Iron and Wood #Wattys2017

Chapter Eighteen

It was still dark when they set off from the healer's house the day after-- the streets were nearly empty except for guards and Templars.  The horse's hooves clattered on the cobblestones, and Shal kept her head down, dreading the shout that could come any second.

They halted outside of the in at the back gate of the town, pulling the horse into the shadow between it and the wall.  

"Shal, this is stealing," Ella whispered.

"Where do you think that dress you're wearing came from?" Shal shot back.  She avoided looking at the bloodstain on the collar.  "Besides, we're leaving this one in its place.  They're getting a fair payment."

She tied the stallion to a water through as deep in shadow as she could manage.  A guard walking on the battlements was silhouetted against the moon.  

"How am I going to get on?" Ella demanded as Shal lifted her down, and then carried her around to the back of the stable.  "I can't stand on my own at all now-"

"I know.  Just-- shhh."

Shal untied another horse.  In the dark it was impossible to discern anything beyond it being a pale mare.  She hoisted Ella onto its back, climbing up behind her.

The back gate had been opened for the first farmers arriving before the crack of dawn.  

They were the only ones exiting.  Shal held her breath as they passed the guard.

"Halt!"

Shal closed her eyes. The guard stepped up beside them.

"What business do you have leaving the city at this hour?" he demanded.

"Imperial business." Shal said as threateningly as possible. 

The guard hesitated, and then thrust his torch forward to illuminate her face.

"It's the--!"

Shal jammed her heels into the horse's side.

The horse bolted, and Shal nearly lost her seating.  An arrow whizzed past her head, and she instinctively shielded the girl in front of her as they swerved hard into the woods.

There was a commotion by the gate.  Templars ran up to the guards, and in their torchlight Shal could see three sets of silver armour, and one flash of red.

Felix?

The trees closed in around them, and the brief trace of him disappeared from sight.

***

They came to a crumbling tavern on the road as the sky had grown dark again.

"Can we stop here?" Ella asked.  

Her voice was still strained and painful, and Shal hesitated before slowing to a halt.  

"Stay here." Shal slid down off the horse.

She nudged open the door to the tavern.  It hung on a slant, and creaked as it turned.  

The place was filled with mercenaries, the firelight illuminating more weapons than she imagined that many people could carry.  It reeked of smoke, ale and some kind of unidentifiable meat. 

The only other woman was behind the counter.  She glanced up as Shal approached.

"I know who you are." She wiped out a dirty cup with a dirtier cloth.  "You've got a lot of nerve coming here."

Shal backed away slightly.  The woman waved her back.  

"Do you see any Templars?" She gestured to the men gathered around the tables.  "If I turned in every fugitive I met I would lose half my business.  What do you want?"