Battle Horse

Chapter Thirty Five

He was weary as he road into the small village. He had been delivering the message throughout all of the Celtica and Redmont for the past week. News of Morgaraths death. He was a simple scribe, but it was a time of need. Messengers were needed for more important missions, so the scribes were sent to deliver the hope to the people. This village held thirty or so houses, but no inn, and no tavern. It was hidden between the mountains, and he had almost forgotten about it. It was raining as his horse trotted into the village. The first house he saw was lit up with inviting light of a fire. He dismounted and made his way to the door, ready to feel his fingers from the warmth once more.

He knocked on the doors and shuffling could be heard from behind the wood. It was opened and a young boy answered.

"Mum!" He called. A woman trotted over, noticing the sodden scribe.

"Oh! Do come in!" She exclaimed.

"Thank you, Ma'am." He said thankfully.

"What is your name?" She asked.

"George, Ma'am. And I have brought good news to the village."

***

Ena was woken the next morning by Corbin banging on their door. She angrily stomped to the door and glared at the messy man.

"It's still early, so go annoy someone else." She snapped.

"I believe you'll want to here this, Milady." He said. He entered the house, and marched over to Evanlyn's bed. He scooped her up into his arms, earning a frightened yelp as he woke her abruptly. "A village meeting has been called. Some messenger came last night to Jeanette's, and he said he must speak to everyone." He announced. Ena growled and grabbed a shawl, wrapping it around her shoulders. She put on her boots, not bothering to lace them up. Corbin made sure Evanlyn was warm enough before he followed Ena out the door.

The village square was filled with the villagers, all bustling about to hear the news brought by the messenger. The door to Jeanette's house opened, and gangly boy stepped out, making his way to the front to address the crowd. Ena could barely see over the sea of heads, but she recognized that unruly hair anywhere. When he spoke, she was certain it was him. George. Her George.

"I have brought news concerning the war. Morgarath is dead. We have won." He announced. The village cheered, several hats were launched into the air. Ena didn't have enough energy to cheer, her thoughts were over taken by the fact that George was standing there, not ten metres from where she stood. The villagers began to disperse, leaving Ena a clear view of him.

"George." She whispered at first. She cleared her throat.
"George!" She yelled. Her sudden shout caused several people to glance at her, George being one of them. His eyes widened at the sight of her.

"Ena?" He asked, looking as if he had seen a ghost. She ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

"You're here!" She cried, tears in her eyes. He still had not moved. His expression was pale.

"But you're dead." He whispered. Ena rose an eyebrow, dropping her arms from him and taking a step back.

"No...no I'm not. George I'm right here. I was only banished." She stated. He shook his head.

"No. Horace and Gil met up with the princess. She said that you were killed. Slaughtered by the Wargals." He said, horrified. "Well, she didn't exactly say it like that. She played under an alias of her last handmaiden, Evanlyn, said her lady and her friend were killed. We did a little digging once we found out that lady could have possibly been the princess, and discovered that you had been with them at the time of the attack." George rambled on. He slowly reached out with both hands and grabbed her shoulders. "Is it really you?" She nodded.

"Yes George. We escaped. Dancer saved us." She said. George choked back a sob and tears filled his eyes. He pulled her in close, hugging her so tight she couldn't breathe.

"You're not dead. You're alive." He murmured into her hair.

"I'm here, Goerge." She reassured him. "Is everyone alright? Did Cassandra make it back to her father alright?" George swallowed deeply.

"About that...Will, Horace, and Cassandra helped win the war. They burnt the bridge that Morgarath was using to attack from behind our army. In the process, Will and Cassandra were taken captive." Ena felt her stomach drop.

"Are they okay? Where are they now?" She asked.

"After the Wargals broke the connection with Morgarath, Skandians used the confusion to take them, and sneak off back to Skandia. Halt didn't reach them in time, they were already too far off shore."

"What?!?!" She shouted, causing several eyes to turn back to her.

"Ena? What's wrong?" Corbin asked. Ena turned back to where Corbin held Evanlyn, who had fallen back asleep in his arms.

"Nothing, Corbin. Will you please put her back to bed?" She asked. Corbin nodded, and left with the crippled girl.

"Who is that?" George asked defensively, tightening his grip around her waist. The slight action made her smirk.

"Just a friend, George. He has helped me take care of Evanlyn. When the Wargals attacked, she was not as fortunate as I." She said sadly. George relaxed slightly.

"Ena, you must come home." He said. She let out a sigh.

"You know I can't, George. Upon pain of death, remember?" She said. He rolled his eyes.

"The king is dealing with worse things than a horse thief sneaking back into his country." He said curtly. She glared at the mention of Horse thief.

"Thanks for the optimism, George." She replied sarcastically. He sighed.

"You know what I mean. Ulf would want you back, so would Bob. And I, I mean me...I would also love to have you back..." He said awkwardly. She chuckled as he blushed.

"Last I saw you, you were quite forward, George." She said smirking. He blushed once more.

"Oh, yes...I'm sorry if it was a little much. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again." He said hesitantly. "I wanted you to know how I felt if we'd never meet again." She smiled, and stood on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his pink lips.

"I'm just glad it wasn't the last time. Now I get to return the awkwardness." She said, grabbing his shirt front and pulling him into another kiss, not that he resisted. They continued to kiss as if the villagers staring were not there. When they finally came up for breath, the two of them flushed red, deeply embarrassed.

"Come, we must talk with Evanlyn about what has become of her Lady." Ena said, changing the subject. She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her house, leaving bewildered villagers behind.

***

Sorry it's been a while. I'm having massive writers block with this book. A little bit of filler but not, it's going somewhere, hopefully. Love you all! Please comment and vote!

~Avis