Chapter 13
The next day, Rick disappeared early for his private studies, so Orion met Joshua in the library. Oddly enough, Joshua didn’t already have a stack of books out to read. Instead, he was standing by the window, his back to Orion, and gazing out into the sunrise.
“Hey, Josh, what’s up? Mind if I join you?” Orion asked, approaching his brother.
“Good morning, Orion,” Josh yawned. “How about we take off to the city today?”
“You mean without Rick?” A sly smile crept on Orion’s face at the thought of sneaking out without his other brother.
“Yea,” Josh looked over at Orion. “You know, I’ve never been allowed outside the palace by myself, so I had always assumed that I had to go with Rick. But now that you’re here, we don’t have to wait for Rick,” his smile widened, “Let’s go!”
“All right!” Orion exclaimed as he turned to go. The two of them raced through the halls of the palace, and down to the stables. Saddling their horses, they took off for the city. Orion didn’t feel any different, but Joshua was giddy at the thought of being out without Rick.
“Let’s go over there, Orion,” Joshua pointed off to his left, “Or how about there?” He pointed in front of him, “Or there?” he said, pointing to the right. Orion thought he was behaving like a child who had the choice of cookies, candy, or ice cream for desert, and couldn’t decide.
“How about over here?” a girl’s voice rang out, making both brothers turn. Sandra stepped off the sidewalk and up to them. She was wearing a long, tan coat over a light purple shirt with string straps, black shorts, and thin, black boots. Orion had never seen her away from the flower shop before. As if reading his mind, she said, “I don’t have to work today.”
“Great,” Orion said, smiling down at her.
“So, are you going to stare at me, or are you going to come down off that horse and walk with me?”
“Oh, uh, right,” Orion kicked himself mentally for not thinking of that himself. He dismounted a little too quickly and slipped on the cobblestone street. She giggled as he got up, grinning sheepishly, and feeling his face get hot.
“You can tie your horse over here,” she gestured to a pole with another horse tied to it. Orion nodded and tied his horse up.
“I’ll meet you two back here, then?” Joshua asked, eager to be on his own.
“Sure, bro,” Orion answered. He wasn’t looking at his brother, but staring at Sandra. After Josh had trotted away, Sandra led Orion through the streets, and away from the main rush.
“How about a walk in the park, Prince?” she asked, batting her eyes, “Or may I call you by your name?
“Uh,” Orion just grinned while the rest of him stiffened at Sandra’s touch.
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” she giggled as she wrapped her arms around one of his and led him to the park. Orion wasn’t paying attention as to where they were going, but he realized that the buildings in the city had been replaced by trees, and the cobblestone streets had been replaced with a dirt pathway. Sandra sighed, shifting her arm from around Orion’s arm to his back, and finally settling around Orion’s waist. Orion held his breath. She sighed again, allowing the fingers from her other hand unwind from Orion’s arm and play across his chest, and follow the edge of his shirt down to his navel before letting her arm drop back to her side. Orion tensed so much that it hurt to walk. She sighed again, resting her head on his shoulder. Orion realized he was holding his breath and let it out in a ‘whoosh.’ Sandra giggled. Orion couldn’t look at her. He just stared straight ahead.
“Oh, look!” Sandra lifted her head and pointed towards some bramble at the edge of several trees, “Berries!” she exclaimed, pulling him off the path. Orion couldn’t see anything but green. In fact, there wasn’t anyone else around at all. He could only see the trees and grass, the light brown footpath, and a bit of blue sky through the leaves of the trees above. Bird songs were the only things he heard. The world smelled damp and refreshing, with a hint of freshly mowed grass still lingering in the air.
As they approached, Orion could see small, dark red spots among the weeds. Sandra picked some and held out her hand for Orion to try one. His mouth exploded with the flavor of the berry. Sandra giggled at Orion’s surprised expression, and picked some more.
“These are really good,” Orion said, reaching to pick his own, “what kind of berries are they?”
“They’re called ‘bramble berries,’ because they grow on thorny bushes. Careful not to prick your finger,” she said without looking up. Orion could easily see the large, black thorns growing out of the red stems of the bramble berry bushes. Sandra continued, “These berries are wild, and haven’t been pumped up with water like domestic berries are, that’s why they taste better.” Orion had gathered a handful and began popping them into his mouth one at a time. He gazed down at Sandra, on her knees, picking more. He thought he heard an odd click somewhere in the distance.
