Chapter 13

"Are you daft?" Thérèse cried as she sprang to her feet. "You are not using me to distract these bastards." 

"We won't send you alone. We can send Bernard in with you while the rest of us take one of the hidden entrances." Henri reassured her. 

Bernard stood up so he loomed ominously over Henri. 

" I see through this valiant little act. I know exactly what you're doing. You want us separated from the rest of the group so you can abandon us. He doesn't give a damn about us, Thérèse. We're just pawns in his game." 

Henri's face changed instantly, transitioning to a furious expression. He jumped to his feet and got so close to Bernard their noses almost touched. He could feel Bernard's heaving breaths on his cheeks.

"Do you want to fix this mess or not?" Henri asked in a steely tone. "I can't help that Claude did this. I can't turn back the clock and stop him from murdering everyone you and Thérèse cared about, or from kidnapping my parents. Believe me, if I could, I would. But I can't, Bernard. I know you're angry, and I know you're bitter. You have every right to be. But do you honestly think I would willingly lose the woman I love? I know I'm not perfect by any means, but I would never deliberately put Thérèse in danger. I have a plan. I know what I'm doing. But I need to know that you're on my side." Henri said the last three words pointedly. Each one was accentuated by Henri closing the small distance left between them. The two were eye-to-eye, only inches apart. 

Bernard tensed his jaw. He wanted nothing more than to strike Henri across the face and give the scar on his left cheek a matching partner. He drew in a deep breath through his wide nose. Henri glared at him, waiting for a reaction. Bernard slowly began to nod. His bearded face bobbed up and down. He dragged the palm of his hand down his face and took a step back from Henri. 

"Okay." he said, still nodding. His voice was filled with emotion as he continued. "If it weren't for Brigitte being buried I would never work with a prick like you. I'm doing this for her," Bernard cast a longing glance over his shoulder. "and for Thérèse." 

"Fine. Whatever makes this easier for you." Henri held his hands up to show the argument was over. He ran his fingers through his thick hair. His calloused skin smoothed down the brown wisps that had come loose from the strip of cloth holding the rest of his hair back. "I think we should get back on the path." Mehala, Zin, and Caram immediately rose from their spots by the fire and began to pack up. Bernard, his eyes starting to fill with tears, walked in the opposite direction. He needed a minute to compose himself. 

  When Thérèse rose, Henri gently placed his hand in the small of her back. Thérèse started slightly at the sudden touch. She turned to face Henri. 

"I hope you know I'm going to do everything in my power to protect you." he said.  I have a plan, and it's going to be okay. Everything will be okay. I just need you to trust me." Henri smiled reassuringly, praying that Thérèse would understand. She swallowed the lump in her throat. 

"I trust you, Henri. I believe that this will all work out. I just hope you won't make a fool of me for believing in you." Thérèse replied. Henri nodded silently and planted a light kiss on her forehead. 

The group reloaded their horses and continued along their path. The rest of the trip was uneventful, for the most part. They made good time, stopping every night and riding the whole day, with a few breaks for the horses. It was a brisk afternoon on their tenth day of travel. From the back of the procession, Zin suddenly called out, "Look!" Thérèse started slightly from the sudden outburst. Everyone turned their eyes in the direction Zin was pointing. 

Suddenly, adrenaline coursed through the party's veins. The turrets of Bayonne's palace could be seen in the distance. The greyish-yellow bricks appeared over the tops of the trees and stood defiantly in the blue sky. The group paused for a moment. Henri straightened his back and gazed longingly at his home. It was still bizarre to him that any of this was happening. He had felt so safe here as a child. It was always warm and full of light. Henri had spent his days running through the halls barefoot. His mother would sometimes join him. They would get all kinds of looks and comments from the court, but they didn't care. They were happy. His father would take him on hunting expeditions, and encouraged Henri to participate once he was old enough to handle the weapons. But everything had changed. 

When Henri's mother passed, it broke his heart. His father grew distant, and Henri felt completely alone. When the king remarried Henri was hopeful. He knew this new woman would never replace his mother, but maybe she would bring Henri's father back into his life. Maybe his father would see them as a family again. Henri was never a huge fan of Lucie, but she was tolerable. At times he would even consider her kind, and thankfully his father slowly came back around. Henri assumed it was an attempt to get Henri to accept Lucie into the family. He didn't care. He had his father back, and that was what mattered to him. 

Zin cleared his throat, snapping Henri out of his trance and bringing him back to reality. Henri turned his horse so he was facing everyone else. 

"We're about three hours away now." Henri announced. "I think we should make camp here and rest one more night before we go in. We're going to need all of our strength, physical and emotional, for tomorrow. No fires, though. We don't want the smoke giving us away." There was a silent agreement among the group as they prepared to camp one final time. Thérèse felt her heartbeat quicken. It had been a terribly long journey, but the time to enact their plan had come all too soon. She felt her body go cold and a strange tingling sensation overtook her hands. Mehala saw how pale Thérèse had suddenly become. She took Thérèse's horse and tied her up. After leading Thérèse to a smooth patch of woods, Mehala laid a blanket out and bade the girl to lie down. She quickly built their tent and stayed by her side for the rest of the night. The men set out their own tents near Mehala and Thérèse. Bernard and Caram silently crept into bed, while Zin and Henri took their time securing theirs. 

"I'm going to be honest, Zin. I'm terrified for tomorrow." Henri said. 

"Obviously." Zin replied dryly from the other side of the tent. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Henri snapped back. 

"Well, to start with, you normally don't snap at us like that." The bulky man sighed as he rolled over to face Henri. Henri chuckled. 

"Fair enough." He said. 

"Ever since you met Thérèse you've been different. I'm not sentimental by any means, but we can all tell you care greatly for her. But at what cost?" Zin asked. He could tell that Henri had been in denial about Thérèse's effect on him. 

Henri furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked. 

"Well, what happens when something goes wrong tomorrow and you decide that she's more important than saving your parents. She gets in a bad situation and you have to decide. Who would you choose?" 

Henri paused for a moment. He knew that he should say he would choose his father and his step-mother. But was that entirely true? 

"I-I'm not sure, to be completely honest with you. I want to say I would choose my father and step-mother. But in reality…I don't know what I would do." 

"You need to think about it, and get your priorities straight. As for tomorrow, I hope that's a decision you won't have to make." Zin rolled over and attempted to get comfortable on the cold ground. 

Henri pulled his thin blanket up to his chin and laid flat on his back. Zin had a point. Was Thérèse starting to cloud his mind? The main point of this was to get Henri's parents and kingdom back. But was Thérèse's involvement making it hard for him to focus on his goal? Was he getting too invested in her? She wasn't really reciprocating his affection anymore. Was she bored with him? Even worse, was she using him? Was he simply a stepping stone for her to retake Argence, something she couldn't do on her own? What would become of them once this was over? 

Henri wiped his face with his hand. At some point during his bout of anxious thoughts he had broken into a cold sweat. He heard Zin snoring softly a few feet away from him. Henri wondered how long he had been mentally spiralling. He listened silently to the sounds of the surrounding woods as he drifted into a dreamless sleep.