Chapter 140: Dearest

Chapter 140:

Dearest

"Get him in the carriage!" Charlotte commanded, moving aside within the carriage to make room for Theo, who lay partially unconscious in Alywin's arms. He was only conscious enough to move his body onto the seat with Alywin before he completely blacked out, falling into Alywin's embrace with a tired sigh.

Philomena dampened her handkerchief and passed it to Alywin with a worried frown. "He looks exhausted, poor thing. He must have been traveling all day and night to catch up to us."

Using the dampened handkerchief, Alywin thanked Philomena and began to wipe away the stray dust and sweat streaking down Theo's face.

"Should we open a window?" Philomena wondered out loud, her brows furrowed in concern, watching Alywin's face darken the more he cared for Theo.

"No." Charlotte shook her head immediately, "We won't be much longer, and we can't take any chances."

"He'll be fine. He just needs to wipe off some of this sweat." Alywin said with a snort, his hands nimbly moving to Theo's chest, the sweat drenching Theo caused the shirt to morph like a second skin. "What?"

"You're going to undress him?" Charlotte asked, bewildered, as Alywin's fingers hovered over Theo's shirt.

Alywin nodded, annoyed, "What? Are you worried he'd mind? It's not the first time I've taken off his shirt."

Charlotte's eyes widened in shock as Philomena looked away, embarrassed. This did not stop Alywin, who shamelessly moved Theo's unconscious body around to remove his wet shirt.

"Give him some water too." Basch muttered as he held out his canteen, "Just don't drown him."

Alywin nodded in appreciation, pooling water in one hand as he dribbled the water in Theo's mouth, taking care to follow Basch's advice. After receiving the water, Theo seemed to regain some color, as if dehydrated. Alywin knew, however, only time would allow him to recover. When Theo over exhausted himself like this, he would grow sick for only a short period of time. Knowing that he would recover quickly gave him some peace of mind, at least.

The carriage, while tightly cramped, grew silent for a moment as Alywin looked over Theo's body for injuries, finding nothing worth noting. Even though he was not physically injured, Alywin administered him a bottle of medicine, dripping it slowly into his mouth with gentle movements, his arms nearly stuck to his sides as he attempted to help Theo drink it in the tight space.

"He's regaining some color." Charlotte said with a small sigh, passing Alywin another clean handkerchief to help with Alywin. "How long do you think it will take for him to recover?"

Alywin hummed in thought. "He should be fine in a day, maybe with some food and water." Basch stared at Theo's unconscious figure as Alywin spoke, his eyes dark as he thought of something, staring at the familiar purple gem resting around the young man's neck.

"We have liquid supplements in the carriage storage. Next time we stop, we'll have to feed it to him if he's conscious. He should be fine for now." No one in the carriage had any medical expertise beyond Basch, who had served on the battlefield for many years before attending to Charlotte as her knight. "We need to continue our journey. Any more delays could result in us getting caught."

As if he were listening, Theo, barely conscious, held onto Alywin's wrist as if it were a lifeline. His hands were wound tightly, his darkened skin ashen from the force of his grip. "D-don't go to the b-boarder. Malcolm… guards are there."

Basch's eyes narrowed dangerously, "We need to turn this carriage around. Immediately."

"What, but we-" Philomena stuttered, her confusion imminent. "Where would we go then?"

Charlotte held Philomena's hand with a gentle pat, shaking her head lightly, "If we go to the border now, Malcolm's guards will capture us. That can't happen." Knowing they would be dead before their return to the Yursear palace in that outcome, Charlotte bit back those words and bit her bottom lip, attempting to think of any way to escape. "We'll figure something out."

"I have somewhere we can go. It's in Cailith, so it will take us some time, but…" Alywin's expression was determined. "I know someone that can keep us safe until the borders reopen."

Basch stared at Alywin with a weighted grimace. "Who is this contact of yours, and how can we trust them?"

"Her name is Theresa, and she-" Alywin said, wiping away a bead of sweat from Theo's brow. "She's like a mother to me. She'll protect us no matter what."

Philomena stared between Basch and Alywin, watching as their expressions fell the longer they stared at each other, as if they were challenging the other. The carriage's atmosphere grew tense, and a strange pause fell over the group. No one was willing to move forward.

"Basch, let's go to Cailith." Charlotte finally spoke up, her lips pulled taut. "I think everyone in the carriage agrees too. We can only turn around now, but then what? We're not natives to this kingdom, and there is a high chance we will get caught waiting for the border to open."

"I will reconstruct the route to Cailith, then." Basch bowed his head in respect as he grabbed the map, abruptly standing in the cramped carriage as it stood still. He moved around the scattered bodies inside, opened the door, and stepped out, turning to Alywin and Theo. "You, if anything happens on our journey to Cailith, you two will lose your lives."

