Page 6 of The Time Of Kings (An Afterlife Story #1)

5

WRONG ROOM

I was so close to questioning how the hell this could have happened, yet again, when I realised the idiocy of doing so. Because this was me we were talking about. Which meant that, at this point, I was pretty sure that if there was such a thing as the kidnapping Olympics, then I would have been gold medallist ten times over by now. Honestly, I was starting to think of it as some cosmic joke on my behalf and I would have just rolled my eyes. Well, that was had I not been worried out of my mind for Amelia’s sake.

The sight of that blood trickling from her forehead had made me wake with a start, quickly realising two things. The first being that in my manic attempt at trying to fight my way back to my daughter’s side, they must have knocked me unconscious. The second thing was when I awoke, I was half upside down and lying across something moving.

Cracking a cautious eye open, I soon realised why this was as I had obviously been flung over a horse at some point. Well, that would certainly explain the smell and the face full of fur, something I would have pushed myself away from. However, I didn’t think alerting my kidnappers to the fact I was awake was a good idea, so I simply turned my face to the side and took in a deep breath, hoping this would help. I knew at some point we would have to stop and when we did, that was when I would slip from this beast and start running for my life.

I just needed to get far enough away to lose them in hopes of then making my way back to Amelia, praying by now her aunts had found her. Of course, I also hoped they wouldn’t decide to put themselves in danger in hopes to save me.

Oh, but who was I kidding? I had a lot of hopes here and they all centred around keeping Amelia safe. But knowing my daughter the way I did, I also knew that her first priority, just like mine was, would be family. Which meant that time was of the essence and getting back to her before she came looking for me was what I needed to focus on here.

So, with this in mind, the second the horse started to slow I mentally prepared myself, opening my eyes enough to watch as we made our way through a stone arch. One that looked to lead us into a stables of some kind. Well, this was going to be my one and only chance as the men dismounted the horses. Including the one that was riding behind where I was slumped over.

The second they started to turn their backs to me, I allowed my body to slide from the horse, unfortunately crumbling the second I did, as my legs had gone dead. Thankfully for me, the horse seemed to be on my side, as the moment the men noticed, the horse reared up. Of course, this little getaway of mine was shaky to start but with the horse now kicking off (literally), it gave me the head start I needed to get to my feet and start running.

I also realised that the sun was fully up and painting the surrounding countryside in colour, despite being able to see the angry storm clouds in the distance. Meaning the beautiful view in front of me wouldn’t stay as idyllic as it did now for long.

The rolling green hills seemed to go on forever and the mountains made for a dramatic backdrop for the castle I seemed to be running towards. Because unfortunately for me, there didn’t seem like any other route to take. Not when the road leading the opposite way was now blocked by the men running towards me.

Of course, the sight of knights on horseback up ahead was one that managed to make us all stop suddenly. As the road leading along the left side of the castle had nothing but a cliff drop on the other side leading to the valley it was built atop of. I recognised that the knights looked just like those that had come looking for us at the cottage that Pip and Sophia had managed to lure away.

It didn’t take a genius to know what had happened.

The brutes behind me stopped in their tracks at the sight of the knights, and what followed was them giving up trying to get me back in favour of running in the opposite direction.

They hadn’t been working together at trying to kidnap me.

Clearly, these fools had believed they could get the job done and gain the credit for retrieving me before the knights could. This was the only explanation I could come up with for why they quickly scattered.

Something that ended up being a plus for me, as I witnessed this whole thing going down before the Knights could. Which therefore meant that I had time to hide before they actually saw me. This was the good news. The bad news was that there seemed to be only one place to hide, and let’s just say that it was less than ideal. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, as the saying went, so into the ditch I went. One that had a tiny waterfall flowing into it from a small stone arch. Which meant that I easily slid down the side, hiding quickly enough so that they missed me as they finally made chase with my kidnappers.

However, the problem to this was that my foot sank into the mud, and gravity became the enemy when I went face first into the muddy side of the bank. Friction became my second enemy, or should I say the lack of it, because I continued to fall until finally coming to a natural stop when landing in the stream of water at the bottom. I then mouthed a muffled,

“Fuck!”

My body was jarred against the rocks and no doubt gained quite a few bruises for my efforts. But hey, at least the knights hadn’t seen me, so that was a plus.

There was no complaining about my hiding place’s efficiency. Not when I saw some of the knights racing past on horseback as they galloped off, making chase after the kidnappers and therefore unknowingly solving my immediate problem. The next one, of course, was how I was going to get back to Amelia, dressed like I was, still in modern clothes, now covered in mud and in broad daylight, when clearly, I was still being hunted for some insane, unknown reason.

