The Lies that Made Us

Amelia

Amelia was ready before the sunrise. She sat on her bed with her packed bag, watching for the first weak light that would show her the day was beginning. She looked around the room, the only thing she had known the past three years, and felt no sadness in leaving. Awful things had happened to her there. It not only tainted her room but the whole palace. It was once a wonderful place to her, filled with wonderous spaces and interesting things. She spent many happy days running through the halls with Brynn or sitting with the king. Now it was a place of nightmares, and she would be happy never to see it again.

Her door rattled, and she stood up with her bag ready to go. She was surprised when not only did three guards walk in, but Master Elgan as well. He held something metal in his hands as he came towards her.

“You will wear these,” said her old master as he approached her. She looked at them and saw they were meant to bind her hands. “The chain is long, so you can still guide a horse and do simple things, but they will keep you from using magic.”

“This is not necessary,” said Amelia as the guards followed Master Elgan.

“It will keep you from hurting Prince Brynwynn or running away,” said Master Elgan.

“I have no plans to hurt anyone or run away. I just want to do this duty and gain my freedom. I will do nothing to jeopardize the deal I made with the king. How can I fight with those on?”

The guards grabbed her arms as her master put the metal cuffs with the long chain around her wrist. She hissed as they burned against her skin, and she felt the power within her grow quiet.

“If you need to fight, the prince has the ability to take these off of you quickly. Until then, you will wear them. I told the king it was a good idea the other day. He finally relented last night and said I should bind your hands.”

She shuddered as another bolt of pain ran through her. This was her punishment for her use of power on him and her coldness. The painful bruise on her cheek and jaw weren’t enough. He would have her suffer for longer.

“Fine,’ said Amelia. “I am ready if someone would hand me my bag.”

“One of the guards will take it, and the other two will escort your downstairs, my lady,” said Master Elgan. “Try to behave and not tarnish the Light Bearer name any further. You have done much damage.”

She glared at him. “I have done nothing, and you know it. You will pay for your lies one day, and I hope it is by my hand. If not, I am sure the goddess is waiting to see you punished.”

“Take her away,” said Master Elgan. “With any luck, she will never make it back.”

The guards grabbed her arms and marched her out of the room. It felt strange to walk downstairs and smell things that were not of the upper tower. The tower stairs were much like her room in that they smelled musty and damp, but she could catch the scent of the outside as the wind blew through the old stone. When they got to the main floors of the palace, new smells came to her, including burning torches and bread baking from the kitchens.

She looked down as she walked on woven rugs over the stone floors. She couldn’t help but look at the once familiar tapestries as she walked by them. It was as if she was surrounded by too much color after only looking at gray walls for so long. They came to the entry hall where Brynwynn stood with a dozen royal guards and Owain.

The guards holding her pulled her to a stop, making the metal hit her wrist. She couldn’t help a small cry as the pain hit her.

“What is this?” asked Brynn as he moved closer to her. “Why are her hands bound?”

“It is for your safety, brother,” said King Gareth as he came into the hall. “She has already killed one member of our family.”

Brynn looked at her, and she stared straight forward. Perhaps she should have proclaimed her innocence to him, but what good would it do. She could tell he had already judged her and found her guilty. He moved even closer to her and reached over, hovering his hands above her wrist. A moment later, the binds fell off, and she sighed in relief.

“I am not afraid of her,” said Brynn as Amelia messaged her wrist, already red and blistered from the binds.

“She should wear them,” said the king. “It is not your choice, Brynn.”

“It is if you want me to go on this mission. I need her ready and in condition to fight at all times. She will be too injured to fight if she wears those much longer,” said Brynn.

“Fine,” said Gareth. “You have your guards, even one extra.” Gareth looked Owain, making Amelia do the same.

“You are going, Owain?” she asked. “Why?”

“I volunteered to go. Someone on this trip should look out for your welfare and represent your father’s house.”

“I do not need you to go, Owain. You should not risk your life for mine. You have too much to live for. Your wife and child need you at home,” said Amelia.

