Lost but Loved

Chapter Six: Lucy or Luke

The night swept the two riders up and covered them so they were able to hide from the human eye. Their horses galloped over the hilly terrain as they sped away. The one's cloak billowed out behind it, making a flapping noise in the wind which barely reached the riders' ears as the wind was fierce that night. Their escape was quick and choppy but they were away and safe for now.

The one cleared his throat and turned to his companion, who at a distance looked very much like a young man. "Lucy, is Cayden a lover of yours?"

The other barked out a laugh, then became silent as the wind whipped at her cloak. "Yes," the answer was quiet and the other barely heard it over the wind in his ears. "Cayden is a lover of mine and has been for a while. He really is nice and sweet, its just that he hasn't been completely honest with me. He's kept his crush on me a secret for a long time."

"Oh. Well, don't worry. And who were those two men?" Lucy turned in her saddle to glare at the prince.

"They are lovers of mine. A past boyfriend and a man madly in love with me. Too bad neither can have me. They really are bastards. Thomas wants me because I'm pretty. Brian had me, but he had to go and," Lucy choked on her words and tears rolled down her cheeks that were wind bitten. Shaking her head, she didn't finish and Damon didn't push for her to complete her sentence.

"Well, you have me now." Damon side glanced at her, wondering what her reaction would be. She only straightened in her saddle and pulled her horse in front of his. He sighed as he continued to wonder about Lucy and her three lovers. Did she love any of them back? Well obvisously not Brian or Thomas, but maybe Cayden. He did have a pet name for her, had hugged and kissed her. He squirmed in his saddle, all this thinking about Lucy liking another boy made him uneasy.

Soon, a really small town rose from the hills. Lucy pulled back on the reins and Havoc danced before becoming still. "That's where we are going. There's a small tavern there where we can get a few drinks, a warm meal and we can sleep in the stables."

"Why the stables?" Damon asked. That part didn't sound the least bit pleasing. Unless he slept with Lucy. A smirk touched his lips and he found himself lucky that she couldn't see it.

Lucy urged her horse on down the hill as she answered him. "Because we would be easier to find if we slept in the inn. Better to stay in the tavern's stables and besides, the stables are cleaner than the rooms." Damon shivered and not because the wind cut through his shirt.

"Fine," he mumbled as they raced down the hill to the little village. They reined to a stop when they were outside the front doors of the tavern. The door burst open, the warm light from the fire throwing light out into the dirt street. A hunched over old man came bustling out the door, bowing to his new customers on the fancy horses. Others in the building came to the door, wondering who was on the magnificent horses.

Lucy straightened in her saddle before she addressed the crowd. "Hello. It is I, Luke Miller and my friend Eugene," she said, coming up with the names on the spot. The old man's brow furrowed as he thought.

"But isn't Luke Miller dead?" he croaked.

Lucy smiled at him as she dropped from her saddle. "No, you are thinking of my brother. If I have my way, we won't talk of my brother, will we?" she winked at the keeper who cringed.

"Yes, master." Lucy beckoned for Damon to dismount and the keeper led them to the stables behind the little shack of a building. "Here's where your horses will stay. And where you will stay too, I'm guessing?"

Lucy nodded, tying Havoc to the stable post with the reins. "Yes. You still have my supplies I hope."

"Oh yes, master. I wouldn't misplace them for the life of me." He waddled over to a table littered with saddle blankets, oils, and leather pieces that had been cut out and discarded. From a pile of leather, he pulled out a brilliant sword that glittered in the torch light and a small pouch which both he handed to Lucy. Damon gasped as he saw the sword, it looked fit for a king!