Knight's End (The Knight Trilogy) (9 page)

She had no idea
where she was. As a lady who’d
lived her
entire
life inside castle walls, the forest was completely foreign to her. Everything looked the same; green trees, their trunks grey in the twilight, worn out paths leading in every direction. She wouldn’t be able to find her way home, even if she wanted to return.
Jade
wished something would appear to her, some sign telling her where to go. She turned around to look for the wolves that had been chasing her and was surprised at what she found.

The majority of the wolf pack had disappeared. Only one was left, quickly catching up to her as Bella started to tire. Jade took a deep breath before screaming as loud as she could. “Somebody help!” She received no reply, but she hadn’t expected to. As Bella slow
ed
, Jade crashed into a clearing, an almost perfect circle of the forest where all of the trees had been roughly chopped away. She caught sight of a man standing u
p as the wolf trailing her jump
ed into the clearing behind her.

She entered the forest again on the opposite side of the clearing and started to slow Bella as she realized the wolf was no longer following her.
Jade
turned
Bella around and went back toward the clearing, forcing her horse
into a trot. She stopped at the edge of the trees, staying hidden in
the
shadows.

The man she had seen was standing about fifteen feet away from the wolf. A silver blade shone in the moonlight in his left hand as he circled the grey creature. The wolf had his mouth slightly open, his teeth bared as he contemplated attacking the man. His decision made, the wolf pounced. Jade screamed but realized her fear was misplaced. The wolf ran straight onto the man’s blade, red staining the ground. It was over as quickly as it had started. The man knelt down, wiping his blade clean on the grass, and then stood, staring off into the forest.

After another moment of gazing into the
trees, his head lowered and he turned in her direction
. Jade
hopped down from Bella and
cocked her head to the side, studying the man. The trees thinned over the clearing, leaving a
n almost
perfect circle for the moonlight to filter through. The man before her was tall, muscular, and weary looking. He had a week’s growth of beard on his face and his hair was a tangled mess. His eyes had flashed cobalt blue in the moonlight
.

A howl ripped through the quiet of the night and Jade shivered, wondering if the wolves were still after her. She looked at Bella, noticing the way the mare’s eyes widened in fear at the sound. Jade needed someone to look after her, to protect her. Maybe the man before her was the sign she had been waiting for.

With a sigh and a quick straightening of her dress, Jade strode into the clearing.

*
*

Aston
stared at the woman he’d saved as she walked toward
him.
She was a petite woman,
her head stopping just under his chin.
She wore a yellow dress that was torn at the hem, probably from riding through the forest. Her hair was partly up and partly down, tangled with sticks and leaves. Aston would have laughed at her appearance were he sure he didn’t look just as haggard.
He stood staring at her, waiting for something to happen, for her to speak or to leave.

Neither human spoke, though their horses seemed relaxed. Sterling, tied to a tree at the far end of the clearing, perked his ears at the appearance of the mare. Bella, in turn, whinnied a hello to the grey stallion. When Aston was sur
e the woman wouldn’t speak first, he decided to introduce himself.

“My lady, may I ask what you are doing in the forest at this time of night?” he began. Better to find out who she was before revealing his identity. If she’d heard of his misdeeds, she would run screaming from the clearing and most likely bring him nothing but trouble.

“You may ask
,
but that does not guarantee I will answer,” she replied
, her tone curt.

“I suppose it doesn’t. Very well, be on your way. I won’t stop you.” Aston sat back down
on his stump
, wanting nothing more than to be left in peace. Richie would be coming the next day
,
and he intended to wait on his stump until the boy appeared. Having the woman around would only complicate things.

“I ran awa
y from my life. Satisfied?” the woman answered, walking her horse
further into the clearing.

“No. What life?” Aston asked.

The woman rolled her eyes.
“If I told you that, I would
have to run again.”
At Aston’s curious glance, she added, “You would make me go back and I refuse to go. It is better and easier for both of us if you don’t know.”

Aston shrugged and looked away.

“Why are you out here, sir?”
she asked, and Aston’s shoulders tensed.

“The same reason you are I suppose; I ran away from my life.” Aston suddenly understood why the woman would not share details with him. If he told her who he was, why he was running, she would turn him in herself.

“Then we are at an
understanding. My name is Jade. Thank you for saving me,
” she offered, taking a seat on the ground and leaning against the stump
Aston
still occupied.

“Aston. It’s a pleasure, my lady, I am sure
,” he
replied.
He wanted Jade to leave, fir
stly because
she asked too many questions, and secondly because he wanted to keep her safe. Annoying as she was, she was still a woman. And he was still a knight.

“Why are you sitting here, Aston?”
Jade asked.

“I am waiting on news,”
he
replied. The woman, Jade, was getting more comfortable. She didn’t see
m to want to leave. T
his was just what he needed.

“News of what?”

“News of T
he Rogue Royal.” Aston didn’t miss the way
sh
e sucked in a breath at the name. “Oh yes, he is a very dangerous man. And I am hunting him. Shouldn’t you be getting along to wh
erever you were going?”
He didn’t want to be rude to a woman, but she was being persistent and nosy, two things his life would best avoid right now.

