screaming stopped. They stayed in their
chosen direction and headed forward, only stopping as they crashed
through the opening to the lagoon. Ison looked to the water and
made out two shadows in the depths.

Rohesia had felt the hands on her back
before she had got anywhere near the edge of the lagoon. She had
been no challenge for the man as her limbs had weakened with wading
in the deep water.

“Come here,” He had shouted before she
felt the point of the dagger on her back. “Now we are going to go
for a little ride to meet a friend of mine. Are we
clear?”

She had seen no chance but to agree
with him as her screams had been muted by the threat of the weapon.
Her heart was beating fast as thoughts, regrets and ideas all raced
through her mind at once. He didn’t intend to kill her here, which
would give her the advantage.

“You’ve not got a bad body on you.
It’s a pity I have my orders to deliver you untouched.”

They heard a rumble come through the
trees as she shrugged off his hand, and the sight that met Rohesia
had nearly made her faint with relief.

“What business occurs here?” Ison
shouted, no longer concerned that this was a trap. He had seen the
discarded clothes and travelling bag placed delicately on the tree
stump, and knew that this woman before him was genuinely under
attack.

“No business of yours my friend. Just
a wedded couple’s quarrel. Be on your way.” The voice shouted back
as Ison eyed the borders of the lagoon. It did not measure in great
distance, but due to dusk turning to dark it would be difficult for
one of his men to make a shot if the need came about. It may hit
the woman.

“We will not be moving my friend,” He
addressed him sarcastically. “And if you harm the lady in any way
you are a dead man.”

Ison watched as the dagger dropped
from the woman’s throat for a moment and apparently it was all she
needed to fight back. He dismounted his horse and watched the
action unravel before him as she disappeared under the water. He
thought at first she had gone under against her will but then she
came back up behind her captor and pushed his head under. Ison did
not hesitate and started to move into the lagoon as he shouted out
his orders. He knew his favoured archer would move to shoot an
arrow into the man’s chest once he came back up for air, but for
now, his focus was on the woman gasping for her breath.

He quickly made his way over to the
woman who was struggling to keep her head above water, allowing his
men to apprehend the man who was pulling at the fired arrow in his
chest.

“Are you well?” He asked her as his
hands wrapped around her exhausted body. He immediately noticed how
naked she was and did not expect the pangs of lust to thunder
through him as he helped her.

“I am well, thank you.” She managed to
speak as her breathing quickened.

“Save your energy my lady.” He
whispered as he lifted her out of the water. Rohesia felt a burst
of drive as the words touched her ears in a tender manner. No
matter what, no matter who these people were, she was safe. She
stood with the assistance of the large man who supported her,
honoured by the way he moved her behind him to retain her
dignity.

“Logan,” He asked the man who still
held the bow in his hands. “Good shot, now please pass me the
lady’s cloak.”

She watched in a daze as the man
obeyed her rescuer’s orders and handed him her cloak.

“Wrap this around you until you get
warm. We shall make camp at The Loyal and you can dress
there.”

She did as he ordered and admired the
fact that he only looked at her face. He had not ogled her greedily
as the other man in the water had, and she wondered for a moment if
he wouldn’t mind escorting her to the border. She took her
chance.

“Dear sir, I thank you gratefully for
saving my life. I thank this very day that you chose to ride
through here.”

Ison smiled as his one hand rested on
her cloaked shoulder. He nodded as he accepted her thank
you.

“You are welcome my lady, but a man
must wonder why a young woman such as yourself is travelling alone.
These woods are known for trouble-makers.”

She smiled and Ison was mesmerised for
a moment. Women had never bothered him the way it did with others.
He always saw them as a weakness in regards to relations; making
men’s heads spin in distracting ways. They were pleasurable of
course, but he was aware of what came after the novelty had worn
off of being with one woman; something he had never been tempted to
get close to himself - until now.

