Chapter 55: Chapter Fourteen

ADA

“Well, when I heard Ada was helping train the new soldiers, I thought you could use some ~real~ help. It is admirable of you to encourage her efforts though, Lord Ciaran.”

“I am sure it is one of the first times someone has ever made her feel competent.”

“I ~am~ standing right here,” I said, glaring. “If there are words you would like to speak directly to me, then I welcome them, ~brother~.”

“Unlike Lord Ciaran, I would not waste my time with your ignorance.”

Ciaran nudged Silas to walk away from me, but this only seemed to agitate him. He pushed Ciaran out of the way, looking at all the men.

King Toren must have told him of my whereabouts at breakfast this morning.

He was filled with envy and rage, his two greatest weaknesses, both of which often clouded his judgment and would make him an unstable ruler.

“I’m confused as to why my father would send his daughter, ~a woman~, to help with your training… Tell me, Ada. How does a woman even fight? Do your breasts not get in the way?” he jeered.

The men stopped their practice and stared at Silas’s display. Some of them even laughed along with him. If the object was to embarrass me to the point that I would walk away, he was failing miserably.

It only provoked me to finally deal with his childish insolence, once and for all.

“I will show you.” I heard the words leave my mouth. Ciaran placed his hand on my shoulder. He was trying his best to mediate, but I shook him off and started to circle Silas.

“Fight me~,~” I hissed at him.

“Fight you?” he asked, laughing. “That is your wish?”

“Yes. Unless you are a coward, Silas. Your words are meaningless until you prove them.”

His face was beginning to turn red, and I watched his hands clench at his side. I looked past him, making eye contact with Ciaran.

From his nod, I knew the outcome of the fight was in my favor and he would not interfere any more in our disagreement.

“So, what will it be, Silas? Will you fight me, ~like a man~, bare-handed?”

“I am much bigger than you—it would not be a fair fight.”

“You may be bigger in width, but not in height. If I am willing, what say you?”

“Let us fight.”

CAYDEN

Cayden watched Ada from the hill above the valley—he could not believe his eyes. He had spent the last few months traveling across Ireland to find her, and here Ada stood, just yards away.

It was by chance that they had come across this training camp. They were on their way to Oranmore to locate its weaknesses and to bring back the army that waited just outside the town.

He was confused as to why she was here with the soldiers though, and training them to fight against their people. He watched as she and another man worked their way through the group.

When a new man joined the group, there was an obvious conflict between him and Ada. Cayden got down on his stomach and crawled as close as he could to hear what they were saying.

Sayer and Padriac followed, leaving the other three men to keep a lookout. They listened to the unknown man insult Ada.

Cayden was quickly trying to figure out the group dynamic, though it was not hard to see that there was great resentment between the two.

Ada appeared to be in a position of authority, but how? Then he heard her voice challenge her ~brother~.

“Do not be a fool, Ada,” Cayden whispered aloud. Sayer crawled next to him, making sure his brother was not about to do anything stupid.

“Did you know she had a brother?”

“The question is, ~who~ is her brother?” Padriac added. “And who is the other man that seems defensive of her?”

Cayden’s body tensed at the sight of the soldier’s hand on her shoulder—by the way he was dressed, Cayden assumed he was the commanding officer.

Had she moved on from him? Was this the man who had paid for her? Where was their child? His thoughts were interrupted by Ada’s voice again—she was egging the man on.

“I hope for all our sakes that Ada has not forgotten her training,” Sayer mumbled. “She is too eager.”

“Ada will be fine. She was trained by the best.” Padriac tried to lighten the mood, but Cayden did not speak. He watched as the group made a half-circle around the two.

Sayer called Gosta and Egil over to watch while Caxton remained on guard. Ada and her brother, whom he’d heard called Silas, stood apart from each other, waiting for the commander’s signal.

He whistled and the man, Silas, began to shuffle around. Ada followed his steps and carefully watched the language of his body. He often led his body with his dominant hand, as if it were guiding him.

Ada moved her strong leg back to brace for the impact when Silas began to run at her. Cayden could hear a thud as their two bodies landed on the ground.

He rose up on his knees, ready to run down toward her.

“If you go now, it is likely Ada will be killed, and you will be killed. You are a great warrior, but there are thirty or more armed men there,” Sayer said, pushing his body back down.

“Ada has survived this long; let us give her a chance.”

Ada and the man scrambled around on the ground. It seemed everything Padriac had taught her was natural instinct at this point.

She made sure if this man got on top of her, her back was always on the ground, never her front. Cayden watched as she was able to punch him in the face a few times, giving her time to push him off.

They were once again on their feet, but only for a second. Ada ran toward him and dove for his legs, knocking the two of them over.

Cayden tensed as he watched the man kick her in the stomach as she got closer to him. He could see Ada trying to catch her breath and move, but the man got up to a kneeling position over her.

While he dramatically wound his fist back to punch her in the face, Ada pulled her knees into her chest and with all her strength, made contact with his upper body.

The man fell backward, and before he was even settled on the ground, Ada jumped onto him.

With her knee pressed against his chest, she pulled out a dagger and pressed it against his throat in one fluid motion.

Cayden watched as the commander ran over to them, shouting, “Ada!” He stood behind her, hesitant to touch her with the dagger pressing into the man’s neck.

“If there is one thing you learn today,” Ada shouted for everyone to hear, “it is to ~never~ underestimate your enemy.”

Ada removed the dagger from Silas’s throat and stood up. All the men were staring at her, including Cayden. He felt proud of her, even aroused by the way she carried herself.

“Well, has she not come a long way from the shy girl in the veil?” Gosta punched Cayden in the side.

“She most certainly has.” Cayden laughed as he watched Ada walk over to where the commander stood. His smile was instantly replaced with the feeling of jealousy.

The two seemed a bit too comfortable with each other. He watched Ada face the group of men and begin to speak again.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, this ~woman~ must go feed her son, that is, from her ~breasts~,” Ada shouted and walked off toward the wooded area that shielded the camp.

“You have a son.” Sayer patted Cayden on the back. “Should I be congratulating you or Gosta?”

Cayden forced a smile, staring at the commander below for just a moment. After watching him touch Ada, he wished there was reason to attack him now.

But the longer they lingered, the greater the chance they would be discovered. He did not want to risk his wife or child’s life by staying there any longer.

He whispered to the men, “We shall fall back into the forest and wait until nightfall. We will need to think of a plan.”