To Run and Hide

Part 11:

"Today? Now? Why now?" Darius breathed beside me. We were both staring at Ilaria in astonishment. She just shook her head.

"At the docks. Go - quickly. Make sure no one sees you. I'm going to say that you have a cold, Darius, and that I thought it best not to bring you, Carmyn."

Me and Darius stopped in our rooms to change into our stealth outfits. Ilaria had dropped them off earlier, with a note saying to prepare ourselves for a long investigation. Still not enough evidence, I guessed. Dusk had just been replaced by night as we slipped out of one of the lesser castle entrances, with the intention of going to the docks. It had been months since I had been outside the peaceful confines of the Royal castle. Darius seemed to have sensed that something was off. He reached out and squeezed my hand, pulling me close to his arm as we walked. We kept to the shadows and slunk through filthy streets, until we finally reached the dock. We ducked behind some boxes, and from there we waited. I was numbly aware of the tight arm Darius kept around me, and of the way we leaned into each other for warmth.

"Tell me about you." Darius whispered, out of the blue.

"What about me?"

"Well, have you always been this smart?"

I laughed. "Not in the least."

"Who are your parents? Your family?"

I hesitated at his last words. Guilt flooded his features, and it was all I could do not to hold his face and whisper that he hadn't done anything wrong. Instead I let out a shaky laugh, and shook my head. I had not even thought about where I came from in ages. Sifting through my memories, I cleared my throat and began to speak.

"I have a sister, Wynter. And two parents, Blaithin and Nicolas Laurier, although my Mother Blaithin is dead. My Mother was a midwife in the village. She was raised by my grandmother, and she never knew who her Father was. We think that my Grandfather might've been a magician, because Mother was so good at healing. My Father was just a wandering vagabond from Khada. He saw my Mother when he was stopping by Invidia Lands. He fell in love immediately, as did my Mother. They married two days later. Then they had Wynter, and finally me. When I was 3 my Mother died. My Father didn't want to look after us, so he asked the lord of Invidia, Lord Anwir, to take us in. Lord Anwir's price was that he marry either me or Wynter when we are of age, if he wants to. Father agreed and left. It was fine enough growing up - Lord Anwir refused to even look at us until I was already 12. By then Wynter was already 14, and she must've been the prettiest girl in the whole of Invidia. He started 'courting' her. It was disgusting. The slimy spitball didn't give her a choice, all thanks to that rat of a father's stupid deal. When she was 18, he finally married her. That was when he sent me to the kitchens to work, because I was technically her property, and now that she was his property, I was his property as well, and Wynter couldn't do anything. Right before I left I saw bruises on her, and she told me she was pregnant. That night Lord Anwir kicked me out."

I stopped, and Darius studied my face gently. He lifted my hand up to his lips and kissed it.

"Someday, Carmyn, we will go to Invidia together. And we will not leave until we have your sister and her child. And we will bring them back to Icotan, and they can live in the palace. Your niece or nephew can grow up safe and happy, with toys and friends. Your sister can live a life without fear, live a life where she is safe. And you can rest each night in peace, knowing that your family is safe, and that you are safe, and that everything is all okay."

Tears welled up in my eyes. I bowed my head as they fell to the ground. Darius brushed them off with gentle fingers, and I buried my face in his chest.

Someone yelled from the dock, and we both looked out from behind the crate. Our eyes met, and we wordlessly stood up, ready to go. Him and I silently took out the guards, and finally reached the shipment. A single crate. We opened it up, and our suspicions were confirmed when we saw that it was indeed poison, and it was addressed to Baron Overton. Darius pushed it off the side of the dock and into the river. We crept back to the castle, to where Illi was waiting. Sanders and Amias moved from the shadows. I bit back my surprise. Darius looked stunned. Had he known that they would be here?

Illi spoke a command of some sort, and Darius's friends moved into the distance.

"What are they going to do?" I asked.

"Capture Baron Alec Overton and bring him to the king, with our evidence." Illi replied.