“I am aware of who he is,” Jade announced
, and Aston thought he saw her flinch.
“Why are you hunting him?”

“He condemned me. Well, Prince…it’s a long and tiring story. Nothing you should be bothered with.”

“Okay…I suppose I will get some rest while you are being stubborn. Do you have an extra blanket?” Aston almost told Jade no, he did not have a blanket, nor did he enjoy her company. Instead he decided the woman had had a rough enough day and allowed her use of a blanket and his company for the night. He would rid himself of her the next day.

*
*

As morning dawned, Jade stretched. Her neck and shoulders ached, her back was stiff, and there were tree bark indentions on her cheek.

“Well, that’s the last time
I
sleep on the ground,” she announced, standing
and stretching her arms high o
ve
r her.

“You won’t be sticking around for long, then,” Aston said, and she whirled around to face him. She’d almost forgotten she had company.

“You do this often?” At Aston’s nod, she frowned. “Don’t you have a home?”

Aston pointed at himself. “Runaway, remember? I
used
to have a home. Now, I live wherever my journey takes me.”

As romantic and enticing as
that
sounded, Jade did
not
want to live in the forest. Unless she had a cabin, a fireplace, a kitchen, and a bed, that is. “Doesn’t it get tiring, sleeping outside and eating…grass?” she asked, looking around herself. No fruit t
rees, no berry bushes. N
othing but oak trees and pine needles.

“Sterling eats grass. I eat meat,” Aston replied, producing a rabbit from behind his back.
The princess
gagged at the bloodied animal and closed her eyes.

“How do you eat that?” she questioned, opening one eye to look back at Aston. He’d set the hare on the ground and was starting to skin it. She quickly closed her eye again and turned around. “Where’s Bella?” she added, suddenly noticing her horse was nowhere to be found.

“You went to sleep last night without tying her up. As soon as she heard a wolf howl, she took off,”
he
answered.

“She what?!  How could you let her run away?” Jade snapped, turning around again. This time the rabbit didn’t bother her; she was too furious to pay attention to what Aston was doing.

“Excuse me, what? How could
I
let her run away? I believe she was
your
horse,
your
responsibility; not mine,” he sneered.

“Well, I was sleeping,”
she retaliated
, folding her arms across her chest and sticking her nose in the air.

“Look here,
Princess
. I don’t know who you think you are, but I am not your servant,” Aston barked, dropping his knife and the rabbit on the ground and standing. He towered over Jade and she swallowed, his mention of the word ‘princess’ causing her momentary panic.

“What did you call me?” she asked, her voice shaking. Was she really that obvious?

“Princess. It’s what you’re acting like. Stuck up, arrogant, with no responsibility. If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were royalty,”
he
told her, his face full of disdain.

He didn’t move away from her and Jade felt suddenly egotistical. Stuck up? Arrogant? She’d never seen herself that way. She had always
seen
herself as kind and thoughtful. Looking back on the short time she’d spent with Aston, she could understand why he saw differently.

Finally finding strength in herself, Jade tore her gaze from his and looked at the ground. She could feel tears burning her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

“I’m sorry. I know it wasn’t your fault. I was just so tired last night, and there were wolves chasing me. I’ve never been away from home before and I am used to people doing things for me. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” One of the tears she
was holding back fell from her eye, but Jade wiped it away quickly. “Bella has been my horse for five years. She was the only part of my life I had left.”

Aston
studied her for a moment. Jade could feel his eyes appraising her. She resisted the urge to squirm. It seemed an eternity passed before he moved.
He
sighed
and walked away from her and over to his horse, grab
bing his reins.
Then he
walked back to Jade and handed the reins to her, looking away as her surprised face looked up to meet his.

“
What are you doing?” sh
e asked him.

Aston shook his head.
“I don’t know. Helping you, I guess. His name is Sterling,” he said, motioning to the horse. “He’ll take you wherever you need to go. Just, don’t go to Fridel. He’s too easily recognized there,” Aston added
, almost
as an afterthought.

“I can’t take your horse. Besides, I’m not going anywhere,” Jade said, pushing the reins back into Aston’s hand.

“Aren’t going anywhere? You can’t stay
here
,” Aston
said
, his
voice
incredulous
.

“Of course I can. I’m a free woman. I can do whatever I like,” Jade responded. “I’m lonely and know nothing about hunting or…killing things,” she choked out, her eyes turning to the rabbit on the ground, half skinned. With a shiver, she looked back up at Aston. “You could teach me to take care of myself. And maybe I could help you out in return, somehow.” At Aston’s incredulous look Jade frowned.

“Help me? Do what? Sew?” Aston laughed
as
Jade
scowled
.
Sew? The nerve of him!

“No! Maybe I could help you find The Rogue Royal!” Aston stopped laughing at Jade’s words, his eyes narrowing as a dark shadow passed over his face.

“I won’t let you anywhere near him. You might be irritating and loud, but you’re still a woman and as a kni…as a man of honor I will not let harm come to you.” Aston barely caught his tongue, but Jade understood anyway.

“A
knight
? Why is a
knight
hiding in
the forest?” she questioned, her voice loud.

“And we are back to the questions I will not answer about myself,” he answered, kneeling on the ground and returning to his rabbit.