The Flame of Catalina

Escape

Chay's POV

I woke to the sound of footsteps walking downstairs. I opened my eyes to see four men walk into the prison chamber. The group was made up of my attacker, two soldiers dressed in leather armor that matched his, and one man dressed in a fur-collared cloak with his hood up. My attacker opened my cell door and the cloaked man handed me a simple wool cloak which I wrapped myself in and buttoned. 

After he unshackled my ankle, he pulled me by the arm out of the cell and walked me through the chamber in silence. The three other men followed behind and we made our way up a set of stairs and into the room that made up the men’s barracks. I was led through the main door outside where a waiting coach sat in the dark. The cloaked man shoved me into the dark exterior of the body. I turned to the door closing on me. I sat on the bench against one of the walls and concentrated on what was being said outside, hoping for any inkling of what was happening to me to slip.

“Remind your grace who found her.” said the voice of my attacker

“Yes, don't worry. If she is really who you say she is, you will be graciously compensated. If this is a lie, you both will die.” A deep and smooth voice said. 

There was a round of grunts in confirmation and then the door opened to reveal the cloaked man coming in. He sat opposite to me, and he removed his hood, then pulled out a match. He lit a candle that sat hung next to him, then turned and faced me. In the low light of the single candle, I felt him looking at me. 

His eyes burned their way down the side of my face and over the cloak that swallowed my body to just below my knees. I kept my eyes on my lap, not wanting to give my emotions or thoughts away. When I finally gained the courage to look up at my captor, he had been waiting for my eyes to meet him.

 It took everything I had to keep my features neutral. I cursed myself when I felt the blush creep on my cheeks from the scrutiny I felt under his eyes. He was younger than I initially thought. Where he held himself like someone who lived several lifetimes, he couldn't be a few years older than me. In the faint glow, I saw he had dark eyebrows that framed his light eyes. I couldn’t see what color, but the contrast was shocking. 

He also had thick dark hair that covered his ears. He had full lips that were in a scowl and his eyes held distrust in them. He was too scary to be beautiful, but his high cheeks and sharp jawline demanded attention. I looked back down in my lap to notice how long his legs were.

He stayed silent as I rocked forward, caused by the coach moving. That snapped me back into the moment at hand. I had to get out of here. I was no longer chained to anything, but I needed the right opportunity to escape. And soon, because if we traveled far enough away from what I was familiar with, I was scared I would wander until I froze to death.

I began to plan. Keeping my eyes on my lap, I thought of how I didn’t see or hear the locking of the coach door. I thought of the very possible fact that this man would underestimate me, thinking me docile because I am surrounded. However, I still knew where we were, and I had the element of surprise on my side.

The man broke the silence, “What is your name?” It was the same deep voice that spoke with my attacker outside the carriage.

My eyes stayed down, my mouth shut. He let out a frustrated breath and picked my chin up with his fingers. They felt rough and held me in place, forcing eye contact. I needed him off of me if I was going to have any chance of escape. I answered him,

“Chay” I squirmed in his grasp to play up the scared little girl angle. He fell for it, smiled smugly, and released my face.

“Was that so hard?”

I didn’t answer him, staring back at my lap. He let out a breathy chuckle and stopped talking. This was my shot. I took a moment to breathe before rushing to the door. I grabbed the handle, had it open before Smug Face could understand what was happening and I lunged forward. He cursed and jumped over to grab me. He just missed as I hit the ground. His movement tipped the coach slightly and scared the horses pulling it. The two soldiers sitting in front tried to gain control of the horses but doing so swung the cart out.

I rolled to a stop on the ground with more force than I expected but I didn’t have time to stop moving. I didn’t even look at the coach wreck. I sprang up and ran away from the screaming men and startled horses. I ran off the road into the trees. The sun was just starting to rise so it wasn’t too dark to see. Among all the chaos unfolding, I kept pushing, getting as much distance between me and Smug Face.

When I thought I ran far enough, I headed towards a tree that I could climb. I took several steps off to the left and retraced my steps until I got to the footprints closest to the tree trunk. I jumped to one of the exposed roots and used that as leverage to grab the first branch. I pulled myself up and climbed higher into the tree to tuck myself into a branchy area. I watched the ground and waited for the men to come to find me. The soldiers came running past the tree and at some point, realized that my footprints ended. I watched them walk back towards the coach then counted to one hundred after they were out of sight. I did one last scan before climbing down the tree. I took off and raced towards the farm

In fifteen minutes, I came up towards the familiar fence. From there, I took my time getting home, following the same path I walked down Yesterday? Who even knew? I ached as I made the journey home, the fall out of the coach taking its toll after my adrenaline settled. My feet froze over the snow I walked on, and I think I was going on a full day without food. I didn’t let this deter me though. I thought about getting home to Garin and being safe. I scooped some snow to eat as I walked the distance home. It was mid-day easily by the time I saw our home. Garin must have seen me too because I started running again until I got to the door, and he opened it to catch me.

I was embraced by lanky arms as he hugged me, and tears streamed down his face “You’re home! I thought you had been captured or that you....”

“Hush. I know but I am home.” I wanted to make a joke to cut the tension, but I was too emotionally and physically drained.

“What happened?” Garin asked. I walked into the warm room as I untangled myself from him. I walked towards the fireplace so he couldn’t see my face as I explained what happened.

“I was captured. I was foolish and while leaving didn’t spot a tree snag. I escaped early this morning, but I don’t know how long I was in captivity.” I turned around then to reassure him that I was ok.

“You were gone two days. I thought the worst. I started doing what you told me to do though. I caught some squirrels, kept the fire going, and just hoped you’d come back.” Garin said, shaking his blonde white locks, looking noticeably tired but also relieved.

“Well, get them over the fire, I am starving. I am going to bathe in the stream while you do.” I started to move away. Garin grabbed my arm as I passed him to grab some clean clothing. “I was really scared you weren’t coming back.” I turned to him and saw his blue eyes showing me how much he was affected by this.

“I am here, which is all that matters. I will tell you the full story while we eat.” I told him with a reassuring smile before moving passed him to the back door.