Pain exploded in Orion’s left shoulder and shot down his arm as he bent to pick some more berries. He shouted as he fell backwards, more from shock than pain. He heard Sandra scream and cover her head as someone leapt out of the brambles in front of them. Orion rolled out of the way of his attacker, who was dressed all in green to blend in with the area. Even his face was covered. He had a short sword in one hand, and a knife in the other.
He rushed at Orion, swinging the sword. Orion bent over, grabbed the dagger Rick had bought him, and blocked the sword’s wide arc just in time. The man in green thrust up with his knife and caught Orion in the leg. Orion grunted as the man in green twisted the knife before pulling it out. Blood gushed out of the wound on Orion’s leg, soaking his pants and the ground, as Orion fell to one knee. The attacker turned the sword around in his hand, preparing to stab his victim, but a shout from someone coming around the bend in the path halted him. He glared down at Orion before leaping back into the brambles and out of sight.
Sandra cried for help to the people entering the small clearing as Orion watched the man in green bound away. Breathing deeply, Orion managed to sit up on the blood-soaked grass, holding his leg where he had been stabbed. Sandra grabbed Orion around his neck and sobbed so hard he thought she might have a heart attack. He reached up to hug her, but the pain in his left shoulder prevented it. He gasped at the pain and held his shoulder instead. He felt a thin, straight stick poking out of his shirt and tried pulling it before he realized that it was the source of his pain. He gasped again.
“Oh, Orion!” Sandra cried, hugging him tighter, “I was so afraid! Are you okay? That guy... the guy in green, he-,” she cried harder, burying her face in his good shoulder.
“What happened?” a man asked as he jogged up to where Orion and Sandra were sitting, “Are you two okay?” He stopped short and gasped at the sight of the blood. A woman came right up beside the man, panting. Taking everything in, she quickly sprang into action, grabbing Orion’s dagger and using it to cut the hem of her long skirt. After the cut was started, she dropped the dagger and tore a strip off of her dress and tied it tightly around Orion’s leg, over the wound. Orion flinched as the cloth squeezed his sore leg. Having accomplished that, she turned to inspect Orion’s shoulder.
“It would be better if the arrow wasn’t removed until you got to the hospital, sir,” she said. Orion guessed that she didn’t realize that Orion was a prince. In fact, Orion hadn’t worn a crown or anything fancy on this trip like he did in the past. “Let me help you up.” Orion smiled at her, but winced as he tried putting weight on his sore leg. Before he had a chance to collapse, she grabbed his good arm, pulling him up and helping him balance on his uninjured leg.
“Thanks,” Orion muttered as Sandra took the woman’s place, helping to hold Orion up.
Without warning, the man grabbed Orion’s good wrist and twisted his arm behind his back with one hand as he brought Orion’s dagger up to his throat. Orion staggered, but the man kept
Orion on his feet. Orion gasped and Sandra screamed as the woman pulled the two apart.
“Now, you die, Prince Orion, like you should have done years ago,” the man sneered in a terrifyingly familiar voice, his face next to Orion’s ear. Orion’s mind was racing. He could smell a rancid stench coming from the man’s breath, and feel the scratchiness of the man’s unshaven face against his jaw. The dagger’s blade was cold against his bare throat. Without thinking, Orion grabbed the man’s wrist with his sore arm and threw his weight forward, bending over, and lifting the man off the ground and over his head. The dagger raked Orion’s flesh just below his collarbone, making him cry out. Trying to catch himself with his sore leg, Orion collapsed, landing on his good arm with a grunt. The man had been thrown on top of the woman, knocking her down with a shout. Orion, trying his best to ignore the scream of pain in his leg, scooped up his dagger, grabbed Sandra, and fled back the way they came.
He hadn’t paid attention where they were going when Sandra led him to the park, so he had no idea where he was headed. Eventually, the trees were replaced by buildings, and the bird’s songs were replaced by chatting people and hoof beats on the cobblestone streets. Orion, confident that they lost their attackers and weak from the fight, leaned against a stone wall and slid down until he was sitting there, trying to catch his breath. Sandra, too, was panting at their encounter. Fatigue began overtaking Orion and he struggled to stay awake, but the pain from his wounds overtook him and he blacked out.