Betrayal

Chapter 14

"Would you like to taste death?" Beth repeated for what seemed like the hundredth time. She slapped her palm on her knees and bent over with jubilant laughter. Cecilia watched her with a beaming grin. She was currently bathing her hands in the nearby stream coming down the mountains. The icy cold water was so clear she could see the water bed below.

"My Lady, I just don't know where you come up with such fantastic lines," Beth exclaimed. She leaned against a tree for support, resting her hands. 

"I am just grateful no one else heard me. Shah would rip me apart for being so nonsensical," Cecilia pondered.

"And he would be quite put out by your bravery."

"Well, your trusty basket came in handy. I doubt you were any less brave. I'm sure Shah would frown at us with despair," The redhead wondered with a fleeting smile. She was starting to get concerned about her other companions. 

"He would commend me for protecting your from your own foolishness. What was the flower you rubbed in the eyes," The maid asked with curious eyes. 

"Sir Russell mindlessly added a poisonous plant to his stash. It was used in the 'Dalliance with danger' as a plot point to injure the hero. I looked it up in a book. But I worry my hand will swell up if I am not thorough with my cleansing. My fingers are tingling unpleasantly,” Cecilia hummed impatiently.


“The man's eyes must be on fire,” Beth speculated. She had also scrubbed her hands with soap flakes from her basket in case anything had been transmitted to her.


“I should hope so,” The Lady uttered, venomously, “Another man down is only good for our group.”


“What should we do now,” Beth stood on her toes in hopes of seeing someone familiar.

“We could wait. Or we could march up to the cave,” Cecilia stood with a familiar determination fortifying her posture. Her hands were now curled into fists ready for a fight.


"How do we even find the cave?” The maid bit her lip. Her shoulders drooped at the thought of walking into danger.

"He was leading us to it, wasn't he? We are now near the highest peak. We must be close by,” Cecilia eyes cast over the scenic view. The town looked minute a great distance away.


"Or we could follow our men being led away by the guards,” The maid’s voice was reduced to a whisper.

"What! Hide, hide, hide,” Cecilia closed her eyes, utterly vexed with the situation. The pair crouched behind rocks jutting out from the green grass, "Oh, what a bunch of fools. All of them got caught. And they haven't even separated the pigeon livered duo."

"What shall we do!" Beth's breathed, with harsh gasps. Simon was among the crowd though it was their new friend, Mr. Shah, that caught her attention. He seemed to be unconscious and was being dragged by three men. Without his physical skills it seemed impossible the other men could escape.

"You stay here. I shall see what's going on. If I follow them I believe I shall figure out the cave's location."


"I can't bear to leave you, my lady,” Beth held onto her mistress' shoulder as if she suspected Cecilia would fade away into nothingness.


“All will be well, Beth. Find the remaining guards or Barrings or somebody from the camp in case none of us come back,” Cecilia ordered her maid and began her discreet mount to the summit. The girl’s circumspect actions were contrary to her character but she knew danger was too close for her to act rashly.


Closer to the top Cecilia found that the path narrowed and the prisoners were forced to walk towards their destination in one line. The girl’s sharp, green eyes narrowed on a opening in the rockface. Satisfied with her discovery she began to mull over what to do.


Her first instinct was to march up to the cave and demand her men be returned. She had always wished to be portrayed as fearsome heroine in a novel and this was her chance but she wasn’t so gone in uplifting her ego to put all of their lives in danger. She doubted she could even say one word before being trapped.


The redhead made the decision to turn around but before she could move a strong arm pressed a cloth to her face. The struggle died before it even began and Cecilia succumbed to the darkness like a puppet with its strings cut off.


...

Cecilia groaned as she heard a garbled mess of voices. She could identify Clyde’s odious tones and Sir Russell’s placating ones but after a few more moments she heard nothing. Her ears strained to catch the familiar sounds again.


A wave nausea threatened to overcome her but she persisted with her resolve to keep the contents of her stomach intact. Her eyes blinked open and she tried to run a hand through her wayward hair but found herself out of luck. Her hands were firmly tied behind her back.


Cecilia’s eyes adjusted to the darkness and noticed she was sitting in a box of sorts. Very little light trickled through the cloth draped over it allowing her very little visibility. The box swayed monotonously as it was moved on a cart. The clip clop of the horses was audible.


Cecilia squinted at her surroundings in hopes she could find further clues. She realised far too late there was another person sharing her new abode.