The Last Dance (13)

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Chapter 13 - The Price of Freedom

It was the merchant from the castle. The one John had bought the bracelet from and had then seen it on me.

Crap crap CRAP! What was I going to do? The facade John had created was useless. We were found out. Well, one of at least. That meant it was up to me to figure this out.

I bit my lip wondering what I could possibly do to get us out of this situation.

I looked back over to the camp where the merchant was still regarding John with a mask of surprise covering his features while John looked warily back.

The other men hadn't noticed what was passing between them yet when Cal spoke up.

"Lou, Rory we be'n waitin' for ya. See we got a bit 'o a situation here" He said with a jerk of his head towards John.

"We found 'ol Robert here in our trap and we don' know what ta do wit' 'im" Jer supplied.

Either Lou or Rory nodded his head and looked at John suspiciously. The merchant's forehead crinkled in confusion.

"Mayhaps I be missin' somethin' but 'o is Robert eh?"

I closed my eyes in dread. This was it.

Cal gave him a funny look "Who else Rory bu' the lad," He said with a nod to John

Rory only chuckled. Chuckled! "Why tha' there's Prince Johnathan no' Robert. What manner 'o joke is this?"

I looked warily on and noticed Brice's eyes flash. This was going from bad to worse.

He strolled over to John and grabbed him by the chin pulling his face up.

"Prince Johnathan is it?" He said menacingly "Wha? Come to spy on us have ye?" I saw John's face pale.

"N-no" He stuttered. "I.. ah.. I ran away.. got lost.. mistake.. not a spy..." He trailed off into unintelligent rambling and I saw his face gain color quickly from embarrassment. Oh for goodness sake! This was hardly the time to lose your cool John.

Brice hissed at him which frightened me to no end. And Cal and the rest of the men merely watched.

They wouldn't hurt him would they? Surely someone would step in, Rory at least who knew him. Right?

Brice let go of him abruptly, causing him to stumble forward and fall to his knees. He glared up with all of the dignity he could muster.

"A pretty penny we could get from 'im eh?" He asked the men with a dark chuckle. "I reckon we send a piece back to the king. See he gets the message not to send no spies out here eh?" He looked John over with a critical eye that made me sick and scared. Now would be a good time to step in Celia.

Any minute now.

Come on!

It was no use, I was frozen in place, stunned.

I saw Rory fidgeting and shifting from foot to foot while stealing furtive looks at Cal, who remained silent. The rest of the men hung back, obviously not wanting to get involved.

Suddenly Brice pulled out a sword so fast I hadn't even seen him reach for it. He levelled it in front of John moving it around as if contemplating where to make the first incision.

The glint of cold steel knocked me out of my reverie and woke a deep and hidden fury within my chest. I was furious. Before I registered my movements I was leaping up and drawing my own sword. I strode coolly out of the woods while keeping my sword pointed directly forward.

"Don't touch him."

Everyone turned to me at once with startled looks and put their hands on their hilts. They were about to pull them out when Cal put his hand up to stop them.

I didn't even flinch at the odds, right now was no time to show fear.

Brice had his eyes on me, and his sword was pointed directly back at me.

Cal spoke up taking charge.

"What's this? You his spy partner?" He asked me. I was surprised that his speech was proper and not as crude as the other men's.

I didn't take my eyes off Brice while answering. "Of course not, I'm only his friend."

"A friend eh? And why should we be believin' that eh? What with 'the Prince' here already havin' lied to us?"

Keeping my expression neutral I lifted my gaze slightly and looked for the merchant. Meeting his gaze I lifted my wrist high so that the bracelet was clearly visible.

"I'm sure Rory would be happy to vouch for me" I stated.

Cal's eyebrows shot up and his look of incredulity was mirrored in all the men's face as they turned to Rory.

He squinted his eyes at my wrist, and suddenly his face lit up.

"Why tis Miss Celia!" He turned excitedly to the others "The Prince bought that off me he did, and gives it to her, I remember. I saw it on 'er later in the palace when she was down on h'r hands 'n knees helpin' me when my wares did drop she did" He gave me a kind smile, which I responded to with a curt nod.

The men turned back towards me in interest.

"Alright girly, let's say you are who you claim to be. What's it to us eh? You're outnumbered lass."

I shrugged. Like that was going to stop me.

