The Talons of a Dark Heart Ch. 10

Novak crossed his brows, his jaw strong and eyes flashed with jealousy. "Enlighten me."

"You! She was thinking of you, you incredible arse." Gareth jumped up wanting to slap some sense into Novak. He exhaled, calming himself and stared at his friend, his brother, feeling a huge sadness for him.

"She loved me?" Novak sat stunned almost cynical.

"Yes, when you were a boy, she was in love with you. And now she still loves you, in spite of all you have done. She rescued you from the jaws of death. Novak, you have freed her. If you love her, tell her the truth or help her to leave." Gareth watched him closely, hoping that his eyes would see the light.

"I tried," Novak fought his control over his heart. "I wanted to send her away so that no one would know who she was. So that her father wouldn't find her and finish the job we did not complete. So that the remnants of her people would not know that she is alive."

"Ahhh," Delia buzzed entering the room. "It's good to see that you are up. Now let me check on your holes." Delia threw the blankets from Novak's body and poked her fingers about his body."

"Don't you think you should call a real healer," Novak scolded.

"Hush your mouth," Delia told him. "You are just fine. And you got your Talyis to take care of you." Novak slumped into his bedding, even Delia knew that Talyis had loved him all these years. "Gareth, come with me to get some fruits and things from the market for Talyis and 'is majesty. They need to both be very good about what they add to that pot in the gut."

Novak slumped into his padding, his mind reeled with the thoughts of Talyis being in love with him despite all that he had done. He felt incredibly weighted, he didn't deserve her forgiveness and the pit of his stomach wanted to twist him inside out. He desperately wanted her to give him a chance to love her as she deserved. He debated his chances with Talyis and concluded that she couldn't be capable of such unconditional love, she was Talyis of Onor the tormentor. But she had not tormented anyone or anything since he had captured her, only fought bravely for her own sake with her strongest weapon- her tongue.

***

When Gareth and Delia returned, the red-head began to cook and clean the berries they had bought in the village. The poor berries were so small because of the rainy season but they were a nice surprise. Gareth checked on Novak who was snoring and no longer mumbling about his horse as much as letting Talyis's name slip through his dewy lips. He was truly vulnerable to his heart's content in sleep, if only he would follow it during his waking hours.

Delia served dinner and then checked on Novak, wanting to pull Talyis out of bed to eat a proper meal. The rain was still falling, harder than it had during their quick errands. She was happy that Novak ordered the boards to be taken down while they went shopping. She was sure the sun would be good for Talyis and the baby. The rain was picking up and torrential downpours began to flood the gardens outside. She peeled Novak's covers back to wake Talyis but she was not there.

"Gareth," Delia cried as she ran through the castle hall. Gareth stumbled down the stairs, admonishing her in sharp whispers for yelling while Novak was resting. "Sorry, Luv," she whispered, "but have you seen Talyis?"

"No, have you looked around the chambers or the gardens?" Gareth asked her.

Delia boomed, forgetting to be mindful of silence, "It's pouring out there, no one in their right mind would go outside in this."

Delia ran up the stairs to Novak's chambers to search for Talyis. She was heedless of noise as she searched from room to room.

Novak stood on the side of his bed, clutching one of the bed posts. Delia came into the room making a racket.

"What are you doing out of bed!" she scolded Novak and tried to push him back down into the bed but he was stronger than she expected.

"I need to build up endurance. I don't want to be nursed any longer like some poor whelp," Novak declared. He slowly walked around the room, cursing at whoever had covered his windows.

"Talyis did it to keep you warm, you were as frozen as a child's ice fort," Delia told him.

"Delia, enough, I do not want to hear about Talyis from you or anyone else today." Novak concentrated on walking.

"Well, if you have anything to do with Talyis being missing, you'd better tell me right now," Delia said, unafraid.

Novak ignored her and found that his bed post had been scuffed. He rolled his eyes and knelt down to further inspect the scuff on the handmade ornate bed of green lacquered wood. His fingers tried to smooth away the scuff.

"Novak, I am talking to you. Where is Talyis?" Delia demanded, but he ignored her.

He saw a book under his bed, he leaned down further to reach for it. He groaned loudly, remembering he was not as well as he thought.

"What are you doing?" Delia barked. She walked over to the bed, got down on belly and grabbed the book. She stood up with the book in her hand and smoothed her skirts. Novak reached for the book but she held it out of his reach. "Where is Talyis?"

Novak sneered at Delia, "I don't know. May I have my book now?" Delia grimaced and handed him the book. She walked away mumbling that he was an arse and Talyis a lovely girl that he didn't know how to treat.

