53

"What will you get out of doing this?" Sapphire asked, desperation lacing through her. She needed to get out of there somehow!

"Revenge, for my dead son. Happiness, for myself. The reason of me being alive this long finally having a purpose. Shall I go on?" Corriane questioned as she watched the flames spread rapidly throughout the room. She should have had more rushes placed, a pity. Although the fewer the rushes, the more painful would be for the chit. She smiled at the thought.

Corriane left Sapphire in the chamber to die. She had bigger fish to fry. How had Tristan found her so quickly? It had barely been a complete day, and yet the arrogant git had found her. How!? Corriane was beside herself in fury. She quickly walked through the many dark tunnels, the man following quietly in her wake, not coming to close. She had to know how Tristan was able to find her! He was not this intelligent.

Corriane came to a halt as she heard the sound of battle cries. Switching her direction, she headed towards the top of the mountains. A small cave was located there, one which held a small opening to view the outside. That would be perfect to view who was battling whom.

By the time she reached her destination, her gown was torn in several places, her hands slightly raw, and her breathing shallow. But she cared not, she had a task to complete.

Corriane surveyed the battle ground. Amongst the many unfamiliar faces, one struck her memory. It seemed the years had been kind to him, not a single wrinkle marred his features. Of its own accord, her hand went to her own face, her fingers slightly searching. She watched him quietly as he struck one man after another, never letting anyone draw to near. But throughout it all, his gaze was searching, his body trying to move towards a certain direction. Corriane snorted, he wouldn't be able to find his daughter no matter how hard he tried. She was most likely dead by now.

She looked through the many men battling, many of her own meeting their death rather quickly. Her eyes searched, and searched, but she couldn't find him. Or was it possible she ceased to recognize him? Had he changed much over the years? So much so that she, his mother, was unable to recognize him? She wondered who he took after. He had his father's hair. But, she couldn't see a head of bronze amongst the battle. Mayhap it had grown darker? Did he take after her? Her Christian had his father's hair, but he had her eyes, her coloring. What if Tristan was a replica of her Christian? The fates would not be so cruel? Would they?

Corriane continued to watch the bloodshed. What seemed to be hours to her, were in fact, only a mere few minutes. She dragged her eyes, as well as her thoughts, away. She needed do find Fredrick, put him in Rivers path, then find Tristan and finish him off. But before doing so, he had to see the charred body of his beloved. She would not make death easy for him. It had to be painful, excruciating. She would never be able to give him as much pain as he had given her, but she would give him as much pain as she possibly could.

****

Sapphire stared at Corriane's retreating form. How could the woman so easily kill another? How could she hurt her son? A son which had done nothing to earn such treatment?

Sapphire began pulling at her chains until her wrists became raw, blood beginning to ooze from them.

"As if I need to loose more blood." Sapphire muttered angrily.

She kicked, she pulled, but nothing seemed to work. Sapphire coughed as the smoke began to fill her lungs. The fire would reach her soon enough. She looked towards the entrance. Nothing.

Hot, scalding tears filled her eyes before cascading down her cheeks. She wouldn't be able to see Izzy's children, nor would she be able to tell Tristan how much she loved him. Never again would her uncle train her, never again would he tell her he loved her and never would he be able to hold her child in his arms.

Sapphire pulled the chains again in vain, wincing as she noticed how hot they were. She closed her eyes as despair over took her. This was the end. If only she could tell Tristan how much she loved him. It was true, what they said. One should always leave their loved ones with loving words, for they knew not if it was their last time seeing them. Death could come at any given time, and we'd be none the wiser. We should live our lives in such a way, that when we die, even if unexpected, we are content to die. Content to meet our creator and to know we have not wronged another.

Sapphire took a shaky breath as more tears assaulted her. Tristan mustn't know it was his mother, he would be crushed! Her poor Tristan. He was always so kind and so loving to everyone around, despite the fact he had never gotten love himself. He would end up killing her in his anger and then he would regret it.