The men huddled together, probably deciding what to do with me, but I wasn't paying attention. My eyes stayed trained on Brice, who was mirroring my stance and looking at me calculatingly. Now that I was looking at him properly, he didn't seem quite as intimidating as I'd first thought. Sure, he was still fierce looking, but there were deep laugh lines etched around his eyes, and maybe under different circumstances he could be friendly, but for now he was my enemy.

Finally, the men broke up and Cal turned to me again.

"Mayhaps we can make a deal here lass, and this here is a generous offer considering."

I nodded to show I was listening, though I didn't risk looking at him.

"We'll give 'im back to you for a price," He said.

"A ransom you mean?" I asked coolly.

They nodded. I thought about it. It was simple enough, but unfortunately I didn't have the kind of money they would require on me, nor would they take my word to bring them the money. And how could I trust them to let us go unharmed even if they did agree?

No, it was too risky. I had to turn this to my advantage somehow.

And between warriors there was only one other way to solve things.

"A duel," I stated, "I'll fight for his freedom against anyone of you."

I briefly raised my gaze to see how they took this. Cal had his eyebrows raised and two of the others were chuckling softly. Rory looked at me impressed, and Brice's expression remained blank.

The men conferred for another moment and nodded.

"We accept your terms lass, shall we say to first red?"

It was a standard procedure. The first man to draw blood won. I was about to nod my acceptance when Brice cut in with a growl.

"No. That aint how we do things here in th' wood and ye all know it. This lass aint no green knight. We fight to the death."

I tensed and seized him up. Could I take him? The men didn't interfere and for the first time since revealing myself I looked at John. He was looking at Brice in fear with a pale face and shaking uncontrollably. He would never get out of this alive if I lost. His gaze moved over to me and when he saw me looking at him tried to control his emotions and act calm while shaking his head at me firmly. That made my decision for me. He needed me, whether he would admit it or not.

I turned back to Brice, "I accept."

"No!" John yelled. Everyone looked back to see him white with fear. "Don't Celia, please! I'm not worth it!" He choked out with a voice thick with grief. He held his hands up to show the bonds around his wrist. "I'll fight for my own freedom," he announced hastily.

"You are worth it," I murmured too quietly for anyone to hear.

I bit my lip to keep from rushing over there to reassure him, but the men had all turned to me and I shook my head against his fighting.

With a final look in his direction I saw him slump to the ground helplessly and turned back to Brice.

"To the death," I confirmed.

He gave me a curt nod, took several steps back and lowered his sword.

I did the same and we waited while the rest of the men cleared the space for our fight. All of them avoided looking me in the eye, all except Cal who hadn't moved an inch this whole time and continued to stare at me in confusion.

John finally covered the haunted look in his eyes and stared at the middle of the makeshift arena expressionlessly. Rory cleared away some debris around me and clasped my shoulder gently before moving off to the side.

Once all the men had moved to take places Cal strode to the middle and looked me and in the eye as he spoke.

"This duel, bein' fought for the custody of Prince John will be to th' death." He waited until we both nodded and moved off to the side. When he was clear we took a few steps toward each other and bowed, coming up in a defensive position. We circled each other quietly and I was impressed to see that he was an experienced fighter by the way he assessed me the same way I was assessing him. This would only make things harder.

Knowing I was fighting a larger opponent I knew it would be better to take the defensive so I waited him out, judging that he would lose patience before me.

I was right.

With a growl he whipped his sword at my shoulder and I got my sword up only just in time. He was fast, I thought grimly, but I knew he was already. I would just have to watch his body for hints.

His stomach bunched and I yanked my sword down to block my middle.

He continued to press the attack and I continued to block. He swiped at my legs and I jumped to avoid the hit and countered with a thrust to his waist. He barely caught the blow and grinned, obviously impressed at my skill.

However, once he seemed sure that I was good he pressed harder and I had to work frantically to hold him off but my sword arm was getting progressively sorer with each jarring block I had to make. I felt a rivet of sweat run down my forehead and made a quick flurried attack. I brushed it away before it could get into my eyes but Brice used the moment to thrust his sword at my exposed waist. I managed to turn my body to the side but took a glancing blow to my sword arm above the elbow.

