Royals

Chapter 4

 I didn't have a dream; I guess that means that my nightmares have come relatively real and my mind is done badgering me with horrid dreams. We ride all night; the stars shine bright enough for us to see the path ahead. Four horse men ride behind us and two riding in front. The horses in front kick up dust and I constantly have to rub my eyes making the skin around them irritated and red. The air's cold and damp making me shake; I see frost on the bark of the trees as we pass by. The foul smell makes me want to horal but I don't know if the smell is coming from Andrew or me. My arms can't go all the way around Andrews' stomach so I just hold on to the back buckle of his vest.

I see the sun rising slowly and I can see what is around us. The ground isn't dirt anymore; its grass. Thick green grass and I'm already starting to feel cleaner. We arrive up to wooden gates guarded by three men dressed in the same clothes as the men I came with. They hold a bow and a sack of arrows on their backs and walk simultaneously in opposite directions. One staying in the middle and the two outside men walk in different direction and when they get to a certain point they turn around and walk back. They look around at the woods around us and once they spot us and they walk back together. They catch my eye and the two outside men draw their bows and point them at my head. The looks in their eyes are dangerous. I squeeze my grip on Andrews vest till my knuckles are white. The man in the middle walks to the horses in front of me and Andrew. The man that steps off the horse is Elijah, the one that Charley yelled at when I had woken up. Elijah and one of the guards walk away from the horses and away from my distance of hearing. I watch as they talk intensely. The man's head shakes his head as Elijah talks and gestures with his hands. Occasionally they would both look at me and then continue the conversation. I can only hear mutters of my name and everything else is too soft to hear. The man brings his hand to his face and gestures with his other hand to the other guards to open the gates. Elijah walks back to his horse and gives me a look before he climbs on the horse again and starts towards the opening door. All the horses follow the one before it in a line and as we pass the guards they look at me with dour dispositions.

Our horse enters the gates and once I was surrounded by ramped trees and grass and now I am surrounded my dirt and mud houses. Chaoses of people walk in a hurry to all different places. Women wear long dresses and skirts with their hair up in a bun. They all have something in their hands, from water buckets to children. The men wear blue jeans with a belt that consist of some form of a weapon. Their hats lowered so that it covers their face. The houses are made of mud and chimney smoke arises meaning that someone in there was cooking. My stomach clenches together when I smell carrot soup from one of the houses. I haven't eaten anything besides beard and river pee water.

We ride lonely further in to the village and I look around I notice that almost everyone has stopped and looked at me. Kids stop playing with a wagon tire and look at me and when I passed they ran to the comfort of their mothers. Every time we would pass a woman they would give me harsh look and spit at the floor. The men gripped their guns and stared at me like they want to shoot me.

"Ignore them; they just need time to adjust to the fact that there is someone like you here." Andrew said. I could feel the deep vibrations of his voice on hands.

"Why do they hate me; I didn't don't anything to them."

"That right miss, you didn't do anything to them. That's why they don't like your presents." I make a face, I'm confused but Andrew continues.

"They know who you are and who your family is, they think that it is too dangerous for you to be here. The guard almost didn't let us in because you being here can cause our ultimate destruction on this village."

"My family only consists of my father and my mother that I don't even know if she is living anymore." I say with a little anger in my voice.

"Exactly" Andrew says without saying anything else leaving me with worry of weather I will make it the next day without being murdered. When we pass them they get their last glances and resume with what they were doing.

Andrew guides the horse over to sticks of wood protruding from the ground and jumps off to tie the reigns to it then helps me off. My legs are stiff and my neck aches. My eyes are heavy with sleep and sweat, my night dress clings to my body and my hair is filth. My nails are black and I can literally feel my body covered with layers of mud. I can smell myself and I smell like a rag that my maid cleans my toilet with. If Leo were here he wouldn't be able the bare my presents. I wonder what's going on in his mind. Is he looking for me? Is he the lead of the search party? What is my father doing? I could bet that he is doing his normal Royal business and letting all the others do his parts in to finding me. I have been gone for four days. I wonder if they have given up on me. I know Leo would never stop, he would never lose hope. He would go to the ends of the earth to find me. I wish I had his heart, I wish I could be more of a Royal like him then I am. Leo makes no mistakes and he knows what to do and how to be. I can only imagine his hair falling from is ear to his face and there is no one there to push it back in its place. I want to lie down and cry but I promised myself something, don't let them see me cry. It would be a sign that they have got to me and they have control over me. No, no these peasants might have taken me but they haven't taken my pride and my sanity.

I look up at the risen sun and keep my hope that I will be found and I follow Andrew to a mud house a few yards from the horse. I walk in the mud house and I have to squint to see as my eyes adjust to the sudden dimness. I smell carrot soup and burnt bread. When my eyes adjust I see can clearly see a table with soup on it and chairs that surround the table. Two woman and Andrew stand near a door of a room across from me. The women don't give me tepid expressions, they look at me kindly and I am surprised.

"Sit and eat." One of the girls says and she pulls the chair from under the table. I walk over and sit.

"Thanks." I say before picking up the spoon filled with soup and shove it in my mouth. I give a light moan and close my eyes. The soup immediately fills my mouth with a taste that I have never tasted before. I can't compare this to anything I have ever tasted. It sends shivers up my arms as the warm soup fills in my stomach.

"This is really good!" I exclaim, I turn around and there is no one behind me. Andrew isn't there and the two women aren't there either. They left me alone and I didn't even notice they had left. I turn my head towards the door and I see Andrew talking on the other side of the dirt path with one of the men that participated in my kidnapping.

I finish my soup and stand up. I look around and I see a room with a bed in the corner with a dresser next to it. I haven't seen a bed since I was taken and sleep pulls me in to the room. The room is small and nothing compared to the room I had but I didn't care right now, I was just so tired from riding and lying on the ground. I look behind me to see if the two ladies came back but I don't see them. They seemed nice enough for me to lie down without being interrupted, I don't want to be rude and sleep in someone else's bed but before I know it I am on the bed. I lay flat on my stomach; it's not much difference then the ground but I much rather lie on this then the ground. I relax my body and fall in too deep needed sleep.

I dream of my father. We are under the tree where I read my books. We are sitting on the bench. I'm wearing the same nightgown I was kidnapped in, still dirty are hardly white. There is no Leo, no water, no mud, and no choking. The sun is bright and a light breeze makes my bangs sway in my eyes. It is not to hot and not to cold. The river is placid and light waves reach up to the grass and falls back down. I start to think that this is a good dream; but I know I will have to wake up soon and I won't be home. I turn to my father and he turns to me with sad eyes. He takes my hand and gives it a tight squeeze.

"Where are you Bell?" He talks in a smooth and reassuring voice like he used to. He calls me by the nickname he used to call me when I was a child, back when he cared, when he wanted my attention.

"I don't know."

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