Bloodlines Pt. 05

"Look, Ian. I saw the way you looked at that Grisha. She's a rather pleasant girl I admit. If you want her, take her. I don't care and neither does Ayra. That is, as long as you don't use that as an excuse to avoid us."

Ricah stepped toward him, her hand dropping down, slipping from his wrist to encircle his cock.

"You give us what we want, and you can do whatever else you want." She purred, her fingers slowly moving up and down his shaft.

Chapter 24

Grisha stumbled into the open, her eyes blinking at the sudden bright light. Her breath came in struggled gasps as she leaned against a rock, steadying herself as her vision slowly cleared. There was a small creek a few yards away. She stumbled to it, dropping down into the cool water to wash away the mud and grime caked into her clothes and skin. It wasn't until she rose from the water, shivering, that she saw the horse tied to a scrub bush a few yards away.

She looked around fearfully, trying to spot its owner. Seeing no one, she slowly walked toward the animal, her eyes still darting around, certain some guard would jump out at her at any moment. There was nothing, not a sound, or shout of alarm. She stared at the animal, recognizing it as one of the riding horses from the keep. The saddle had a series of decorative scrolls burnt into it, along with a single large "H".

The saddle bags were loaded with provisions, including a small pouch filled with silver coins. A sturdy looking short sword hung from the pommel, the scabbard well-worn and unadorned. She untied the animal, as she thought through just what she was going to do now. Her mother had been clear about what she was to do, but Grisha wasn't so sure. The horse had reassured her, raising her hopes for a brief moment, but Hindor was nowhere to be seen.

She was about to climb into the saddle, resigned to do what her mother had bid her, when she noticed the pommel of the short sword was not on straight. She remembered Hindor showing her how he would secret massages in the pommel. Her fingers shook as she pried the brass ball loose and the scrap of paper fell into her hands. Carefully unfolding it she glanced around before slowly reading the finely crafted words.

"Sometimes it is best to go back to where we are from before we move on to where we are going"

Grisha shook her head, disappointed. She had hoped it had been a message, some sort of assurance that he would join her. Instead, it was some old proverb, probably some sort of cryptic riddle he used to remind himself of something. Stuffing the note in her pocket, she grabbed the reigns and climbed into the saddle.

"Go back to where I'm from! Not a chance!" she thought, as she nudged the horse forward, and made her way into the woods heading north.

Jouseen had been adamant about her heading north, and she would do that, though she had no idea what she would do once she got there. Still, she couldn't help but wish her mother was with her. That desire even more prevalent now that she knew Hindor was involved. She had known he and her mother were involved, but it was now apparent it was more than a casual aquaintance.

Nevertheless, the day was waning, and she needed to put as much distance as possible between herself and the keep. She resisted the urge to knee the horse into flight, but gave him what encouragement she could to keep a good pace. The pace was jolting, the horse weaving and twisting through the undergrowth. Grisha cursed as she felt her stomach writhing and twisting yet again.

She tried closing her eyes and breathing slowly but that only made it worse as the unexpected movements of the horse threw her off balance, nearly dropping her from the saddle. Finally she was forced to halt long enough to lean over and wretch. The bile spewed from her mouth, stinging her nose and making her eyes water.

"What's wrong with me." She thought, wiping her lips on her sleeve and settling back in the saddle.