Five
Years Later
To wrap the last few years in a kind of nutshell, Ashlyn took an indefinite leave of absence from the Musketeers to help Flora actively search for Anastasia who was still missing. Benedict willingly gave her leave with his blessing.
“I really hope you find her,” was all he said.
Apparently, he wanted her found as much as she and Flora did.
Ashlyn returned to Shadow Earth with her aunt and spent the time
following whatever leads she could. In
her off time she spent it outdoors, brushing up on her survival skills—like
mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, river rafting, first aid and
CPR—outdoors stuff. She met a
handsome young man by the name of David Hawking who happened to share he same
interests and they became fast friends, spending lots of time together.
Of course she couldn’t simply tell him who she really was, so she went
by the alias of Ashley Corey—the same last name her father would use.
Of course at some point, Ashlyn had to return to Amber to see if she
could gather any more news about Anastasia.
Upon returning to the Castle, Ashlyn went straight to her room to go and
change. While t-shirts and jeans
were comfortable wear, it wasn’t appropriate for around the Castle.
She got into her favorite outfit and pulled on her boots.
She strapped her sword to her hip and went to give herself a last
once-over in the mirror when she spied movement behind her in the corner.
Ashlyn slowly drew her sword and held her breath as she watched the
reflection of a curious-looking white orb about the size of her fist slowly roll
its way up the wall.
Slowly, she turned around and saw it continuing its ascent.
As soon as it got to her eye level it stopped.
Ashlyn tensed. It let loose
with a curious kind of lightning and Ashlyn dove out of the way.
The lightning continued onward and had struck the center of her bed and
ignited the quilt.
The orb had come out of the corner and seemed to be chasing Ashlyn around
the room trying to strike her with its lightning.
As Ashlyn tried to make a run for the door it blocked her path.
She thought of the balcony but thought better of jumping down three
stories.
The room was quickly filling with smoke and Ashlyn was hoping to use it
as some cover to slip past the intruder and get to the door.
As she began to crawl for it she could feel a strange tingling sensation
in her legs and then they suddenly lost feeling from the knees down.
She had found the door and was trying the handle and to her horror she
found that it wasn’t moving.
“Someone help!” Ashlyn pounded and felt her heart leap as someone was
pounding the other side, but it wasn’t enough.
As she clung desperately to the doorknob, hoping that her weight would
make it turn she felt something smack the back of her neck.
At first there was feeling of pins and needles all over her body, then
she began to lose the feeling in her hands, for she couldn’t feel the knob
under her touch any longer. As her
whole body went numb her world went black.
Ashlyn’s dreams seemed to teeter on the very edge of blackness.
She found herself in the middle of a raging blizzard with the wrong
clothing on; the elements were harsh and the black forest was unfamiliar to her.
Over the howl of the wind she could swear that she could hear a pack of
wolves calling. She pressed onward,
not knowing where she was going.
She found herself slowly returning to consciousness, silently rejoicing
in the fact that she was still alive and not in the icy hell that she was just
dreaming about. She slowly came to
in surroundings that were very unfamiliar.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked about.
She found herself in the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in.
The blankets were luxuriously warm and the silk sheets gave her the
impression of opulence about her. She
thought she could almost enjoy it if it weren’t for the fact that she had been
brought here against her will.
Ashlyn slowly sat up, taking note of her physical condition.
Everything seemed to be all right and she had regained the feeling in her
legs and hands. Looking around, she
found herself in a small room surrounded by very rich furnishings.
The bed was of the antique oak four-posted variety, high up off the
floor. There was a cushy easy chair
and table with some food on it by a fireplace that had a cheerful blaze in it,
keeping the room cozy. It was clear
that there was no one else present in the room with her.
Ashlyn gave the room another careful once-over to find that her clothes
and weapons were nowhere in sight. She
found that she was wearing a simple silk nightshirt.
There was a closet to her left next to the door.
