Chapter Forty-Three

"Damn it, what is going on out there?" He shouted.

"Apologies Your Majesty," Grand Night Duncan said as he came to the window, "but there are bandits blocking the path."

"B-bandits?" I asked and clung to him tighter.

"Don't worry about it. We'll take care of it." Aidan said and set me down on the other seat.

"W-we?" I ask, looking up at him with a worried face as he stands up.

"Please let us handle this Your Majesty." Duncan said.

"I'm not letting them get away with this treason." Aidan growls.

"L-let them sort it out. The bandits don't know whose in the carriage right now, we should keep it that way."

"I can't just sit here-"

"Her Highness is right; the bandits may become emboldened if they know we have the King and Queen inside. We don't know if they're adversaries or traitors to the crown." Duncan said.

Aidan let out a groan that sounded like a growl and sat back down. He let out a sigh and rubbed his temple.

"Fine." He said, clearly annoyed. "I will give you a few minutes before I come charging out, sword first and questions later."

"Y-yes Your Majesty." Duncan said before he rode towards the men.

"Ai-Aidan you shouldn't-"

"Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do." He snaps at me. It caught me off guard, I wasn't sure what to say in response. "Sorry." He says and sighs. "This is all my fault."

"What are you talking about?" I asked and he took my hand.

"I insisted we come this way so we could get to a town with a decent inn sooner even though I knew bandits often patrolled these roads. If we would've just went the safer way this wouldn't have happened. If you get hurt…"

"I'll be fine love." I say and squeeze his hand. "Besides, there are bandits everywhere in times of war. We don't know that we wouldn't have met resistance if we went the other way either."

"Still, I put you in danger. I can't forgive myself for that."

"I'm not helpless you know? I can defend myself."

"I never want you to be in a position where you have to defend yourself. Any man who makes that so will meet an end so gruesome he'll wish he was never born." He was clenching his fist so hard I thought he would break the skin.

"Aidan." I say and squeeze his hand.

"S-sorry." He said and started to relax. "I just hate sitting here, doing nothing. It makes me feel like I'm back in that dungeon all over again."

"Aidan…" I say and sit on the seat next to him. "You can hold me if that makes you feel better."

He smiled. He put his hand on my cheek and gave me a gentle kiss.

"It does but I want to stay alert in case I need to jump out." Aidan said then turned his attention to the outside of the carriage. "What's going on out there?" He growled.

"Give us your money and nobody gets hurt!" A man shouted from outside the carriage.

"Oh somebody is definitely getting hurt." Aidan said and stood up.

"Ai-Aidan." I plead.

"It'll be ok, just stay in the carriage." He gave me a kiss before he left. I clutched my chest and started to say a prayer, hoping it would keep Aidan safe.

I heard shouting shortly thereafter although I couldn't make out what was being said. When I start to hear the sound of fists landing blows and swords clashing, that's when I got the dagger from the holster on my leg and clutched it tight.

When I was a girl, we lived in a village close to the borders of Britania. The sound of people running and screaming when raiders came was common. There were even some bandits that would set homes on fire after they took everything of value – one time our entire village caught on fire, the roaring and crackling sounds are etched in my brain forever. We moved villages after that.

But I wasn't used to the sound of swords clashing, it was deafening. Every clank seemed to echo into the deepest parts of my brain. I wanted to cover my ears and just disappear. But I took a deep breath, gripped my dagger tight, and fixed my eyes on the window of the carriage so I could see what was happening outside.

I know it was only a few minutes but it felt like an eternity before I saw Aidan's face through the window opening the door.

"Hey." He said, out of breath.

"H-hey." I said. He frowned when he saw my body shaking.

"It's ok, you're not in any more danger." He said and I nodded. He let out a sigh and turned around. "Clean this up and get us back on the road now." He said in a stern voice.

He turned back around and sat down next to me. I couldn't move or do anything. He took the dagger from me and put it back in its holster.

"You're safe now Ari." He said and pulled me into his lap. "Take a breath."

"O-ok." I said and wrapped my arms around him.

"You're still shaking."

"I-I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong." He said and started placing kisses on my shoulder. "This is all my fault."

"No it's not." I said and tightened my grip around him. "A-and I'm fine. N-No one came anywhere near the carriage."

"I made sure of that." He took a deep breath, as if to capture my scent.

"H-how much longer until we get to the inn?"

"Not too much longer. You can rest as long as you need. I won't let anyone disturb you."

"I-I just want you to hold me like this all night."

"You're asking a lot of restraint from me Ari…but I can do anything for you."

It was still a few hours until we got to the inn. I was happy to just crawl under the covers and hide myself away from the world.