To Stand Beside Her by B. Kristin McMichael
Leila nodded her head. “I estimated about forty people were on our ship and less on the other four that came with us. That is not big enough to protect this city. So what are Nalick’s options?” she asked, knowing that the boy had more information on their traveling companions than she did.
“Nalick traveled here with less than one hundred trained men and there is a small force permanently here in the city. From what I saw, Jahangir has at least three times the amount of people as us. We have enough to stay here in the palace and be protected until reinforcements arrive.”
Leila sat down in the sand to ponder her options. Jahangir was an evil man and would stop at nothing until he had Leila, even if it meant killing innocent people. In fact, he would target the innocent to get to her. The easiest solution was to run north. Once Leila got across the sea, she would be in her own territory. If only she could just leave so easily. Leila had made a deal and so far Nalick was holding up his end of it. If she left alone, she would not be able to just return like nothing had happened. Leila contemplated a third option.
How much do you trust him? she asked herself. If I take him with, my deal is still good, but can I trust him to know where I come from?
“So we have until about midday?” she asked as the sun began to rise in the east and the water began to twinkle as the sun bounced off the ripples in the water. Anatolio nodded his head.
Leila walked silently back into the room, but it was not necessary to be quiet. Theo and Macarius were sitting on the couches staring at their feet while a worried Nalick was pacing around the room. None of the men noticed as Leila and Anatolio entered the room.
How did they find out already? she wondered.
Anatolio coughed to get the three men’s attention, and Leila could see the mood change as the men realized she was standing there. Nalick’s concerned expression quickly changed to relief. Leila understood; they were not worried about the situation, but rather they thought she had had been taken.
“Not good news?” Nalick inquired after calming down at the sight of her. Leila shook her head, no, as Anatolio repeated his findings to the three men.
“How could we not be prepared for this?” Nalick asked, starting to get upset. “How do you march an army of three hundred people near the border and not have anyone notice?” Nalick began to pace the room again.
“But it is not a problem. We can stay right here and wait for reinforcements,” Macarius replied. His decision was easy; keep Nalick safe at all costs.
“No,” Leila replied interrupting the men. They all turned to her with shocked expressions. “I know what Jahangir will do, and no person in this city will be safe, even if we are. That is not an option I am willing to choose.” Theo smiled and shook his head in disappointment. She was right.
“Then do we try to get home?” Macarius asked, confused by her unwillingness to stay safe.
“First of all, I have never ran from a battle, and I am not about to start. Second, he could easily cut us off. There is not a safe route home,” Nalick explained.
“Are you finished?” she asked while standing up and going over to her belongings. At the bottom of the case that held her dresses for the trip was her courier travel bag. Leila never went anywhere without it. She brought it to the table between the men and sat down and opened it. The men watched her curiously.
“I have considered our options. First of all, I agree that taking the water route home is not safe.” Leila began unpacking her bag and neatly arranging the clothing she took out of the case. “Second, I refuse to sit here while the city is attacked. Jahangir will not be satisfied to sit and attack the palace. He will go after the people of the city and the women and children will become the victims to make it safe for me. I will not sit here and watch that. So I have made a decision. I will be going home for a short visit.” The three men looked at her in shock.
“But what about the deal?” Theo asked. She actually seemed to like Lexia, and to Theo’s own surprise, Leila was getting along with Nalick.
“I will not be traveling alone,” Leila replied, beginning to unlock the inner compartments. “You three will be coming with me.” The men all stared at her not knowing what to expect.
“We will send one of your father’s fastest ships with a decoy. Anatolio and one of my maids will dress in our clothing. Leave the rest of your army here to protect the city. Once Anatolio returns to Lexia, he will arrange the necessary force to escort us home safely.”
Leila unpacked her wigs and chose a dark colored one while putting the rest away as she continued to lay out her plan, “If Jahangir stops the boat, Anatolio will allow him to search the vessel. When he finds he has been tricked, he will leave. He is not a very bright man, but attacking an unarmed ship in another country is far too stupid even for him to do.” Leila pulled out a case of make-up and hair dyes.
Leila continued to open hidden compartments in her case. “Theo and Macarius, find clothing to travel in that will allow you guys to fit in with the local people around here. You will need two complete outfits a piece. Nothing ornate.” Anatolio, Theo, and Macarius all quickly left. Once everyone was gone, Leila turned to Nalick, “Please don’t make me regret doing this.”
“Are you really going to take us with you?” Nalick asked in disbelief. “This isn’t just a way to lose us?”
“You were worried about me when you didn’t find me here this morning,” Leila said changing the subject. “Why?”
“I thought something had happened to you,” Nalick said while getting up and turning away from her. “I know you said you would not be taken by that man that was here last night, but even you have been caught numerous times.”