As she swung her bare feet out of bed, her toes came in contact with the
Yeti skin rug. She couldn’t help
but feel a wave of misgiving and her knees threatened to buckle for a moment as
she put her weight down and headed for the closet.
No, her clothes weren’t there, but there was a set of warm things to
wear, nonetheless, and it just so happened that the clothes were just her size.
She then realized that she was feeling a bit cold standing there, so she
pulled it all on, right along with a pair of wool-lined boots that fit
perfectly. That felt much better.
Next she turned her attention to the tray of food that was placed on the
table by the window. Taking a moment
to look out of it she found that she was in a tower of some kind of castle.
The weather outside was extremely harsh—nothing but snow everywhere she
looked except for a tree line way out on the horizon.
If she were to try escaping there would be nowhere to hide until she
reached the forest.
The food didn’t appear to be tampered with and her stomach was growling
for it, so she sat down and ate all that was on the tray.
Once she had refueled she turned her attention to the door.
Of course it had to be locked and there was no keyhole to fiddle with.
It was now that she allowed herself to wonder just who the heck it was
keeping her here. Whoever it was
must want something pretty badly to go to such great lengths to make her
comfortable.
Who could it be? And even if she could get away, where would she go?
Her Trumps were missing, she had no sword and she didn’t know whom she
was dealing with.
She went back over to the tray and picked up the fork.
She sighed heavily as she gripped it tight and held it close to her.
It was better than nothing. She
supposed she could hide so she could surprise her captor, but that didn’t seem
to make much sense.
The door handle began to rattle a little.
Ashlyn backed up and readied herself against the opposite wall, tensing
up for the spring. The door swung
wide open and Ashlyn completely checked her actions at the sight of who entered.
She dropped the fork and straightened up slowly, not quite letting her
guard down.
There before her stood a handsome young man dressed in black and looking
like he was headed to Amber Court. His
green eyes were a shocking contrast to his black hair.
Ashlyn was barely able to keep her composure, shocked as she was.
“Hello, Ashley,” he said quietly as he closed the door behind him.
Ashlyn wasn’t quite sure how to react.
“Don’t be afraid,” he held up his hand.
Ashlyn backed up a step and held her hand up as well, giving him a look
of betrayal and major hurt.
“It’s not what you think, Ashley, believe me—” he began.
The look in her eyes sent a stab of pain to his heart.
“I don’t want to hear it, David Hawkins—if that’s what you’re
still going by,” she said in that “I’m terribly disappointed in you”
tone.
“No. My real name is Dahok,
my mother is Queen Mirelle, my father was once Eric of Amber and you’re in
Icewind Dale,” he bowed low. “And I’m sure that you’re not Ashley Corey,
either.”
“It’s Ashlyn,” she said softly.
Her head began to whirl with all the questions she wanted to ask.
“Ashlyn,” he said aloud. “Much
prettier than plain Ashley.” He stepped behind her and she could feel him
brushing her hair aside to reveal her neck where the orb’s lightning had
struck her earlier.
“There doesn’t appear to be much of a mark.
I was hoping that you wouldn’t be hurt,” he said softly and seemed to
gently run his hand over the spot. Ashlyn
seemed to want to melt at his touch but she suddenly remembered where she was
and jerked away from his touch. He
also seemed to remember himself and the moment was lost to awkwardness.
“Unbelievable!” Ashlyn snapped herself out of it.
“What the hell am I doing here?”
“This was all my mother’s idea. I
wanted nothing to do with it. She
thinks that you know all about Amber’s defenses.”
“But I don’t,” Ashlyn backed up another step in slight alarm.
“I tried to tell her that, but she is a rather stubborn woman,” Dahok
had lowered his arm, watching her to see what she would do.
“And just who did you suggest besides me?” she was beginning to get
riled.
“Look. My mother learned
from Llewella—”
“You’re in with Llewella?” Ashlyn took up a defensive position.
Dahok only stood still facing her.
“No, I’m not. Just listen
to me before you start jumping to conclusions.