“My wife and child need me to be an honorable man. I could not be one and let you go alone,” said Owain.

“We have no time for arguing,” said Brynn. “We must be going as we need to save the boy soon. We go now.”

Amelia looked at Owain and shook her head, but she said no more.

“Have a safe journey, and I pray you are successful. You will take the boy to his home where his parents and my wife will be waiting,” said King Gareth. He held out his hand to Brynn. Brynn looked down at it before walking out the front door. Amelia adjusted her black cloak to follow him when Gareth reached out and took her arm. “You cannot leave without saying farewell to me, my lady.”

She glanced at him. “Goodbye, your majesty. I will see you in a few weeks, ready to gain my freedom.”

He reached up and touched her bruised cheek. “You may not want it completely. Perhaps we can work something else out to keep you in the kingdom. I could set you up very well.”

“I have your word that you will give me what I want. I will not change my mind.”

Gareth chuckled. “We will see.” He leaned forward as if to kiss her, but she moved quickly away and out the door.

Outside were horses for all. Brynn stood there holding a good size black mare with a white mark down her face. He brought it to her. “Your horse, my lady.”

“It has been a long time since I have ridden a horse,” said Amelia as she reached up and patted the animal.

“I am sure you will have no trouble. You always were an enthusiastic rider.” He looked at her, and for a second, she caught a flash of the Brynn she knew before he turned away.

“Let me help you mount, my lady,” said Owain as she came to her.

She nodded, and he lifted her in the saddle, helping her adjust her legs. She picked up the reins and looked around. The sun was coming up in front of them, basking the city in orange and red light. Amelia was momentarily mesmerized by the beauty of it. A soft wind blew, and she closed her eyes as it moved across her face and raised the few strands of hair not included in her braid off her neck.

She opened her eyes, seeing Brynn watching her from his horse to her left. “I have not been outside in three years,” she murmured as she looked away.

“It looks as if all are ready,” he said as he steered his horse towards the gates of the palace. Amelia let a few guards get ahead of her between them before moving her horse forward as Owain came to ride at her side.

They made it quickly to the city since it was just coming awake. As the day grew brighter, it took Amelia a while to get used to the sunlight. She had to rely on her horse to know her way around objects as it was hard to see. By the time they exited the west gate, her eyes finally adjusted, and she gasped in the pleasure of the scene in front of her.

It was mid-autumn, and the leaves on the trees were all at their peak colors of red and gold. Mixed in with the evergreens, it was a beautiful sight, one she had forgotten how much she loved. In the past, she had ridden through the forest outside the city many times, galloping to the Eurdycian river and back. She felt the first genuine smile in three years come across her face as she felt Owain’s eyes on her.

“It is beautiful,” she said. “I forgot how marvelous the land could be.”

“When all you have seen for years is the gray walls of the tower, I imagine it is quite a sight.”

She nodded. “It makes me want to take off into the trees and never look back. I know we have a task we must do, but it would be so easy to run to the river and follow it to the vast sea.”

“But you would be hunted, and the young prince would lose his life. If you do this right, you can go wherever you wish, and you will save an innocent life, “ said Owain.

Amelia sighed. “What life is really innocent? Who knows what horrors that boy will do as a king.”

“He should get the chance to choose the right path. He is a child, Amelia.”

“So was Gareth at one time,” she whispered. “As well as Brynn.”

She looked ahead to see Bryn leading their group with guards at his side. It was still hard to believe it was really him. She thought he would never come back to Evalmore and that she would never see him again. Yet, there he was, less than three horse lengths from her. He might look a bit different, but it was still him.

As they rode through the forest, she thought of Brynn and his formal coldness. He was not cruel to her, but he was not warm as he once was. Did he believe that she killed his father? She decided he must to have avoided the kingdom for so long and to act as he did. But his indifference to her must have started before the event that changed her life. He stopped contacting her almost six months before the king died. She wondered what had made him forget the love he professed to her.

