2-Lavinia

(If you missed episode 1, you can read it here)

2-Lavinia

Once upon a time, I might have been just like Lavinia. It was a very discomforting thought.  She sat across from me in the carriage simpering one moment and pouting the next.  Had my family’s fortunes been unchanged, I might have turned out to be a just as frothy a wallflower without thoughts enough to ground me.  I might have, but I doubted it. At the moment we looked alike, both wearing ornate brocade traveling clothes with our dark hair swept into braids for traveling ease.  This time she was dressed as the handmaid—this was the source of most of the pouting—and I had donned her more extravagant wardrobe. Lavinia vacillated between gushing over how fine I looked all dressed up (something which seemed to shock her) and moaning that we had to put on the act at all. Her father was Landan Cart, a wealthy landowner in the lush valleys beneath Tasielin and the Grey Rain Ridge.

The girl had been visiting cousins in Magadar and, since the roads are dangerous and Landan Cart had recently hung a prominent thief, he hired me to bring her back.  Given the girl’s wildly beating heart and youthful passions, I was a shrewd hiring move on her father’s part and an extreme disappointment for her.  Instead of a handsome bodyguard for her to fall in love with her father had chosen a dark haired spoil sport that looked just a few years older than herself. I can’t say I was much happier about it than she was when we met in Magadar.  She was flightier than I’d hoped, and I was not a dashing man, as she’d hoped.  Within a few minutes of our introduction we were both fully determined to have a wonderfully miserable journey back to her father’s estate near Tasielin.  I always try to set achievable goals.

We shared the coach with all the warmth of wildcats sharing an antelope. After two weeks of this felicitous company, we had only a few days left and it was arguably the most dangerous part of the journey.

“I don’t see why you made me wear this horrifically plain dress,” Lavinia shifted peevishly.

I smiled.  Lavinia had already threatened several times to give her father a truly odious review of my conduct.  “This way,” I responded, “if anyone tries to kidnap you, they will take me instead.”  It wasn’t my first choice, but in the event that we couldn’t escape, I hoped being better dressed would draw all the attention to me.

“I would hardly be so lucky as to have someone take you from me,” retorted my grateful charge.

I gritted my teeth.  We just had a couple more days before we reached Tasielin but being taken by vengeful thieves sounded like a pleasant change of pace.

Our spat was interrupted by a shout from the driver above—our carriage whipped sharply to the left tipping on one wheel and teetering for a half second before bouncing off a tree and tottering back.  The carriage horses whinnied in fright and chaos erupted outside our opulent haven.  The surrounding forest was filled with the unforgettable sound of men screaming bloody death.  Our footmen—we had 8, all armed for the long journey—were under attack.  

Copyright 2012: The Legend of Zare Caspian is an original story by Abigail Cossette for The Raven's Landing.  If you enjoy the story, please share and link back! Please don't copy it. Contact me if you would like to publish a portion of it in any way, shape or form.