Their Bonds of Love

His teeth sunk into a man’s neck before tossing him aside, and Caerwyn jumped on the next guard, easily pushing him to the ground. Aron stood close to him, taking out guards with his sword. Behind them, Efa sent spell after spell. More and more guards fell, yet they still seemed to come. As Caerwyn turned to take down a guard, he felt another come towards his back. He pushed down the man in front of him and quickly turned, wondering if he would be able to stop the man in time.

A sword went through the man’s back before he could attack Caerwyn. The dead man fell to show the guard called Deri. He looked down at the dead guard before taking on another.

“The guards will keep coming. You have to find a way to escape,” said Deri.

“Run to the door,” yelled Efa as she threw a spell that pushed back three men.

Caerwyn took down a man before backing up towards the door. He arrived there with Deri at the same time as Aron.

“Go through it now,” said Efa.

Aron opened it and held it while Caerywn and Deri ran through. Aron and Efa followed. She slammed it shut and put her hands on it as a bright light shown all around. Stumbling back, she grabbed for the wall as Aron steadied her.

“That should hold them for a bit, but we need to get out of here,” she said as she tried to catch her breath. “I cannot fight much longer.”

“This way,” said Deri.

He led them down the dirty, small hallway to the servants’ courtyard.

“How many people are you going to bring out here, boy?” asked a man as he held a pipe.

Deri ignored him as he went to the gate of the courtyard. “If you go straight and then to your right, you will find Argenta House. If your friends found a way through, so can you. Watch out for guards on the way.’

“You will come with us, young man,” said Efa as she grabbed his arm.

“Me?” asked Deri.

Efa nodded. “They have seen you help us, and they will kill you on sight. You will come back to Cadwin Manor with us.”

“You want me to go with you?”

Aron nodded. “You can come and join my guard. You can fight for the true king of Elathia, Prince Conri. You saw him tonight with Lady Eleri.”

“You really want me to come?”

“Yes,” said Efa. “Now, let’s go while we still can. Those guards will get through soon or find a way around.”

She opened the gate and stepped through, dragging Deri with her. Caerwyn followed after with Aron at the rear. They walked quickly towards Argenta House, watching for guards. They didn’t see any until they were almost at the gate by the side of the house. The men yelled at them as Efa opened the gate and hurried towards their waiting horses.

“There are only three,” she said. “It seems either Conri and Eleri took two or Selven or someone else took one. Caerwyn, you can run as you are by us, can’t you?”

Caerwyn gave a soft grunt in an answer as Efa pulled herself up on one horse. Aron took another and indicated Deri should take the last. The guards ran towards the gate as they all took off towards the east side of the city. Caerwyn ran hard, keeping up with the horses as they weaved their way through the poorest part of Niamhan. Since it was night, most were either in homes or sleeping close to buildings.

He could hear guards giving chase somewhere in the distance, but they seemed to be losing them as they made their way to the edge of the city. As they got close to the east gate, Caerwyn saw two guards. He ran up close to Efa’s horse, and Aron took his sword out. Caerwyn jumped on one guard before he could attack, taking him down as Aron slashed through the other with his sword. They rode on into the forest, towards the empty hunting home of Lord Cecil.

The moon was high in the sky by the time Caerwyn saw the home in the distance. He was weary from fighting and running hard to keep up with the horses. They lessened their speed as they entered the open gates, and Caerwyn jogged along, panting heavily. Pulling up to the front of the house, Aron hopped off. He walked over to Efa and helped her down before going back to his horse and pulling out a set of clothes from a bag.

“Here, Caerwyn, you can change out here after we go in. I will see about getting you some water or something. You must be exhausted.” He laid the clothes by Caerwyn, who sat back on his haunches, continuing to pant. “Will you see about tying up the horses around the back?” asked Aron to Deri.

Deri nodded. He collected the horses by the reins and walked them towards the back of the house. Once they were all gone and Caerwyn had rested a moment, he shifted. He sat on the ground, letting the cool air wash over his naked body as he pulled back his hair that was wet with sweat. Finally, wanting to see if Eleri and Conri were safe, he pulled on his clothes and walked into the house.

He stood in a small entry space. In front of him was a set of stairs. To his left, he could see a little light coming from a room. He walked in to find Aron standing by the fire and Selven sitting in a chair.

“Caerywn, here is some wine,” said Aron. “I will have that Deri fellow fetch you some water when he comes in. I am sure there is a well on the property.”

Caerwyn moved forward and took the cup from Aron’s hand. “Where is Efa?” he asked after taking a long drink.

“Upstairs, checking on Eleri and the prince,” said Aron.

Selven nodded. “He took her direct;y to a bed when they came in.”

“How did she look?” asked Caerwyn.

Selven shrugged. “I didn’t get that close. I asked if the prince needed anything, but he shook his head. I didn’t wish to disturb them.”

Caerwyn finished his cup and put it down. He walked from the room and back to the stairs, hurrying up them. The second floor held only four doors. He saw one ajar and moved to it, opening it slowly. The room was mostly dark as only the fire and a few candles were lit.

Caerwyn walked in and looked towards the bed. Eleri was lying on it, wearing her undergarments and the cloak Conri had worn. Efa was looking her over as Coni stood behind. When he saw Caerwyn, he walked over.

“Are you alright, Caerwyn? You look done in,” said Conri quietly.