“First things first… get your soggy arse outta this mess,” I muttered before reaching up and failing to drag myself out of the mud about three times before finally finding enough of a grip to do so. Of course, with each attempt I only managed to cover myself in even more mud. Meaning by the end, I could feel it dripping from me. I even tried to get it off my face but with my hands covered, it became an impossible task. Even my hair was caked in it, but at least I’d had the foresight to tie it back and twist it up in a clip. Thankfully, at least some of the wet grass helped, as I used it to wipe my hands before trying to tackle my face. But when it was as bad as being able to taste mud in your mouth, then let’s just say it was a lost cause.

Even my nails looked like I had decided to bury a bone in the garden. Wiping my hands down my thighs had been a no-go thanks to the mud that soaked my clothes. I literally looked like a walking, talking turd!

Yep, I had officially hit an all-time low.

Then after being the single attendee to this pity party I had going on, I took a minute to think what my next move would be. Although, despite the Gods most likely laughing their clean arses off at me right now, they also must have decided to throw me a bone, and not the type they expected me to bury. No, in the form of a small doorway, tucked down some steps, like some servant entrance or something.

Yet despite this doorway being somewhat concealed from the road, I also knew that at some point I would be discovered. Especially when those knights came back to re-join the others as they would have to pass right by me.

Of course, this planning stage of mine was abruptly cut short when suddenly the place I was leaning all my weight against suddenly gave way and the door was opened.

“Aaaaah!” I heard my own scream echoed by the shocked woman who now found me sprawled out on the floor, covered in mud, looking up at her in bewilderment. Then she screamed the very last thing I ever expected her to call me,

“BANDIT!”

“Er… I’m a what now?” I said before she went off running and screaming blue murder throughout what I imagined was the whole castle.

“Oh shit, this is so not good,” I muttered aloud while getting up, now wondering how the hell I was going to get out of this mess. Of course, just running out of the door and back to the road was not an option. Not considering, the second I heard a commotion, I realised it wasn’t just those inside the castle that had heard her. Something I quickly confirmed when I stuck my head out the door and saw what was left of the knights now charging to the maid’s mad desperate bandit call.

Seriously, a bloody bandit?!

I would have shook my head in exasperation had I not been too concerned with quickly slamming the door shut and locking it for good measure. Meaning I had no other option but to try and lose them inside the castle. Something that I admit, was less than ideal. Especially with a witless banshee screaming through the place that some thief had infiltrated the walls.

“Christ, could it get any worse?” I said to myself, before making my way through what looked like the servant quarters and trying to blend into the shadows. Something that wasn’t hard considering I was caked in mud and wearing black. Also, having the song ‘The Look’ by Roxette playing in my head on repeat wasn’t helping matters every time I caught my pitiful reflection. Thankfully, there were enough alcoves and big furniture in this place, that every time I heard footsteps, I at least had a place to hide.

“Jeez, and I thought Afterlife had enough antiques.”

Of course, the stupidity of this statement hit me, as most of the stuff in this place was most likely brand new.

“And I go la la la la la na na na na na na, she's got the look … damn it, Keira, so not the time,” I scolded myself as I finally found what I thought was an exit, only coming to an abrupt stop when I heard the roar of anger from outside. As if someone was about to tear someone’s head off. Then I saw maids go scrambling, obviously getting out of the way from being next in the furious firing line, so I made my move when the coast was clear. Now fearing that whoever it was that was so incensed would soon walk back inside and find me.

Unfortunately for me, this meant the only place left for me to go was up the wide staircase. Its stone arches above reminded me so much of Afterlife, that it actually hurt. There were so many things that reminded me of my home.

Although, it had to be said that, rewind thirty years ago, there were most definitely times when like now, it felt like the very building had been against me. Times I had felt like a rat in a maze I had been desperate to escape from. Just like the night Draven first kidnapped me and held me captive for my own safety. Just like when I had foolishly made my way down into his prison and had desperately tried to survive it. And now here I was, right back to doing the same old shit and asking myself, how did I get myself into this mess so quickly?

“Seriously, Keira, it’s like you have never even seen a horror movie,” I muttered as I crept up the stairs like I was expecting the stone steps to creak. Of course, the second I heard the doors slam behind me, I jumped. This before my whole body froze in its tracks when the wailing servant girl dropped me in it, by shouting for her Lord.

“A bandit! I saw a thieving bandit enter the castle, my Lord!” she shouted, making me roll my eyes and mouth,

‘Thieving… really?’