Leila smiled, “Then this is an even better reason to take you back to my home. If I should ever go missing, you will know exactly where to find me. But just for future reference, you don’t need to worry until I am gone for several days. Contrary to popular belief, I can take care of myself.” Nalick returned and sat next to Leila as she opened the jars. Inside each was a rubbery peach colored make-up. Taking Nalick’s right arm she began to put a thin coating of the make-up over the lines on it. “It should be dry in a few minutes.” Leila then began covering the lines on her own arm.
Anatolio returned dressed in Nalick’s clothing with a very sleepy maid. Though he was not as broad across the chest as Nalick, Anatolio would easily pass as the king.
“We will be back in three days’ time. Can you get an adequate force here in that amount of time?” Anatolio nodded his head. Grabbing Elena’s arm, he escorted her out of the palace. Leila passed the waiting men and got ready herself. When she returned, the men finally understood how she could have just disappeared. Standing before them in a blue peasant blouse and ruffled red skirt with a short black wig, she did not look anything like herself. She was a citizen of Dria now.
“Nalick, can you cover this for me?” she asked, lowering the neck of her shirt to expose the king’s emblem on her shoulder. Nalick used the make-up paste and covered it. While she waited for it to dry, she explained to Theo and Nalick how they would leave.
Finally, she stood to make her last inspections. Leila tapped Nalick’s neck while inspecting the men. Nalick removed his shirt. Gently, Leila touched the large emblem that spanned his back. She knew how painful it had been for the small hand size crest on her own shoulder, so she could not imagine one as large as Nalick’s. Nalick sat with his shirt in his hands as he waited for the make-up to dry.
“Any questions?” Leila had to look away to not blush in front of the men.
“So how do we get out?” Macarius asked, suspicious that Leila was going to leave the group behind.
“Much easier, at least in my opinion,” she replied without giving any details. Leila looked over the men in front of her. Nalick had no reservations with her plan, but the other two men were a bit skeptical.
“She is not leaving us,” Nalick guaranteed the men, surprising them both with his response. “She is trying to protect the
“You guys are ready to leave. Do your best not to draw suspicion to yourselves, as the less people that follow you, the less we will have to get rid of over there.” Both men nodded. Nalick and Theo rose to leave.
Leila followed behind the two men as they neared the room door. Lightly she grabbed Nalick’s hand, and he slowed and turned. Pulling him closer, she talked quietly so that only he could hear, “Be careful. No matter how we try to disguise you, you will be a target.”
Nalick smiled at her concerned, “I have not survived this long just because I am king. I do know a thing or two about defending myself.” Lightly he touched her face. Leila’s heart fluttered a bit. “We will be waiting, but please don’t take too long. I might get worried.” Leila smiled as he left with Theo.
Leila turned to Macarius as she dug through her bag until she found two small gold rings. She put one on her smallest finger on her right hand and walked over and put the other on Macarius’ hand.
“We will be leaving by the beach.” Leila rose and Macarius followed as Leila led them through the palace and into the garden by the beach. Macarius could not understand where they could leave from, but he followed Leila as she walked down the beach near the stairway that led to Godfrith’s study. Leila neared the stairs but did not climb them. Instead, she walked to the front of the building next to the stairs. The water of the river was rippling against the building as waves came in. Carefully, she took one step. On the ledge just beneath the water she would be able to cross to the other side of the palace. Macarius cautiously followed her. After they made it back onto land, Leila led Macarius to the outside wall of the palace. She scaled the wall in only a minute.
“I thought you said this would be easier,” Macarius commented.
Though Leila appeared lithe and delicate, she was actually stronger than any person Macarius had ever met, man or woman. He had once heard that the ghost courier was an expert at everything: escaping, fighting, disguises, and languages. Now he was beginning to see that, what he had been told in the past was actually the truth.
Leila silently led Macarius through the streets. Every now and then she would instantly take a street and back track. Although Macarius was not trained in tracking, he noticed she was trying to lose someone. Quickly he tried to keep up with her. Before long all their jogging across the city led them to a boatyard. Leila counted as she walked down the pier.
“I hope you can swim,” she said. Leila approached a man sitting on a boat. In another language she spoke. Looking at Leila’s hand and then Macarius’ as they walked on to the boat, the man continued to nod.
Macarius followed Leila down the stairs of the boat to the under cabin. Leila quickly walked down the hallway to the last room and opened the door, where inside was the captain’s quarters. She walked over to the wall and opened the hidden safe door. Once the safe door opened, Macarius followed Leila down a staircase that led into the water. She carefully waded to the opening. Holding onto the rungs of the wall, Leila pulled herself alongside the ship like a ghost. Macarius followed as Leila moved to the boat next to them.
Using the rungs on the side of the next boat, Leila proceeded to pull herself down to the next three ships. Macarius noticed a blue flag with a lion on it flying at the top of the main sail. Leila pushed a side panel of the boat and a door slide open just big enough for them to slide in sideways. Once inside they climbed up a staircase to the inside of the hull of the ship. Leila hurried over to the door and locked it. On the wall she put a small bag and pulled a lever. The bag rose to the ceiling and disappeared. Leila began unpacking from her bag as the boat began moving.