Novak sat on the bed and opened the book. He hadn't seen it in so long he'd almost forgotten about it. He opened it to the first page.

To boy,
With deepest£ove
scribbled scribbled crossed out
Talyis>

He sighed but tried to decipher what she could have written underneath the scribbling. With deepest.... Respect? Friendship? Love? Could it possibly mean love, as Gareth had insisted? He couldn't recall the last time he had picked up the book; it had been buried with the rest of his pleasant memories that had been replaced by years of cold thoughts of his life in Onor.

Delia ran into the room, her face red and her breasts heaving as she gasped from her exertions. "Where is she? I've looked all over the castle," she said breathlessly.

"Delia, I have said I do not know where she is. I sent her away." Novak turned back to the book.

"Away?" Her eyebrows furrowed and her red-hot anger rose . "What do you mean you sent her away?"

"I cursed her and told her to leave the room," Novak told her.

"You are afool, Novak!" Delia yelled, poking him in the chest hard. "Why would you push away the woman you have always loved? The one who loves you enough to risk her life to save yours."

Gareth hurried into the room, joining his wife. "I haven't seen her anywhere either."

"Is it possible that she went into the gardens?" Novak asked feeling cornered.

"It's raining outside," Gareth replied incredulously.

A hard knock at the door boomed through the room. Gareth opened it to admit the guard who had previously been assigned to Talyis. "Your Majesty," he addressed Gareth. "I have not been able to find her in the castle as you requested. The last time I saw her was when she was walking out through the garden, but she was cutting across, towards the woods."

"The woods?" Delia yelped and anguish flooded her face.

"Why would she walk towards the woods in the middle of a thunderstorm?" Novak asked.

"We must find her, it is very dangerous out there," Gareth said.

Novak looked at the book, his words recollecting to when Talyis came into the room and what she might have overheard. His fingers traced the lettering of the book she had given him. It dawned on him that Talyis had found the book. She probably remembered what she had scribbled out. He looked at Gareth and Delia both with invested interest in the scorned princess. He looked at the page again. Incredible pain struck him, she did love him, she loved him despite all that he had done.

"Let's go find her," Novak said and stood up already beckoning for his clothing.

"Novak, you are not well enough yet. We will go," Gareth told him.

"Hurry, Gareth. She is so weak," Delia begged him.

"What do you mean, weak?" Novak said, a disgusted expression on his face.

"She's pregnant, Novak. But she's afraid of what will happen to the babe and herself, since you said that you wouldn't recognize a child by her." Delia spat angrily.

He stood astonished and wordless. How much had he blinded himself from seeing the truth about Talyis. He recalled her tenderness and her kindness to his people, she wasn't the monster that he had known. He took this gentle doe and scarred her, changed her forever. Novak broke down; he dropped his head into his hands and shook with a loud anguished cry exploding from deep within, tears melted from his frozen heart into weeping. "Oh gods, she's been in love with me this whole time and I ruined her. She carries my heir and I've ruined her."

"Novak, we will find her," Gareth tried to assure him.

"I am a fool, Gareth. I loved her and I fought against it until I ruined her."

His stomach twisted at the thought of what Talyis would do learning about her land and then the one she loved spitting so much hatred toward her. Something deep inside warned him, brought urgency to him. Would she try to end her own life now that she had nothing to live for? He would not let that happen, even if he had to risk his own life. He was not going to be like her father, leaving her to destruction. He placed the book on his pillow and stood as confidently strong as he could. Delia fetched the rest his clothing and handed it to him.

"Quickly, you two. Find her, please." Delia pleaded.

***

The Aricin and ally armies surrounded the Onor lands. They were delivering justice for the genocide committed those years ago. Instead of slaughtering men , women and children like pests they gave them options to leave their lands and become nomads, never to try to resurrect their fallen kingdom or face the sword. Sadly, many choose to face the sword rejecting their opportunity to to live by not renouncing loyalty to the king who did not care if they lived or died. Novak did not know why he did not kill King Aronich but he offered him the same choice to die or leave and never return, to renounce his royal line.

The Onor king had been very wicked, He had killed off many foreign groups including the Aricin, in order to expand his empire and those company of hurting men came to reclaim their blood spilt lands. The whispers among lands was that his rule was slipping after the murder of his wife. It was then. when a siege was planned, to take back what had been stolen. Only the Aricin refused to reclaim their lands as they had a new territory far away from the ghosts of the former lands.

