Page 67 of Ladybird

“That’s good,” she said, her throat so dry she could barely talk. There was one more missing thing that no one seemed to be mentioning. It was a question she had to ask but was afraid to do so because of the answer she might hear. Still, she had to know. It was the most important question of all. “Please, someone tell me that Lightning has been found and that she is not harmed at all.”

No one said a word. That told her all she needed to hear. Regina closed her eyes, wanting to die. She couldn’t even imagine life without her bird.

“Hera, Dewdrop, and Cloud are in the mews waiting for you,” Roger told her. “They were never in any real danger.”

“That’s right,” said Hunter. “At the last minute, Luke and I decided to exchange the birds with fake ones, knowing the thief would return.”

“I kept your birds in Lord Hunter’s bedchamber overnight with me,” explained Roger. “They were never in any danger.”

“Thank you, but why didn’t anyone think to tell me this before?” asked Regina. “They are my birds and I needed to know.”

“It was late and you were already sleeping when we came up with the plan,” said Hunter. “We didn’t want to wake you since you were so distraught about Lightning.”

“Did anyone even bother to look for Lightning? We have to find her. Did the thieves tell you where to find her?” Regina pushed up to a sitting position in the bed.

“We’re still working on that,” said Hunter. “Neither Al or Clotilda know where she is being kept. They said Cassian took the bird somewhere. They never wanted to be involved with stealing the hunting birds to begin with, but Cassian was blackmailing them to go along with him.”

“Since Cassian is now dead, that means so is Lightning.” Regina wanted to cry. “I will never see my baby again.”

“Not so,” came a voice from the door.

Regina looked up to see Luke in the doorway holding a cage with a bird in it.

“Lightning!” she cried, starting to get out of bed. “She’s alive!”

“Nay, you stay put.” Hunter held her down, insistent that she didn’t move.

“Is she all right? Bring her to me.” Regina held out her hands. Luke walked over and held up the cage and Regina peeked in at her bird. “You poor thing. I am so sorry, Lightning. I will never let that happen again.”

“She seems fine,” said Roger, walking over to inspect the bird through the cage. “I’ll tend to the falcon and feed her and make sure she has not been injured.”

“Thank you, Roger.” Regina lay back on the pillow smiling, releasing a deep breath of relief. Roger took the cage from Luke, leaving the room with the bird.

“Luke, how did you find the bird?” asked Hunter. “Robin and his men searched everywhere for it.”

“I had a little help.” Luke nodded at the door. Fred was standing there, almost as if he were afraid to enter.

“Fred? You?” asked Hunter.

“Fred and I went out looking for Lightning as well,” said Luke. “We heard a jingling noise, like from a bell. We followed it and that is when we found Lightning in the cage tucked away in a cave. She was trying her hardest to get out of the cage and fly away.”

“Thank you, Luke and Fred for bringing Lightning back home alive,” Regina told them. “I will forever be grateful.”

“I didn’t know my grandfather was a thief,” said Fred in a sheepish manner. “What will happen to him now?”

“That is yet to be decided,” Robin answered. “Fred, did you help steal any of the missing items? Tell me the truth.”

“Well…no.” Fred looked down.

“Fred, it’s not good to lie,” whispered Luke. “You’d better tell them.”

“I found the brooch on the ground in the stables and should have turned it in,” admitted Fred. “But I was afraid.”

“Why?” asked Robin.

“I guess I had an idea that my grandfather might be stealing things, because I saw him sneaking the guard’s horse out of the stable one night. He didn’t know I saw him.”

“And you couldn’t say anything because he was your grandfather?” asked Regina.