Alomina or The Book of Many Journeys Ch. 11

Chapter Eleven: The First Great Journey

"It is time to go, Your Grace", said the maid from the doorway.

Celeise looked up from her poetry book. "Oh, yes - of course", Celeise answered lifelessly.

She put away her book and rose. She let herself be mantled with a silvery cloak. She took up her silver circlet and placed it dutifully upon her own head. She knew this action was symbolic of her obedience now. She put her crown upon her own head --- it was not forced upon her. She knew she would see her palace again, but somehow it seemed as though this was a lonely last good-bye to it.

She looked out her window. Another grey dawn rose outside. She left her room with her maid, going down the hall. She knew few would be up at this time, but she hoped at least her family would bid her off.

She glanced down the dark hallways as she stepped through her deserted-seeming palace. Her family waited at the doors. There they stood her little brother sleepily resting his head against mother, her sisters rubbing their eyes for the earliness of the morn, and her mother carrying sleeping baby Alfonso. Her father stood by, his eyes sad for the loss -- though temporary as it was -- of his dear daughter.

She merely went to each of them, bade them all good-bye, and left to her carriage. There a company waited to escort her to Vellethia, for her to meet her betrothed and his brother, the king. When she came back, she would be accompanied by the Prince Lothaire, and then she would wed him.

So dismally she left, looking back at the palace that she would not see again as a maiden princess. Perhaps this trip held hope for her line's future, or for her kingdom's future, but it held no hope for her.

She glanced out her window as the dimly-lit landscapes passed her by. The hills reminded her of a poem she had once thought unbearably sad the one she had just been reading from her book. Now, as she remembered it, it reminded her of her own fate. She sung it to herself softly and fell back into sleep as the dawn rose.

The silver hills,

The shadowed vales,

Now will I leave forevermore.

A saddened thought

in me prevails-

'Good-bye, good-bye, land that me bore'.

The distant sun,

The blinking sky

Give witness to my long farewell,

And now in one

Small heaving sigh,

The sorrows of my heart I tell.

And yet I smile,

And look on way,

To sun yet unrisen to me,

And in the whiles,

When dawned is day,

My home again, I know I'll see...

•••

Alomina woke up once more, seeing now somewhat more clearly than before. She could now move, but not stand. She looked around. A dying fire, a leather sack, and a large, inky-black horse were the some of the only things of note about the camp. She could also see Alexandria tied down off in the distance near the black horse. No one else was in sight. What was happening? Then she heard footsteps, and saw a dark-haired man with an armful of wood start tending the fire.

He then turned as if to look at her. She closed her eyes, and acted as though she were asleep though quite instinctively, and not completely knowing why. She held her breath tensely for a short moment, expecting whoever he was to discover her consciousness. For a tiny millisecond, nothing happened and all seemed still and tense. Then she could hear his footsteps getting fainter again, as if he had gone to get more wood. She breathed deep again in relief.

She didn't quite understand what was about. In fact, she didn't really understand this at all. She wondered where she was, she wondered who this strange man was, she wondered how she had gotten here, and why she was in this state.

She decided, while the man was gone which she had assumed, as she no longer heard him she would further observe her surroundings. So she turned back to the camp to do so. The first thing she noticed was that she was still lying on the ground, which to her indicated that she may have been unconscious for some while, especially since the man approached as if he expected her to wake soon.

So apparently, whoever was behind this happening presumably the dark-haired man had expected her to wake up while he was gone. Not only because he acted as though he expected her to be awake, but also because her ankles and wrists were tied, and her arms were under her back. That clearly meant that whoever was doing this (again assuming the black-haired man to be such) was not of friendly intention.

She was in what seemed to be a small sort of personal camp, and she did not recognize where she was at all (except that she was in a forest still, and presumably a different one than the one on her estates). How long had she been gone? Had they been traveling for the time that she had been unconscious?

She also deduced that this was most likely not a random capture, for whoever it was that kidnapped her had been in the forest by the de Blyrwen estates, not in any town or public tavern. But why? The reason must have been ransom, for she did not have any true enemies, and no other reason seemed logical to her.

Percy, of course, had at least a few political enemies he being somewhat influential in the kingdom but surely none of them would go to lengths of kidnapping.... would they? And surely if they were that serious about silencing Percy's political voice they would go after him... wouldn't they? True enough, he feared no harm to himself, but surely none of his enemies knew him well enough to know that... did they? And surely Percy had told her all about any political rivals he might have had?

Then Alomina suddenly realized, No, Percy doesn't tell me everything. He didn't tell me how dangerous or serious his enemies could be, he didn't tell me how many there were, he hardly told me anything. And I'm now clueless and helpless. And hopeless, she couldn't help adding to herself despairingly. Indeed how terribly true now it seemed to be.

She then broke into a confused sob, filled with anger at her hopeless situation, fear at what could lie before her, sorrow that she did not know what to do, confusion at why she was there, a loathing for whoever interrupted her and Percy's quiet life so, and a desperation to explain all this new and terrible scramble. How could she ever get back to Percy, or Cynnia, or her home, or Rowella, or any of those dear things she had taken for granted?

She wept, making a silence-breaking sob, but then stopped, startled by the sudden break of the quiet a very small break though it was. She fell into a state of tenseness, startled by the least sound or movement, innocent as a child and timid as a wild rabbit. She looked down, half-inclined to start sobbing again, relentless of the noise.

She then heard a twig break, as though stepped on, but paid no heed for a moment in her commiseration. After that moment, Mina slowly turned her head up to see what had made the noise out of curiosity, despite her fear.

And she realized the dark-haired man was back! He had seen her awake! She closed her eyes quickly, but it was too late. She could hear his stride, ever and ever edging closer. It made her as tense as a wild stag in open meadows. She held her breath in anticipation. She listened even harder for something to show that he had not seen her awake, perhaps a grumble, or a bored sigh, just something. He came close enough to touch her, and then strode back in the direction of the campfire. Maybe he had not seen her awake after all. She breathed deeply a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived.

She heard the man's stride stop, and she opened her eyes once more in the hope that he had gone away again. Just then she heard a small cracking noise, a sizzling noise, and then smelled a bitter, herby smell. She could see dark mist of some kind around her, getting thicker and thicker. She strained her eyes to see, but it was almost like the smoke was inside her eyes, and she could not seem to get it away. She smelt a heavy, smoky smell, the mist seemed to envelope her, and again everything went slowly dark.....