Dawn Of A Viking Sunrise, page 19
part #2 of Mists Of Time Series
"Is there another entrance to that chamber?" he demanded, pointing to the entrance of the room to which his bed slaves returned every night.
Suo looked at him as if he were not completely sane, but Zhing, the older of the two, replied. "The second door leads to the women's quarters, my lord crown prince."
"I want a guard posted outside that door," Singlee told him. "The Norse slave is not to leave the chamber without me. Is that understood?"
Suo stepped outside the threshold and relayed his instructions. Singlee hoped he was not too late and that the little chit had not already flown the coop. He was furious with himself for not thinking to secure her before now. He did not have months to track her down, and now that he had made his mind up to leave, he wanted to gather the maps and supplies he would need and her and get the heck out of Dodge.
He strode to the entrance of her chamber and brushed the colorful hanging beads aside and saw, to his considerable relief, that she was there curled into a small ball on a thin mat set at the foot of the canopied bed in which no doubt the woman who had been in his bed just a few hours ago slept.
For the first time it occurred to Singlee that he should not have worried that she would slip away from him, not for long anyway.
After all, she was a slave. She had nowhere to go.
Mindless of the guards at his back, Singlee watched the steady rise and fall of her shoulders as she slept the sleep of the exhausted. He had noticed the dark circles under her stunning, thick lashed eyes earlier tonight. Now her hair was loose and the thick lushness covered her, acting as a blanket, which, he saw with a pang of pity squeezing his heart, she did not have. Likely she never had a blanket when she slept.
He thought about what she had said regarding how the women treated her.
Mean. Vindictive.
She had not told him that, when they were in residence, she slept on the floor, without even a cover to warm her.
Well that would all stop, here and now, he decided angrily. He had basked in his power and enjoyed all the perks of being a Crown Prince since he had arrived in this place, never even thinking that given his position, he just might have the power to change things. Or that he could make choices, laws, mandates, that could ease or benefit those who silently serve in this man dominated, Dark Age society. He'd been, he thought, such an arrogant fool.
His mind made up, Singlee strode to the sleeping girl and in one easy motion, scooped her up into his arms. She was as light as a feather. Her scent was natural and pure, not like the women she prepared for his pleasure each night after having been bathed in the oils of cherry blossoms, jasmine or roses.
He motioned the guard as he strode past him. "Let it be known to all that this woman is to serve only me from now on. The rest of those who lodge in those rooms are to be assigned other duties," he thought a moment, then added. "Duties that do not include being used as bed slaves, unless they wish it. They are to be cared for and respected. Under no circumstances are any of them to have access to this woman."
He gently laid her onto his own bed, carefully working the coverings from under her and covering her slim form with them. She did not wake, rather, she sighed and snuggled into the luxurious softness, a small smile curving her lush lips.
Lips that he very much wished to kiss although he knew that he would not.
He watched her for a moment, completely forgetting the flabbergasted guards who now stood at their posts within his chamber.
Okay, he thought, he had her. Now all he had to do was figure out how he was going to obtain the supplies they would need to flee this place with out alerting anyone of his plans.
Chapter Forty-One
Rosie gaped at the tops of the bamboo trees surrounding them. She had been to China before, many times. She had walked through bamboo forests and had been in awe of them then. But now, to be living in the Dark Ages amidst the giant, lush, graceful trees... Never before had she felt so connected with her Chinese roots as she had since she stepped foot onto the red earth of ancient China.
She almost expected ninjas to come swarming from all directions, flying through the trees like acrobats, swords swinging.
She smiled to herself. That's the kind of thing one thinks about when she has a cousin who choreographs martial arts movies and talks about his work until he is blue in the face.
"What's so funny?" Davyn asked.
She wrapped her arm around his waist, careful not to slide her fingers against any of the weapons that were tucked away there.
"I was imaging all the foreign movies that I have seen," she looked up and swept her arm in graceful curve. "About now, the tops of these trees should be full of flying ninjas swooping down to attack us."
He looked up also, his brow drawn into a frown.
"I will admit that this journey has been much safer than I thought it would be," he told her. "But Rosalinda, these are dangerous times, and we are the intruders here. There very well could be blood shed before it's all over, and you must be prepared for it should it come."
He had given her the same lecture almost hourly since they had docked. She knew he was right, but she just had a problem really believing that anything bad would happen to them. After all, they were on a noble mission. Nothing bad could really happen to them.
She lightly jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "Hey, gringo, don't forget, I floored you when I first got here. I can take care of myself."
Davyn winced then changed the subject.
"According to the farmer we spoke with, we are about three days away from our destination," he looked through the thick treetops to the darkening sky. "We will make camp here, and then continue at sunrise."
With that he gave her a peck on the forehead before going to give the men instructions for making camp and placement of the guards. Rosie loved to watch him take command, and she loved to watch his big brother, and his Jarl, Leif, watch him. There was a look of pride about him that a blind person could see, as if he had taught his little brother everything he knew about being a leader.
