Chapter 11

Aven stared at the ring laying on the stone of the balcony, not paying attention to the gloating king who stood in front of her, hands in the air in triumph. She knelt on the stone, and picked it back up, trying to slip it back on, but for some reason it wouldn't fit. Somehow, it was too small. Sobbing, she clutched it in her hand, her only reminder of Knallia.

"You bastard!" she heard her father bellow, snapping her back to reality. She saw him break out of Martin's grasp and rush over to the king, wrapping his bound hands around his neck. "How could you do this! Are you deranged?" The king screamed in surprise, trying to fend off her father, but her father was beyond caring. She fell back, almost getting stepped on in the struggle.

"Martin, get him off me!" the king cried out.

The prince strode forward along with a couple guards who had all stood watching, stunned at the display. But Yarvin heard the call for help and redoubled his efforts, bending down and driving his shoulder into the older man's gut and causing him to double over in pain. Her father stood then, and looked back over his should quickly at her, lifting the king up like a sack of flour.

"I love you Aven!" he whispered, then dove over the railing with the king.

"No! Dad!" she called out, rushing to the railing, and looking over.

"Father!" yelled Martin, right next to her.

But they were both gone.

Her face exploded as Martin backhanded her, and she fell backwards against the side railing, her back hitting it painfully. Her face contorted in rage, she took a step forwards and kicked as hard as she could, her foot connecting between his legs. Martin sagged to his knees and tipped over with a groan. Several of the guards drew their swords and rushed towards her, so she swung her legs over the railing and jumped down into the garden. The wet dress didn't make it easy, and she tweaked her sore ankle yet again, but she began to stumble through the rain towards the walls.

Martin felt a hand under his arm and a guard helped him to his feet. "Are you all right sir? Don't worry, we drove her off!" The man reported stiffly.

"Drove her off? You fool!" he looked into the gardens and could dimly see the white wedding dress moving across the grass. "Give me a crossbow!" he screamed as he turned to the guards. A wide-eyed young guard passed his over and Martin whirled back, raising the weapon. He pulled the trigger and saw the white dress fall at the edge of his vision. He grinned in satisfaction.

"Presenting King Rannick!" a voice from the sitting room doors shouted.

Martin turned to see an imposing man with dark eyes and a greying beard approaching. "I was told there was to be a wedding here!" he said with a hard edge to his voice.

"There was King Rannick." Martin said with a lazy bow, "But my father was killed afterwards, and I just shot his bride." He pointed out to the gardens, but the white dress was no longer visible. "Damn! She's gone! Go find her!" he shouted at his guards.

"Hold!" the king yelled. "Prince, let my men find her, yours should stay to protect you now that your father is gone." He stated calmly.

"Yes, thank you, that would be appreciated. I knew I should have killed her instead of kidnapping her," he muttered.

The king looked at him oddly. "Prince Martin, you have been through much. Would you mind if we went into the castle, out of the rain and you could tell me of this whole affair? It seems more convoluted than I had thought."

Martin was delighted to be spoken to as an equal by this king and gladly nodded at the suggestion. The king nodded at a burly man with a circlet on his head next to him, then turned to head inside. The prince saw the man vault over the railing and start to search the gardens.

Princess Knallia didn't know what to do, but she wasn't going to give up. She got off her knees and started pacing towards the section of wall that the ring had been pointing to. When she finally reached it, she couldn't find any doors, and she didn't think she could climb it, so she went back and forth along the wall looking for an opening. She couldn't find any ways in, though she did notice that the walls ended at the edge of the cliffs down to the water. Maybe she could climb past the wall on the cliffs? The rope that Vanya gave her! She could go get it to help!

She turned and started walking quickly through the muddy grass back towards the tents. A cry from the wall made her stop though, and she noticed a white rope dangling where she had first looked. Confused, she approached the rope, she noticed that it wasn't a rope at all, but strips of fabric tied together. Some of the strips had bright red blood on them though, and her heart started to pound in fear. A scraping from above made her look up to see legs and a ripped dress descending towards her.

"Evan? Is that you?" she cried out in hope. A pair of eyes peered down at her, but they were filled with anguish instead of their normal warmth. "I thought you were dead!" she sobbed in happiness.

"Knallia!" came the reply, and she watched Evan almost slide the rest of the way down. Knallia moved to catch the falling body and they crashed to the grass together.

"Are you alright?" she cried, feeling the flood under her fingers.

"My father, he's dead." Evan groaned in response. Knallia felt her heart breaking in pain as well.

"Let me get you back to the tents where you can get dry, I'll take care of you." She threw Evan's arm over her shoulder and they made their way back towards the woods.

"I can't believe you're here." Evan said in an unbelieving murmur. "I was coming to warn you about Martin."

"I had to come for you! And the rings told me where you were."

"Thank you." Came the gasp, tinged with pain.

"Why are you bleeding?"

"Martin, I think he shot me with a crossbow when I got away. I couldn't run away too well with my ankle."

Knallia mentally slapped herself for forgetting about the ankle. "Hold on!" she bent down and scooped Evan up in her arms and then picked up speed. It was much easier this way and Evan wasn't heavy at all. The only help was that the rain started to taper off. The ground was still muddy, but at least she could see easier.

Evan's head drooped against her shoulder and she redoubled her efforts. "Oncya! Lowen! Help!" she called out as she reached the trees and could finally see the tents. Their heads popped out of the tent flap and they both ran to her.

"You found him!" Oncya gasped as they helped with the carrying.