It wasn't a deep cut but I grimaced as the blood ran down and dripped to the ground. I heard an anguished muffled cry from the sidelines and suddenly found strength. I was doing this for John, losing wasn't an option.

I ignored the pain and transferred my sword to the left arm. Brice's eyes widened as I caught the next blow and he nodded approvingly. I was glad that I had practiced hard to be just as good left handed as right, and I would need that advantage; I had to win soon or it would be death. I was already tired and sore, and now I was bleeding. That would weaken me even quicker, but so long as I remembered I was doing this for John I'd be okay. I had to be.

I could see that Brice was tired but he still had the advantage. It was time to take the offensive. With a grunt of pain I pushed my useless arm behind my back to keep it out of the way and stepped up to meet his next blow head on. I followed with a thrust to his middle and immediately moved into a swipe at his legs.

Now he was the one walking back as I kept up a constant stream of blows, not giving him the chance to send any of his own. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and seemed to just barely block all of my moves. I needed to take him by surprise somehow. I faked to his left side and dropped low swinging my sword out in a circle hoping to either trip him up or make him have to jump to avoid the hit. He jumped and I swung out quickly to nick his ankle, then threw my sword above my head to catch the downward swing of his weapon. I quickly sprung up and aimed for his unhurt leg. He was quick to block, but as I'd expected he'd forgotten about, or misjudged his hurt leg and wavered slightly to regain his balance. It was all the advantage I needed. I stepped up and locked my sword with his, forcing him to put pressure on his hurt ankle. I could see the sweat running down his face from the strain and he gritted his teeth as I pushed forward making him lean back. He winced from the pain I was forcing on his leg and I took a step forward. He tried to shift his weight and I smiled. His face registered shock as he realized my set up just before his sword flew out of his grasp and he collapsed to the floor.

I touched my sword tip to his throat and panted hard. I had won, but it was a close one.

"You can kill him."

I looked up at Cal who was regarding me blankly. "It's your right."

I had forgotten they were even there.

With a deep breath I relaxed my hold on my weapon and removed it from its lethal position.

"I don't believe in unnecessary waste." Truthfully I'd never before killed a man and just the thought of it made me feel dirty, but I didn't need to let them know that. I wiped my sword clean and sheathed it.

Brice, whose eyes had been closed expecting death, looked up at me in wonder. I held my hand out to him and he clasped it with a grin jumping up with a wobble. He didn't let go of my forearm right away and clapped my shoulder like an old friend.

"Amazin'." I grinned at him and looked to see everyone else looking at me with awe. Cal looked relieved that I hadn't killed Brice and even gave me a nod when he caught my eye.

"That was an impressive win lass, an keepin' true to our word you're both free to go."

I looked toward John with a triumphant smile only to see him sitting on the ground with his face buried in his hands. I hadn't even noticed them cutting his bonds.

As I walked up to him I could hear him breathing heavily and mumbling to himself. I listened hard; he was saying 'never again' over and over. What was that about?

Obviously he hadn't heard me coming up so I gently placed my hand on his shoulder, not wanting to startle him. "John?"

His head whipped up, and when he registered it was me he leaped up and before I knew what was happening, he had me in a bone crushing hug that knocked the breath out of me. I stumbled back from the force of it but his grip didn't falter in the slightest.

"John... let... go," I forced out. He really needed to let go, I could hardly breathe here.

"Never gain, don't you EVER scare me like that again Cece," He said fiercely through his suddenly wet eyes. He was crying over me? But I was fine, so what was there to be upset about?

He squeezed tighter, and a shot of pain lanced up my arm. I'd forgotten about that.

"John... arm."

He finally let go and I took a deep breath in relief.

"Miss, ye might be wantin' ter wrap that up," Rory said walking up. "Best let me help ye, tis a nasty cut and ye don't be wantin' it infected!" He had a bundle of cloth in his arms and a bottle of some salve.

"Ye'll both be staying wit us tonight 'o course, and we'll take ye to the edge 'o the woods in the mornin'. The boys was mighty impressed lady," Rory said. I smiled at him faintly as the exhaustion caught up to me and he stepped forward to help me bind the wound when John took the stuff from him. Rory nodded at John approvingly and pointed behind us to point out a small stream before walking off.

