Through the Looking Glass (7 page)

             
“What did you just say?” he asked her.

             
Great, now she had to worm her way out of this. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” She turned away from him to stare into the fire.

             
“I want to…” Jakar started to speak but was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. “Come in!”

             
The door open and a soldier stepped into the room.

             
“My Lord, your presence is needed down in the dungeon. One of Tuloch’s men has requested to speak with you.”

             
“Do you know what he wants?”

             
“All he said was to tell you, he had information about Tuloch.”

             
“I’ll be there in a minute, Elcon. Wait for me in the hall.” Jakar dismissed his soldier then returned his gaze back to her. “I will be back when I can and we will resolve this little problem.”

             
Isobel watched him leave. The sound of the lock twisting informed her she was still his prisoner. She needed to get the hell out of there and quickly before he returned. She went to the window to see if there was any way she might be able to lower herself down to the ground without injuring herself.

             
The only window in the room overlooked a wide expanse of open grassy land. It was still in the confines of the walls of the castle but relatively empty of any movement. The window was high up off the ground, at least two stories as far as she could tell. She would need something to lower herself down to the grass, but what? Once she was out, she would have to keep out of sight. Her biggest problem was figuring out how to get outside the castle walls before he returned to the room and saw that she was gone. For now, she just had to get down the stone wall.

             
At first the room appeared not to have anything to offer her in the way of escape tools until her eyes were drawn to the sheets on the bed. Of course! How could she have been so stupid? How many times had she seen the sheets used to escape in a movie? She would have to work quickly and pray that the material would hold her. There was no telling if Nana would return to the room anytime soon and she didn’t have a clue how long Jakar would be.

             
Without a second thought, she yanked the sheets off the bed. She needed something to cut or rip the sheets in half. Racing around the room, she found what she needed in the bathroom, a straight edge razor. It should do the job perfectly!

             
The razor sliced through the material without any hesitation. After one quick slice she was able to use her arms to pull the material apart. Before long, she four long strips ready to be tied together. Now she needed to tie one end to something she was positive wouldn’t move when she climbed out the window. The closest thing to the window was the armoire with its claw feet. There was no way that big a piece of furniture was going to move.

             
The sound of footsteps outside the door had her stopping in her tracks. She listened as the footsteps grew nearer to the door then continued past. She let out the breath she had been holding then returned to her job of tying off the sheet to the armoire. Satisfied with the numerous knots she had tied to keep the material from slipping, she tossed the end out of the window.

             
She was nervous about climbing out of a two story window while clinging to a piece of material, but at this point she was desperate to try anything. The wind outside stung her face as she sat on the ledge of the window and swung her legs out. It was too late to change her mind when she realized she hadn’t bothered to put on any other clothing before she climbed up. There wasn’t enough time for her to go back in and scrounge for clothing that wouldn’t fit her anyway. She would just have to make do with Jakar’s shirt.

             
Taking a deep breath, she twisted on the ledge and clung to the sheet. Her bare toes searched the wall for anything to grip before she let go of the ledge. One foot succeeded in finding a small crevasse in between two stone blocks. Relief swept through her as she slowly she began to lower herself down. Her arms shook with the effort of having to hold up her own body, something she’d never done before. The sheet was getting wet fast with the drizzle that was falling and she was afraid to let go of the sheet in order to move one hand below the other. It was now or never, she thought, so she forced herself to let go and quickly grip the sheet below her other hand. Confident she had taken the first step, she repeated the process a few times. It wasn’t until her hand hit the first really damp area of the sheet that she began to slip.

             
She screamed as she slid a couple of feet before she was able to stop her fall. Not only was her entire body shaking from the scare, but she wasn’t sure her arms were going to be able to hold her much longer. She chanced a glance down to see how far away she was and was relieved she didn’t have much farther to go. By this time, the drizzle had soaked her clothes and was running into her eyes, making it hard to see. Hand over hand she crept down the sheet until her arms gave out on her, sending her plummeting to the ground below.

             
The ground came up quicker than she thought it would. Her back slammed onto the cold, wet, hard ground knocking the wind out of her. Rain dripped into her face as she struggled to take a gasp of air. Dots danced around before her eyes as she dragged in the much needed air. Closing her eyes helped somewhat with the world spinning, but it was the sound of that deep, angry voice that made her open eyes again and peer at the last face she wanted to see in the world.