Knowing those words were no empty threat, Alywin swallowed the dry spit in his mouth and said, "I won't let anything happen. I promise."

…

"First Captain Laurent abandons his post, now the Bethellian princess and her entourage were kidnapped while traveling back to the Bethell Kingdom. What a shit show." A knight said aloud with little decorum, walking through the abandoned streets with another knight as his side, both donning the Yursear Kingdom coat of arms.

"What is that damn Malcolm doing? Even with Prince Clarence's insane leadership, the palace was never in such shambles. Look, he's been sending all of these soldiers to search the kingdom, but has he left anyone to keep the palace safe? What a fool." The second knight sighed. "I'd rather be out here than in the palace right now. But you know that you could be killed for saying that."

A dark clad figure walked heavily through the darkened alley, the spitting rain wetting the ground with an uncomfortable muddy path, releasing loud, sloshing steps at each step he took. The sword hidden in his cloak was nearly drawn, the man's expression hidden under a growing, stubby mustache and beard that came from nearly a week of not shaving.

It would not be smart to kill these two. There's most likely a search party in this city and the nearby area right now. If these two disappear, there's no telling where they'll look next. The cloaked man adjusted his hood, revealing his dirted handsome face and dark eyes, his once regal features stained with worry as he stared up at the clouded sky.

The man was nearly unrecognizable with the commoner clothes he wore, so much that Jasmine, having donned a cloak of her own, nearly ignored the strange vagrant. It was not until he adjusted his hood that Jasmine, standing in the crevice between two old buildings, spoke aloud, her voice dripping with shock.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jasmine lifted her sword, pointing it towards Beau's chest with a harsh growl to her voice.

Captain Laurent stood with his arms raised at the sides of his head, appearing impatient as he stared over his shoulder, hearing the approaching voices of knights scouring the abandoned alleyways. "Oh, it's you." Laurent mumbled under his breath. "Things could have been worse." He spoke placidly, with no raising or lowering tones. So much so that he sounded like a zombie.

Jasmine gritted her teeth, looking at Beau with confusion. "Are you here to hunt us down again, huh? Playing the vagrant, aren't you, Captain Laurent? You've never had to suffer a day in your damn life, yet here you are, parading around like a moron." Jasmine seethed. "How dare you-"

"We don't have much time, so listen to me-"

Jasmine waved her sword towards him threateningly, "You never gave me a chance to speak, so why should I give you one?"

"Guards are coming this way." Beau gritted his teeth. "Kill me then, otherwise the guards will get both of us." After Beau spoke, the sound of the two gossiping guards only grew closer, and Jasmine thought only for a moment before she quickly sheathed her sword as fast as she had drawn it.

Hearing Beau's sudden declaration, Jasmine felt something was wrong in her chest, and just as the guards were about to round the corner to their alley, Jasmine had already sheathed her sword and grabbed Beau by the arm. As much as she did not trust him, she felt it would be well worth their while to keep him alive. If nothing else, he'd be a decent bargaining tool.

"Follow me." Jasmine whispered in a low voice, pushing aside a wooden window cover as she tugged Beau forward, towards the mysteriously abandoned building. Using his arm as a launch tool, Jasmine pulled her arm back suddenly before she threw it forward, tossing Beau, a sizable man, through the window with little worry of him smashing into the edges.

With the force of her tug, Beau landed heavily on his hands and feet, while Jasmine jumped in behind him with fluid movements. Just as she landed, she twisted her body on her heels and placed the wooden window cover back onto the window with only seconds to spare.

"Shh-" Beau could not even open his mouth before Jasmine violently shushed him, nearly holding her hand to his mouth as they stood in the darkness of the abandoned room, dust dancing in the dark around them, the smell of wet wood and must dampening the air with a heavy coat of moisture.

The two gossiping guards loudly sauntered down the alleyway, unafraid of being heard through the row of abandoned storefronts. The hunt for Beau Laurent was not one they were interested in, so they took the search as a joke, unworried of being found by their similarly lazy supervisors.

"Do you really think he came through here? Captain Laurent's a little hard to miss." The first knight spoke, his voice thick with boredom as he walked, his sword resting on his hip. "Why do you think he escaped the palace like that? Did he have a sudden change of heart?"

"He's foolish to leave such a good position, I'll tell you what." The other knight shook his head. "Besides, we're nearly halfway out to the Bethell Kingdom. He'd have to have been running day and night to make it this far. I don't know what the upper brass is thinking." His irritated mutters echoed off of the decrepit walls, the stone nearly crumbling at its foundation.

Once the two guards' voices could no longer be heard, Jasmine moved first, grabbing Beau's wrists with a grasp of her own, her long nails digging into his soft flesh. "Why are those guards looking for you? Did you… defect? No fucking way." Jasmine muttered in shock. "You've got to be shitting me. Captain Laurent, captain of the Yursear moon squad… defecting?"

