We dipped our feet into the water and the cool current swept smoothly through my boots and stockings. No sooner than we had waded up to our knees, a man in a green coat burst through the brush, his eyes landing on Kian and me. A cold shiver rolled through me as the water suddenly turned me to ice.
“I found them!” the man shouted, racing toward the river bank. He ran all the way up to the edge of the water but stopped abruptly before jumping in after us.He probably can’t swim, either.
“Hurry!” I shouted to Kian. He pushed his feet off the shallow bank and sent us both into the center of the river. The current instantly pushed us along, and I felt a surge of fear run over me as I felt the terrifying sensation of having no ground beneath my feet. My arms locked tightly onto the branch, which, thankfully, was doing well at keeping both me and Kian afloat.
“You’re doing great, Nixie,” Kian whispered in my ear.
A shivering tingle rushed through me from his praise.This would be so much easier if he was ugly.
The man on the bank followed, trailing slightly slower than the current. For a moment, I believed we were actually going to make it. The river was faster than the rebels, and Kian was kicking his feet to give us better direction. Soon enough, we would be home free!
I looked over at the strangely attractive man who I had just barely crossed paths with. I barely knew his name, but I already held a grave appreciation for him. It was rare to see someone act selflessly. He could have easily turned me over to the rebels with the hope of a reward, or even flee on his own and leave me behind. Yet, here he was, helping me float away from my capturers.Why would he choose to do such a thing?
My joyous emotions were shattered as I noticed another figure standing further along the river bank. “Oh no, not them,” I breathed nervously as I noticed Todd and his father waiting for us up the river. Todd still only held my dagger, but that didn’t make me any less nervous.
“I’ll try to kick past them as fast as I can,” Kian said quickly, his words already growing breathy from his efforts to push us down the stream. “Keep your head low. They may be concealing their bows.”
I nodded, then pressed my head down, letting the water graze my chin as my arms remained clasped around the branch. As we neared where the Baggios were awaiting us, Kian dipped his face into the water, flattening his body so he could kick with all his strength. I watched nervously as he occasionally lifted his face to the side to catch gulps of air. Todd and his father leaned as closely over the edge of the riverbank as they could without actually falling in. My head remained low, but my eyes still caught the targeted glare of Todd. Surprisingly, his sights weren’t trained on me; they were trained on Kian.
In an instant, my eyes fell onto the glinting dagger that was gripped firmly in the boy’s hand. I opened my mouth to warn Kian, but cold water flowed straight into it, causing me to cough and sputter. Before I could clear my lungs, I watched in horror as the blade flew from Todd’s fingers and landed perfectly in the back of Kian’s shoulder.
Kian’s body lurched at the impact, causing him to release the limb that held us both. His head shot out of the water with a frenzied look of pain flashing over him. Red stained the water that surrounded him, and I actually felt tears well up in my eyes.
“No!” I shouted through another fitful cough.
Despite still having a dagger embedded in his shoulder, Kian still attempted to swim back toward me. His right arm failed to make successful strokes as he fought against the pain of his injury. Instead of moving along with the current, he was now sinking. I reached my arm out toward him, as if I could pull him back to the safety of the wood, but it was useless now that the current had pushed me so far away.
“We got the princess’s abductor!” Sir Baggio cheered. “Now hurry and rescue the princess!”
The men raced down the bank, looking for any point in which they could catch up to me, but I was moving too fast. Despite the commotion whirling around me, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the drowning man who had rescued me.
“Hold on Kian!” I shouted back at him. I loosened my hand on the limb, testing the water with my hand and legs.I’ve never swum before, but I can’t let this man simply die in front of me.
With a deep breath, I prepared to release my second arm, hoping that this breath of air wouldn’t be my last. But before I could put myself against the mercy of the current, a strangled breath emerged from the thrashing man. “Don’t let go!” Kian sputtered. “Don’t worry about me. Just get away!”
