Betrothed

Chapter Forty-Three: Rescuing the Princess

Henry slowly climbed from the frigid water towards Rozelle. He cradled the little princess in his arms. Her lips had turned blue. The tips of her fingers were blue. Her breathing was less labored, but shallower.

"Help me, Rose," he begged. "Help her!" Rozelle grabbed up Audrianna from Henry's arms and carried her a few feet from the waters edge and laid her on the ground. Henry climbed out of the water, his feet also numb from the icy water.

"We've got to get her warm," Rozelle said. "Warm clothes and a warm fire. Neither of which we have."

"Then we'll keep going until they become available," Henry desperately replied. He picked up his shivering cold betrothed and raced down the steep embankment, hoping to come across a village or farm. A house. Any house. They would have clothing, or blankets, a stove, or a fireplace. Whatever they could find would be a thousand times better than what they had.

Both Henry and Rozelle made their way down the side of the mountain, complicated with the fact that Henry could barely feel his feet, much less the lower half of his legs. He stumbled a few times, falling to his knees on the rocky terrain, but protecting Audrianna in his arms. With great difficulty, the Prince wrestled back to his feet, then carried his betrothed down to the edge of a valley.

In the distance, the two protectors spotted flickering lights faintly through the trees. Where there was light, there was fire. Fire meant warmth, and warmth came with blankets. Hopefully.

A mile passed.

Two miles.

The feeling came back to Henry's feet as he raced towards the house. Faster and faster he ran, looking down at Audrianna to make sure her eyes had not closed. Rozelle ran behind him, trying her best to keep up, but halfway through the second mile, she lagged behind.

As Henry approached the Andjety farmhouse, he looked down into Audrianna's face. Her eyes shut right.

"Ree, wake up," he called. He shook her as he ran. "Ree! Open your eyes! Ree, you need to open your eyes and stay awake!"

No response.

Her breathing had all but stopped, and she no longer was shaking or shivering.

Henry ran for all he was worth towards the front door of the house. Every ounce of energy he had was given to entering the house and warming his friend. As he stepped on the small porch, instead of knocking and asking to come inside, he briskly walked up to the door and kicked it in. The thin wooden door broke in half. Startled, an old Andjety man jumped from his chair to confront the intruder.

"I am Prince Henry of Nadeau," he announced. "Forgive my abrupt intrusion, but my little girl fell into icy cold water, and is dying. I need to warm her beside your fire, and I need warm blankets immediately."

"Nadeau?" was the old man's response.

"BLANKETS!" Henry shouted. "Gets to me blankets!" The old man quickly ran into the next room. Henry knew the princess's cold, wet clothes would prevent her from warming up, so he immediately started to strip them off her body. Rozelle should have been the one to undress the princess, but she had fallen behind, and the princess's life was hanging in the balance. There was no time, nor opportunity, for social propriety.

As the old man returned with several blankets, he also handed Henry several wash rags. Henry took them in his hand, not sure what the man expected him to do with them. As he stared at the rags in his hand, the man reached above the fire, and removed a hanging kettle. Inside was hot water. The man took one of rags and dipped it in the hot water and placed the rag back in Henry's hand. The man then silently motioned for Henry to rub the hot cloth over Audrianna's body.