“We need to change and then we can go up on top.” Leila explained, removing her top. Blushing Macarius quickly turned away and began to change also. Once he was done, he turned to face Leila but was yet again facing a woman he did not recognize.
“I’ll need this back,” Leila said, removing her ring and taking the ring back from Macarius. Leila led Macarius through the ship and walked onto the ship’s deck proceeding directly to the captain. He greeted her with a hug.
“It’s so good to see you missy,” the captain said. “How was your trip?”
“Same as normal,” Leila replied, walking over and sitting down behind the captain. Macarius warily followed and sat next to her.
“Picked up another one?” the captain asked nodding towards Macarius. Leila nodded. “Good sailing today. We should get in early.”
Leila watched as the pier behind her began to disappear. She was heading home. She closed her eyes and felt the cool wind whip through her fake hair.
“Will there be more?” Macarius asked worried.
“Probably,” Leila responded without opening her eyes. “I counted thirty-two trackers on our ride to the palace yesterday. We lost over a dozen but even more will be with Nalick.”
Men went about their work all around them as Leila and Macarius sat on the bench.
“How old is she now?” Leila asked the man that was closest after she finally opened her eyes.
“Fourteen,” he replied, “She still speaks of you every day. We will never be able to repay you.” The man bowed before Leila. “Thank you so much.” He dropped off a basket of food for her.
“What?” Leila asked Macarius as he sat studying her. “Here, eat. We may not get another meal before tonight.” Macarius took the food but continued to gaze at Leila.
“These men,” he began, “Seem to admire you.” Leila looked around for admiring men and found none.
“Oh,” Leila realized Macarius was talking about the men on the ship. “I travel a lot on this boat.” Leila kept eating and waved to a man that approached. “And do favors for them from time to time.” Leila stood and hugged the man. “Don’t tell me Henry is in trouble again,” she teased.
“Gosh, no,” the man replied. “Not after the last time!” Leila and the man laughed. “I just wanted to check with you. Henry heard a rumor when he was in Dria two days ago. Are you really,” he began, but Leila stopped him by covering his mouth. “Does this mean you are retiring from runs?”
“Let’s just say, for the time being, I am taking a break from assignments, but only assignments. If anyone needs my help, I will not hesitate,” Leila replied. “Besides, it’s not like you guys won’t know where to find me. Don’t worry about me. I chose to stay. No one is forcing me.” The man didn’t really seem to believe her.
“He is a good man. Really.” She patted the older man’s hand.
The man smiled at Leila, “You really do seem happy.” He hugged her again before leaving.
Leila returned to leaning against the rail with her eyes closed. Macarius watched her quietly and studied her. From her appearance, Leila was one of the most beautiful women he had ever met. Outwardly, she seemed like she would be this quiet, sweet girl, but he was there the first night she had been brought into the palace before Nalick. He knew better.
In the back of his mind, Macarius had always thought of Leila as a thief that was running as a courier to get money. To find that Leila had been doing just as many assignments without pay made him start to doubt the person he had always envisioned Leila to be. It wasn’t long before they were approaching the shore. Leila stood up as the captain approached.
“Tell your wife I said hi.” Leila walked to the side of the boat as it slowly pulled up to the dock. Three men jumped off and tied the boat up and two more men put a plank to connect the boat to the pier. Leila waved goodbye to the disappointed men as she walked down the pier to the dirt road leading to the city of Cath. Macarius followed Leila in silence, unsure how to even talk to her. She was not the person he pictured her to be.
“There are six people outside, and probably a few more inside,” Leila pointed to the building they neared. Quietly they approached a window of a tea shop. Leil
“That was so neat,” Theo said excitedly. “Can we do it again?”
“We need to be quick. There are six men outside that will be searching for you soon. You both need to change, and then we will head into town for supplies.” From her bag, Leila removed another wig lighter in color than her own hair but shorter. “Here,” she said to Nalick, placing it on his head and tucking his hair beneath it. Then she handed Theo a hat. Leila walked over to the wall across from the door and opened a secret half door. “This way,” she said to the men. “Follow the path, and it should end in a barn. I will be right behind.”
Cath was a port city that attracted people from many countries, and it was easy to mix into the assorted crowd of people. Leila was all business, heading right into her plan and to her layover station. She led the men into a barn next to a clothing shop. As Leila opened the door to the stall, she pushed the men in. Inside, to their surprise, were a bed and several chairs. Clothing was strewn all over the room and the bed was not made.
“I will be right back. Do not open the door for anyone. I am the only person who has the key for the room, so once I leave, lock the door behind me.” The three men nodded as they were now in her territory.
Leila left the room and the door locked behind her. She walked back to the main building, through the storage area and into the shop in the front. The stop was empty. Quietly she browsed the racks until the owner returned. “Melinda?” the woman asked. “I thought you were going to be gone much longer. Can you stay for a bit of tea?”
Leila smiled and hugged the woman. “I wish I could, but I am transporting people,” Leila replied, following the woman through another door.