The Chronicles of the Runaway Queen: Escape to Danger

Chapter Twenty Two : The Farmer and His Wife

Leaving the forest the weary travellers felt as though an oppressive weight was lifted from their shoulders. As the trees parted and the sun filtered upon them once more they were faced with rolling green hills. Vivienne had to hold herself back from running through the grass and letting her hair fly in the wind for she know it was neither the time nor the place for such childish behaviour, however the joy she felt was indescribable.

Paddoc too felt that joy, though her reason for not running free was the pain that still ached in her side. Though the bleeding had been stumped for the time being, she knew any exercise too strenuous would cause it to ooze once more and they it would fester again and the sickness would return.

They had not ventured far through the hills when they came upon a road. Davis identified it as a western branch of the Sovereigns road and so, cautiously they crossed it, being sure they were not seen, and continued through the hills on the other side as quickly as Paddoc's wound allowed them.

The walk through the hills was joyous, despite the worry of having crossed the road so publicly, and in the field roamed cows and horses freely. Vivienne was sure they were passing through the same farmlands that fed the capital, though they were not concerned when they saw a boy tending to his stock as they knew few in the kingdom truly knew the Princess' face.

The boy approached him. From what they could see he was young and poor, dressed in rags, he would have only been in his early teens. He smiled at them and they realised that they were probably in the same state as he after their long journey. The returned his smile one by one and he stopped, bringing the horse he had in tow to a stop beside him.

"Ay, I'm Erry," he said cheerfully, "this 'ere's Lionheart," he pointed to the horse, strong and sleek, clearly better fed and cared for than the boy himself. "What'r y' doin' roamin' these 'ere 'ills?"

"We're on an adventure," Paddoc piped, "But we are hungry and I am hurt."

"Well yer in luck then frien's, my 'ome is just steps from 'ere, why't y' come for a meal."

"We would be honoured to join you at your table, friend." Paddoc replied

"Ay, jus' follow me'n Lionheart, we'll get y' 'ome in no time."

The followed the boy and he was right, within minutes they saw a cottage ahead of them. When it was in sign, Erry leapt upon his horse and galloped toward it, shouting at someone they only assumed was his mother of the arrival of guests. When the travellers reached the home the entire family had gathered to greet them.

"This is Ma," Erry introduced, "Y' can call 'er Ma too, she dun't mind, and this is Mali," He nodded at a girl, younger than he though just as jolly. "Last that's Pa, he dun't talk much."

Erry's family's smiling nature clearly was not inherited from his father. The man skulked in the doorway to the cottage, sullen and silent. The did not see Pa again until much later. He reappeared as Ma was laying the table for the eight.

Though the family were clearly poor, judging by the state of distress in their clothing and the ramshackle nature of their home, their table was laden with the best and the girls felt once more as though they were attending a feast. Paddoc had been forced to remind Vivienne to forsake her manners in a place like this, as her polite sensitivities were alien to folk in the farmlands. They both knew than any wrong move may arouse suspicion and the family may realise they were feeding nobles, and so neither Paddoc nor Vivienne spoke at all.

Ma spoke through the whole meal, the kind of nervous chatter that comes from one who is not accustomed to guests, yet what she talked of not even her children would have been able to attest to, for all at the table were focussed solely on the food in front of them, all but Pa who did not indulge in a single bite.

As the food cleared and the guests found themselves full and sated Pa rose and looked out the window. The sun was beginning to set over the rolling hills and the travellers were surprised to note how long they had spent in Erry's home. Pa seemed to be nervous, not in the same way as Ma, his nervous was more sinister, though their guests took no notice until they noticed the sound of a deadbolt sliding into place as he locked them all in the room.

It was only seconds before they realised they had walked into a trap. The children looked to their father, confused, even Ma was clearly oblivious to her husbands actions but their guests knew that they had been discovered.

Davis reached for his sword, only to remember he had discarded it outside as they were enjoying the afternoon sun. He vowed to himself then that he would never let that sword leave his side again. Paddoc too reached for her weapon, the dagger that until now had served her so well but she was wounded and slow and before she could locate it under her skirts there was another dagger, yet this one was at her throat.

Pa was a large man, tall and muscular. He possessed the kind of strength of one who had handled large animals from a young age. Paddoc was small and light and with one hand he was able to haul her from her chair, holding her at knifepoint.

"I know who you are." Pa whispered menacingly. No one in the room dared to speak. Ma let out a small cry of shock and Pa continued, "They been'a lookin' for you two." He nodded to Vivienne then pricked the knife deeper into Paddoc's throat. "The King wasn' sure us poor'uns knew 'at y' looked like an' so the rich men came wit' they paintin's and now 'ere y' are. They say "if you see this woman, she is a enemy of the crown and you have our blessin' to kill 'er" They say yer 'ead will feed my family for years. S'pose you rich dun care 'bout 'at'o."

Morenna laughed, "You've done a brave thing," she said, "Invited us into your home and now you think we'll be easily killed. I suppose you never stopped to think that someone as important as the Heir of Dreadnaught would have a witch to protect her."

Pa laughed back, "Witches are dead!" he insisted, "they let 'em burn for the better."

"Oh are they?" Morenna began to chant in a dialect they did not recognise. As she did she kept eye contact with Pa, and he, though he were in a trance, released Paddoc and raised his blade to his throat. In a cry and a splatter of blood he slit his own neck and crumpled lifelessly on the floor. Ma let out a scream and the children began to cry.

"He'll've sent a crow if he wanted that money," said Davis as he unlocked the door once more, "We'll have to kill them all if we want to make it any further."

Vivienne interjected, "I was raised to be these people's Queen and a Queen would be merciful. A mother and her children shall not die here today."

Ma mumbled something, though none could tell if it was a sob or a thanks.

Davis was disappointed by Vivienne's decision, however Morenna, knowing Vivienne needed to trust in her to achieve her destiny, nodded in agreement. "There is something I can do, something that will buy us time. There is a spell. When I am done they will have no recollection of our visit."

The witch cast her spell, leaving the three surviving family members in a light sleep, and Vivienne noticed once more the woman fingers blacken and bruise as she worked her magic.

This time when she noticed Vivienne's gaze she didn't try to hide it.

"Magic has a price." Vivienne remembered

Knowing they would be unlikely to have the opportunity again, the travellers stripped the home of all they could. The two girls took the opportunity to swap their cloaks for those the family had hung at their own door and rounded all the rood they could find into a small satchel. They strapped their stolen goods to the back of Lionheart's saddle and ran from the site. Vivienne whispered an apology as they disappeared into the night.

THAT MAKES AN OFFICIAL 30K WORDS! CELEBRATE WITH ME! Thanks for reading up to here! If you liked this chapter every vote helps me out! What do you guys think of Vivienne's decision to not kill the family? Is it a sign of her weakness or is it a strength? Let me know what you think!