Bonds that Burn and Bind

Chapter 7 Part 3

AN: Thanks so much for the 491 reads and 147 votes I hope you enjoy this chapter!
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We made it back onto The Path, almost without incident, only having to hide behind a tree stump and hold our breath so the spirit of a man with an arrow through his head did not detect us, as it passed. Spirits were believed to be born from a soul fragmented by a violent death. And people that suffered violent deaths in Dalmar weren't usually good people. And bad people made evil spirits.

After only walking a short distance, several figures on horses appeared on the horizon. As they drew closer, I spotted my father and Daen riding in front of them. Side-by-side, their resemblance was even more evident, with their long faces that sometimes made them appear somber. However, my brother's face possessed a gentleness my father's lacked. With them were several male servants and Orin's guards, male, female, and folks who saw themselves as neither dressed in a mixture of uniform and night clothes.

Orin's grip loosened on my arm and then disappeared. I looked at him as a feeling of emptiness hollowed me, and our gazes collided—so much confusion— so much love.
I turned back towards my father as he dismounted, dressed in his night clothes. Before I could say anything, he wrapped me in a tight embrace. "Thank you, Earth Mother and Father Sky," he said, pulling back, his eyes sweeping me head to toe, nodding in approval upon finding nothing obviously wrong. "I thought we lost you again."

He looked towards Orin and bowed. "King Orin, I'm in your debt for saving my daughter, although I suspect this isn't the first time you have."

"She saved me just as many times if not more," Orin replied, and I couldn't stop the small smile his words brought to my lips.

I let my father pull me onto his horse with him, and he gave me his cloak to keep warm, before urging his stallion into a run.

He repeated what Daen had told him, and made me explain exactly what had happened in my own words, before we fell into silence, the night flying past like a continuous spool of dark, twinkling fabric. We slowed as we reached the gates of Ashwood Manor.

Much to my dismay, the courtyard was packed with people, all dressed in their sleeping garments. Their excited chatter drowned out the sound of our approach. Lady Aimsworth, wearing a similar nightgown to me, with a pink robe over it, was one of the first to notice our return. She stood next to a tall, lanky man with strawberry blonde hair and a round face that held a boyish charm—my fiancé, Lord Fredrick Aimsworth. He also turned to look in our direction, as many others did.

"No!" Lady Aimsworth shrieked, having to stand on her tiptoes to cover her son's face with her hands. "Seeing the bride the day before the wedding is bad luck! And this wedding doesn't need anymore at that!"

"Dadddddy!" A little shrill cry rose up from the crowd. My eyes searched the crowd until I found my three-year-old niece, Sofia, in the arms of her nanny. Her brown hair braided with a yellow ribbon.

Daen had gone on to marry the princess from Fantasia after I left for Incartha, but she had died giving birth to their only child, Sophia. Then, civil war broke out, so Daen, my gentle brother, had come back to Dalmar with his baby girl to raise her at Ashwood Manor. He often spoke fondly of his late wife, telling Sophia endless stories about her, but never spoke much of his time in Fantasia.

Daen got off his horse, and rushed over, scooping his daughter up into his arms.

"Oh my goodness my sweetheart, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked.

"Sorry, m'lord, the commotion woke her, and she insisted she needed to wait outside for your return," Sofia's nanny explained.

"Well then, I'll need to get her inside as quickly as possible, she can't be keeping her nanny awake all night!" He hoisted her up on his shoulders and bolted for the main entrance, while Sophia shrieked with joy.