A strong gust of wind rose and blew Isabella’s long hair into her face skewering her view. She pulled strands of black hair away from her eyes to no avail. The weather had not been particularly kind to them during the evening and into this morning. Ferocious winds had picked up in the late-night hours and extinguished the fire Isabella had diligently built. Leaving Ronan and Isabella to rely on each other for warmth. Cuddled together in the grass, Isabella found it surprising the amount of heat the warlock’s body emitted. Separating from his embrace at dawn was rather difficult, but her and Ronan needed to put in a good day’s ride.

Tearing down their camp was not a difficult ordeal as they had little to no baggage with them. Brushing back her hair, Isabella worked on tying the heavy strings of her leather bag to close it shut. She was satisfied it contained items she may use again during their trip. The scraps of fabric used to clean Ronan’s wounds were cleaned and rolled together for cleaning his injuries. And in case they became hungry, she had packed several apples which she had gathered from a Crab-apple tree. She picked up the now heavy bag and approached the horse to securely latch it onto their makeshift saddle. Isabella felt the sting of the cooler weather in her hands as she tied the knots securely.

Drizzles of rain touched her forehead as she finished up her task. She heard Ronan speak from behind her. “Princess, I believe it is raining.” Turning to face the dark-haired warlock, she answered him. “Well, we should be on our way then.” Isabella was positively gleeful seeing Ronan being more alert and sitting up by himself. She worried the chilly evening would hinder his recovery, but his calm demeanor and genuine smile placed her at ease. The warlock held out his arms to her. “Princess, could you help me up.” She crossed the distance and placed his one arm over her shoulders and gently aided him in standing.

On his feet, he wrapped both arms around her shoulders pulling her into a hug. “Oh, this is nice.” She welcomed the embrace wrapping her arms gently around his waist. Ronan pulled back slightly, bowed his head and kissed Isabella softly on the lips. He whispered to her again. “Oh this is very nice indeed.” She giggled pulling away from him. “Stop it, we have another good day’s ride ahead of us.” He laughed as she supported his arm as they took small steps to the steed. She stated to the warlock. “For such crummy weather, you are in a good mood.” Now at the side of the animal, Ronan prepared himself to lift himself into the saddle. “I feel chipper this morning. I am not sure if it was all the cuddling last night or the fact, we are getting closer to home.”

Grunting Ronan swung his one leg over the back of the horse and cleared himself into the saddle. The warlock cursed at the pain of the movement. “Ow, crap that hurt.” Isabella shook her head stating. “You are doing too much.” She steadied herself to mount the animal to seat herself behind him. Except Ronan interrupted her before she pulled herself up. “Princess, sit in front of me this trip. Let me take the reins today.” He scooted further back on the horse as she lifted herself to sit in front of the warlock. “Sounds good to me. In case you need to nap, where are we heading today?”

The warlock clicked his heels on the side of the horse, and they began moving through the forest. Ronan explained to her. “We are still two days from home, Darini. I am hoping, with weather permitting, that we camp out near the Bergus river. We will be in the foothills of the mountains. Princess. I can’t wait for you to see it as it is quite beautiful.” Leaning down he brushed his lips against her ear. “Not nearly as beautiful as you are my dear.” Isabella blushed at the compliment answering him. “You are incorrigible and have no shame.” She relaxed in her arms as they slowly travelled through the span of woodlands.

Comfortable within Ronan’s embrace, Isabella attempted to ignore the drips of rain that landed on her head and face. She cozied further into the warlock’s arms thankful for the warmth of his body. Nearing the edge of the forest, the expanse between foliage and trees began to lessen. Shorter and thinner trees spotted the landscape as tall grass began replacing the mossy forest bed. Grasslands and rolling hills stretched in front of them as they continued forward on their journey. Her head slightly drooped as Isabella battled keeping her heavy eyelids open. Ronan caressed her by running his hand through her hair stating. “Princess catch some sleep. I have got this.”