"Oh no, look at the blood!" Lowen gasped.

"Get the healing salve, we need to stop this bleeding!" Knallia commanded as they reached the campsite. "And we'll need the magic fire for warmth, bring it to my tent. But we need to be fast, Martin will be looking for us all!"

The girls scattered, going to get what they needed to help. And Knallia stooped to get Evan into the tent and onto a pillow and blankets.

Aven awoke to a hand on her cheek and opened her eyes to see Knallia crouched over her They appeared to be in a tent, though she wasn't sure how they had gotten there unless Knallia had carried her. "You're still here," she whispered up at Knallia and smiled, her heart swelling.

"I'm at your side, where I belong." the princess whispered with a smile back down at her.

The tent flap opened to reveal Lady Oncya and Lady Lowen entering. Oncya handed a little jar to Knallia while Lowen seemed to be carrying a campfire in her hands, though how that was possible Aven didn't know. When she set the fire down though, it immediately started to warm the entire tent and the cold from the rain-soaked clothes slowly dissipated. She sighed at the warmth and tried to move closer.

"Oh no you don't!" Knallia cried, pushing her back down with a hand to the shoulder. "You're not going anywhere till we stop the bleeding. She took a knife out of a sack on the floor and before Aven realized what happened, she had cut open the front of the wedding dress to get at the cut on her side. Aven immediately covered her chest in horror, looking away from Knallia's eyes. She couldn't bear to see her reaction.

Aven sighed and opened her hand, revealing the blood-covered ring she had been clutching since it had slipped off and held it out to Knallia. "You're free, you can choose a prince now."

"Umm... Knallia? Why is your prince wearing a wedding dress?" Oncya asked, confused.

"And why does he have... breasts?" Lowen added.

"Because she's a woman!" Knallia replied simply, taking Aven's chin and lifting it till she met her eyes. She gently took the ring from the palm of her hand.

Aven was so confused. Why wasn't she angry with her? Was it possible? "You knew?" she finally said, choking on the words.

"Of course, I knew. When you made the joke about the codpieces, I may have accidentally peeked and suspected it since your pants fit just like mine do," she said, blushing furiously, while Oncya and Lowen giggled. "And as soon as I kissed you under the tree I knew for sure." Knallia said brightly.

"And you still came for me?" Aven said wonderingly. Her heart was ready to explode in happiness, even in the grief for her father.

"I told you, you stole my heart. How could I leave you?" Knallia bent back down brought her lips to Aven's and she tried to rise and meet her but fell back clutching her side.

"Oh! Let me get that!" Knallia quickly opened the jar and put her fingers into it, bringing out a handful of a green colored paste. "Here goes nothing!" she muttered and spread it onto the cut on Aven's ribs where the crossbow bolt had grazed her. The paste seemed to bind itself to the wound, and the skin started knitting itself together. Aven just stared at it in amazement as the pain in her side dissipated.

"Oh, that feels so much better!" Aven said, closing her eyes in relief.

"So, I have to ask." Knallia said quietly. "What is your name? It isn't really Evan, right?"

Aven opened her eyes and smiled. "My name is Aven."

"Aven." Knallia said, "Aven." She repeated, as if trying to get used to saying it. "That is pretty close to Evan. I can get used to it."

"Are you sure?"

Knallia looked down at Aven, she could tell she was terrified and wanted to reassure that she still was her choice. She had a sudden inspiration and looked down at her hand where she was holding the two rings, one covered in mud and the other in blood. She took the one with Aven's blood and slipped it back on her thumb, it immediately shrunk to the correct size again and smiled.

Taking the muddy one, she looked back down at Aven and held it out. "Aven, would you please take my ring?"

Aven stretched out her hand, and Knallia slid it onto her thumb. It fit perfectly.

"There, much better than choosing Martin," Knallia said with a sigh.

"Martin!" Aven blurted, remembering what his plans were for Knallia. "He'll come for you; we have to get away from his castle!"

Knallia nodded. "Leave everything," she told the girls. "Let's get the horses and go."

Aven tried to strand, but her ankle stopped her yet again. "Knallia? Do you think that paste would work on my foot?"

Martin sat with King Rannick drinking a glass of wine. Well, it was really his fifth, but Rannick didn't mind him drinking at all. They had been talking for hours as Rannick's men searched the woods for Aven, and now Martin was feeling tired after all the events with the wedding and the drink. He didn't really care that his father was gone, if anything it made his life and goals easier.

Martin was surprised to see the man with the circlet on his head pull up a chair and join them. He was holding a bundle or white rags with blood on them. "She made a rope and got over the wall." He said softly. "We didn't see it at first because she dropped it over the other side to get down."

"Was there any sign of her there?" Rannick asked, his eyes wide.

Martin didn't understand why it was so important to him, but then he never could understand all the plans his father had started.

"She had help. We found a pair of tents filled with... interesting items. The signs on the ground pointed to four horses, and they all rode north towards Glavriel." The man explained. "We also found this." He held up a sack and pulled out the shredded wedding dress with the blood stains on it.

King Rannick paled at the sight. "But no body?" he asked, hoping for a no.

"No, no body." The man smiled.

"Damn! I thought I got her too," Martin slurred. He didn't see the look of disgust that king shot him.

"Martin, get some sleep. Carroc, tell them men we leave at first light, the horses need rest if we're going to push them hard," the king suggested.

"Of course!" Carroc said, "I'll see to it. You get rest too," he added, placing a hand on the king's shoulder before leaving.