Cursed by Bandits (Once Upon A Curse)

14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

T he sky was painted with streaks of pink and coral as I dragged the straw target across the castle green. Rogue walked beside me as I tromped through the dew-covered grass that glistened as if diamonds had been sprinkled throughout. Rogue and I made our way back across the sparkling field to where I left my bow and quiver full of arrows. When I was at the nunnery on mornings I couldn’t sleep, as rare as those were, I would train. So that’s what I was doing now, hoping it would help me clear my head.

The routine of putting on my gear was familiar to me, each step was comforting. Once everything was in place, I stood directly across from the target. Rogue curled up like a sticky bun and went back to sleep next to me as I closed my eyes, attempting to find the calm the nuns insisted was necessary to be a superb archer. Releasing my breath, I reached back over my shoulder and grabbed an arrow. I notched and drew the string back along my cheek, keeping my elbow out. Opening my eyes, I focused on the target in front of me and released the string, which slapped against my leather wrist-guard as the arrow whizzed by. The resounding thud of it landing in the target satisfied my spirits. I repeated the motion over and over again, falling into a quick hypnotic rhythm.

“That’s quite impressive,” Milo said.

Whipping around to face him, I pointed my bow and arrow at him. “It’s not wise to startle an armed woman. And you”—I turned towards Rogue—”make a terrible guard dog.” I lowered my arms so the arrow pointed towards the ground instead of Milo’s heart. “What in the world do you have there?”

He was carrying a bag that was filled with items that jutted out at all sorts of strange angles. I didn’t know what to make of it.

His smile was so wide and bright I would’ve sworn it scared away the last bit of pink sunrise. He pushed his glasses up his nose before reaching in the bag. “I made you something, or rather some things.”

It was like the bag had never-ending space as he pulled out quiver after quiver, all filled with arrows.

“There must be over a hundred fresh arrows. Did you spend all night doing this?” I looked on, amazed at the bounty. “That’s a lot of tedious work.”

“Tell me about it. But these were worth the work.” He bent down to grab a quiver. “I made arrows that did different things. Like this one can have a rope attached to it. It should be strong enough that you could swing from it if necessary.” He grabbed another one. “If you light this one, it will explode on impact. Oh, and that bow, you can shoot a grappling hook with that one.” One word raced out of his mouth after another as he described each of his inventions.

I watched as his dark curls flopped down over his forehead. My hand twitched as I fought the instinct to reach out and push the hair back. His excitement brought me back to when I was fifteen and the two of us would spend time at the beach. He would talk about science and his inventions. I would sit beside him, hanging on his every word as I doodled in the sand. Until, out of nowhere, I would have to move and I would run into the frigid water. Milo would chase after me, eventually carrying me out. That was before I was sent away, back when I thought . . . I shook the thought away. It was no use. Life had changed drastically, and whatever I believed before had no bearing on what my life was now. There were things I needed to accomplish, like helping my people survive and determining how to handle my uncle. Whatever was between us before didn’t matter. I didn’t have time for it.

“What do you think?”

I looked at him to see his eyebrows raised, his blue eyes eager for my opinion. I set my bow down behind me before looking at each of the things he had made. Each arrow was more impressive than the one before. I didn’t know why I needed them or how I would use them. But I wouldn’t deny they could be useful.

“It’s so thoughtful. I don’t know when I’m going to have a need for any of this, but it sure will be nice to have.” I gestured at the vast array of pointy weapons in front of me. “At least I’ll be prepared for anything. Thank you.”

Milo stood. He was so close I could feel his body heat and smell what I could only describe as Milo. It was the same mixture of wood, sawdust, and salt spray from before. As much as things had changed around here, it seemed some things very much stayed the same.

“I would do anything to keep you safe. Make anything for you.” He stood there, eyes searching mine for answers to questions I didn’t know. He lowered his head as I took a step back. My forgotten bow reminded me of its presence in that moment as my foot tangled with the string, sending my body to the ground. I braced for the impact.

Milo wrapped his arm around me and instead of crashing to the ground, I crashed into his chest. My eyes closed of their own volition. My heart beat so loud, I assumed everyone could hear it and there was nothing I could do to calm it. His arm tightened around me as my world turned upside down. Why would my heart do this to me? I felt so off balance, like I couldn’t stand on my own two feet. It had never been quite like this around him.

I opened my eyes seconds before we crashed into the tall, wet grass. Milo took the brunt of the impact as I landed sprawled on top of him. I tried to roll off him, but his arm tightened around me, holding me in place.

“Don’t, the grass is wet,” he said, implying that I should be concerned about the dew-covered green.