Having received permission to drift off to sleep, Isabella obliged closing her eyes and relaxing in the warlock’s arms. The methodical plodding of the horse brought her into a calm and tranquil state of being. Floating in her peaceful slumber, she could feel spirals of connectedness flow with Mother Nature. Asleep Isabella imagined the white veiny spark snaking through the dirt and up through tree trunks into green leaves and through to the blue sky. Spider webs of white energy crossed across the sky touching birds as they flew. In her dream, Isabella pictured the forest as a whole watching as the spark travel through everything including the wildlife from the tiniest mouse to the largest buck. A dreaming Isabella realized the spark connected all forms of life. She was not alone, she was never alone, she had always been connected to Mother Nature.

Color flooded into her dream as liquid being poured into a cup obscuring her image of the forest. She could picture herself back in her room opening her bedroom door to that muscular barbarian. Her heartbeat was loud as fear ripped through her being trapped by the ruffian again. Isabella attempted to scream but no sound came out. She could hear her name being called out as her body shook. “Isabella, wake up!” Snapping her eyes open, struggling for breath, it took a minute to dawn on her she was safe. Ronan exclaimed loudly. “Princess, you are having a bad dream.” As her wits came back to Isabella, she noticed he had pushed the horse into a gallop.

Knowing something was amiss, she asked the warlock. “Ronan, what is happening?” Glancing up at him, she could see the pained expression on his pale face as he exclaimed. “We have company.” Isabella twisted her body to glance behind them and saw several figures on horses’ much further back. She kept herself compact as Ronan spurred their horse into a sprint. The thought of being captured and returned to Tipperary frightened Isabella as she held on tightly. If her and Ronan were apprehended, she was almost certain it would mean death for them. Alarmed Isabella asked the dark-haired warlock. “Ronan, what do we do?”

He yelled his response. “Up over that hill are the foothills. We should be able to find a place to hide if we can reach it quickly.” Isabella glanced up at his white pale face with sweat beading at his forehead. Worry clamped around her heart as she could tell by his face that he was seriously ill. Feeling helpless, she prayed for his health and for their freedom. Focusing her attention on the horizon, Isabella’s eyes panned across the landscape hoping for a miracle. The rhythmic clomping of hooves against the ground mixed with the sound of Ronan’s laboured breathing. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the recurring noises willing their horse stamina and speed.

The raven-haired witch wondered if there were any spells or rituals that could help them in this dire situation. Her lack of knowledge in her own magical abilities added to her feelings of defencelessness. Ronan shouted at Isabella. “Here we are. Hold on Princess!” Opening her eyes, she observed in front of them the start of forested sloping foothills. The dark-haired warlock turned them north running parallel to the edge of the woodlands. Still galloping, Ronan instructed her. “Isabella, tell me when they turn north!” She twisted and turned in his arms to catch sight of the sentry officers far behind them. Isabella craning her head watched as she almost lost sight of the other riders until they began turning north. She yelled out. “They turned.”

“Hold on!” Ronan shouted as he slowed the horse enough to make a sharp right-hand turn into the wooded area. Instinctively, Isabella and Ronan crouched lower on the horse as she feared overhanging branches. Galloping through the wooded area was an incredible risk Isabella would never have attempted. She could not decide if Ronan was being courageous or careless in his actions, but so far, they had not been thrown off the back of the horse. Their steed was just as fearless as the animal jumped over fallen logs and dodged boulders while maintaining speed. A small clearing appeared where Ronan made another sharp right-handed turn. Isabella now understood they were travelling south as she hoped the palace sentries kept going north.

Holding her breath, she craned her head checking for any other riders as they continued swiftly in a southern direction. With no signs that they had been discovered, she thanked the Divine for protecting her and Ronan. Her relief was short-lived as the warlock weakly asked her. “Isabella, can you take the reins?” Gazing up at him Isabella was alarmed at how ill he appeared. She put a hand up to his forehead and felt the sizzling heat from a fever. He asked again. “Please Princess, take the reins.”