Chapter 7

             
Jakar was furious when he returned to his room in time to see Isobel slip out the window on a makeshift rope. By the time he reached the window, she had slipped down too far for him to grab her and he didn’t want to take the chance on pulling the sheet back up in case he accidently pulled it from her hands. The only other thing he could do was race down to the bottom and pray she didn’t fall before he could get there.

             
“Stupid woman!” he said under his breath as he raced down the flight of stairs that lead to the door that opened to the grassy area. He couldn’t believe Isobel had attempted to escape. He hadn’t been gone long enough for her to have come up with the plan, much less succeed at it. He did have to give her credit though for at least trying. If he had been in her shoes, he would have done the same.

             
When he had left her in the room, he had planned on coming back and talking with her without getting angry. It wasn’t fair of him to be angry with her if what Nana and Nyla told him was true. The entire time he was growing up, Nana had told him the story of the woman who would come from far away. The one who would play a big role in defeating the one who ruled the south and now, it supposedly has come to pass.

             
Instead, he became instantly furious with her for the stupid risk she decided to make. He pushed through the hidden door and looked up just in time to see her slipping. He went to yell at her but was too late. She fell the rest of the way to the ground and landed with a thud he knew had to hurt. At first she didn’t move or breathe. He thought she might have broken her neck or back until he saw her close her eyes and suck in air.

              His heart that was pounding wildly in his chest, slowed a fraction when he saw the small movement. The sound of her breathing deeply alerted him to the fact that she was ok. He stood over her prone form as he controlled the anger that now seeped out after relief swept over him.

             
“Did you have a nice fall?” He stood over her with his arms clasped behind his back. Her eyes popped open and stared up at him. Her mouth moved as if she was trying to say something but no words came out. Maybe she was hurt.

             
He squatted down next to her. “Are you hurt?” He ran his hands over her limbs to check for any obvious breaks.

             
“No,” she croaked out.

             
“That wasn’t a very smart thing to do.” He helped her to a sitting position. “Do you realize you could have killed yourself?” She refused to answer the question. “Can you walk?” He wanted to get her back inside and into dry clothes.

             
“I…I don’t know,” she said when she tried to get to her feet.

             
He went to assist her, but she brushed his hand away. When she was finally standing it didn’t take long for her knees to buckle. He caught her before she hit the ground and swept her up into his arms.

             
She tried to protest. “I can walk.”

             
He laughed at her comment. “Sure you can.” He wasn’t about to put her down. Her small body felt wonderful in his arms and she fit perfectly in the crook of his arms as he walked to the door he had come through. Her teeth were chattering by the time he had her in the castle and back into the room. He gently placed her in one of the chairs sitting in front of the fire then wrapped a blanket around her. He didn’t want to say anything else to her until the anger he had felt at seeing her hanging from the window subsided. He stirred the fire with the metal poker then threw another big log onto the roaring fire.

             
“I…I…had…t…to…t…t…try,” she said as her teeth chatted together and her body shivered.

             
Her eyes followed him around the room. He ran his fingers through his damp hair as he paced back and forth in front of the fire. He chanced a look at her and what he saw clenched his heart. Her green eyes were wide and round and shimmered with unshed tears.

             
“Well, it was a stupid thing to do!” He was almost shouting as the tension slowing ebbed from his body. “It was incredibly dangerous. You could have fallen and broken your neck!”

             
“I know…that! What do you care anyway? You think I am some…some kind of spy!” She pulled the ends of the blanket closer together as the warmth of the fire slowly seeped into her bones.

             
Jakar walked back over to her to stand in front of her. He needed to do something with this woman. Nana and Nyla had been tormenting him all morning about marrying Isobel. The two were insistent with the belief that she was the one Aslog has been waiting for. To him, the story was nothing more than an old wise tale. He would need some kind of proof that Isobel was truly who they said she was.

             
“Tell me where you came from,” he asked. He knew he had caught her by surprise but he wanted the truth. Her green eyes squinted up at him as he stood towering over her form huddle in the blanket. “And I want the truth!”

             
“What for? You’re not going to believe anything I say.” She was going to challenge him. “Besides, I already told you.”

             
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Don’t make this harder than it already is.” He sat in the chair across from her and waited for her to talk.

             
“Fine. Whatever! I live in city in Northern Louisiana. I went to school there and own a small bookstore. I am an only child and loved my parents. I had a fiancé until he decided to…” she stopped talking.

