An Unexpected Destiny (Completed)

Outcast

It takes an hour after dark for Alistair and I to weave Dove and Boldus through the trees and down the steep hill to the town of Crove.  I have been able to see the town's tiny flickering lights, lanterns and fires, for a while, but it seems that the ancient Scots cannot make straight paths to anywhere.

When we are but a hundred feet from the entrance of Crove, marked by a short, wooden watchtower, Alistair asks, "What story would you prefer, Agnes?  Though Queen Elinor found it proper enough for the two of us to travel alone, I doubt the locals will.  It will be much less awkward and tiresome if we said we were brother and sister, or betrothed, or husband and--"

"Brother and sister is great."  I say quickly.  The last thing I wanted was to be viewed as a wife or fiancée. 

After I show the guards my papers-- documents signed by the queen herself proving that I indeed was travelling with the queen's blessing and oversight-- Alistair and I ride to the livery.  Though the papers do not say why I am travelling nor who I am specifically, the guards do not ask.

I am all jitters.  Will the locals immediately recognize me?  Will they hate me with seething distrust and withhold information?  If they have any at all?  This thought makes me realize how very tired I am.  The lack of sleep from last night is finally having an effect on me. 

We say goodnight to Boldus and Dove and carrying our bags, we make our way to an tavern.  I hear it before I lay eyes on it.  Music and shouts of laughter echo down the otherwise quiet and lone street that runs down the middle of the town, several houses and other buildings lowly rising above it.  Crove isn't as quaint as I expected an 11th century, somewhat isolated town, to be. I can see this even in the dark as there are lanterns lining the streets.  It must have rained here yesterday, because there are shallow tracks in the mud from wagons and dozens of shoes.  We see not a soul until we round a slight bend. 

At the very end of the street is the tavern.  Light bursts out of the window and the building itself seems to be bloated.  It also appears to be standing slightly crooked.  Two men lean on each other after stumbling out the open door.  They stumble from one end of the street to another, having a slurred conversation.  Alistair and I stop to watch them, not moving our heads, only our eyes.  Eventually, one of the men laughs and drops to the ground outside a peaceful residence.  Alistair and I look at each other.  He shakes his head and moves closer to me.  We begin walking again.

"These towns will not be as sophisticated or safe as Dunbroch, Agnes.  So it would be wise to stay close to one another."  We are close together, in fact, we're rooming together and I've been friends with you for less than two weeks.  It didn't bother me that I was rooming with the opposite sex, it was that Alistair was determined to protect and guide me.  As if I was a lady in England who had never set foot out of her city and was vulnerable to the barbarism of the countryside commoner.  Give me a break.  I hadn't gotten off that ledge by screaming in terror or balling my green eyes out.

"You have seen me wield a sword, Alistair.  I believe I can protect myself well enough-- to an extent."  I tack this last part on when I catch the flash of hurt reflected in his eyes.  I didn't want him to think me ungrateful or some angry feminist, I just wanted him to feel unresponsible for my fate.  He was not the reason I was in this mission in the first place.  I was the reason he had left everything, his home, his shop, his career, and friends. "But of course, we will protect one another."

"We shall.  And speaking of seeing you wield a sword, it may be wise for you to continue to practice.  As you did state that you can protect yourself 'to an extent'".  He sounds exactly like me when he imitates my voice.  I can't help but laugh a little.