The Rogue Lady

Chapter Forty Five

Here is another chapter =D I hope you enjoy because we are finally getting to the part of the story I couldn't wait to write. This part of the story is going to be longer, I mean in these setting, and I loved it. =) Tying up loose ends and revealing secrets! YAY!!

Added the map again, Silverley, here we are!

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To say that things were tense the next few days would have been an understatement.

Everyone who had witnessed my small confrontation with William kept their distance from me, and those that hadn't seen it had been told about instead and tried to stay away from me as well. I tried to stay as far ahead of the group as possible as a scout, to keep from feeling everyone's eyes on me and most the time I succeeded. Darrick rode beside me and didn't say anything but neither did he have that judging look in his eyes, which I appreciated. Occasionally one of my archers joined us for a few miles, sometimes Eric rode with us but almost the entire day was spent in silence.

However, all those feelings were literally washed away as the three days after leaving Woodfall a summer storm hit us in full force. Some of us, mainly those who knew what a summer storm was like, had tried to convince William to stay put but he didn't believe that there had been a storm coming, and why would he? The skies had been a clear blue without a cloud in sight. So when it hit us a few hours later, it hit us hard. The rain had come down so hard, there was no way we could have possibly set up camp, so we kept going, without sleeping. Knowing that a summer storm could sometimes last for a week without the rain ever easing, we were lucky that it lessened by the time we reach Silverley. The first glimpse I got of my home in a long time was one of rain and mud. Not exactly great but I couldn't help but feel happy to be back.

Even better were the Kings men, who had already set up camp on the hills surrounding the capital. Of course, my blond hair, however soaked it was, wasn't hard to miss and immediately they were there. I got off my horse, feeling annoyed by the weather and extremely tired because I had refused to sleep since the storm hit us, so I most definitely wasn't in the mood for any polite titles.

"My Lady," went the first, and some soon followed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I haven't slept for days and thus I'm cranky, apologize my bad mood. Can you help them set up the tents and come up with a watch cycle? Thank you." That was really all I said, they should have considered themselves lucky that they even got a 'thank you'. Instead I took care of the horses with a few others, making sure that they were dry and safe. By the time that was done, the tents had been set up and the magicians had made them dry with their remaining powers. They had been holding up a dome over our heads for three days in order to keep most of the summer storm at bay. It had completely drained them though.

Tom had already crashed and was fast asleep when I came into the tent, and I dropped myself down next to him unceremoniously. Eric came in as I was about to fall asleep but I didn't remember much beyond that point. My dreams were restless, I remembered that much. I found myself in the dark corridor of the dungeons again, the hidden entrance of the tunnel behind me. I knew where I needed to go, where I wanted to go and my feet were ready to take me there without even asking for my permission. But it wasn't as easy as it had been during every nightmare so far; of course it wasn't, of course things would change.

After I had taken a few steps forward, into the darkness ahead of me, I felt it. It was like being punched in the stomach, making it hard to breathe through the pain. I doubled over, putting a hand on the wall for support as I waited for the sensation to fade. When it was gone and nothing followed, I straightened up and was ready to go further into the darkness of the dungeons. But again I didn't make it very far before I felt a pain in my jaw, once more as if I had been punched. I didn't understand any of it; I knew it wasn't me, who was hurting, but how could I feel it in a dream? The pain faded fairly quickly, only to be replaced with pain elsewhere.