An Irish Flower (Medieval Romance/Adventure Story)

Chapter 14: Escape

Chapter 14

The castle was still; there was no sound other than the winter winds blowing through the stone towers. Everyone seemed to be sleeping soundly. Suddenly, the peacefulness of the night was interrupted by a sudden shrieking. “Fire! Fire! The armoury is on fire!” A woman screamed. Within moments the entire castle was awake and in a panic. Everyone was rushing to get water or to remove the precious weapons that would soon be destroyed. Camlin's outraged voice bellowed orders as the guards attempted to get the flames under control. He was furious; how could something like this happen in his castle! “Whoever is responsible for this will wish he had never been born!” he bellowed. “I will find out who you are!”

No one noticed the two huddled figures sneak into the stables and lead out two of the frightened horses. They slipped unnoticed to a hidden door in the wall, a door Camlin had built as an emergency escape for him should the castle ever be breached. This side of the castle was built right into the side of the mountain; the passageway curved through the solid rock, coming out on the mountainside just beyond the castle. It was just big enough for the horses to get through. Weylin led them through the narrow passageway, calming the nervous horses as they went. They could still hear the yells of the people trying to calm the flames. Weylin knew they would be occupied for a while yet.

They reached the end of the tunnel and breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the moonlight. They brushed aside the vines that hid the entrance and stepped onto a trail that led down the mountain. Looking back over her shoulder, Maeve could see the blazing light of the fire in the castle. They quickly mounted the horses and galloped as fast as they could towards Fir Domnan.

The cold air bit into Maeve's face, so she pulled her cloak closer. She was glad her father had taught her to ride well; she was able to ride hard alongside Weylin. While Weylin started the fire she had grabbed a few more things and stuffed them in satchel; there was no hiding their plans anymore. In this second bag she had put two warm blankets, another set of clothing for each of them, and a few loaves of bread she managed to grab on the way to the stables. With the food they had saved from the afternoon and the new loaves of bread, she knew it would be just enough to get them home.

After riding hard for several hours, they reached a village and stealthily stopped behind a small stable. Their horses were exhausted; they would not carry them much further. So Weylin carefully entered the stable and traded their worn out horses for fresh horses. He left a few coins on a bench next to the stall in thanks, but he knew that once rested, the valuable lord's horses would be more than enough compensation than the farm horses they took in return. Reaching the edge of the village, they once again mounted the horses and started riding again. They knew they only had so much time before Camlin would notice that they were missing.

At that very moment, Camlin was supervising the last of the fire extinguishing efforts. It had taken hours to fully stop the blaze. He was furiously angry that so many of his valuable weapons had been destroyed. More than half of the castle's wooden bows had been burnt to a crisp; and many of the swords had been melted beyond use. The fire had spread to the blacksmith building and other buildings before it was finally stopped. Camlin greedily drank the cool water he had ordered a servant to bring him. “Where is Weylin? Is he safe? Why did I not see him here fighting the fire with me?” No one seemed to know where he was. “Find him!” Camlin roared. When he received word a few moments later that Weylin and Maeve were not in their quarters and could not be found anywhere else, but that their horses were missing, he rose in fury. “Find them. Find them! FIND THEM!” He roared until his voice could be herd throughout the castle. His eyes glazed over with unquenchable rage. “They will pay for this. They will pay for this dearly!” He stormed to the stables and mounted up with twenty guards. They left the castle as the first streams of daylight were peering over the horizon.

“Son or not, you will die for this treachery,” Camlin said under his breath as they rode hard towards the coast.