My Princess

Chapter 8

Myra POV
I slowly start to wake up. Everything thing in my body hurts. My ribs are so bruised it hurts to breathe, and my head is throbbing from when I was thrown on to that rock. I slowly start to remember what had happened. I was chased by a group of men, then they nearly killed me. I also remember bashing someone's face in with a rock. Then crawling into some barn.
My eyes dart open and I look at my surroundings. I realize I am still in the barn but something is different. Instead of being on the ground as I was when I passed out, I am now on a bed. I reach my hands up to the wound on my head and find a bandage wrapped around my head.
I start to panic. Wondering who found me and why they were helping but my attention was then drawn to the barn door as I see a figure standing there.
As my eyes adjust I can see an old woman looking at me with kind eyes. She starts to move closer and I move away from her, to the edge of the small bed. She is still walking towards me when she notices that I am alarmed by her presence.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I'm not gonna hurt ya." She says. "My husband and I found you passed out in here when we came to feed the horses. We didn't think you would make it through the night. But alas on three days later you are now back in the land of the living."
"Three days? I have wasted so much time. I must be going." I say and sit up as fast as I can trying to ignore the pain and lightheadedness.
"No, you can not leave in your condition. You must stay. I will make you something to eat, some nice, hot stew." She says urgently.
"Why are you doing this for me? You do not know who I am." I ask.
"I know who you are. Everyone in the entire kingdom knows you." She says calmly. "You are Myra. And you are wanted by the king. For a large reward, I may add."
She is going to sell me to the king. My eyes widen and I take my chance to stand up, I look around for a way to escape. I take one step and nearly fall back down. The lady sees what I am trying to do, but does nothing but smile.
"I am not going to turn you in. That evil king has taken a lot from me and my family. The last thing I want is his tainted money." She tells me. I relax a little. "What does he want with you anyway?"
"He is a sick man. Apparently, he is bored. And needs someone to keep him company, and I am the one he wants. He killed everyone else that 'kept him company'."I say through gritted teeth, just saying it out loud makes me furious. I can't help but wonder. "Why? You don't know me so why would you risk so much to harbor a wanted person? If he finds me here he will have you executed."
The lady shakes her head and walks over to me. She gently grasps me by the shoulders and looks me in the eyes. She is nearly in tears and has a very serious look on her face.
"That man took my son's life. I swear to you that I will not let him take another innocent life. As long as you are an enemy to him, you are a friend of mine." She smiles as a single tear slides down her face. We both turn when we notice the woman's husband walk through the door.
"Oh good. You're alive. Thought you were a goner there." He says. And I smile at him and to his wife.
"I'm not that easy to kill. I swear to you guys. I will avenge your son. And I will kill the king, I just have someone I must save first." I say.
They both look at me and the kind women start to cry clutching on to her husband's shirt. He looks at his wife and strokes her hair and then looks back at me.
"I know you will, but you can't do it without any weapons. Follow me, Myra." He says walking out of the barn.
I follow him to a small shed and inside this shed was a bow, arrows, a sword, and a suit of armor. The man pulls out a small decorative box and opens it up. Inside there is a dagger. He picks it up and looks at it longingly.
"This is the dagger the king used to kill my son. He was a brave, and noble knight. But the king took his life all because my son tried to save the love of his life who had become pregnant without being married. The king then lost his temper and took my sons own dagger and killed him with it. His wife later gave birth to the child and was killed after. We do not know what happened to the baby." He looks at me and hands me the dagger. "I want you to take this a shove it straight through the king's heart."
"I will, I promise. He must pay for what he has done." I say without any hesitation.
The couple then helps me put the armor on and hand me the sword, bow, and arrows. The women bring around horse, fully saddled.
"I'm so grateful for everything but I cannot accept your horse. You must need her." I say.
"Fury was my son's horse and she still longs for the wide open space to run and the adventure." The woman says.
I smile graciously and hop on to Fury. I look back down to the couple and thank them for everything they did, they smile and tell me to avenge their son. And so I start to head off. But I can't shake something. And I turn back around.
"Your son. What was his name?" I ask.
"His name was Lance and the girl he loved was named Grace." The man replied. He walked over and then handed me an old envelope.
"Read this when you have a free moment." He says. I put my knight's helmet on and ride off. Towards the tower in the north. To find my princess.