Away

Chapter 4

They had been riding for a while when a sudden shake of the carriage made her instinctively grab her brother more tightly while she used her other arm to hold on to the wall of the carriage. Across from her, Will looked up, equally alarmed at the jolt, before they both realized what was about to happen. Neal, who tried to balance himself using his cane and the side of the wall, was thrust forward violently, and most certainly would have fallen face front on the floor of the carriage in the area between their seats if it weren't for both Will and Naira quickly getting down and holding him back.

"I'm alright, I'm alright." Neal forced a laugh, sitting back down.

"Are you sure?" Naira's voice was thin, her heart beating loudly in her chest.

"Davis..." Will's tone was icy, and it ran down a shiver through Naira's spine. She knew that was the name of their coachman,and she was suddenly afraid for him.

"Davis!" Will yelled this time. "You know you are to drive extra carefully and avoid bumps on the road when Prince Neal is travelling with us."

There was no response from the outside. Naira noticed she was still holding Neal's arms, and she gently slid her hand away.

"Oh stop it, Will. It is not his fault. It was probably a deer or something that got in the way." Neal responded, but Will did not seem pacified. "Davis!" He yelled a third time, and still there was no response. "I'm going to kill him" He muttered while helping Neal lean back in his seat, and then started to open the carriage door.

The door opened on its own.

"That won't be necessary." A tall man with dark hair and beard stood on the other side of the door. He had a long bloody sword in one hand, and seemed to be holding something in his other hand, but Naira couldn't quite see what it was at first.

"Who are you?" Will asked, his voice even and neutral, even though the man's demeanor and his bloodied sword was enough to tell them that they were under threat. Will took a glance at his cousin and her, his gaze lingering on her just a few seconds longer than she expected, before continuing to head out. She knew he was trying to take the conversation outside for the sake of all of their safety, but she had the distinctive urge to pull him back inside. But before Will could step out, the man moved closer, and when she saw what he was holding in his other hand, Naira screamed out louder than she ever thought was humanly possible. The man was gripping the decapitated head of the coachman, Davis, his fingers twined around the hairs on his detached head, fresh blood dripping from the neck where it was severed. Her shriek was followed by her brother crying as she quickly went over to cover his eyes. Will jumped out of the carriage and lunged towards the man, causing him to drop the sword.

Davis' decapitated head was rolling away on the dirt path. Seeing Will and the man wrestling each other, Neal attempted to get down from the carriage as well, but Naira grabbed his arm.

"Don't go!" She yelled out.

"He needs help." Neal exclaimed, reaching for the door, cane in hand. It was not that Naira was not worried about Will or that she was fine with him fighting and putting his life at risk while the three of them stayed inside the safety of the carriage. But Naira knew that they would do more harm than help outside. She did not have much certainty that Will cared whether she died or lived, but in the day and a half she had known him, it was apparent what Neal meant to him. Neal's presence would only distract Will from the fight which he was clearly winning. He had pinned the man down under him and was giving the man a hearty beating, while the man struggled to get free. Before Naira could reason with Neal that it was better to let him finish the fight and come back inside, another man, similarly tall and heavy picked Will up by grabbing him from the back of his tunic. At this, Naira pushed past Neal and jumped off the carriage.