Twin Desires Chapter 5

While Katrina and Sir Justin are in hot pursuit of Adrinna and her captor, Adrinna is helpless against her kidnapper.  Today you get to hear from Adrinna. 

Chapter Five
by
Macie Snow
 

              

               My kidnapper was a man. I knew that almost instantly. After he had drug me out the window, he immediately bound and gagged me. Then, contrary to what I expected him to do, we remained on the roof of the castle. I could hear Katrinna screaming for help as her cries grew ever fainter. Shortly after, her voice disappeared completely, I saw her run out of the castle, through the courtyard and into the stables, in her nightgown. I roll my eyes at her rashness. Katrinna had never been one to think things through.

         I try to scream again when I see Father and his men running after Katrinna, but my voice is muffled by the gag in my mouth. The man who had drug me out of my bedroom turns to me and whispers furiously, “Do not scream. If you cooperate I can promise that no unnecessary harm will befall you.” He then turns back to the scene unfolding in the courtyard.

         I frown, but make no further attempts at noise, and instead, study the man who was currently in the process of kidnapping me. He wore a black cloak that masked his face, much to my frustration, but the crest wrapped around his bicep was clear as day. He was a Saludynian. I make a mental note to cooperate, knowing he probably would not hesitate to cause me much pain. Saludynians were renowned for their violence and utter lack of mercy. I shake my head to clear it from the unpleasant thoughts and look back to the scene in the courtyard.

         We watch Katrinna storm out on a black stallion, barely making it through the gate in time as Father’s knight tried to stop her. We saw Father yell at the knights until his face turned scarlet, and soon after Justin raced out on his buckskin horse, Flinn. After that, things were silent as we waited, presumably for Justin to come back, Katrinna in tow. I stifled a giggle to think of their meeting in the woods. Katrinna tried her best to hide her crush on Sir Justin, but it was obvious she had fallen for him. And I found it quite humorous, especially as Father did not object to our marrying a knight, as he himself was one. But Katrinna never paid attention to Father’s stories, nor his lessons, and believed her crush to be forbidden love.

         Just before dawn comes, my captor stands. He picks me up, roughly throwing me over his shoulder before starting the slow descent to the ground. We move slowly, he sticks to the shadows and freezes anytime we are near guards.

         Eventually, we end up in the woods behind the castle. My captor drops me to the ground outside a well hidden cave. I struggle against my bonds furiously as he enters the cave. He comes out quickly, leading a chestnut horse. I freeze as he checks the saddle.

         “Alright princess,” he says, he slides his hood off as he walks towards me.

         He is younger than I had expected.  No more than a year older than myself. He has wavy dark brown hair that falls in his eyes, and stops at the nape of his neck. His face is perfectly sculpted, body strong and muscular, with slightly tan skin. But what surprises me most are his startling gold eyes.

         “I will let you move of your own free will, and let you talk if you cooperate,” he says, stopping in front of me. “Will you cooperate?”

         I nod furiously. He hesitates at my cooperation, but reaches down and releases my bonds, before removing my gag.

         “Who are you?” I whisper hoarsely, before clearing my throat. “What do you want with me?”

         “My king has been wronged.  I was sent to right that wrong.” he says, walking to his horse. He pulls a bundle of cloth out of the saddlebag. “Put these on.  They are less conspicuous than your current…attire,” he says tossing the bundle. I grasp for the bundle, and barely catch it. Upon inspection, I realize that it is clothing.

         I stand shakily and start towards the cave, but the man jumps in my path and grabs my bicep in a bruising grip, preventing me from going further.

         “I am only changing,” I sigh, exasperated. “You cannot honestly expect me to undress in front of you.”

         He blushes deeply and releases my arm before stepping aside. I walk into the edge of the cave and change as quickly as possible. There are black pants, and a simple brown tunic. When I walk out of the cave, nightgown in hand, he gives me worn brown boots and a cap before grabbing my nightgown away from me.

         “Tie your hair into a bun and cover it with that cap,” he says as he quickly folds my nightgown up and shoves it into his saddlebags.

         “But…” I trail off. The brown cap was atrocious, besides that, if I covered my hair, how would people be able to recognize me? How could I  call for help? For if anyone saw my hair, they would recognize me instantly, as I was practically the only person in the kingdom with such bright golden hair.

         “Just do it,” he grumbles angrily. I reluctantly tie my hair into a bun and cover it with the atrocious cap.

         “We are going to ride long, and hard. We will take very few breaks, and will stop for nothing,” the man says, tugging on the saddle straps.

         “Why?” I ask.

         He glares at me, eyes a burning gold. “I will not answer ever little question that pops into your airy little head. I am trusting you will cooperate, but if you don’t, if you struggle or try to escape, I will take away all your freedom of movement, and life will be miserable for you until we reach the king,” he growls, tying a rope to the horses saddle.

         I bristle at the insult, but say nothing. I had to cooperate and be good, or else get hog-tied again.

         “Can you just answer one question?” I ask softly, trying not to provoke him.

         He sighs and turns around to glare at me. “What?”

         “What is your name?”

         He frowns and turns to tug on the rope tied to the saddle. Then he walks over to me, grabs my right wrist, and ties the rope around it. His hands are firm, but gentle.

         “Nigel. My name is Nigel,” he mutters, before releasing my wrist and stomping back to the horse.

         I glance at the rope around my wrist. It was not tight, but I wouldn’t be able to slip my hand out of it. The knot would also be impossible to untie with just one hand. I sigh. Nigel wasn’t taking any chances. I walk to the horse stiffly when he tugs on the rope. Nigel helps me onto the saddle, before climbing on himself, trapping me between his arms and the reigns.

         “Try not to fall off, princess,” Nigel says tauntingly.

         I scowl, and open my mouth to reply that could very well stay on a horse, but the horse quickly leaps into a full sprint. I teeter, but Nigel’s arms keep me from falling off. I clutch the horse’s mane to keep from losing my balance, as Nigel chuckles softly behind me.

         I squeeze my eyes shut and try to think about something else. There was something tugging at the back of my mind, begging for my attention. Something about Nigel. I felt as if I had met him before, but I shove the thought away. Why would I know the attack dog of a brutal king?

         I could only hope that Katrinna, and Justin, figured out what was going on and saved me before we reached Saludyn. Or, even worse, their king.