“You knew?” Robin’s voice quavered dangerously as understanding dawned. Anger flared in her chest, replacing the confusion. “You knew he was sending me away and you did not think to warn me?”
Ian shook his head, frantically. “No,” he said, finally opening his arms and reaching out toward her.
She held her hands up defensively in front of her, too angry in that moment to receive his comfort, though she desperately wanted it.
She turned around quickly, hiding her face as the tears finally spilled over.
“He forbade me from speaking with you.” Ian was at her side.
“He what?” Robin stopped, a fresh wave of anger washing over her.
“He told me about this just a few minutes ago, right before he called for you. I had no time to warn you.”
“But, you are speaking to me now,” she said.
“Yes,” Ian said, his eyes moving quickly back and forth between her own. “I couldn’t let you go away without saying goodbye.”
He was letting her walk away.
Chapter 1
Robin bit her lower lip, pressing down hard enough to hurt as she rolled it between her teeth. Then she pursed her lips together and pushed them away from her face, hoping they appeared cracked and swollen.
Shifting against the stone bench behind her, she tried to find a more comfortable way to slouch on the packed dirt beneath her.
It should not be long now.
Flies swirled around her head, attracted to the sticky fruit juice that had dried in her hair. Annoying as they were, she resisted the urge to swat them away.
There.
She heard them first, a large group of travelers down the road past the bend.
Allowing herself the luxury of a single smile, she inhaled. Then, she twisted her expression into a pinched stare.
The low rumble of a dozen trotting horses grew into a loud din as a large group of soldiers rounded the bend. They wore the deep purple livery of King Gareth of Chendas.
Robin sat up as they came into view, leaning piteously forward and holding out a wooden plate. “Can you spare some bread, my good captain?” she called out.
The oncoming riders did not even glance her way. Perhaps her voice had been drowned out by the sound of their horses’ hoofbeats, but Robin guessed that they would have ignored her anyway.
Expecting this, she pushed herself off the ground and stumbled into the middle of the road just as they drew near. “Or just a gold coin? The village ahead has no food to spare.” She kept her face angled downward as she held up the plate.
Some of the riders pulled to a hurried stop to avoid hitting her while some of them swerved around her.
“Move, fool, or you would deserve the trampling you could have gotten,” one of the halted riders shouted down as his horse regained its footing. Robin noted the metal breastplate he wore, which denoted him as the captain of this group.
Robin coughed into the sleeve of her ragged tunic. She drew out the sound, adding a long, wet wheeze. “Bread?” she asked again, lifting her face to stare at the speaker. “Coin?”
The captain recoiled, horror on his face. “Get back!” He pulled the reins of his horse, attempting to tug the animal away from Robin.
“Food, please,” Robin croaked, stepping toward him as she stared up at him. She wanted to grin at his reaction, but she kept her expression blank and her eyes wide.
Due to the crowd of soldiers backed up behind him, the captain was unable to move away. He leaned his body away from Robin, trying to put as much distance between himself and her as possible.
He looked over her head at the small village behind her and pointed toward it, urging his men to ride around Robin.
He need not have bothered, as his men were equally as eager to get away from her.