Mother learned from Llewella about all you second generation people.
She learned that you tend to hang out on Shadow Earth a lot and sent me
along to keep an eye on you. I
didn’t know why at the time—honest. And
I was going along with her—at first. But
when I learned what she was really up to, I didn’t want to have anything to do
with it,” he began to explain.
“Yet I am here,” Ashlyn crossed her arms.
“Yes, but that was completely mother’s doing once she tracked you
down. She’s joining forces with
Llewella and Osric to take over and destroy Amber—mostly for some serious
revenge. She wants to see if you
know anything at all about Amber’s defenses,” he remained where he was.
“And you fit into this, how?” she didn’t seem all that impressed.
“I’m here to help get you out of Icewind Dale altogether and out of
my mother’s reach,” he replied. Ashlyn
gave him a long, hard look. From
what she could tell, he seemed to be telling her the truth.
“Ashlyn, I want to help you and I want to get you out of here, but you
must trust me!” he held his hand out to her.
Wordlessly, she slowly extended her hand and placed her slightly
trembling fingertips over his. As
she did, she felt a wave of calm and relief wash over her and her emotions
threaten to take over. She didn’t
want to admit to herself until that very moment she realized that she had come
to care for David Hawkins/Dahok.
“Does this mean that you’ll get me out of torture?” she asked
almost timidly.
“I sincerely wish that I could, but if I got you out now, we wouldn’t
make it out of here and my mother would suspect me for sure.
Mother is not aware of where my loyalties are lying, and I mustn’t let
her think otherwise,” he held her hand with both of his now, stroking her
fingers. This time she didn’t jerk
away.
“But I can’t be of any help to your mother.
She’s nabbed the wrong Amberite,” Ashlyn said barely above a whisper.
“I have to go. As much as
I’d hate to leave you. She’ll be
here for you soon. Be strong and I
will be back for you. I’ll get you
out of here, I promise,” he gave her a quick embrace and went back out the
door again leaving her alone.
Ashlyn sank down into the easy chair and buried her face.
This is all
so crazy. In this whole nightmare I
have quite literally a knight in shining armor.
So help me if I’m wrong! Oh,
what am I thinking! I’m not
supposed to like him—at all! But
if it’s all a trap for me to divulge my secrets to him (what little I have)
it’s working.
She didn’t have long to wait for someone to return for her. She was a little surprised at herself for being a bit jumpy when she heard the door handle rattle. Two hulking guards came in first followed by a tall woman who was undoubtedly Mirelle. Four of her orbs were floating about her. She looked every bit the Ice Queen and her stare was enough for you to feel her icy stare right down to the core of your very being. Ashlyn didn’t think that there were very many things that could scare her, but this was definitely one of them. Before she could even retreat a single step both of the guards were holding her fast and she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Now that you’re awake, my dear, you’re going to answer a few questions for me. For every question you get wrong, I use one of these. Understood?” Mirelle made a motion and one of the orbs hovered dangerously close to Ashlyn’s face.
No matter how much she struggled, Ashlyn couldn’t get away from the little orb. She could feel her heart racing and her whole body stiffening up.
“Make it painless for yourself. Just tell me what I want to know about Amber’s defenses,” Mirelle said with a malicious laugh to see her struggle.
“I know nothing! You’ve got the wrong Amberite!” Ashlyn quit her struggling.
“That’s too bad,” Mirelle said quietly as Ashlyn felt pain shoot through her. As it subsided she found herself barely able to stand. It was at this point that she found herself bound to the sturdy oak posts of the bed and two of the orbs were circling about.
“You are a member of Benedict’s Rangers, are you not? You protect the King, do you not? Just what is it that you do?”
“There’s nothing to tell. I protected the king. What’s there to tell?” Ashlyn’s anger was beginning to surface. She was getting angry with herself for showing her fear.
“How many guard and where?” Mirelle demanded.