Sapphire tried once more with the chains, but other than scalding her wrists, they did nothing. Sapphire swayed on her spot. It was really hot. She was getting light headed. She needed water, her throat felt dry. Sapphire stumbled back slightly as her vision failed her. It was really hot. Her head felt heavy. The flames were drawing near, almost as if they were teasing her. She could have swore they were laughing at her, mocking her. Sapphire looked towards the entrance of the cave, it was covered in smoke. Was that a figure she saw? Whether it was reality or a figment of her imagination, Sapphire knew not, because at that precise moment, her body had had enough, letting the comfort of unconsciousness protect her from the horrors which were still to come.

****

"Tristan, go!" Lord Rivers growled, tying a piece of linen around his upper arm to stop the blood from gushing.

"No!" Tristan snarled. "I can help you battle and we can go together. Fredrick is a cruel man."

" I am very aware of Fredrick's cruelty. Which makes it essential for you to find Sapphire. I will see to Fredrick and his lady friend. You must find Sapphire." Lord Rivers said as he aimed an arrow at one of the men, catching them unaware.

The guards had been dealt with, and now they were trying to take out as many men as they could, as stealthily as they could. As each man was killed, their men would remove the body. Dressed in the guards clothing, none were the wiser.

Tristan stayed quiet, lord Rivers not looking his way. Then, very quietly, as if he were too afraid to speak, as if voicing his fears would turn them into reality, Tristan asked in a slightly choked voice, "what if I can't find her?"

Lord Rivers refused to look up, knowing his own eyes were clouded with tears, but he couldn't let Tristan know. He had to be strong for both of them. At that moment, Tristan was the small ten year old boy he had found, afraid of his own potential.

"You will find her. And you will bring her back. If I believe in you, then you have no reason to doubt yourself. Believe me. If I can, then you can as well." Lord Rivers voice came out clear and strong, one would not be able to tell he was fighting a raging battle within himself.

He glanced from the corner of his eye as Tristan stood up to leave, not turning back.

That was well over an hour ago. There was no sign of either Tristan or Sapphire. Nor was there a sign of Fredrick or his lady friend. He needed to get to Fredrick. It mattered little whether they killed everyone if Fredrick managed to escape.

Lord Rivers killed his current adversary, staring menacingly at the five men who circled him. He was covered in blood, his sword coated in the blood of his latest victim. The men backed away, giving him a wide berth. Lord Rivers lip's curled into a malicious grin, a glint in his eye.

"Where is your leader, Fredrick?"

The men remained quiet, staring tensely at each other.

"Who is his mistress?"

Again, they remained quiet, staring at each other. One of the men shifted from one foot to another.

"Where is Sapphire being held?"

No one spoke a word. Lord Rivers gave them another minute or so, but they held their tongues. Then, faster then they could comprehend, faster than they could blink, two of the five men lay dead on the ground before them. A dagger protruded from the heart of one, while the others head lay beside his body covered in dirt.

The remaining three men stepped back, fear coating their features.

"We are nay afraid of ye."

"I never asked you to be afraid of me. I asked you simple questions, ones you have the capability of answering. You decided not to answer them. I decided to remove you from my path." Lord Rivers answered nonchalantly.

"Will ye kill us if we tell ye?" The one who had been shifting nervously before, questioned.

"I will spare you now, but if you attack me, or my men, I will seek retribution." Lord Rivers answered.

"Fredrick is in the mountains, the second layer where the caves are. We doona ken of the mistress' name, but we have heard Fredrick call her by the name of Corriane-" Lord Rivers inhaled sharply- "We doona ken a Sapphire." The same man answered hastily.

"Sapphire is the prisoner who was brought in." Lord Rivers snapped, his mind going slightly numb. Everything was falling into place.

"We doona ken. Mistress took her as soon as she was brought." The man in the middle said quickly. Apparently, he too, valued his life.

"What does this Corriane woman look like? Describe her to me." Lord Rivers had gone slightly pale.