             
“Until what, Isobel? Until he decided not to marry you?” He was sorry the moment the words left his mouth. His words had cut her just the same as if he had taken a knife and cut her skin.

             
“No, you asshole! Until he decided to shoot my parents in cold blood! Happy?”

             
He felt the color drain from his face. How could he have been so insensitive? He didn’t know a thing about this woman, so what made him throw such cruel words at her? One lone tear rolled down her cheek as she sat staring at him. For several minutes, neither spoke. The silence between them was awkward but unnecessary. He knew what he needed to do, even if it was only to shut up Nana and the damn fairy!

             
“We have a problem here, Isobel.”

             
“Really? How’d you figure that out, Einstein?”

             
Okay, he deserved that, but who was this Einstein? He couldn’t believe he was about to agree to marry her.

             
“Look, Nana and Nyla believe that you are in some kind of danger and the only way to protect you is to marry you.” He watched for her reaction and wasn’t in the least surprised by it.

             
She jumped up and shouted at him. “You have got to be kidding me! I am not about to marry you! Protection or no protection. Why can’t you just bring me back to where you found me?”

             
The blanket had fallen off her shoulders and lay pooled around her feet. The thin material of his shirt was still wet on her body and stuck to her like a second skin. He could clearly see her nipples through the material as they pressed against the wet fabric. He swallowed then ripped his eyes away from her breasts.

             
“I cannot do that.”

             
“Yes you can!” she screamed at him.

             
“No! I cannot!” He stepped forward until he was toe to toe with her small form. He was so tempted to wrap his arms around her body to feel her warmth radiating through the wet shirt. He wanted to be the one to strip it from her body. Without realizing what he was saying to her, he grabbed her by the shoulders and spoke directly into her face.

             
“We will be married!”

             
Isobel’s face went blank. He could feel her breathing heavy as he held her arms in his hands. Her shoulders rose and fell with each breath she took causing her breasts to rise and fall along with them. He watched as her lips struggled to form the words she wanted to say but nothing was able to come out. He was too late now with taking back what he said, so he decided to move forward and let her know that she was to his.

             
“We will be married this evening in the great hall. I expect you to be there when the time comes or else I will come for you myself! Nana will see to getting you something to wear.” He let go of her shoulders, shoving her slightly as he did.

             
He left her standing there speechless and he exited the room, slamming the door behind him. That woman affected him somehow and he couldn’t understand why. She was the enemy and he was her captor. He had to figure out what the hell was going on here. Someone had better give him some answers! He stormed down the hall with a goal in mind. The servants he passed dared not to speak or get in his way. They knew all too well when the Lord of the castle was in a foul mood.

******

Isobel couldn’t believe what she just heard. Jakar basically told her they were to be married this evening and that she had no choice in the matter. How in the hell had she gone from fleeing a dangerous predator to being forced to marry someone who thought of her as spy? It was too damn hard to comprehend how her life had changed so much of the last few weeks.

She sat back down in the chair and stared into the fire. Her failed attempt to escape had only landed her in more trouble. Now she had to marry
a man who wanted nothing to do with her and thought she was a fucking spy! There had to be a way for her to get back to her own time. It couldn’t be possible she was stuck here for the rest of her life.

She was so engrossed in her own thoughts that she didn’t
hear the door open then close, unaware that someone was in room with her.

“M’lady?” a female voice spoke from behind her.

Isobel jerked around to find a servant girl waiting patiently for her to answer. “Yes?” She eyed the girl suspiciously.

“My Lord sent me to see to your needs.” She curtsied quickly.

“My needs?”

“Yes, m’lady. To help you get ready for your wedding. The Great Hall is already bei
ng prepared as we speak.”

“What’s your name?” Isobel asked.

“I’m Betsy, m’lady.” Betsy rushed over to the dresser where a brush lay on top. “Turn around and I will brush your hair out then braid it.” 

Isobel did as Betsy asked. Thankfully her clothes and body had dried while sitting in front of the fireplace. A though
t occurred to her that maybe she could get some answers got of this servant and find out what was really going on here.

“Betsy, have you worked here long?”

Not breaking her rhythm, Betsy began to speak. “Oh no. I’ve been here about three months. I usually work down in the kitchen but Nana had need of me elsewhere. She was going to come help you but Lord Jakar needed to speak with her.” Betsy worked the knots out of her tangled, damp hair with jerks that made her cringe in pain.