One Hundred Tears In The Sunset

Chapter Eighteen

I lingered round them, under that benign sky; watched the moths fluttering among the heath and hare-bells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers, for the sleepers in that quiet earth...

-Wuthering heights-

*

Chaos erupted around them. It was impossible to run straight. Every possible escape was guarded by a black horse and a solider. Brooke turned his head staring around the running bodies,

"Clarence. Can you get through the crowd and get Gem?" He turned his gaze on the small boy,

"Sure I can. Be back in a jiff." He laughed and darted away through the crowd,

"Ok come on Tey." Brooke pulled her along and she stumbled after him. His whole body was aching, his other hand which didn't clutch Teyha tightly dangled uselessly beside him. I need a freeking drink after all this,

"He is going to find us. Look how many guards there are Brooke! Just let me go to him, and you can escape. If he finds you'll be hanged!" Teyha hissed and tried to pull from Brooke's hand,

"I think you have had your share of fighting today Tey. Now stay close to me. We'll just keep moving until Clarence comes with Gem and then we'll get away." Brooke said softly and turned his blue gaze on her. She was pale and her gray eyes were wide in worry. Her pink lips slightly open and moist. She wore a shirt and trousers which clung tightly to her body, her blond hair tumbling down in crazy waves. They stared at one another in silence for a moment,

"Oi you two down there!" A guard had spotted them and Brooke darted forward dragging Teyha behind him,

"Wait here." He said to her once they had lost the guard in the crowd. Brooke darted inside the gap of a tent. His blue eyes glaring around the room, and landed on a large string bag. No time to look through it, he thought, and grabbed the string hoping that the contents was worth the stop. Brooke's leg was paining so much it was hard to walk without a long limp but he had to keep going,

"Come on. We have to get to the borders." He smiled briefly at Teyha and grabbed her small hand,

"Hey!" Clarence shouted from on top of a white mare. He looked so small as he clutched on to Gem's mane and galloped towards them,

"He's bleddy done it!" Brooke chuckled in delight,

"Get on 'er then ya fool!" Clarence jumped down like a cat and landed softly on his feet, "There won't be enough room on 'er from all of us. I'll just get running!"

"We can't just go Brooke!" Teyha held him back. Brooke closed his eyes. He knew she would do this. As soon as he had saw the young maid he knew that Teyha would want to play hero,

"This is about Rose." He shook his head and cut off her words, "No Teyha..."

"But she might get caught. The guards will..."

"No. I said no! Now come on!" Brooke tighten his grip on her shoulder and pushed her towards Gem,

"I will never forgive you if we leave now." She glared at him and pulled herself on top of the horse but he ignored her grey gaze and somehow manged to swing his aching legs over Gem,

"Then I shall have to learn to live without your forgiveness. But at least we shall live." He muttered.

******

The air seemed fresher in the deep shadows of the woodland. A clean wet moss smell fluttered in the gentle breeze. The heavens which could be glimpsed above the tree tops showed a clear dark blue sky now that the rain had fallen,

"It will be a clear night." Brooke muttered softly. He hardly remembered how they had escaped the camp. A blur of endless twisting through trees and panicked hours of waiting to hear the guards following them but, only a startling stillness enveloped these woods. Teyha didn't say anything to his comment. Her eyes were fixed firmly ahead on the bark of each tree they passed. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his aching eyes. How much longer can I go without sleep?

""Where is Clarence?" She coldly said her voice forming ice in the air,

"He will probably be behind us in the trees. We will stop for the night and wait for him until we reach Raphanale."

"Who?" Brooke could almost see the frown on her small pale face,

"He is a friend of mine. A friend I can trust."

"What? Just like the last friend?" She muttered. Anger slashed through Brooke but he held back the shout which wished to leave his mouth,

"The last person was never a friend Tey. As I remember I never even wanted to stop but you and Clarence insisted." He mumbled instead,

"You left Rose back there." She finally said the words which had been pressing on her mind since they left the camp,

"I done it to keep you alive!" He pulled sharply on Gem's reins and slipped from the horse. Tehya steadied her aching limbs, and slowly followed him down to the forest floor, "Everything I do..." He shook his head and left the sentence hanging in the air. Brooke had his back to her, his black hair ruffled and messy, the shirt he wore was stained with mud and the odd patch of blood. She watched him run a hand in his hair in frustration, sighing softly. Teyha frowned and peered down at the other hand. It seemed to be at an odd angle, and the shadows of bruises ran along the skin. Her thoughts of Rose disappeared for the moment,

