CHAPTER 4 #2
When evening fell, they stopped at an inn in a small village. The innkeeper didn’t remember seeing any short, dark, foreign noblemen. So the next day, they stopped at every inn they passed.
“What do you plan to do if we can’t find his trail?
” Keenan asked as he helped Liesl back onto the seat.
They had just finished their midday meal at the latest inn, and they still had no proof that Lord Tobias had passed that way.
“If we reach the border without finding news of him, will you continue your search?”
Scooping up the cat, she gave him her usual friendly grin, but it held a trace of something else this time. “If I had his motivation levels. But I was a shepherdess for twelve years; I don’t give up until I find my lost sheep.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are you his caretaker?”
“No.” She faced forward, watching the road disappear behind them. Then as if to herself, she murmured, “At least I know who I’m looking for. Katy didn’t even have that.”
~
“Strike. And block,” Oliver commanded. Bringing his dagger up, he matched Keenan’s blows. “Good. Again.”
Keenan moved through the training pattern, increasing his speed as Oliver called it out. The guard was determined to make Keenan proficient with both his weapons, and Keenan heartily approved. They’d practiced every evening, so Keenan was finally getting the feel of the motions.
But putting them into a fight wasn’t natural yet.
“Do we spar tonight?” Keenan asked, wiping sweat from his forehead once Oliver called a halt to their practice. “Just to test me?”
Oliver shook his head. “The carriage and horses return to Hartford tomorrow. Have you marched all day before?”
Keenan opened his mouth to protest that he was perfectly fit but then closed it. He did spend his days forging weapons, plus a little time training with them, but walking used different muscles. He might not have as much endurance as he thought.
“Go rest.” The middle-aged guard jerked his head toward the stable. “I’ll take first watch.”
Knowing better than to argue, Keenan lifted a hand in acknowledgment and trotted off. Oliver had given in to Keenan’s desire to sleep in the stable, but he was inflexible in all other areas relating to Keenan’s effectiveness as a guard.
And Keenan wasn’t interested in bucking too much.
Miss Beatrice had promised to file an appeal with the guild, but if it failed, his smithing days were over.
If he performed well on this trip, Oliver might put in a good word for him with the captain of the guard.
And a good word from the captain of Prince Michael’s personal guard had to be worth something.
~
A week later, Keenan was starting to feel more confident in his ability to wield his dagger in a fight, with or without his sword. Liesl watched them train sometimes, cuddling Puss in her arms or twirling a staff she’d stashed in the carriage during the first part of their journey.
The roads had been quiet so far, everyone they passed either smiling pleasantly or giving a curt nod before returning their attention to their steps. At every inn, Liesl asked about travelers matching Lord Tobias’s description.
Watching her during these miniature interrogations was…
interesting. Her attitude was never the same two nights in a row.
Sometimes, she was aloof, examining the ceiling instead of focusing on the person she was talking to.
Other times, she wore an expression that made Keenan wonder if the nobleman should be sleeping with one eye open.
But a few times, she’d looked almost wistful, her mouth curving in a tiny smile as she described him while slowly stroking the cat in her arms.
“Are you sure about this?” Keenan tugged his cloak a little closer and peered into the trees as they hiked up the mountain trail.
It was now early spring, but the mountains that formed the border between Daraigh and Ryuni were colder than the plains had been.
“I didn’t like the look of the man who gave you the information. ”
Liesl stabbed her staff into the ground and kept climbing as if the terrain were no issue. “He described Tobias perfectly. If he says Tobias went this way, then this is where I’m going.”
“I agree with Keenan,” Oliver stated mildly.
Smiling brightly, she leapt onto a large rock and spun to face them. “Understood. You can go back if you’d like.”
“But you’re not?”
Instead of answering, she hopped down and kept walking.
It was a bad idea. The man may have seen Lord Tobias, but that didn’t mean he’d told Liesl the truth about where to find him. And if that man had been walking through the market in Hartford, Keenan would have kept an eye on him. He had the same look about him as Keenan’s father when he—
Keenan shook his head. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted by his past. He needed to focus, to stay aware of their surroundings so he wouldn’t be taken off-guard by someone lying in wait.
Like the man he could see crouched behind a tree a few yards ahead.
“Miss Liesl,” he called out, “could you come here for a moment?”
It was a mistake. As soon as she turned to face him, the man launched out from his hiding spot and raised his sword.
Keenan’s draw was slow and clumsy compared to Oliver’s. Liesl dropped to the ground, her eyes wide as the attacking sword flew harmlessly over her head.
“Look out!” she cried.
Whirling, Keenan found another brigand behind him. More popped out of the trees. How had he and Oliver missed them all?
Backing toward Oliver, Keenan tried to leave space for the guard to maneuver. Liesl was cowering on the ground with the cat crouched beneath her, her staff quivering under repeated blows. The sounds were muffled, blocked out by Keenan’s mind as he focused on his opponents.
Why didn’t the bandits change their tactics? It shouldn’t be that hard for the larger force to subdue them, even with Oliver’s fierce fighting. Keenan had several years’ experience with a sword. He’d been training with dual weapons since they left Hartford.
But he’d never trained with multiple assailants. He should already be down.
“—nan!” Oliver’s voice broke through a little. “—run!”