“I’m telling you I don’t know. If you want to know this kind of stuff then you should have kidnapped Benedict!” Ashlyn snapped at her.
“Tsk, tsk,” Mirelle looked disappointed for a moment and Ashlyn was feeling the pain again, this time worse. By the time it subsided she was feeling drained. It went on like that for a little over two hours. By the time it was all over, Mirelle still knew nothing and left even more frustrated than she was before and Ashlyn was let down barely conscious and feeling more exhausted than she had ever been in her entire life. She was too tired to cry. All she could do now was sleep it all off.
She didn’t know for how long she had been out but she came back to consciousness slowly. She could feel a gentle hand stroking her cheek and her name being called. She slowly opened her eyes to see Dahok anxiously peering down at her.
“Ashlyn! Wake up! I’m here just like I promised,” he said.
“Dahok. How long have I been out?” Ashlyn asked drowsily and tried to sit up and found that she was doing that with effort. She was still feeling very tired.
“The rest of the day. I’d say about five hours, myself. It’s night now. We’ve got to move. Are you feeling alright?” he asked almost anxiously as he helped her up.
“I will be in a minute. If she ever does that again, I don’t think I could live through it!” she rubbed her temples.
“Here. Get into these. It’s pretty cold out there,” he set down some heavy coats, bibs and even fuzzier boots for the both of them. He also had her weapons and her Trumps. He even had some climbing gear.
“So just where are we headed?” she asked casually as she finished zipping up the bib and began on the boots.
“Out the window. We have to get to the forest,” he replied.
“Couldn’t we just Trump out?” Ashlyn asked as she placed the deck on her belt.
“No. It’s part of the shadow barrier my father had originally set up. Getting in is one thing, leaving Icewind Dale is another. Which brings me to another point. If I show you the way out you mustn’t show anyone else the way in, promise? You ready? Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” he asked.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Ashlyn said with a nod as she finished strapping her sword to her hip and quickly got into the climbing gear. Dahok secured the rope and without another word the two of them were out the window and rappelling down the tower wall. As soon as they had reached the ground they took off at a run for the forest.
Ashlyn was a little taken aback at how biting cold it was but she pressed forward determined to keep up with Dahok who was leading the way to the black forest known as the Icewind Veil.
As they entered the forest Ashlyn couldn’t help but feel an eerie familiarity about the place. It was almost as if she had seem this place before like it was out of some kind of dream...
Before she could even shake the feeling from her they were both suddenly surrounded by a dozen pair of yellow eyes and they were growling menacingly. As one pair stepped forward she could clearly see that they belonged to a serious bad-ass wolf. Her sword was instantly out as was Dahok’s and they stood back to back.
“Now what?” Ashlyn asked as the howling began to grow louder.
“Now we hack our way out!” Dahok sidestepped a furry missile and it sailed past with a terrible snarl. Dahok charged at another one slicing through it and stabbed at another but not before it clamped onto his arm. Ashlyn met another one charging her head on. At the last possible second she fell to one knee and thrust upward, running it through. She used its own momentum to finish throwing it behind her. As she did she lost her footing on the icy ground and her feet went flying out from underneath her and she felt her head come in sharp contact with a rock. There was a cry from Dahok and she lost consciousness once again.
This time when she came to she found herself safe and sound in Amber’s infirmary. She found Pandora and Vincent at her bedside looking anxiously at her.
“She’s awake!” Pandora smiled. “Welcome back! Where’ve you been?”
“How long have I been gone?”
“Only a few days. You’ve missed out on some fun,” Vincent said.
“Ashlyn the Accident-Prone strikes again,” Pandora joked. “That’s some bump to the head. The doctor says that you’re lucky your friend brought you in when he did. You don’t look so hot.”
“He still here?” Ashlyn asked.
“Yeah, he’s still hangin’ around. Who is he?” Vincent asked.
“A friend,” Ashlyn replied. “Have I missed anything?”
