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

Chapter Forty Four

The carriage continued on it's way and Celine stared out the window, looking up at the stars, trying to make out the constellations to pass the time and soon she noticed that the sky had begun to lighten and she knew that day break was approaching which meant they would be at the Tower very soon. And right enough, just as the sun began to rise, the carriage stopped and Frapps came to the door and opened it.

"Hey, Boss! Should I untie her now?" he called over his shoulder as the larger man came into sight behind him.

"No, Frapps! They can untie her once we're paid," he explained as he pushed the smaller man out of the way and came into the carriage, grabbing Celine and pulling her towards the door where he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. She didn't struggle as he carried her and she couldn't see where they were going since the blanket had slid over her head. But, she knew where she was and for some reason, she was okay with it.

"Who goes there?" a gruff man asked as Boss stopped walking and Celine could feel him go tense.

"I've got the rebel that Maledictor's been searching for with those magical machines and we're here to collect our bounty," Boss said as he stood there.

"Hold on while we check to make sure you've got right the person," the gruff man said and Celine could hear a loud metallic squeal as something was opened and she imagined it was the Tower's main gate. Then she heard lots of footsteps rushing towards them which halted a few feet away.

"The machine was spinning real fast and pointing to them and then it broke like it's supposed to. So, they got it, Captain!" a man was saying very excitedly.

"Okay, give us the rebel and we'll give you your gold," the gruff man said as he came towards them. "Take him," he ordered and Celine heard footsteps quickly approach and then Boss was lowering her and she was being carried by two men, one had her shoulders and the other had her feet as they took her away and the last thing she heard before they closed the gate with another loud squeal was Boss laughing in delight as he received his gold.

The two men carrying her suddenly tossed her and she skinned her elbows as she hit the ground and landed heavily on her back. "Ouch!" she called out wincing. "That hurt!"

"It's a woman! The rebel is a woman!" a man yelled to his comrades as he pulled the blanket off of her and men in uniform came running to see.

She looked up at the group of men surrounding her as they all peered down at her in surprise. "Isn't she pretty!" one of them said.

"Look at the color of her hair!" another one said.

"Look at her eyes!" a third one said. And then a man pushed his way through them and they all backed up and saluted him.

"Captain!" they all said as the man ignored them and bent down and looked right into Celine's face.

"What's your name, rebel?" he asked in his gruff voice as he frowned at her.

"Celine Rushing," she told him as she sat up.

"Did I say you could sit up, rebel?" he asked her and she quickly laid back down trying to be compliant. "Where is the Wizard's Misery?" he demanded.

"It's gone. I swallowed it," she explained in a matter of fact manner.

"You swallowed it?" the Captain said in disbelief. "Then I guess we'll have to cut you open to get it," he said and motioned to his men with his hand.

"It's been over two weeks ago and I already passed it. So, it's not inside of me any more," she explained as she lay there looking up at him while the other men gathered around listening.