As the morning became afternoon, they stopped near the river to eat lunch. Amelia, not used to being on a horse or any exercise she could not do in a small circular room, practically fell off her horse into Owain’s arms. Her legs quivered as she made it to a square-shaped rock to sit down, her arms feeling weak and her chest as though it was on fire.

Brynn offered her some food and wine, and she took it with a nod of thanks. She thought he would walk off, but instead, he sat close to her on a nearby rock.

“You look tired, my lady,” said Brynn after taking a swig of wine.

“I admit, I did not think I would become wore out so easily, but when you are trapped in a space no bigger than the smallest parlor of the palace, there is not much to do for exercise,” replied Amelia.

He nodded as he took a bite of an apple. She tried to do likewise, but the bruise on her jaw made it difficult. She hissed quietly before putting it back down. Brynn leaned over and offered her a small knife from his belt.

“Thank you,” she said quietly as she took the knife. She cut up her apple and tried to hand it back to him.

“Keep it,” he said. “You might need it.”

“You trust me with it?” she asked in surprise.

“Should I not?”

She shrugged. “I just thought…” She looked down and picked up a piece of her apple, unable to say what she was thinking.

They were silent for a moment as Owain came over with his food and sat near her.

“How did you get that bruise on your face?” asked Brynn. “I did not see it when I visited your room last night.”

She lightly touched her jaw and glanced at Owain. “I tripped as I was packing. I guess the excitement of this journey made me careless. I hit the edge of my desk.”

Brynn looked out towards the river. “You never were a good liar.”

“You doubt my words?” she asked somewhat angrily. She wasn’t sure why.

“You don’t have to protect him. I know what he is. I have always known it,” said Brynn.

She didn’t answer as she finished her apple and picked up the bread she had been given. She ate it as Brynn turned to look at her. “I think this is close to where I pushed Gareth into the river that time our families traveled to Wickruck. You told me not to do it, but he was being such an ass, I couldn’t stop myself.”

“What was your punishment that time?” asked Amelia.

“I had to ride next to old Master Main as he scolded me the rest of the way while watching Gareth ride with you.”

“I remember now. I was angry with you the day after. I felt like we were both punished for your mistake,” said Amelia.

Brynn smiled slightly as a couple of the guards came over. “We need to leave if you wish to make it close to Durnspool by night.”

“Durnspool?” asked Amelia. “Shouldn’t we be turning at the river and heading to Wynn’s Harbor or somewhere close? Will we not take a ship to Achillia? It is the safest way.”

“It is the way they will expect,” said one of the guards dismissively.

“What is your name?” asked Amelia as she stood up.

“Dugan,” said the guard. “I am in charge of this mission.”

“I thought Prince Brynnwyn was in charge,” said Amelia.

“So he is, but it is my main responsibility to keep him safe from outside and inside threats.”

“You think me a threat,” said Amelia with a grin.

“How can I not since you killed King Iver. If you show one sign that you will harm the prince, I will end you permanently.”

Amelia moved closer to him, ready to show him she would not be easy to kill as Owain came to stand behind her. Before anything could happen, Brynn moved between them. “You will not lay one hand on Lady Amelia or anyone else in our group. We need each other to stay alive and save the boy.”

“I will not harm her if the woman does her part,” said Dugan.

“You can start by addressing her correctly,” said Owain. “She is the daughter of the highest lord of this kingdom and a lady.”

Dugan shook his head with a laugh. “She should have lost that title three years ago. I will address her as I see fit.”

Owain moved toward Dugan, but Amelia held her arm out. “It is no matter. His opinion means nothing to me. I care little about what anyone thinks of me at this point.” She walked towards where the horses were and stood by hers. “Help me on my horse, Owain.”

Before Owain could come her way, Brynn moved to her side and lifted her up. She felt her breath leave her slightly, feelings his hands on her hips. It was probably just her imagination that his hands lingered against her leg as she adjusted it in the stirrup.

“Are you well settled, my lady,” said Brynn, making sure to accentuate her title.

“I am, your highness, and very ready to be on the road to wherever you command.”