A Dove's Tale

Chapter 74

Restful sleep evaded me that night, as it usually did. I thought about going out to the hillside to look up at the stars one last time, but remembered the guards and pulled the blanket tighter around me. Maybe I could get away with sneaking out to the gardens in the palace one night. If I dressed in uniform, anybody who saw me would think I was running a late-night errand for Prince Chevalier.

Maybe he could come with me, and he could kiss me under the stars without me crying.

I buried my face in the pillow, my cheeks getting hot even just thinking about it. Losing Mother was a horrible price to pay for a new life with him, but this was what she wanted, and I felt a tiny seed of hope growing in my chest that things were finally going to get better for me, not worse. I really wanted better. I wanted to smile without feeling like I was faking it. I wanted to believe there was something to look forward to.

It was so quiet outside. I could just imagine the cool of the grass under my feet, the way the starlight shimmered on the water, the caress of the night breeze on my face. Thinking about it finally lulled me to sleep.

But I woke with a start when I heard a muffled cry. Or thought I did. I lay still for a moment, listening, and there was a soft scuffing outside my door. Probably the guards moving around so they wouldn't fall asleep, I decided when the scuffing stopped after a few seconds. I must have dreamt the voice. The only thing calling for me was the pillow, and I closed my eyes and nuzzled into it.

The creaking of rusty hinges made me sit bolt upright in bed, my eyes wide open. I didn't dream that, or the figure in the open doorway.

"Who's there?"

I'd barely gotten the words out before a hand covered my mouth and a man dragged me out of bed, pinning my arms to my sides. Panic flooded my chest, and I struggled as hard as I could, kicking out and thrashing. The table and chairs went flying, the vase of flowers shattered with a tinkling of broken glass, but another man was there, grabbing my legs and helping the first wrestle me to the ground. An eerie silence fell, save for the pounding of my heart in my ears as they bound and gagged me. Neither of them spoke. A metallic stench drifted through the open door from a spreading pool of red, glistening in the starlight. There was another figure in the doorway, beckoning in silence to the two men as they stood. One picked me up and slung me over his shoulder, carrying me out into the dark street. I glimpsed the guards, sightless eyes fixed in an expression of shock, slashed throats, and then they were gone, bloody dirt transitioning to green grass as the men walked briskly and quietly away. My stomach was churning. The guards were dead. Because of me, two men were dead.

I retched and gagged, but the cloth over my mouth kept the vomit inside, forcing me to swallow it down, which only made me gag more. My stomach twisted and spasmed. I was choking, coughing and gagging. The man carrying me threw me to the ground and yanked the cloth from my mouth.

"What are you doing?" somebody hissed.

"We need her alive," the man hissed back, gripping the back of my collar as I emptied the contents of my stomach on the grass. I wanted to scream, but I was helpless until the vomiting stopped.

"This is taking too long."

"Stop your whining. The patrol's dead, anyway. We can spare a few seconds."

The soiled cloth was back in my mouth when all I had left was dry heaving. The man threw me over his shoulder again, and I squeezed my eyes shut, shedding silent tears as hopelessness overtook me. Not just the guards, but the patrol, too. How many men was that? At least four, murdered by these men who were tossing me onto a horse and galloping away. I opened my eyes to see the horse's shoulder and one of its flying hooves in my limited field of vision. Even if those hooves crushed me, I had to get away. I squirmed, trying to edge my way off the horse, but a blow to the back of my head plunged me into darkness.