Her words were enough to make Beau speak up. "I did. I'm done fighting for the Yursear Kingdom, and I'm done helping Malcolm."

"You're not fighting back. Are you actually planning on cooperating?" She rose a brow, the faint outline of light from the edge of the wood slab making her face faintly visible. "That's a first."

Beau kept still, his expression impasse as he said with a frown. "Stop playing games, Jasmine. I have too much to lose right now." The way his voice rolled out of his mouth made Jasmine's arm hair stand on end, her face full of disgust as he continued. "I'll cooperate with you, so long as my safety is guaranteed. No need to torture information out of me that I'm willing to share."

"Alright, then. Fine. Let's cooperate for the time being, but-" As Jasmine tied Beau's hands as he stood still, voluntarily allowing himself to be tied up. "If you dare even step one toe out of line, I'll slice your throat open." While neither of the two could trust each other, they found some comfort in the fact that swords were sheathed, and all cursing comments were kept to themselves at the moment. Even tied up, Beau had a feeling that Jasmine would not kill him directly.

The information he had was invaluable, after all, and if it meant defecting in order to keep himself safe from the Yursear kingdom, then Captain Laurent was all but willing to stay with Malcolm. His family had long since grown up, settling far away into their own lives. Now, it was just him and him alone, alone within this palace chasing a position that was never his in the first place.

He felt as though the famous Yursinean bloodhound had fallen so far, far enough to drift him into hell. But, his morals were flexible to the winning side.

Leading him like a dog, Jasmine took Captain Laurent through the back roads in the quiet city, avoiding all of the guards so that she could regroup with the rest of their caravan, hoping that the rest of the journey would be a quiet one.

…

In the Faelfier Kingdom, two excited twins returned to their home after a long day of knight training for the two of them at the palace. Letters from the Yursear Kingdom had been delivered by their covert courier, a person Eva hired to discreetly send letters between the elves she rescued and their families. Cirdan and Aurelia were one of many luck elves to remain in contact with their families, having found them alive nearly a decade later.

As the pair hurried home, their steps nearly lifted by feathers, they picked up their letters from the mail office in the city, not daring to open the mail until they were home safe to read the letters. Sitting in the house, the daylight still illuminating the rooms through the large windows, Cirdan stared at the letters from Maeir, and then he read the letters sent by Silas again.

While both letters wished for their well being and safety, Silas was more prone to write about his day to day excursions within the countess's palace, revealing only vague details about their location within the Yursear Kingdom. The more he read over Silas's letters, the more he found a repeated character named "Clare" mentioned passively in the text. If he were not reading closely, Cirdan could have nearly overlooked it, like Aurelia had, but the more he read, the more he became certain of something.

"Aurelia, look at this. You see this 'Clare' person? Silas has mentioned them in all his letters." Cirdan hummed in curiosity, wondering who the interesting young woman could be. "Do you think Silas met someone?"

"Really? Where?" Aurelia grabbed Silas's letters and gawked, her mouth nearly dropping as she stared at the top letter, her finger tapping over the name 'Clare'. "Emmeline passed away nearly five years ago now. I wouldn't be surprised if he moved on, but…" Her face scrunched up, her lips twisted in a frown. "She needs to go through us first before she can date our brother!"

Cirdan looked over Maeir's strict but warm letters once again, attempting to find any such mention of such a character, but there was no such thing. Instead, there was only one very minute mention of a person that she found annoying at their current accommodations, someone that had taken it upon themself to be close to Silas. Maeir only said that she had taken care of the problem, and that she would be looking forward to returning home soon with Silas to see them again.

"Do you think that person is 'Clare'?" Cirdan asked aloud, his mind wandering.

"Fighting with mom like that… she's either a fool, or she's got a death wish." Aurelia said with a hum, almost feeling bad for the young woman that had attached herself to Silas. "What do you think, Cirdan? Silas doesn't seem very interested either. Maybe they're just friends?"

Cirdan crossed his arms, deep in thought. "Whoever it is… I hope we're able to meet them soon too. I want to know who Silas is so close to."

The twins unknowingly were in for a very large surprise.

…

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Had a little space at the end of the chapter, so I wanted to bounce back on the twins for a while, since a lot of you were wondering how they were doing ;u; They're doing okay! Definitely miss their big brother and mom >u< Also, I live for Jasmine bodying Beau! Ahahaha

Also, you can see photos of my infamous store on my twitter! ;D I was going for mid-century modern/ shapes. The green was a second choice, but a solid one I think. She's my beauty >y<

As we enter June, y'all stay safe too for Pride! YMtK and all of my pages are safe spaces for everyone, so take note that auntie cat has your back D:< Wear those colors proud. With that in mind, thank you all for the continued support (it's much appreciated ;; )!! We should be back next week with hopefully a longer, even spicier chapter with Theresa I hope :D See you all next week!