"What happened to your hand?" She took a hesitated step forwards and then stopped. Something about the way he held himself told her not to go closer. Brooke muttered something under his breath and pulled the bag which was slung over his shoulder. He stared down and smiled a sick grin,

"Looks like I struck gold. Here have this." He threw a lump of bread at the Princess and pulled out a green bottle from the bag. Teyha bent down and picked up the bread. It was brown and stale but her stomach was empty and hollow,

"Thank you." She would have ate anything right then, anything to make the hunger pains ease for a few hours. The Princess watched Brooke unscrew the lid and sniff the bottle. He laughed softly and walked over to the bark of the tree,

"We stop here. It's as good as place as anywhere."

"But shouldn't we..."

"Tey, if you want to go and wander the forest alone at night then go for it. I haven't the will to try and stop you, or even follow you." Brook shook his head and slid down the bark slowly. He leaned his head back and gazed up at the sky. She stared at him for a moment, watched the way his fingers circled the smooth glass of the bottle he still grasped tightly in his hands. Slowly she joined him and sat down on the floor. It was a clear night but the air was chilly. The leaves below her were damp, she closed her eyes. It's better than being in the grasp of my uncle. Anything is better than that. Even the burning bruises and her shuddering fever was better than being stuck in her attic for endless days. The Princess remembered Rose's crying tears and bruised face. How had the maid ended up there? She was suppose to go to London! Everything in Teyha wanted to go back to the camp and search for the girl. Deep inside she knew Brooke was right for making them leave but she couldn't help feeling angry at him,

"You should get some sleep. You've had a busy day." Brooke said not staring at her. She sighed and opened her eyes staring at the purple bruises along his hand. What had happened?

"Did Sims hurt you?" She asked softly,

"No. I dislocated it to get my hands free when you were fighting." He said bluntly and brought his gaze to hers. Blue lights in the dark shadows,

"You done what! I was ok!" Teyha cried in surprise. Her heart seemed to stop. How much would that have hurt him?

"She was bleddy strangling you! Yes Tey you fought well but you're not a fighter!" He kneeled up and stared at her, his expression fierce and angry, "You should have ran."

"I would not leave you or Clarence." And with a further thought she added, "Or Rose..."

"You can not be serious." He groaned,

"I will find her Brooke. It might not be tonight or tomorrow, but I will not let her fight for her life." She turned her gaze away and stared into the dark trees, "It is so scary Brooke. I have never felt so much fear, not even when my parents were ...not even when my castle was under attack."

"You were so brave though Tey. You stood up to that girl like she was nothing but the dirt on your feet." Brooke chuckled. She noticed his hand was still playing with the bottle yet he hardly seemed to notice,

"It was just me acting. I was terrified, but there was this voice in my mind telling me what to do. It sounded like my Aunt Jenna." She smiled and Brooke's eyes widened,

"Really?"

"Yeah. It saved my life, of course it was just a deeper part of myself." She chuckled and Brooke nodded,

"Yes of course." He stared deeply at her and Teyha felt her cheeks redden in the shadows.

Brooke was kneeled up staring at her. He couldn't turn his gaze from her round grey eyes. Along her face black bruises were forming, her skin was pale but her lips were a deep lush pink. Her cheeks were flushing but he couldn't move his gaze. "We will keep an eye out for her Teyha, for Rose, but I will not risk your life for hers."

"Why? Because I am the Princess?" Her small face was fixed in a frown. He shuffled away from the tree closing the gap until there was only a meter between them,

"No Teyha, not because you are a Princess, but because..." He sighed and closed his eyes. Couldn't she see it? Couldn't she feel it? He felt it inside himself. A fusing current which seemed to bind them together, "Because I care about you." Brooke finished,

"Well I care about you as well. You are the best friend I have ever had. No one would have helped me as much as you." She smiled and Brooke widened his lips as well.

You are the best friend I have ever had...

He shuffled back to the tree and forced his lips to smile at her,

"Well apart from Clarence your the only true friend I've had." He said softly, "Sleep now Tey. I'll keep watch." She nodded and curled up on the leaves looking like a cute cat beneath the setting sky. Brooke ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes. He unscrewed the bottle without staring at it.

Maybe a sip wouldn't hurt, just to take the pain away.