Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91636 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 458(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
They both laughed.
Aliss spoke low. “Perhaps here among the safety of those who care for us we could begin to find out about our past.”
“Mother warned us to be careful,” Fiona reminded. “She was adamant about us trusting no one.”
Aliss looked up at the blue sky dotted with white clouds. “Do you ever wonder who we really are, Fiona?”
Fiona followed her sister’s glance, her eye catching a cloud in the shape of a large woman. “That I do. I wonder about the woman who would give her twin daughters away, and if she did it to protect us or because she did not want us.”
“I wonder if she gave us names.”
Fiona took her sister’s hand. “Is that what has upset you?”
“It has been a haunting thought since we have begun this charade. We switch names that truly are not our given ones. The question then is, who are we?”
“There will come a day we will find out.”
“Mother waited too long to tell us,” Aliss said. “She barely had a breath left in her when she confessed that she was not our mother and that we were to be very careful and let no one know. She feared for us but could speak no more.”
“Her last whisper was of her love for us,” Fiona said, a tear catching in the corner of her eye.
“I will never doubt our mother’s love. She showered us with it and I will be forever grateful that we were left with such a generous and loving woman to care for us.” Tears clouded Aliss’s vision and she wiped them away with her finger.
“It is this ruse of ours that has brought this all to light.”
“Perhaps it is time that we discover our true identities,” Aliss said. “We have spoken of it in whispers and secrets and now may be the time for us to begin our search.”
“Let us settle this with Tarr first, and then we can pursue our past in earnest.”
The sisters squeezed hands and kept them locked firmly as they always had done as a sign of reassurance. Together they would survive and they would let no one come between them.
It was late, the keep settled for the night, when Aliss was summoned to Raynor’s room. He complained of severe pain in his head, and she hurried along the stairs having hastily dressed.
Suddenly a hand covered her mouth, cutting off any chance to scream. She was yanked into the dark shadows and pressed against a muscled body.
“It is me, I will not hurt you,” Raynor whispered in her ear.
His words did not alleviate her fear; she remained tense.
“I leave now. Do you and Fiona wish to come with me?” He dropped his hand away from her mouth.
“No, we have not finished our work here, though I wish you Godspeed.”
“You are sure?”
“Aye, Fiona and I have talked and it is not time for us to leave.”
“I am sorry to hear that,” he said.
A rag was shoved in her mouth and a sack draped over her head before she realized what had happened. Her arms were secured behind her back and she was hoisted up and flung over, she assumed, Raynor’s shoulder. She heard mumbling, which led her to believe there was someone with Raynor, and with a shuffle of footsteps and a sudden burst of fresh air she knew they had left the keep.
Careful steps, quick stops, more mumbling, and cold air seeping through her light garments was what followed for what seemed like hours. Crunches of leaves and twigs went on from there, and she assumed they were traveling into the forest near to the keep.
She was not certain what this all was about; she was however certain Raynor would not harm her. He felt indebted to her, which would not allow him to see her hurt in any way.
Why Raynor saw fit to abduct her, she could not imagine, and when she had a chance to speak with him she was certain he would explain. That did little, however, to alleviate her concern regarding her sister.
Once Fiona discovered her gone, all hell would break loose. She would follow to the ends of the earth in search of her and then . . .
She cringed thinking of the punishment Fiona would serve on the person responsible for her abduction.
The man carrying her stopped abruptly and slipped her off his shoulder. He carefully removed the sack and the gag.
She stared at Raynor and waited in silence for an explanation.
“You will not be harmed,” he said.
“I never feared I would be.”
“I am pleased to know that you trust me.”
“I said nothing of trust. I know you feel obligated to me for taking care of you and therefore would see no harm done to me.”
Raynor nodded.
She waited again for an explanation.
“You will understand in time why I took you.”