“Yes. You remember your cousin Marcus? He was murdered. It was discovered that Morgan did it, but some bodiless spirit possessed her at the time. She’s been cleared of the charges.”
“Marcus? I’m so sorry,” Ashlyn mumbled.
“Well now that you’re alright you need to come and join us for the infamous family meeting,” Vincent said. “We’ll see you there?”
“Certainly,” Ashlyn managed to raise herself up to a sitting position and Dahok came in as they both left.
“I’m glad to see that you are alright,” he said as he took her arm to help her to stand.
“I take it you have to leave again before you’re missed,” Ashlyn said softly as he walked her out.
“Yes. I’m sorry,” he said softly. Ashlyn found herself feeling rather sad at his having to leave.
“Will I ever see you again?”
“I really hope so. Take this,” he handed her a Trump of himself. “And take care.” Before she could say anything else he had suddenly left. She raised a hand to her face and was surprised to find that it was moist.
Quickly she wiped a shirtsleeve over her eyes and silently berated herself for crying. It was silly. She wasn’t falling in love, was she? It was the surrounding circumstances—had to be. Him being her knight in shining armor and saving her life. That had to be it. And he left before she could thank him for saving her life. Besides that, he was a member of the enemy camp. They couldn’t possibly make anything come of this. On top of that, if Eric was his father, that made him a cousin. No, it’s just best to put this whole thing out of sight, out of mind, so there. Once Ashlyn had composed herself she went to join the family meeting that was in progress.
Thankfully, it didn’t cover anything Ashlyn didn’t already know. It was announced that Llewella and Osric had joined forces with Mirelle, a powerful sorceress whose former husband was Eric. The one that was running around claiming to be Eric was only some seriously deluded Tyiga that firmly believed that he was Eric. It was believed that the bunch was planning to attack Amber. Ashlyn’s heart was in her throat more than once. The meeting had ended on a quiet note and Amber’s security was left in Benedict’s capable hands. Ashlyn deliberately hung around until everyone had gone so she could get King Martin and Benedict alone.
“Highness, I have matters that I must discuss with you,” she said quietly.
“What is this in regard to?”
“Mirelle,” she said quietly.
“And why wasn’t this brought up during the meeting?” Martin asked sternly.
“Because I didn’t want to alarm the family. In private, please?” Ashlyn indicated a nearby room.
“Alright. So what is so important that you couldn’t tell the rest of the family?” Martin asked once the door had been secured.
“I don’t even know if you were even aware that I was missing or not, but over the last few days I’ve been held prisoner at Mirelle’s castle,” Ashlyn began as she carefully set herself down in the nearest chair. She was still feeling the fatigue and the slight headache.
“Really? Then you must know where she is. This is great! We can strike first!” Martin said excitedly.
“Hate to burst your bubble there, but I was unconscious when they brought me in and I was unconscious when I was taken out,” she said. “Mirelle tried to grill me on Amber’s defenses but she couldn’t get anything out of me that would satisfy her.”
“Then how did you get out?”
“A friend. He saved my life. He told me of how she was teaming up with Llewella and Osric so she could get her revenge for Eric’s death. I’d steer clear of her if I were you. Her magic is no fun to mess with!”
“So who is your source and how do you know that you can trust him?”
“It would be best that he remained nameless, and I trust him with my very life—he saved it for crying out loud!” Ashlyn said with authority.
“Alright. But what if I need to get in touch with your source? We might need some serious information,” Martin tried.
“I’m not betraying his trust,” Ashlyn said with a kind of finality. “It’s all I have for the moment.”
“That’ll do, then,” Martin got up with Benedict in tow. “Thank you.”
Ashlyn felt a little better about it and was nowhere near ready to tell them about Dahok. As she was climbing the stairs she found herself thinking about Dahok again. No matter how hard she was trying, she wasn’t putting him out of her mind.
Once she had reached her room she planned on just sleeping the rest of it off but found herself staring at his Trump she had propped up on her nightstand. She found herself desperately wanting to see him again.
