Bow to the King

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Two weeks passed. Every day Rose and William were tugged along through the forest until the castle seemed to just be a distant memory, far, far away. They never lost hope, though, not once, not even when Eliad mocked them or forced them to suffer. They reached the main encampment of the rebels within a week. There seemed to be hundreds and hundreds of them - so many, Rose wondered how far Eliad had travelled to seek his army.

Rose's stomach grumbled terribly and was accosted by sharp stabbing pains that cried for food every day. It was the pain of hunger that woke her up. She groaned and rolled over, only to come face to face with a woman. She squeaked and jolted away from the unexpected person. Her hair was a greying brown and her eyes were a hazelnut colour. The touches of wrinkles framed parts of her face and her eyes had deep bags under them. As the sleep fog faded from Rose's mind, she realised she recognized the person.

"Mira?"

"Here, I tried to take as much as I could, but people were watching me." The woman handed Rose a cloth filled with a small portion of food. Rose nudged William awake and Mira handed William his own cloth.

"Thank you, Mira, we are indebted to you," Rose said with a small smile.

"Nay, it is I who is indebted to you," Mira replied.

As Rose ate, she thought back to the day Mira had first approached her.

The woman, Rose knew she was called Mira, walked up to the two captives as the sky was beginning to brighten with dawn. Rose watched her hesitantly as she rushed up to the pair and dropped to her knees.

"I know you do not know me, and you have no reason to trust me, but..." she trailed off and stared at her hands.

William woke up from the sound of her voice and sat up protectively, shielding Rose from the woman.

"What do you want?" He asked defensively. Mira looked over her shoulder nervously and cleared her throat quietly.

"I am afraid," she whispered. Rose moved into a more comfortable position and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"The first day... did you mean what you said when you stated the royal family are good people? Do you truly believe in the purity of their hearts?"

"Of course I do," Rose replied.

"I think... I think I made a terrible decision," Mira whimpered.

Rose looked over the woman's shoulder. No one seemed to have noticed that Mira was talking to the two captives.

"I do not understand, Mira. Why are you here?" Rose asked as gently as she could.

"I do not want to do this anymore. I regret coming here with Eliad. I am scared of what will befall me if I continue down this road, but alas, I cannot turn back now for Eliad has spies everywhere."

"Why did you come here in the first place?" William challenged, frowning sternly.

"To protect my daughter."

"From who?"

"Eliad... he has information on everyone. He has manipulated most of us here into doing his bidding."

"You are saying you wish to escape?" Rose asked.

"Aye. But even if I were to return to the castle, the King would never have mercy on me. I will be punished for joining Eliad's army."