"She is verra beautiful. Her hair is as fair as the sun, at times we swear tis more fair than the sun-"

"I asked not for you to say poetry in her wake, I asked you to describe her features to me!" Lord Rivers snarled, he did not need to hear grown men pathetically falling at her feet, he had better things to do.

The man paled but continued to speak.

"She has fair hair and light blue eyes. Her cheek bones are verra high. She is a bonny lass. Yet she is verra cold. She doesna speak to anyone of us, only to Fredrick. Only if she is in dire need of something, does she speaks to us. Even then, she speaks as if we are beneath her, not worthy of her time." The man who had stayed silent thus far, was the one to speak. Although his words were one of anger and loathing, he was unable to hide his awe over the woman's beauty. Cruel as she was, her outer beauty could not be denied, nor could it be ignored.

"When did she join you?"

"We doona ken."

Lord Rivers accepted their answers. There was nothing else they could help him with.

"Stay clear of my men, if you do not raise your sword on them, they shall not attack you." Lord Rivers said as he turned to leave.

"Where is Corriane?"

"In the caves. Her chambers are across from Fredrick's."

"Thank you." Lord Rivers said in gratitude as he ran towards the mountain, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He had to get Tristan out of there.

The three men stared at lord Rivers retreating form in awe, no one had ever thanked them before. Yet, today a lord had thanked them, more so, he had stayed true to his word and spared them.

"I shall help him." One of the men said as he raised his sword.

"Are ye mad? Why would ye want to help him? Fredrick will have ye head."

"He has given me more respect in these five minutes than anyone has ever given me in my entire life. Further more, he has treated my like his equal, as a human." With that being said, the man took off after lord Rivers.

"He has gone daft." The other man muttered.

***

"I can help ye."

Lord Rivers looked towards his right to find the man who had been the first to answer his questions, crouch beside him.

"Help me?"

"Aye. I can help ye get around the caves and I can tell ye where the mistress is. I canna help ye with lady Sapphire. I doona ken where she is."

The man paused to take a breath, then, as if he had forgotten, he said, "my name is Galaith."

"Galaith, why do you want to help me?"

Galaith smiled sadly.

"Do I need a reason, my laird?"

"Aye, you do. I was about to kill you not moments ago, and now you want to help me?" Did the man think him daft?

"If I tell ye, ye willna believe me. If I survive the battle, I shall tell ye. But if I do survive, I have one request. I would like to join yer army."

"This is not my army."

"The men answer to ye."

"They answer to my son."

"Then there would be no greater honor for me then to join an army where it's people have such respect for their laird, that they respect his father."

Lord Rivers appraised the man.

"What made you join Fredrick?"

"Coin? Labor? I doona ken the reason meself." Galiath said as he stared at his hands. He looked no older than twenty-five summers.

Lord Rivers prayed to The Lord he was not making a mistake in accepting his aid.

"I had told Tristan to go find Sapphire. If what you said about Corriane is true, I need to reach Tristan before she manages to do so.

"Aye, I will take ye to her chambers."

***

Tristan cut the leaves and shrubs with his sword, finding the clearing he was looking for. He ran towards the tree which was located just to the end of the clearing. Quickly, he began to climb it until he reached the very top. This tree had been here longer than he could remember. Tristan removed the flowers and moss which covered the mouth of the small cave. As a child, he could easily fit through it, he wasn't so sure about now.

He carefully let go of the trees branch's and put one leg into the tree before the second one followed. It was slightly uncomfortable but he would fit. Tristan put his entire body into the opening and then slid down. Once inside the cave, he pressed his ear to the floor and heard the murmur of voices.

Another thing Tristan found amazing about these caves was that all the caves were connected. The cave he currently stood in, had small holes throughout it. And those holes lead to all the caves in the mountain. If one were to put their ear next to the holes, they could hear the conversations taking place quite clearly. A miracle in itself.