Deciding that hanging around wasn’t the best plan, I legged it up the rest of the stairs, thinking there must be somewhere I could hide until the coast was clear. After all, didn’t these places have like a bazillion rooms that were never used? Maybe that was just Afterlife, as even after all this time living there, I was still finding random rooms before rolling my eyes at my husband. This before asking him why in Gods mighty ball ache (thank you, Pip, for that one) did we have so many?

Gods, I missed my husband.

In the end, there was nothing for me to do but push down the ache I felt in my chest and get on with the only option I had left. So, I ran to the first landing and looked straight ahead, then to the left, which had another staircase going up to the next level.

“Damn it!” I cursed quietly, not knowing which way to take.

“Ah fuck it!” I swore before running up the next staircase. However, when all the rooms on this level were locked, I panicked and decided to go back on myself and down to the first landing. Then I ran up the next few steps before coming face to face with a very long corridor. The floors were a high polished wood with the walls panelled to waist height. Above this I found long, thin tapestries no more than a foot in width, each showing a particular scene in history.

In one of them a castle looked to be on fire, with people running from the flames and one Lord looking on in anguish. While on the opposite end of the destruction, there were angels looking on. I couldn’t help but question what it meant. Especially now I was fully immersed in Draven’s world. Before it may have freaked me out. but not now. No, now what freaked me out was the unknown, as I was asking myself once again… who owned this castle?

Why would they want me? It wasn’t like Draven knew who I was, nor had he seen me, so it couldn’t be him. No, the only thing I could think of was that the man whose cottage it belonged to had gone to the Lord of this area and told him of us. But then I couldn’t help but question, why just me?

Why just the blonde?

Could it really be?

I quickly shook these questions from my mind and focused back on hiding. Especially when I could hear the commotion downstairs, thanks to the maid and her claims of a bandit in the castle. But now the question became, where to hide? The first two doors along this long hallway were like all the rest… locked.

In fact, I didn’t know how many I ended up trying in my panic, until I finally found a room that wasn’t locked. After tossing up a quick thanks to whoever was listening up there now answering my prayers, I opened the door.

But then as I stood in the middle of the lavish, medieval style room, I not only realized that it was fit for a King, but I also looked down at the floor in horror. Because it was only now that I just realised my stupid mistake. Doing so first by looking to the dirty footsteps on the floor and then back down to the cause of them…

My muddy feet.

“Oh shit,” I said aloud, before covering my mouth the second I heard angry sounding footsteps coming down the hall. Because I had stupidly just led whoever it was who owned this castle straight to me. Which was why I quickly ran to the window. After opening it, I kicked off my muddy shoes. Then I bent down to grab them and made a mad rush over to the bed. This I did in hopes of fooling whoever was coming for me and making them believe I had managed to pull a Spiderman and survive the jump before running for it. Okay, so even for me, it was a long shot, but at this point, I didn’t really have much to lose… other than my head, that was.

So, I shimmied under the high ornate, carved fourposter bedframe and pulled myself in a ball at the centre, hoping this would be enough to hide. And with not a second to waste either as the door barged open before being slammed shut.

Naturally, I couldn’t help jolting at the sound, and nor could I help but raise my head to look. I watched as a pair of men’s riding boots stormed over to the window, and it seemed that at least part of my plan was working. Especially when I heard a snarl of anger, followed by a smashing sound as something was thrown and exploded as it landed against the stone wall. I tried not to react but the small yelp that escaped me was one I could only hope was masked by the destruction.

However, the second it became very still and deathly silent in the room, I knew it didn’t look good for me. Not when it was as if someone was trying to listen out for something they think they might have heard. I even tucked my head to my chest and held my breath, trying for a short time not to breathe. Something that must have worked as the next thing I knew, I heard the door opening and closing again, telling me they had finally given up and left.

When I braved another look and could no longer see any feet, I couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Especially knowing how close I had come to being caught. Which was why I stretched out and tossed my shoes out from under the bed first. Then I quickly followed, and I shimmied out on my belly by dragging myself forward.

But then I soon realised my mistake. However, it was too late as I cried out in shock when two booted feet landed right in front of me. Something that gave me no other option than to try and scramble back under the bed. A hasty retreat that didn’t exactly go to plan when a man’s large hand reached down and grabbed a fist full of material by my shoulder. Then he used this hold on me to easily slide me from my hiding place and haul me upwards to standing.

Jesus, he was strong.

But then I wasn’t surprised. Not when I soon found myself looking up at the last face I expected to see here. One I was equally thankful for as much as I wasn’t.

Hence the second I felt the blade held at my neck, the first words out of my mouth couldn’t be stopped. Not when I looked at my husband’s furious face and said…

“Ah bollocks.”