But then, given how young he had been when he became Jarl, perhaps he had.
Despite the fact that they were bloodthirsty Vikings, the brothers were clearly not afraid to show their respect and deep caring for one another.
And, despite the way it came about, Rosie was proud to be a part of Davyn's family, she only hoped that when the time came to meet his parents, that they would like her.
The thought made her just a little sick to her stomach.
*****
Fisher leaned against the thick stem of a bamboo tree dreading the sleepless night ahead of him. Guard duty. Always guard duty. Wouldn't they all be surprised when they found out that he is one of the ones who they should be guarding against.
It had been easy to infiltrate the 'rescue' mission. He had been hiding at the edge of the castles forest, trying to figure out how he was going to get into that well guarded fortress when he saw the man whom he now knew was Davyn's oldest brother Leif, a Jarl back in Denmark, and his men ride toward the gates of Castle Rose Haven.
He had slipped inside the gates just before they slammed closed again and then it was simply a matter of bunking with the lower warriors. Davyn's men had assumed that he belonged to Leif and Leif's men had assumed that he belonged to Davyn. Then, when everyone had been ordered to put dye on their hair, his disguise had been complete.
He shivered once, and then stiffened his spine. It was a dangerous game of deception he played, but he would act it out to the bitter end.
The fact that Davyn and Leif had decided to travel with three ships rather than two had been another huge break for him.
Rosie. His body stirred and he absently rubbed himself. She looked so much like her mother. Her mother, the liar who had dumped him for that Chinaman. Fisher grit his teeth at the insult. The sting of it was still as fresh as the day his heart had been broken -- no, crushed, by her.
He was not good enough for her, huh? Well, he would be good enough for her daughter. He understood that Rosie had had no control over her mother's actions, but she was here and her mother was out of his reach.
For now.
Fisher had not gotten where he had in life by letting opportunities pass him by or being afraid to use people, whether they deserved to be used or not.
He adjusted himself more comfortably against the smooth tree and considered his plan of action. Since Davyn wore his pendant around his thick neck, he would most likely have to kill him to get it from him. But so be it. As long as Fisher had the element of surprise on his side, it should be no problem getting behind the giant and sticking his blade into his back. Getting close to his back unnoticed was going to be tricky, but Fisher would worry about that when the time came.
After they rescued Singlee. Fisher counted on them, just as he counted on Singlee having the second pendant with him.
He would have to move fast, Fisher decided. Real fast. Kill Davyn, then Singlee, get the pendants, and make a grab for Rosie. His heart thundered in his chest with excited anticipation. Yes, he could do it. He would do it. And he would have to do it all before they made it back to the ships.
After that, all he had to do was will himself and Rosie back to their Time and there would be nothing any of these Dark Age Neanderthals could do to stop him.
Then he would make Yolanda pay. Fisher considered himself a mastermind and a mastermind always had more than one plan. His original plan to simply leave his stolen pendant in Rosie's apartment, knock her out with chloroform and then call the police to her apartment had gone south with this unexpected journey though Time. But Fisher had always been a careful man and he had a Plan B already in place, set in motion, in fact, before he even entered Yolanda's brat's home. Wouldn't Rosie be surprised to see that he had a place ready and waiting for them on the outskirts of San Francisco?
It was difficult to keep from laughing. One phone call and Yolanda would come running to save her daughter. And after he was through taking from Yolanda what should have been his all along, he would make sure that her daughter spent the rest of her life in prison for the crimes the authorities believed she committed.
It was a good plan.
Chapter Forty-Two
The woman sleeping in his arms stirred and Singlee stroked her hair. She smiled softly and her small hand moved up his bare torso stopping to rest on his chest. The muscle twitched in immediate response and his nipple hardened under her calloused palm.
He knew when she came full awake because her body stiffened like a stone. He covered her mouth with his hand just in time to muffle her outraged shriek.
"It's okay, little one," he said soothingly. "You're with me."
She stopped struggling and glared up at him. "What makes you think that being with you will make anything okay?" she asked icily.
"Ouch," he said, mentally ordering his now fully aroused body to settle down. "I just meant to reassure you that it is only me, not someone who might take advantage of you in this situation."
She took a deep breath, looking for all the world as if she were trying to form words that perhaps a child would be capable of understanding. "What am I doing in your bed?" she said at last.
Singlee grinned at her and brushed a lock of hair away from her face, smoothing it behind the small shell of her ear. "I carried you here last night."
She took another deep breath. Each time she did that his body became inflamed.
"Why?"
"Why what?" he stalled.
"Why did you carry me here?"
"You looked so uncomfortable, and cold," he said, shrugging. "And I wanted to talk to you."
She narrowed her eyes. "Was there a reason that you could not wait until I awoke from my own pallet this morning before you spoke to me?"
He flushed despite himself. "I, ah, well, it's funny really," he began. "I would have waited until this morning, but I was afraid that, after the way we ended things last night, you might run away or something and it would take me months to find you again."
