His Fair Lady by Kathleen Kirkwood

Author:Kathleen Kirkwood
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: romance historical medieval crusades knights, England, France
Publisher: ByDand Publishing
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Ana tossed on her pallet as a jumble of vibrant images swirled through her dreams. She caught glimpses of faces, vaguely familiar, and breath-stealing mountains and green valleys. There was also a looming structure — a dwelling — she could not quite make out, but she sensed ‘twas impressive and built of stone.

A young girl suddenly appeared, perhaps seven or eight years of age. ‘Twas the same girl who’d run through the corridors of Dover Castle. Her silvery hair spilled freely down her back as she stood at a table in a hall. She was not alone, but played at some game with a boy. He looked to be slightly older, perhaps ten. Each clutched a small, jointed knight, knocking and slamming the figures together as they fought a mock battle. The boy became thoroughly engrossed in their efforts, smashing his little warrior into the girl’s with increasing vigor, eager to win.

“Cur! Taste my steel. Take that, and that, and that!” He pounded on her knight with abandon. His fist, a blur of motion, accidentally jabbed his piece into the back of the girl’s hand, cutting her midway between the thumb and forefinger.

Screaming, the girl dropped the toy and gazed in horror at the blood dripping from her hand.

“My lady? My lady, are you all right? You cried out.”

Ana frowned. Luvena? What was she doing in her dream, in this place, wherever this was? Ana turned onto her other side, sinking deeper into another layer of sleep.

“There, that is better.”‘Twas the blond-haired woman again, the one with wide arching brows.

Ana couldn’t see her features clearly, but knew that the lady smiled as she finished wrapping the girl’s small hand and placed a light kiss to it. She then took up a beautiful comb — an ivory comb with intricate carvings on its spine. She began to sing comfortingly as she drew the comb through the young girl’s hair. Her voice was the sweetest Ana had ever heard, beautiful and crystal clear.

Again the images altered, but Ana continued to hear the woman singing sweetly. A lute now accompanied her fine voice and there seemed a familiarity about it all. To Ana’s dismay, she could no longer see the golden lady nor the instrument. Ana seemed to be at a short distance, perhaps in an adjoining room somewhere. Confusingly, she — or was it the child? — was sitting in water, naked and wet. Several people moved about her, servants she thought. They, too, listened to the delightful song.

Abruptly, the singing stopped. ‘Twas odd, Ana thought, for she felt certain the lady had not ended her song. Those around her went strangely still and silent, gaping toward the other room. Shouts sundered that brief quiet, then screams filled the air.

Ana gasped for breath, darkness enveloping her. Impossibly, she was now outside, beneath the stars, running, running, someone gripping her hand and dragging her along as they fled into the night.

Ana jerked awake and found Luvena leaning over her, patting her hand and cheek.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.