Just looking at her gave him a feeling
of seeing her somewhere before, yet knowing that he had never met
her. Her long brown hair held kinks of curls as the damp water
still resided in each tendril, and her wet eye lashes held a
perfect dark frame around eyes. She was looking straight through
him with a smile on her filled lips, and he wondered for a moment
if he were under some form of spell. If it hadn’t have been for her
long hair he would have sworn she was a royal of the Mookai, but
their women traditionally wore their hair short. It was the Mookai
men who wore their hair long down their backs, and after seeing her
naked appearance he was pretty certain she wasn’t one of those
either.

“I know sir, that is something I have
had to find out the hard way,” She replied prettily. “But I was
wondering if you were heading towards Dondayas through the Moors,
it would save me a lot of trouble explaining myself to the Mookai
if you could escort me through?”

He was about to tell her that he was
headed to Ecripian but he would leave a few of his men to escort
her, when he noticed her watching the commotion behind
him.

“What will happen with him?” She
nodded towards the man who was now held captive by Ison’s men. The
arrow still imbedded in his chest.

“We will question him and leave him
here to his fate. There is no point bothering to crowd the dungeons
with him.”

For a moment he thought she was going
to protest about leaving the man out here to die, as many women
would have done so with their delicate sensibilities, but she did
not. She simply pulled her cloak tighter around her body and then
manoeuvred around Ison to face the man.

“You will pay for this do you hear
me?” Her voice had taken on an authoritative tone that made Ison
feel very uneasy.

The wounded man looked at her and
smirked as he spluttered. “I hear you. Princess.”

She jumped a little as he addressed
her with her title, hoping the men hadn’t heard. She didn’t think
it wise anyone should know who she was and what mess she had gotten
herself into.

“You will pay for what you have done,
I shall see to it myself,” She turned to Ison. “I want him charged.
He claimed he had a partner waiting on the edge of the lagoon, even
though I did not see anyone, but…”

Ison completed the sentence for
her.

“If he was speaking the truth his
partner could come to his aid. We shall take him with us my lady.
Or should I say Princess?” He smiled and placed himself upon his
knee in front of her. He was starting to put two and two together
as he knew of only one Princess in the whole of Centurias,
especially one who would be obnoxious enough to ride out without
chaperone.

“Oh do get up sir,” She said quickly,
as if embarrassed. “I am Princess Rohesia of Ecripian,” She held
out her hand. “And you are?”

He felt the reign of control fall back
into his hands as an idea formed in his mind. This woman should be
in Ecripian right now, awaiting his arrival, yet she was out here,
alone and with travelling bags. He needed to find out what was
going on and his gut told him he would not be able to do that as
Sir Ison.

He waited until there were enough of
his men around him to hear his introductions. If he was going to
uphold a charade, then he would need their support to maintain it.
Who knows, he thought sardonically, maybe she had been on her way
to meet him?

“I am Sir Huntingdon of Alana,” He
lied. “And I am pleased to make your acquaintance Princess.” He
took a hold of her outreached hand and kssed it gently. “In answer
to your question,” He added. “We are heading to Dondayas and would
be happy to escort you where you need to go. If you will have
us?”

He sent a silent thank you to his men
as they kept quiet.

“I would be happy for you to escort me
Sir Huntingdon. As far as Dondayas would be sufficient, I can wait
for the boat to the Foreign Lands on my own.”

So much for the notion she was heading
to Dondayas to meet her future husband, he thought as she thanked
him again for their rescue.

“As I said, we shall camp at The Loyal
as I see it is uninhabited,” He tried hard to keep the anger out of
his voice. “There you can dress and we can all eat before resting
for our journey on the morrow. Does that sit well with you
Princess?” He asked, as the second part of his cunning plan started
to finalise.

“That will be wonderful thank you.”
She nodded her head in place of a curtsy and tried hard to pick up
her clothes without exposing herself. Thankfully Josa had the
initiative to help and aided her with her things before throwing a
look of ‘I know what you’re up to’ in the direction of
Ison.