I cared much more about getting caught lying across his body than I cared about getting a little wet. I tried again to roll off him; he reluctantly released me. But our limbs tangled, his boots somehow stuck in my billowy pants, my toe caught the edge of his kilt, which he barely managed to catch before he was exposed .

I felt my cheeks heat at my errant thoughts. Scrambling, I detangled myself without further incident. Milo stood up before I could and offered his hand. I took it. The sharp tingling where our skin touched almost caused me to let go. He pulled me up, and I stood there staring at his chest.

“I have to go,” I muttered.

Milo pressed a kiss to my forehead before stepping back and allowing me to gather my things and scurry away.

I thought I heard him call after me, but I decided that it was the wind as I sprinted away. Rogue ran beside me, hopping on me every few feet as if we were playing the most fun game in the world.

Arriving at the keep, I jerked open the heavy wood door. I closed it after I crossed the threshold and took a deep breath in as my puppy sidekick sat in front of me, her eyes eagerly waiting for the next part of our game.

“No more, Rogue, I have to get ready to go into town,” I said while patting her head.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I walked sedately to my room. I climbed the stairs, then strolled down the hallway, taking my time the way I imagined a lady would. The steady rhythm of my pace became a game as I tried not to hurry; instead I carefully placed one foot in front of another as if the location of each strike against the floor was significant .

I rounded the corner and saw the door to my room up ahead. It was only then that I realized I didn’t have a single set of arrows that Milo had made for me. Crap, I was going to have to go back and get those, and do it quickly if I didn’t want to run into my uncle or the sheriff. The questions I would get from them if they saw me with my gear were something I wanted to avoid.

“Rowan, wait.” Milo held up a hand. “You forgot all your arrows.”

I walked to where he stood in the hall. “Thank you. I was just about to return to get them.” I turned to head back to the castle green.

Milo reached out and grabbed my hand before I could leave him standing in the hall alone. “I have them all for you right here.” He gestured to his back.

“Thank you,” I said and turned my back to him. “Are you coming?”

I heard, rather than saw, him hurrying after me. The sound of our feet hitting the stone floor echoed throughout the hall. It was so loud I expected Uncle Jonathan to stop us at any moment. So I tried to walk softer, which only made me more aware of Milo’s footsteps behind me.

“Here we are.” I pushed opened the door to my room.

“You’re in the same room as before.” He leaned forward to peek inside .

I shrugged. “Did you expect me to have a different room?”

“Actually, yes, you’re Lady of Lockersley now. And your father sent you away because he wanted you to take his place. Not your uncle. This room is a hovel compared to what you should be in.”

“I like my room, thank you very much.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “And it’s not like the current Laird of Lockersley is going to give up his position. Especially since there’s nothing in writing to prove what my father’s intentions were. Only what he told me when I left.”

The look on Milo’s face was comical. “What do you mean, there’s nothing in writing? He put it in his will. I saw it.”

“What do you mean, you saw it?” Each word left my mouth with precision.

“Before I left to further my studies, he showed me. It’s actually when he told me he was going to sponsor me, pay for my studies with the hope I would choose to come back here once I finished.” Milo shrugged before he pushed his way into my room and searched for a place to store my arrows.

“What do you mean, sponsor you?” Questions, one after another, flitted through my head so fast I could only verbalize the ones that felt the most pressing, even if they weren’t.

“You didn’t know? I thought you were the one that made it happen.”

He stashed the arrows behind my dressing screen. Was it just me, or was he making himself a little too comfortable in my room?

“I didn’t know anything about it. But my father knew of our . . . friendship.” I leaned up against a bedpost, watching him move. I had never understood how a professed scientist moved like an athlete. “I was very upset to be sent away for so long, especially because I wouldn’t be able to see you.”

As the words left my mouth, something in the air changed. The connection I thought we had all those years ago seemed to snap back in place. It was clear I wasn’t the only one that felt it. Milo’s movements became more deliberate. He walked towards me, his gaze so intense I felt my heart skip a beat.

He placed his hand on the bedpost I was leaning against. I couldn’t help but gaze up at him, into his blue eyes.

“You were upset to leave . . . me?” His voice was low, questioning.`

I licked my lips. “I mean . . . Friends . . . Missing years . . . That is. Yes.” I couldn’t form a coherent thought as they jumbled together in my brain. The most pervasive one was that I wanted to kiss his lips, as an experiment, to see if it was anything like all those years ago.

I pushed up on my tiptoes until I could brush my lips against his. It was the lightest of kisses. Neither one of us moved to embrace the other. But I felt the kiss all the way to my toes.

This did not bode well for avoiding romantic entanglements.