My grip tightened on the tree limb, debating if I wanted to obey his command or not. With a shaky breath, I latched my second arm back around the log, averting my eyes from Kian. “Don’t die, birdbrain!” I shouted against the sounds of the current.
I bit my lip, holding back the urge to cry over a man I had barely met. The current moved me around a bend in the river, and the frantic noises behind me died off.
It was beyond clear to me that I could never be a princess. What ruler would let a citizen drown to preserve her own life?
chapter eight
Once I had floated far past the danger of the rebels, a new panic began to sear through me.I’m all alone in the middle of a river, and I can’t swim.I simply submitted to the current’s pull and allowed it to carry me as far away as it pleased for a while. I was no match for the mighty beast, and I wasn’t too keen on being swallowed up by it if I disobeyed its wishes. Throughout the entire night, I simply let my body float through the dark, not risking even a moment of sleep. When the sun finally peaked over the horizon, I finally admitted to myself that the river clearly had no intentions of safely depositing me on the bank. My chest tightened with anxiety as I realized I would need to swim to the edge on my own.If only Kian was here…
A surge of guilt flooded over me as the image of his desperate thrashing flashed into my mind.I should have tried to save him...Even if I couldn’t swim, at least I wouldn’t feel so useless now.He got injured because of me; if he drowned...I shook the idea from my head. He was going to be alright, he just had to be. Right now, I needed to focus on getting out of this river. If I drowned, then his sacrifice would be in vain.
I began kicking my feet beneath the water, much like Kian had done before. It felt extraordinarily awkward and proved to be difficult with the water weighing down my boots. The cold water was sending shivers throughout me, so I was grateful that the exertion provided me with a touch of internal warmth. It took all my self-control to prevent the panic from surging within me. The endless void of water beneath my feet filled me with a growing terror. I continued to practice my kicks until I developed a rhythm and appeared to be propelling forward. A relieved smile crossed my face as I recognized my success, and I readjusted my kicks toward the river bank.
The current instantly protested my change in direction, and I nearly lost my rhythm. The rushing water strained against my pulsing legs as I forced myself to inch toward the edge. My legs burned from the heavy exertion, but I refused to let up. Each kick was a kick closer to seeing Mother. I aimed for the eastern side of the river so that once I was ashore, I could resume my travel home. However, the river bank wasn’t approaching quickly enough, and my limbs were beginning to tire out. I pressed harder, forcing my legs to pump with all their strength. My freedom was so close, but still so far out of reach.
I gave one final kick, then stopped, my arms and legs shaking with exhaustion. As much as I didn’t want to give up, I couldn’t risk my arms giving out on me. They were still wrapped tightly around the tree limb, which was the only thing keeping me from a watery grave. I clung to the branch as I gasped for air, allowing my labored lungs to catch back up with me. Once I had caught my breath, I felt my entire body grow weak and tired. My adrenaline had long since worn off, and I was dangerously close to crashing. For the briefest moment, I allowed my eyes to drift shut, resting my tired head atop the tree limb. A few times my mind threatened to shut down and sleep, but I shook myself awake each time. I only needed to rest for a moment…
My body relaxed as the current cradled my aching limbs. My legs floated gently upward as I nestled my head onto the wood. The only thing that kept me from truly falling asleep was the bitter cold that still sent sporadic shivers through me. Although, for a moment, those disappeared, too. My mind slipped into a state of peace as the rocking water gently lulled me. The river had nearly claimed me until a shrill voice broke through my calm.
“Oh my! There’s a dead girl in the river!”
My head instantly shot up and water splashed against my face, alerting me to the danger I was still in. I searched the river bank for the unfamiliar voice, and my gaze landed on a young woman. Her stunned expression shifted to sheer terror as she watched me spur to life. On closer inspection, I noticed that a large basket overfilled with clothes sat beside her on the bank, and I realized she must have been doing her laundry before she noticed me.