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

Chapter Forty Six

Celine was very weak and tired from not having had any food for the past four days and very little water as she had become reliant upon what Jefferson had been able to sneak to her which had only been a water skin and she kept that hidden beneath her so it wouldn't be discovered if anyone should come to check on her.

But, no one had appeared since Jefferson had shown up in the middle of the night with the water skin, being very apologetic about not having brought any food. He explained that the Captain was strictly monitoring everyone's food intake to make sure no one brought her any and that he was giving her his water ration for the day. She had felt really bad about accepting it. However, he had insisted that she take it and then he hurried away before he could be discovered missing from his bunk.

As she lay on the cold floor wrapped in her blanket, she listened to the unusual activity going on outside which had been getting increasingly more fervent as the day wore on. "I wonder what's going on? They must be having some kind of drill," she surmised as they had been having daily drills for the past two days since she had arrived.

"Maybe I should just go ahead and finish the little bit of water that's left and go out and see what they're doing. Seems silly to stay in here not knowing what's going on just so that I can keep that little bit of water hidden," she decided as she reached down beneath her and pulled out the almost empty skin. She took off the cap and then drank the last three mouthfuls of water before trying to stand up.

She immediately felt light headed and dizzy and to steady herself until her head stopped spinning, she grabbed hold of the empty pedestal which at one time had held the Wizard's Misery. She had slept next to it for the sole purpose of supporting her if she had to get up and she now leaned on it until she finally felt ready to try to walk outside. She took a few cautious steps realizing that it would be the first time she had left her dorm since she had looked out over the empty sea of golden reeds surrounding the Tower when she had first arrived.

She managed to make it to the door and pulling her robe and the blanket more tightly around herself, she prepared for the blast of frigid air that was about to hit her when she opened it. As she had expected, she was assailed by the brisk breeze as she stepped outside into the cool early evening air. But, what really stunned her was the scene which lay before her as all of the lookouts had been armed with bows and were raining arrows down into the Tower's enclosure and she immediately knew that Brandon had come to rescue her.

She hurried over to an empty battlement and looked down into the enclosure below and saw rebel soldiers in wedge formations slowly making their way through the barrage of arrows towards the the Tower entrance and ranged outside of the enclosure were the ranks of rebel forces. She saw the battering ram which they must have used to breakdown the portcullis and she remembered Brandon telling her about how Martin had made it. The next thing which caught her attention was what appeared to be the coach that had formerly belonged to Jackman which they had used to cross the Plains. "That must be our coach! Why else would a coach be at a battlefield?" she thought and the sight of it brought tears of joy and relief to her eyes.

"Celine Rushing," a voice softly called and she looked over to see Jefferson approaching her from few feet away and she waited for him to reach her. "Someone is making a big effort to get you," he said as he joined her and looked down through the battlement. Then he turned and gave her a serious look. "The Captain is on the stairs and he'll be calling for them to bring you soon. So, you have to follow me so I can hide you," he said as he took her arm and began leading her towards a staging area full of chests and crates.

When they arrived, he looked to see if anyone was watching, then he quickly lifted the lid of an empty chest, telling her to get inside as he helped her and then he swiftly closed the lid. "I'll be right back. Stay inside," he told her and she could hear his footsteps as he walked away.