To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael
“You are as stunning as Marx always described you. Why he never made a move on you is unknown to me,” Argo licked his lips as he made the complete circle. Leila held her head high and did not reply.
Leila patiently waited for them to beginning moving as Argo continued to eye her over. Leila followed Mitchell walking in the woods. Mitchell had several horses waiting for them as they neared the edge of the woods. They had one less horse than riders, and Leila would have to ride with one of the men. She took her chances with Mitchell over Argo and followed him to his horse. With her arms still tied she hopped onto the horse ahead of him. Leila was even agile with her arms restricted, and Mitchell saw the ties were unnecessary. Mitchell wrapped his arms around her as they rode. He enjoyed the distain from Argo as she had chosen to ride with him over the other courier. Mitchell did not blame her.
Even though Mitchell was completely loyal to King Aiolos, he did not approve of his choice to hire Argo. The man seemed to have a short fuse and was quick to kill anything that got in his way. Leila did not pay attention to the men that stared at her as she rode but rather to the path they were taking. She hoped Anatolio would stay far enough behind to follow and not get caught by Argo. She had heard from Marx that Argo was not very good at his job, but he was effective in killing any opponent that got in his way. Marx was more than happy when Argo quit his post to join Aiolos.
After several hours of riding, they neared a city. Leila did not know the town, but she knew they were still in Lior. The town was empty as they rode through it. Every now and then she caught the sight of a person or two through the panes of the windows hiding in fear. Aiolos was as harsh and uncaring as Jahangir, the only difference being that Aiolos had the stature and ability to support his ruthlessness. As they neared the opposite edge of the town, a large tent city was hidden well if not accessed through the town. She estimated Aiolos had half his army with him taking over the whole area. Leila imprinted a map of the tent city in her brain as they passed by many tents on their way to the center. The ornate much larger tent they were approaching made it obvious Aiolos was there personally to greet her. Slowly they walked through the tents and the people sitting outside each. As the neared the center tent, they passed the priests who began chanting in their holy language.
As the group drew near the main tent, Leila hopped down from her horse before anyone could move to help her. Before she could enter the tent, she was stopped and several more ropes were tired around her arms and legs. Leila laughed to herself as six men were ordered to not let go of her. Leila had seen so many easy opportunities to come and go in the camp as she pleased. Six men would not be a problem if she chose. With the help of the priests who offered on her way in, Phillip would easily be safe. No matter what they did, Leila was leaving as soon as she was alone with Phillip.
“So Phillip must be inside,” Leila guessed waiting outside the tent, and Mitchell did not respond. From the look in his eyes, she had guessed correctly.
“I was wondering,” Leila said to Argo, waiting for everyone to be sure she was secured. “Will you end up like Seth if you fail also?”
“Marx won’t be coming to save you this time,” Argo replied. Leila’s expression did not change. Word spread quickly through the courier community, and Marx would know soon enough. She just hoped she wouldn’t need his help this time. There was unquestionably bad blood between Marx and Argo.
“I wasn’t expecting him to,” Leila responded confidently. Quickly, Argo began barking orders to the men standing around the tent. Everyone ran away swiftly, trying their best to secure the area. Even with their increased efforts, they would not be able to keep her locked away. Mitchell pulled on the rope around her arms, and she followed him into the tent in front of her. Leila stopped just past the front door as a lady approached her and removed her shoes. The floors and the walls were lined with expensive fabrics.
Though Leila found the palace in Lexia ornate, it was nothing compared to the lavishly decorated tent she was in. Continuing further inside, she observed, to her disgust, several half-dressed women lounging on beds they were chained to. Aiolos’ love of power over women was evident. Mitchell continued to pull her forward as two men opened the second set of curtains in front of her. Leila quickly scanned the room for she was looking. Towards the middle of the room seated on a couch facing away from her was Phillip.
“Phillip,” Leila said, and the boy turned around.
“Mom,” Phillip responded, trying to stand, but the two men next to him held him down. “You shouldn’t have come here. This was a trap to get you,” he added. Leila nodded her head.
“She already knew that,” a voice said from behind another curtain. Leila did not need to see his face to know who was speaking.
“It’s been a while,” Aiolos said, confidently moving the curtain as she was dragged to the center of the room. The men holding her backed away but continued to hold onto their ropes. Leila did not acknowledge the man speaking to her but stared at Phillip. He was covered in blood, and she could not tell if he had been hurt.
Aiolos walked over to Phillip and pulled the boy with him.
“I can’t believe you actually care about this kid,” Aiolos continued. “He isn’t even your own child, and yet you came running without any back up.”
“Phillip is my son,” Leila replied staring at Aiolos. Aiolos could see the fire behind her eyes and smiled.
“Are you okay?” her tone changed as she looked to Phillip. He nodded his head meekly.
“Nalick was a foolish man to let you out of his palace alone,” Aiolos commented. “But he did teach the rest of us how best to catch you. Just kidnap and hold someone dear to you and you come running. I didn’t know if this brat would be enough, but it looks like I finally won the prize.”
