The Princess's Secret [completed]

2: Tamar's Story.

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Caspian.

The storm was worsening, lowering visibility. He glanced back at the woman. She was resting against his steed's neck.

He faced forward again, frowning slightly as he thought. Should they keep going, or wait it out? They still had to cross the creek, and the bridge would be slippery in these conditions. The last thing he needed was for the horse to slip.

But on the other hand, if they waited for the storm to pass, it would be that much longer before they were safe from whoever was chasing the woman.

The heavy snowfall could be a blessing, as it was rapidly covering their tracks.

He sighed. Perhaps it would be safer to find shelter and wait it out… His men would be wondering about him soon, and he would likely meet up with scouts in the morning, who would provide them with protection for the rest of the journey to the city.

His mind now made up, he glanced around to get a better idea of exactly where they were. If his guess was correct, there would be caves nearby, and they could find shelter there. He shifted their course to head that direction, mind returning to his earlier thoughts.

Who was chasing this woman, and why? How concerned should he be for his own safety? And how long would the storm keep up?

They arrived at the caves and he quickly selected one with only a single entrance, partially blocked by trees. It would serve well as a hiding place from enemies and elements.

Leading the horse in, he scanned the inside and smiled at the good choice; it was roomy but not too deep, a dead end tunnel.

He tied the horse to a tree, making certain the steed could stand inside the shelter and out of the wind. Then he set down the lantern and carefully lifted the woman from the saddle. She was asleep, and he lowered her to the floor, making certain she was comfortable.

Luckily, some animal had used the cave as a den some time ago and had left a large nest of dry leaves and sticks behind. Soon he had a fire going and the cave began to heat up.

He selected some thicker sticks and used his knife to cut several strips of cloth from the bottom of his shirt, glad for the extra length it had been made with.

Sometime during this, the woman aroused. He smiled in greeting. "Welcome back.”

She blinked, confused as she looked around.

Caspian found himself fighting amusement and pretended not to notice her confusion. "I never did get your name." He commented, gathering his supplies and moving to crouch by her swollen ankle.

She considered him a moment. "Tamar." She answered at last, eyeing him. She glanced at the cloth and sticks. "What're you doing?"

He smiled, turning his eyes back to the task at hand. "Making you a splint, to support your ankle for the ride tomorrow."

He set sticks on both sides of her ankle, tying them so they held the joint where it was, not allowing the ankle to roll. Then he added sticks to her heel and shin, tying them too, so that she couldn't bend her ankle easily.

"It's crude, but it'll have to do until I get you to the physician." She just nodded and avoided his gaze.

He finished the splint in silence and returned to the other side of the fire, where he sat down. “So what’s your story, if I may ask?”

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Tamar.

She studied the man across from her. The King. Had he been anyone else, perhaps she would risk telling her story, but she dared not tell this man. Her story was enough to get her hanged.