John grabbed my forearm and gently pulled me forward to sit on a tree stump. His eyes were dry but his face was shaded red and I guessed he was embarrassed for his reaction just now, but I didn't have the energy to brush it off. The aches and pains that I hadn't noticed during the fight were making their presence known at once. John knelt down and soaked one rag in water. He held my hurt arm steady and dabbed at the blood. I bit my lip to keep from crying out at the sting.

He looked up at me sympathetically but didn't say anything.

While the blood hadn't bothered me during the duel I felt nauseous seeing it now.

I must have had a funny look on my face because John was looking at me with an amused expression. I half smiled and shook my head at him before closing my eyes to block out the sight.

I could feel John wiping more blood away and then the cool relief of the salve. Finally he started binding up the wound tightly with cloth, but I still didn't open my eyes. I was thinking about how upset John had been when I agreed to the fight. I was touched that he actually cared. Especially with the way we've been since I found him, treading over glass...

I felt the brush of something warm against my lips and my eyes flew open in surprise. John was already walking back towards the camp.

Had he...?

I shook my head. I'd probably just imagined it. And yet, I could feel a tingle in my lips and blushed in surprise.

I got up and walked over to the men, who were now sitting around a fire.

Brice saw me approach and moved over to leave me a space between himself and John.

I collapsed beside them as all the trials of the last few days caught up with me. I registered laughter, felt pats on the back, and nods of approval. Several glasses of cider were raised in my name, but I just smiled warily through it all and felt my eyelids drop lower with every blink.

My eyes flew open when I felt myself being lifted up off the ground. I blinked in surprise, immediately tensing up when I heard a familiar laugh above me.

"Relax, it's just me." I looked around to see that the fire was now down to embers and the men were scattered around in heaps, probably asleep. I looked up to see John carrying me and was about to protest that I could walk on my own, but I was too tired to plead my case. Instead I yawned and relaxed into his hold, we couldn't be going far anyway.

Just like I thought, a few steps later he placed me gently down on the ground and laid a blanket over me. I smiled sleepily but he didn't see in the dark. Shadows played across his face as he stood above me and he ran his hand through his hair. He turned away. Was he leaving?

"Where are you going?" I asked annoyed. I was close to the tree he'd been tied next to last night but I still didn't particularly want to be alone. Or maybe I just didn't want him to go...?

He looked at me in surprise. Well I think it was surprise, I could hardly see.

"Will you lie down already? You're making my neck sore from looking up."

He lay down awkwardly on his back, making sure to keep plenty of room between us. I blinked feeling sleep come back now that he was safely beside me. Funny that I was still concerned about him when it had been my life in danger.

He turned on his side to face me and propped himself up on an elbow.

He reached a hand over and fingered the bracelet on my wrist. "When did you find out?" He murmured.

"I bumped into Rory when I was looking for you, and he recognized it. But I think the better question is why didn't you tell me?"

He shrugged awkwardly, "I thought you would like it better if you didn't know it was from me."

That's just silly. Did he really think that? Then again, a few weeks ago that might very well have been true. Still I wasn't about to confirm it. "I would have loved it either way. Thank you"

He didn't say anything but couldn't keep the grin off his face either. He moved his hand back to his side and I twisted my wrist so the bracelet would catch the light. Its beauty never ceased to surprise me, and I was amazed that John picked such a perfect gift.

I was just drifting off to sleep again when John spoke.

"You know you scared the hell out of me right?" He whispered.

I mirrored his position, suddenly wide awake. "You were worried?" I knew he was, from the slightly haunted look filling his eyes, but for some reason I wanted to hear him say it.

He looked up at the sky and shook his head "You have no idea... I thought..." He shuddered and didn't complete the thought.

"I might have a better idea than you think," I mumbled and fell back on my back. "You just... disappeared." I didn't turn to see his reaction, just kept my gaze on the stars.

The silence lasted for so long that I thought he wouldn't say anything until I felt his fingers lace through mine. I looked at him in surprise and found his eyes pleading and full of remorse.

"I am so sorry," He said genuinely.

I blinked in surprise and nodded, squeezing his hand to let him know it was okay.

He smiled, seeming relieved and laid back down with one hand under his head.

He slacked his grip on my hand, about to pull away, and without thinking I held on tighter.

I bit my lip realizing what I'd just done. John gave me a shy smile as a blush crept up his cheeks, but he didn't protest.

As for me, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.