The Raven Girl

Chapter 26

The heavy door was unbolted, the wood's great weight pressed upon and pushed open, yielding quickly at the sight of the force behind it. A new energy pulsed through Asta's veins, one that would have her leap down the corridors and dance up the stairs, throwing open any door that stood between her and the open air. She could barely control it: an unruly spirit there was no hope containing.

She ran out of the door, racing ahead of Rickard who, perhaps, was unsure as to whether she was trying to escape again. However, he allowed Asta the benefit of the doubt and a free rein, smiling to himself as she kicked the fabric that hung about her feet in frustration when she stumbled up the stairs, foot caught in its hem.

He was sure his brother would have disapproved greatly if he had been there, commanding him at once to return to that horrible room he insisted they be in so frequently, dragging the poor girl with him as Eirik laughed at her pain. In all honesty, he did not know what he was doing, disobeying him so very blatantly when he knew such actions as this would only add to the King's paranoia, leading him to question Rickard's loyalty, which seemed to be readily fleeting. Yet, he went along with it, happy to do not as the King commanded but as he pleased. It was refreshing.

Asta stopped, abruptly, at the foot of another set of stairs. Frowning in his confusion, he soon caught up to her, wondering why she had stopped so suddenly. Just as he was about to ask though, she spoke her reply.

"I don't know the way."

"Ah," he said, "I forget: you have not been allowed to see the castle, but I'm sure you can work out how to get out of it, can you not? After all, you seem to like the outdoors. Did you not spend a great deal of time escaping from your own?"

"Ours was a castle much smaller than your own." She said, but then quietened, paling a little. "And I did not find myself so deep within it."

"Well I hope that this is the last time you find yourself in such a situation." He replied, quickly, noticing her darkened, fretting eyes. They were all too familiar compared to those filled with hope. It was saddening to say the least. "I know the way well enough, and pray you never will, for your sake."

She nodded, an unsure look held on her face, and he led on, up staircases and through various corridors, both steeped equally in gloom and shadows aplenty. Her fingertips, still very much bruised and bloody, brushed the moulding stone that lined the passageway, each brick bearing a coldness that even she could not take, damp as though it had collected each and every tear shed in this horrific pit.

Rickard was sure her mood would not improve, for the ill-timed reminder he had offered seemed to cling to her mind even now, revelling in her fear that she tried so desperately to cover. However, it appeared to him that the more light that fell upon her head and the stronger the breeze that hit her face, the more reassured she grew.

Soon enough, a glint of what had been returned to her eyes, a small smile gracing her cracked lips. Glancing out the windows, Asta saw not the people hurrying about the courtyard, but the trees beyond it. And that made her very happy indeed, though she was hesitant to show it, lest her hopes but smashed.

"Your mood has lightened significantly." Rickard noted. "Is it due to the possibility of leaving this castle?"

She thought carefully, biting her lip. This could be a trick, designed only to catch a reply that revealed treacherous intentions regarding to another botch escape plan. She had to tread with caution. She always did.

"If by leaving this castle, you mean temporarily- and under supervision- then yes, I suppose."

He laughed, to her surprise. She had, after all, meant her reply to be taken with the upmost sincerity, for she could not afford any misunderstandings. She smiled back, uneasily, but did not say anything- she didn't understand his humour. Perhaps it had been what she'd undergone that had stripped her from laughter, but then again, she could not remember laughing before then either.

"That goes without saying, does it not?"

"I just wanted to be clear on the matter." She said, firmly. "I have learnt that one can never be too careful with words."

"I agree, especially in the midst of a royal court so poisoned as this. My brother does like to keep a particularly... talebearing group of subjects in close vicinity. Gossip can travel at an alarming rate here, carried straight into Eirik's ears."

"Then should you not speak of him so-?"

"So what? There is nothing to be made of what I have said. The only thing they could know is how I do not approve of whispers and rumours, and he already knows that."

Asta would have replied, but found herself distracted, finally noticing how close they had gotten to escaping. She stared, rather in awe, out the open window, imagining just how it would feel to have freedom for those few moments, even though she knew deep in her heart they would not last. At least she could say a proper farewell to her freedom this time, ending happy memories not with fear but with closure.

"I always wonder when the next chance I have to go back will be." He smiled, sadly. "It seems I have less and less time these days. Eirik likes to keep me busy, you see... he doesn't understand why I like the forest so much."

"You have more a chance than I." she replied, a bitter streak in her tone.

"No. You must work now, granted, and very hard that work is too, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities."

"I cannot pretend to be content with that, but I am thankful for what you are doing, though I do not know your reasoning."

"I will not harm you, if that is what you're thinking. Just the thought of hurting you again today made me feel sick; I was tempted to let you go free, regardless of whether you told me anything or not. If ever my brother orders me to drag you back to that damned room, I promise you I'll refuse, no matter the consequences."

"And you keep your promises." She finished for him, quietly. She should have been convinced, but words didn't seem to bear the weight they once had, and she knew that in a King's eyes, promises were nothing. Still, she smiled, not wishing to press the matter. Even talking of the past as they were now was hard to bear.

"Come," he said, pulling her away from her worried thoughts, "Let us continue, before it gets too dark."

They hurried forward, escaping the clutches of the castle and its stifling walls, watching as the concentration of people dwindled with every step. Asta's mood was replenished instantly, brightened by the clear sight of the sky, unrestricted by narrow holes carved into the stone, and she picked up her skirts, running towards the trees.

Rickard followed her at a similar pace, smiling at the childlike happiness he saw in her, an innocence remaining even after all she'd been through.

It took a strong person to maintain this innocence, one that should've been stripped from them at the first sighting of a blade pressed against their throat. An unearthly strength at that and one that scared him.

It was something that could never be taken from her, and he saw this as she leapt and danced her way across the trodden path, humming a strange tune under her heavy breath. He'd never heard it before and quickly caught her hand in his curiosity, ending its song with the touch of his fingers.

"What was it that you were humming?" he asked, a little sad it had ended so abruptly. It had had an odd rhythm to it, but a beautiful one at that, sounding as though it had been written long ago.

"I wasn't." she said, pulling her hand away from him carefully.

"You were." He insisted, adamant to know where it had come from. "Does it come from your family? Your mother? Did she sing it to you?"

"Nobody sang anything. Father forbade it- he hated music- and my mother died before I really knew her."

"But I heard you... and it was nothing I'd ever heard before. It sounded ancient, like it had come right out of a book of myths."

"I wasn't singing."