Leila laughed, upsetting Aiolos. “What is so funny?” he demanded.
“You think I am actually staying with Nalick because he took someone close to me? Come on now, think a little. My friend left the palace the day after I entered. What is the longest stay I have had in your palace? Either Nalick has some sort of super jail cell, or I am staying on my own free will,” she replied. Aiolos raised his eyebrows. It had not occurred to him that she was staying on her own free will.
“He might have taken my friend by mistake, but she has been home now for months. I can come and go as I please in Lior. Nalick would not be foolish enough to try to keep me there by force, but it seems you are.” Phillip was surprised by how easily Leila made fun of the man that was holding her captive.
Aiolos pushed Philip onto the nearest couch and approached Leila. He walked around her and viewed her from every angle.
“Seems that you clean up pretty well. Being queen suits you. Too bad about this,” he pointed to her arm. “Such a worthless custom.”
“And shaving a woman’s head before marriage isn’t?” she replied, mentioning the one custom that other countries made fun of Enea for. Leila could see she was upsetting Aiolos, and she smiled. He moved closer and grabbed her as her smile quickly faded. He was near enough she could feel his breath on her face. He would be much harder to fight off when she was chained as such.
“Still a lot of spirit left in you, I see,” Aiolos said, moving his hand to touch her. In response she kneed his groin before her guards could tighten the ropes. Aiolos tried to conceal his pain as he back away from her and sat down next to Phillip. Mitchell barked at the men to hold onto to her tighter
“Where I come from, men don’t go around touching women without their permission,” Leila replied with a smile. “And they certainly don’t make advances towards a soon-to-be-married woman.” She could not help but rub in the fact that she had chosen to marry Nalick.
“Why would you want to marry a coward?” Aiolos asked, composing himself.
“My dad’s not a coward,” Phillip yelled, getting angry. He had been sitting with Aiolos for several hours and all Aiolos did was try to tell Phillip what a bad person Nalick was.
A
“Phillip, be quiet,” Leila scolded, and Phillip shut his mouth.
“No, no. I want to hear more. Why isn’t Nalick a coward?” Aiolos asked, but Phillip did not reply. “See, the child probably does not know about how you ran away when Jahangir’s army was approaching Dria.”
Leila tilted her head as though she did not understand. “I don’t recall running away from anyone. The last time we were in Dria, we were visiting Nalick’s father, and I thought it was be great to take Nalick to visit my home and meet my parents also at the same time,” Leila said. Aiolos’ eyes grew large. He was unsure if he could trust she was telling him the truth, but he was still surprised that she would even suggest it. The one secret every courier kept was where their family lived. Leila stared at the man challenging him to doubt what she said.
“You would never take him home to your family,” Aiolos finally said.
“Why not? I am marrying him in a few weeks. He would have to meet them sometime,” Leila replied honestly. Aiolos stared at her. The rumors he heard were true. She was going to willingly marry his rival King Nalick. Leila could see, as he comprehended the truth, his anger began to boil. She quickly looked at Phillip and began to worry. She should not have upset him so badly with Phillip around. Aiolos stood and walked to her. As he neared, she felt the ropes tighten that were holding her.
“Too bad the wedding will have to be cancelled,” Aiolos moved near her and began to touch her face. It may have been a loving gesture for Aiolos, but it made her skin crawl. “It seems I have made other arrangements for you.” Leila replied by spitting in his face.
“I would not marry you if you were the last person left alive,” Leila said, her anger matching his.
Rather than the upset reaction she expected, Aiolos began to laugh. “You will do what I say. And you know why? Because if you don’t, I will hurt this kid that means so much to you. I won’t kill him, but instead I will hand him over to the interrogation squad and let them find ways to make you do what I want.” Quickly two guards grabbed Phillip.
“Let’s see,” Aiolos said picking up a knife from a nearby table.
“Which hand is it that is so important to a Lior prince?” Each guard flattened his hands on the table and Phillip stared at his own hands. Aiolos looked at Leila.
“Your left would mean his right.” Aiolos walked over to Phillip, and Leila began to struggle with the ropes holding her.
“Don’t you dare hurt him,” Leila yelled at Aiolos. Aiolos smiled to be able to upset her. Leila glared at him.
“You don’t think I would actually worry about you or the code you follow,” Aiolos replied.
“I wouldn’t just worry about me,” Leila said pulling against her ropes. “It is not just me that lives by that code but every courier out there. I think any one of them would be will to repay you for hurting an innocent person.”
“Well, I will have to wait and see,” Aiolos replied taking the knife and stabbed it into Phillip’s right hand. Leila struggled to get free but there were too many people holding onto her. Phillip did not make a sound as the blade pierced his hand and then was removed. Leila could see the tears forming in his eyes, but he did not say a word, just stared at Leila. She had told him to be quiet, and he was following her orders.
“Take them both away,” Aiolos said with a fling of his hands. “That was just a practice. Next time he might lose a finger or two. That should give you something to think about next time you feel like disrespecting me.”