"Exactly how far do you think I could go?" she demanded. "I am a slave in case you've forgotten. I am not allowed to leave my duties just to avoid a spoiled imposter, even if I had wanted to."
Singlee felt the first stirrings of hope. "So, despite what happened last night, you didn't want to avoid me?"
"It does not matter what I might want or not want," she snapped. "How many times do I have to remind you that I am a slave?"
"Okay," he conceded. "At first I did forget that you couldn't come and go as you pleased. But by the time I remembered, I had already brought you to my bed."
"I am going to be beaten for leaving my quarters," she said dolefully. "I hope whatever you have to tell me is worth it."
Singlee couldn't blame her for being mad. He put a finger under her stubborn chin and tilted her head until their eyes met.
"No one is going to beat you," he promised. "I have made it known that you are under my protection. The other women have been released from being my bed slaves and they are to be reassigned other duties. Furthermore, they won't be punished because I do not want them," he shifted so they were lying face to face. "Thanks to you I realized that as long as everyone thinks that I'm the real Crown Prince, I have some power. I am going to use it for good as long as I am here."
She considered him solemnly with big eyes. "And how long will that be?" she asked. "And what will happen to me, to all of us, if you are discovered before you choose to leave here?"
Singlee hadn't thought to worry about being discovered, even though he realized now it was amazing that he had not been. He was nothing like the real Crown Prince ether in age, looks or attitude as far as he could tell.
"We'll have to leave before that happens then," he said.
Her brow creased. "We?"
He smiled. "Yes, that's what I wanted to tell you. I'm going to get you out of this place. I'm going to take you home, to your family."
She blinked back tears that suddenly filled her eyes. He could not tell if they were tears of happiness or not.
But he soon found out.
"You leave the walls of Chang'an and some will perhaps question why," she said, sitting up and glaring down at him, her long locks cascading about her shoulders and down her back like molten gold. "But if I attempt to leave, I will be stopped. And if I should actually make it out of the gates, I will eventually be found and killed. I am a slave. The punishment for escaping is death, a slow, public, painful death that will strike fear into all other slaves who might think to run away. Do you understand now how it works here?"
Her tears slid down her cheeks and made a warm pool on his chest.
Singlee knew that if he went through with his plan to escape and take her with him, he could not afford to make any mistakes. Her life was becoming quite priceless to him.
Chapter Forty-Three
The high walls of the city where they believed Singlee to be were dark shadows in the foggy distance, formidable, tall and reputedly impossible to breach, each corner having its own watchtower.
And there was only one entrance.
Davyn stood at the edge of the frostbitten forest and studied the lay of the land, his heart beating hard in his chest, adrenalin surging through his veins.
What he and his men were going to attempt was fraught with danger, yet he had no doubt that they would succeed.
He was convinced now, as was Rosie, that the spinning vortex had spit Singlee out here, in This Time. All they had to do was enter the gates, find him, and bring him out with them.
When he rolled his eyes at the enormity of what lay before them, his brother laughed. "It is not difficult to guess your thoughts, brother."
"Nothing on this journey has gone as I expected it to," Davyn said. "I was certain that we would run into much opposition and trouble just trying to get to this point. Yet we have not. It is as if the path had been cleared for us, as if we were meant to make this journey. Yet I fear becoming over confidant. Look at those walls, brother. Will we really be able to simply walk in, look around, find Singlee and then walk out again? Can it possibly go that smoothly?"
"I don't know, little brother," Leif told him. "But like you, I sense that this is a journey that we were meant to take, and, for whatever reason, I believe that all will go well."
"I am glad that you are with me, Leif," Davyn said, putting one arm around his brother's broad shoulders. "I know that you miss your wife, and your new child. Promise me that you will take extra care while we search for Singlee, I do not wish to face Kat's wrath if something bad should happen to you."
"That is a promise which I freely make, brother," Leif assured him. "I will take care, as I expect you will also."
"Aye," Davyn said solemnly. "Rosalinda's wrath makes Kat's seem weak in comparison. That is why I dare not let anything untoward happen to my person."
"All joking aside," Leif began. "This fog will aid us greatly. I have noticed that it moves in both in the early morning and as evening draws near. We should wait here for at least two days, learn the habits of the inhabitants of the city and when or if there is a certain time that the gates are opened."
"I shall have to sit on Rosie to keep her here for an extra two days," Davyn told him. "She is ready to burst being this close right now."
"I'll wager she is." Leif agreed, grinning. But I am sure that you can find some activity to distract her while we wait."
Davyn smiled and made his way back to the makeshift shelter where Rosie was still sleeping, thoughts of just what he could do to distract her making his body harden and tingle in anticipation.
He was certain that he liked this whole 'rhythm' concept that allowed them to avoid making a child at this time.
But as soon as they got home...
*****
Singlee set his chopsticks down and stood, trying to stem the sizzle of unease the unexpected summons to see the Emperor had caused. He turned to call her, and then remembered, with a rush of annoyance, that she had still not told him her name. What a stubborn wench she was!