Tristan put his ear next to almost it every hole, but none of them could lead him towards Sapphire.

"God damn it!" Tristan cursed as he kicked at a pebble. He needed to find her, but how? Tristan punched the wall! He was running out of time! With his mouth set, Tristan left the cave. He would start with what he knew. The lower floor was empty, he heard nothing and could also smell the dampness which would occupy a cave once it was abandoned. The second floor was occupied by people. The third floor also seemed to have been used. Which meant he had to search the second and third floors. He was on the fifth floor now. He checked all the caves to find them empty, Tristan moved forward. The fourth floor had two men which Tristan took out easily enough by slitting their throats and hiding the bodies. Time was of essence but he couldn't afford to be careless.

He moved to the third floor which seemed to be more inhabitant than the last two he had searched. He checked all the caves, killing anyone who dared cross his path. It was still quiet outside, which meant the battle had yet to begin. A good sign, they had not discovered an intruder as yet.

Tristan clandestinely moved through the caves, quietly killing another dozen men. They were either caught unaware or were to slow to draw their weapons. Or simply, they were dealing with a man with a purpose, one who was not afraid of death. One who would do anything to reach the love of his life.

Tristan checked the third floor twice, hiding in the shadows when a large number of men would pass. He knew when to draw his sword and when to halt it. He waited until they had gone before moving towards the second floor. Tristan cursed low and hard. The floor was crawling with men! He surreptitiously made his way back up, returning to the men he had just killed. He took their weapons, as well as their clothing. Tying a piece of cloth on the lower portion of his face so that everything besides his eyes was covered, Tristan walked out with the air of a man who was in control. He was not naive, not a single one of the men had a beard, and if they did, it was very large. Tristan would have stuck out. Not to mention the men were most likely told of his appearance before leaving for battle.

Tristan walked through the third and second floors, nodding at the men who passed him.

"Why is ye face covered?" A brawny man asked of Tristan as he eyed him suspiciously over his tankard of ale.

"A nasty gash in the battle. Some herbs and paste the healer put on me face. Told me to keep it covered. I ken better than to ignore him." Tristan answered evenly in a thick Scottish accent. His steely silver eyes daring the man to defy him.

"Aye, Knight and his men are a nasty piece of work. Good thing ye did was see to yer injuries. Got a gash meself, but was nay quick enough to go to the healer. If it doesna get better, me arm might have to be cut off." The man said somberly.

Tristan spoke before he thought better of it.

"Seven miles north from here is a village, there is a healer who can see to yer arm. But ye must hurry."

"If the healers a lassie than I would rather die!" The man spat.

Tristan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. The man was an intolerable git! Sapphire would be so very pleased to deal with him.

"Nay, tis a man. But ye must leave now. He doesna see anyone before the noon meal. It will take ye sometime to reach there." Tristan said as he walked past the man and into a room. He shut the door and stared at the chamber.

It was filled with a woman's items. A cold bath stood before him. This must be the room the mistress had taken up. No sign of Sapphire. Tristan looked around the room closely, it was not amongst those who held a hidden passage. The room was filled with several chests. Tristan considered checking the chests but thought better of it. He could not afford to be found in such a compromising state. He left the woman's room in favor of the one across it. That to, was empty.

Tristan checked several more rooms. Some were empty while others were occupied by men drinking ale.

"Do ye ken where Fredrick is?" Tristan asked one of the men walking past him.

"Nay, he was nay too happy with mistress. Threw a fit before leaving his chambers." The red head answered all too cheerfully.

"The mistress, which way did she go?"

"I doona ken."

"Thank ye for yer assistance." Tristan said.

The man eyes him with suspicion.

"Did ye just join?"

"How can ye tell?"

"No one thanks another. Ye take what ye can, when ye can. Try to save another's hide and ye will be trading yer own. It would do ye good to remember." The man advised before walking away.

Tristan stared at the man's retreating form. That was not the way of life, but it would do him little good to dwell upon it. He needed to find Sapphire.