The men pulled her out of the tent before she could respond and threw her into a tent cage with Phillip. Leila was happy to see they were thrown in the same tent together. Once they were sure she was secure and could not escape, the men finally let go of their ropes. Phillip hurried to untie his mother but soon saw he would not be needed. Leila picked up his bleeding hand. Quickly she ripped the bottom of her dress and wrapped it around his hand.
“Mom, you shouldn’t have come. They were just using me to get you,” Phillip complained.
Leila hugged the child. “Who knows what they might have done to you if I didn’t come. I am just happy to find you in one piece. I’m so sorry about your hand. I promise I will have Roger look at it once we get home.”
“I will have you out of here before morning hopefully even by this afternoon,” Leila said confidently. Phillip continued to stare at her. “Remember all the stories you have heard about the ghost courier? Well, you will get to add one more story, but make sure not to tell the details.”
“We will really be out of here by morning?” Phillip asked, doubting that anyone could escape from the middle of a camp full of warriors so easily.
“I wouldn’t want to worry your dad, so we better leave by morning at the latest,” she explained. Phillip did not have the chance to ask her how they were going to leave as they were interrupted by two priests entering the room. Both men were thin but young. Leila smiled and greeted the two men in a language Phillip had never heard before.
“We want to get you out of here as soon as possible,” the younger priest told Leila. “Tomorrow they plan to pack up and head back to Enea.”
“I’m not leaving until my son is safe getting out of here first,” she replied, and they nodded. One of the priests studied Phillip intently as they continued to talk.
“Is there someone to meet you?” the priest asked.
“Yes, there is a young man that should be directly outside the east gate.” Leila removed the ring around her neck. “He doesn’t know how I get out of situations like this. You won’t be trusted. Give him this when you go to tell him your plan, and he will believe you.” The priest accepted the ring and nodded, exchanging it for a jar in his hand.
“We will return after sun down to get your son free. Will you need us to get you out of here, also?” the other priest asked.
“No. There are holes all over the camp. It should be easy to get out on my own,” Leila replied as they stood and left. Leila returned to Phillip and unwound the bandage on his hand. She quickly put the sticky yellow substance from the container the priests gave her on his hand and rewrapped it.
“So are they part of the story I leave out?” Phillip asked. Leila nodded.
It was hours past sundown by the time the priests returned. Quietly two men entered: a small and a large heavy set man. Leila thought the faces looked familiar from before, and once he was close enough, she could see it was the same man.
“We need to take the child now,” the taller one said. Leila gently shook Phillip, and he opened his eyes and stared at the large man.
“It should take us fifteen minutes to have him outside the gate and another ten to reach your friend.” Leila nodded. The larger priests turned so his back was towards the entrance to tent. He pulled his arms within his brown robe and struggled a bit. With a quiet thud something fell to the ground and the second priest quickly moved it to the bed next to Leila. Leila could see it was a young child about the age of Phillip.
“What’s wrong with him?” Phillip asked.
“The guards beat him until he was almost dead,” the priest explained to Leila in their language. “The child is from the neighboring village and heard Queen Eia was captive here. He wanted to free his queen and came here looking for you. We could not save him as the guards got to him first. His last dying wish was to help save his queen.”
Leila stopped Phillip from touching the child.
“He is dead,” she told him, and Phillip stared at the boy that was his age.
“The guards killed him as they will do with you if we don’t get you out of here.” Phillip looked at his mom. The kind, gentle eyes she normally had were gone and they were replaced by eyes that were steady and focused. “Climb under the priests robes and climb up on him. He will get you situated and once he starts to move, don’t let go until you hear Anatolio’s voice. They are going to bring you to him.” Phillip nodded and quickly went under the robe. Soon the prie
“I know you said you don’t need help, but it should give you more time,” the man said, and he turned and followed the first priest. None of the kings ever expected that their own holy men were the ones to help Leila out of their jails.
Leila tucked the dead child under the covers and turned his face away from the front of the tent. She was sad to see such a small child get hurt trying to save her. She looked at the dark head of hair and could picture the same happening to any of her three kids. He’s just a child, she thought. Leila felt bad that her three kids were now being dragged into the game of catching her. She had not meant to place them in danger, but now she could see that they were. The changing guards looked in on her, and she pretend to be going to bed. Leila waited to be sure Phillip was safe and easily left her makeshift jail, proceeding to the east gate. Scanning the woods while moving, she followed the nearest trail. She quietly crept into the woods to view the people she could hear talking. Anatolio was checking the wound in Phillip’s hand with Nalick watching over and talking to the priests quickly.
Anatolio noticed Leila first as she quietly approached the group.
“That didn’t take too long,” Anatolio said, and everyone turned the direction he was talking. Nalick ran over to her and picked her up as he hugged her. His grasp was tight like he had lost her for years.
“Please don’t ever run off chasing people like that again. I was so worried. I don’t know what I would do if you got hurt again,” Nalick said so only she could hear. He refused to let go of her.
“Are you okay?” Nalick asked finally releasing his grip a little.