Run? How could Oliver want Keenan to leave?
“—Liesl out of here!”
Keenan stuffed the hilt of his dagger between his teeth and ducked under a swing. His fist found one bandit’s stomach, winding him. The other startled back, and Keenan snatched Liesl’s wrist. Two wild slashes later, they were flying down the mountainside with a cat on their heels.
“What about Oliver?” Liesl resisted, but gravity and strength were on his side. “He can’t fight that many!”
“You’re the priority,” Keenan panted around the hilt. “He’ll do better without you to protect.”
“But he has no one to watch his back!”
“It’s his job. He knows what he’s doing.”
Or so Keenan hoped.
Another man sprang into their path. Keenan turned off the trail, dragging Liesl by her wrist. He stumbled through the underbrush, ignoring the branches tearing at his clothing.
Their pursuer crashed through the bracken behind them. Why? They didn’t look wealthy. And with their packs, they should have been easy to catch, yet they somehow kept their lead.
Finally, as Keenan feared they were reaching their limits, the man backed off and disappeared. Keenan kept running for another half minute before letting Liesl rip her arm free.
“How could you make me leave?” Her normally sweet eyes filled with distress and anger. “What if he—Even Oliver can’t defend against that many.”
Setting his hands on his waist, Keenan inhaled deeply, trying to regain his breath. “I don’t like it any more than you do,” he gasped out. “But he’s a guard. This is what he does.”
“I don’t care!” Liesl scowled, then brushed a hand across her mouth. “My cousin was a guard before King Steffan gave him a title. And I can’t imagine—I don’t care if it was his job. I couldn’t have left him in danger.”
The pieces began to fall together. “Miss Liesl, it’s harder to fight while protecting someone.”
“Axel didn’t leave,” she protested, her green eyes starting to glisten. “When he and Otto were attacked, he fought with him. He made sure Otto made it back to the castle instead of abandoning him in that alley to—to—”
“Miss Liesl.” Keenan set a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Prince Axel trains in sword fighting, doesn’t he?”
She nodded.
“That means he was able to help your cousin. You couldn’t have helped Oliver fight off those men.” He gave her shoulder a tiny squeeze before dropping his hand back to his side. “Running away was how you helped him.”
“But can’t we go back?” she pled, lifting her hands to her chest. “They must have left by now, and we can’t leave him alone and injured in the woods!”
“Possibly, but…” He trailed off as he scanned their surroundings. “I have no idea where we are.”
“I thought you were supposed to be my guide!”
Keenan rubbed his jaw uncomfortably. “Guardian. I’ve never been outside Hartford before; I don’t know how to navigate a forest. And I wasn’t paying attention while we were running for our lives.”
Looking around uneasily, Liesl tightened her grip on her staff and tugged her cloak tighter. “The hills around my village didn’t have many trees. I don’t know how to find my way, either.”
“Then why were you so determined to keep going before the attack?” he asked, incredulous.
Liesl huffed. “There was a path. And that man said that it would lead me to Tobias.”
“Is he worth this?” Keenan waved his arm around the forested mountainside, a little of his frustration boiling over. “Being lost somewhere between Daraigh and Ryuni with only a little food in our packs and Oliver fighting half a dozen men for you?”
Her face twisted. “How can you ask that? It’s not a matter of comparing the worth of one to another. If my Lizzie were lost, I would leave the other sheep to hunt for her. I will do the same for Tobias.”
“So that’s what Lord Tobias is to you? A lost lamb?” Keenan snorted. “He didn’t look lost when he purchased the means to defend himself.”
She opened her mouth, glaring at him, then closed it and turned away. “I don’t know what he is to me,” she admitted quietly. Bending down, she scooped up the cat winding around her legs and pressed her cheek against its side. “Perhaps I’ll find out when we catch up with him.”
Keenan rubbed his jaw, the rough stubble scraping his fingers as he averted his eyes.
Her curls were never very orderly, but now they had bits of twigs sticking out of them, and her dress was covered in tears from their rush through the trees.
Nothing about her looked like the fierce rescuer she seemed to think she should be.
Especially while she clung to a purring cat for comfort.
“You don’t have to come, Keenan,” she mumbled against the cat’s fur. “I was planning to look on my own before you and Oliver volunteered.”
The cat struggled, then jumped out of Liesl’s arms. Trotting up to Keenan, it threw itself against his leg and lazily circled him, purring and rubbing its side along his boots.
Liesl’s face scrunched. “That’s fine, Puss; you can stay with him if you want. I’ll do my best to bring Tobias back to you.” Then turning, she marched away through the trees.
Keenan bent and rubbed the cat’s chin. “That’s not what you were saying at all, was it?” he murmured. “Don’t worry, I have no plans to desert your mistress. Those bandits were proof that she shouldn’t be wandering about on her own.”
The cat purred more loudly, turning her blue eyes up to him as she leaned her chin into his fingers.
“Now I’m doing it,” he muttered. “But I suppose I’m not too crazy as long as you don’t answer.”
The cat tilted her head and meowed, squeezing her eyes shut.
“That had better not be a cat laugh,” he warned, shaking a finger at her.
Glancing up, he saw that Liesl was already a fair distance down the path. He gave the cat one last pat, then shoved back to his feet and trotted after her.