The Wizard's Misery The Chronicles of the Midlands Book One

Chapter Thirty Six

In the morning, Celine woke up wrapped comfortably in Brandon's embrace as he slept and she immediately remembered what had happened. "I killed a man last night," she told herself feeling terribly guilty. "I'm never going to use a sword ever again," she decided as she lay there with silent tears falling again, replaying what had happened in her mind. She saw the man being impaled as she sprung up onto her feet, his look of complete shock as he grabbed the blade protruding from his stomach and then she watched as he crumpled to the ground.

"It was an accident. But, if I hadn't been armed, that man would still be alive," she sadly concluded. "I'm just going to rely on my hand to hand combat skills from now on. That way I won't accidentally kill anyone," she promised herself, still not feeling consoled but remaining guilty.

She realized that Brandon had awakened and she looked up into his face, seeing his concern as he put his hand on the back of her head and gently pressed her cheek against his chest. "Stop thinking about it," he told her gently. "You're only torturing yourself and it was an accident," he said as he began stroking her hair. "I'm so glad that you're still alive and that I can hold you like this," he said passionately and then he kissed the top of her head. "Things could have been very different and I'm glad it turned out this way."

"I'm not ever going to use a sword again," she told him in a small voice.

"Ssh, ssh," he whispered as he continued to stroke her head. "We'll stay in Flatlands at the inn tonight and then take you to Halfaway in the morning so that you'll be safer. Then you won't ever have to use your sword again," he told her comfortingly.

They laid like that with him stroking her head as she lay snuggled up against him for awhile and then they heard Haverty stirring and sitting up. He looked over at them, giving her a concerned look full of pity. "I'm going to check on the horses, Sir," he said softly and then he went out, letting in a blast of frigid air before closing the flap.

Brandon looked down at her and stopped caressing her hair and he wiped the tears from her face. He noticed the dark circles under her eyes and the fading bruise on her pale face and he felt relieved that she would be safely back in Halfaway tomorrow so she could properly rest and have time to get over the ordeal she'd been experiencing over the past two weeks.

"First she was chased by soldiers, then she got sick, then she was kidnapped, then she was forced to fight just about everyday and now she's accidentally killed a man. That's an awful lot for a young woman to have to deal with in such a short time," he told himself as he looked down at her compassionately. "I want you to ride with me when we leave and we'll let Haverty lead Sprite," he told her. "You look exhausted and this way you can rest."

She nodded her head, looking sad and forlorn with a faraway cast in her big, sapphire eyes which were red and puffy from crying. He felt so bad for her but then he started getting angry that Robin Rushing had dragged her into all of this. "Well, at least this all ends for her tomorrow. I'll have her safely back home where she belongs instead of in the middle of this war that she had no business fighting in the first place,"  he thought with annoyance directed at Robin. "I'm going to tell him off when I see him again and make it plain that I don't want any more women involved in anything but surveillance in the taverns,"  he promised himself.

He gazed down at her and saw that she was looking up at him. "Are you ready to get up? We'll eat and then get ready to leave," he told her and she nodded her head. He released her and they sat up. He reached for her backpack and took out the sack of food as Haverty came back inside.

"The horses are fine," he told them as he closed the flap, stealing a glance at Celine who was sitting there looking defeated.

"We'll eat and then get ready to leave," Brandon told him as he held out a sandwich for him to take. He took it and nodded his head and then sat down to eat it, stealing glances at Celine and feeling sorry for her.