“I’m fine. How is Eleri?”

“She is exhausted and weak.” He took Caerwyn’s arm and led him closer to the fireplace. “Lord Fellen was poisoning her for weeks using her clothes and other objects. Efa just now finally got the bracelet off he had put on her.”

“With her clothes?” asked Caerwyn.

Conri nodded. “He wanted to break her down so he could have Ciara charm her into convincing her into accepting his mark.”

Caerwyn closed his eyes for a moment as an involuntary angry noise came from his throat. “I hope he wasn’t successful.”

Conri looked away. “He never gained her permission,” he said as his voice trailed off.

Caerwyn grabbed Conri and pulled him closer. “Are you saying he marked her forcefully?”

The prince didn’t have to say anything; the look in his eyes said it all.

Caerwyn turned away. “How did you get her to leave? Did you have to force her somehow?”

“I…” started Conri, but he stopped as Eleri called out.

“Conri, where are you?”

He immediately went to her side as Efa stepped back. “I am here, Eleri. I will not leave you.” He sat down on the bed next to her as he took her hand and kissed it.

Efa moved close to Caerwyn. “She will recover, though it will take some time. Thank the goddess that she is so strong and her magic powerful. As much poison as they used on her, it is a wonder it didn’t kill her.”

Caerwyn slightly nodded as he watched the prince with Eleri. She moved, so she was directly against him and appeared to want to be even closer. Conri kissed the top of her head as she closed her eyes with a slight smile.

“We should go,” said Efa, taking Caerwyn’s arm. He walked towards the door with Efa, stopping as he heard Eleri softly say his name.

Efa quietly sighed as she let him go. He moved near to the bed as Eleri kept her place against the prince.

“Caerwyn, are you well? You weren’t hurt, were you?” she asked after taking a deep breath.

“I was not injured, Eleri. We all escaped. Aron is fine. We even took that guard you spared. Deri is his name, I think.”

She smiled. “He was good to me in the palace.” She rubbed Conri’s hand as she looked down for a second. “ I want to thank you for coming to save me. I know you may have come just to protect Conri, but I still appreciate it.”

“I came for you,” he said adamantly. “No matter what has happened between us, you know how I feel about you. I could never leave you in that place.”

She looked up at him with teary eyes.

“You should sleep, Eleri. You are safe here and can rest,” said Caerwyn as he moved slightly closer to her. “Perhaps we should all leave so you can have some peace.”

She immediately looked at Conri. “You will not go, will you?”

“I will not leave this room while you are awake. If I go to speak with the others while you are asleep, I will not be gone long. I promise,” said Conri as he held her cheek.

“Come along, Caerwyn,” said Efa as she again took his arm.

Caerwyn backed out slowly, watching Conri and the Eleri. When Efa closed the door behind him, he turned to her. “He did it, didn’t he? He marked her.”

Efa nodded. “What else could he do, Caerwyn? She asked him to, begged him. With that horrible man’s mark on her neck, she could not bear to leave the palace grounds. Conri didn’t want to do it, not like that, but it was the only way.”

“How convenient,” said Caerwyn as he walked towards the stairs.

“It was going to happen eventually, anyway,” said Efa. “He loves her, and she loves him. I know it is hard to hear, but she feels for him in a way she never could with you.”

“You don’t know that,” said Caerwyn. “If I hadn’t been such a fool and pushed her away or betrayed her, she could have been mine.”

“But you did push her away all those times. She could never trust in the love she felt for you. It was always something out of reach. Conri fought for her love. He helped her realize that it is okay to be weak sometimes. Eleri always felt she had to be strong around you because she knew you would break her heart over and over.”

Caerwyn shook his head as he leaned on the stair railing. “It seems so unfair. He has known her for not even six months, and he has won her completely. That blasted prophecy.”

“Has nothing to doing with it,” finished Efa. “It may have attracted them to each other at first, but it did not cause them to fall in love, Caerwyn. You didn’t see them together after their journey like I did. You didn’t hear Eleri speak of him and how she felt. I know you care for her. I believe you love her, and a part of her will always love you.”

“I knew I had lost her, but I didn’t expect it to go this fast. I thought I had some time to reconcile the idea I would have to watch the two of them together like this.”

“Neither of them wanted it to happen this way. I don’t think they will regret it, but it is not ideal for something as special as this to happen on the run while Eleri was injured after being attacked and marked by a mad man. It is supposed to be a wonderful and beautiful thing, and instead, this will be their memory.”

Caerwyn closed his eyes as the familiar feeling of shame came over him. “Why can nothing be easy for her?”

Efa leaned on the railing next to him. “Part of it is who she is. Her parents were powerful people in this land, and now she has tied herself to the rightful king. I think the goddess knew it would not be easy for Eleri. That is why she made her so strong. One day I believe all of this will pay off, and I will see my niece completely happy.” She leaned slightly into Caerwyn. “I believe you will be happy as well once you realize you can stop punishing yourself.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” said Caerwyn.

“Yes, you do, but you are not ready to hear or think about it. Let us go downstairs and speak with the others. I am exhausted and starving. I cannot travel for a few days as my strength will not allow it. I think it will be good for Eleri to rest as well. We will need to find a few things for our stay.”

Caerwyn nodded as he offered Efa his arm. She leaned heavily on him as he walked with her down the stairs.