Gareth admonished Novak daily as they had traveled back home for not killing the princess. After she awoke, he wanted to give her the option to denounce her kingdom as well and ignored his men's pleas for him to sever all ties to the Aricin. But seeing her in the light of day escaping from the cart boiled his contempt that had stewed for years after escaping Onor. He had plucked her from her home saving her life from a king who would have undoubtibly killed his daughter himself one day. Novak had saved her and gave her a new life.

***

Fresh green smells of dirt sprung up as the rain fell. The leaves of the trees fluttered to life as heaven's tear drops animated them. The wind was as rushing waves, but Novak and Gareth rode on through the forest, zigzagging each other and calling out for Talyis. Their body dripped sheets from sheets of rain that obstructed their sight. The two wished that the rain would only let up for a moment so that they could see a footmark, find a piece of torn garment, anything to give them a clue to as where Talyis had gone.

A war like drum beat of thunder startled Gareth's horse; it fought with him to go on, "Novak, we should turn back. This storm is getting worse."

"No, she is out here. I am not going to leave her here as fodder to the wild beast."

Lightening struck, etching light across the grey sky and caused Gareth's horse to try to buck him off again, "Novak, if we are trapped here or injured we will not be of any aide to her."

"No, we search until we find her." Novak commanded strictly and the two began to call out for Talyis again.

Roaring waters scared their small cries for Talyis away as they past the waterfalls and followed the river towards a tranquil pool in-between the ravines.

"My Prince, we have no clues where she would have gone?" Gareth

"I thought that you were her comrade?" Novak sneered. "You had even stepped down from our kingdom's royal line for her."

"I only mean that maybe we should let her go. If she wants to run then let her run and have her freedom."

"You know that the wild beast would find her before she'd stumble across some kind of refuge. No! We look for her. Something is not right about this."

"And now you can sense her? After all that you have done to her, let her go Novak."

"You'd have her die just as her father and her peasants. They didn't even come to fight for her honor, only to exterminate out of pure hatred for us."

"My prince, I only meant that if we are trapped out here in this storm, we put our kinspeople in harm without a royal leader. You have a responsibility to your people."

"You are wrong. I have a responsibility to Talyis too. And do not talk to me about responsibility, I have honored my responsibilies to Aricin."

In the distance, muffled by the men's arguments, a large splash hit the water. The rain began to slow to alternating drops splashing against the river and mud. The sounds of their horse hooves sloshing through the mud was louder than the weather that caused the mud.

"I tried to warn you Novak, I told you to reconsider taking the girl and giving her to your men." Gareth argued.

"You'd have me kill her like her mad father wanted?!" Novak spat back.

"It would have been just and fair. You don't just kidnap a royal without demands or killing them. Enslavement should never be offered to a royal and she knew that."

"I should have killed the mad king."

"Then we should have killed them all."

"We are not exterminators!" Novak raged.

"No, we are not." The rain was thankfully letting up and the sun broke through the grey storm clouds. "Novak, we must hurry and find her before the storm rebrews again. This is only a temporary break" Gareth pointed to the distance where another storm was creeping towards them with purple clouds. Much dangerous storms were experienced in purple and green clouds that many times had powerful winds of 500 men armies moving in a swirl.

Novak saw through the corner of his eye something white floating in the river beside them. His heart quickly pounded hard to a painful stop. He jumped of his horse and dashed to the river's edge, grabbing the white garment that floated like broken angel wings in the water, pulling a body to the shore. Gareth quickly met him at the river bank as sobs raked through Novak's body as he desperately tried to push the water from her lungs. Her beautiful carmel skin turned grey and red lips- blue. He pleaded with her to breathe, to let air into her lungs. Gareth also helped pound the poor girl's chest in hopes of reviving her almost still heart to a tempo beat.

"Talyis, please breathe my love, let the air into your body. Don't do this! Don't die! I love you. I am sorry." He brought the soaked girl into his arms, crying as he held her limp body in his embrace stroking her face in tears. "Talyis, I have always loved you. Please my love you must live."

***

The Aricin Prince had not left his chambers for days. He sat staring into the fire, his dark curly hair more tossled than usual and his jaw tired from constent clenching. His mind constantly drifted to the past, when Talyis was a girl, happy and eager to impress a doting father. Delia added salt to his wounds by sharing her past conversations with the princess about her mother, how she blamed herself for making Novak run away and thus taking the penalty of her mother's demise. Delia was greatly grieved and blamed Novak for what had happened to Talyis, but he only sat still, agreeing, lost in sorrow. Delia was eager to show how kind and generous Talyis was she was very smart but never corrected Delia's uncothy behavior; Talyis respected and accepted people just as they were. She spat the truth at Novak every chance she had as she grieved for her friend.

Gareth was right about the approaching storm. The wind howled and violently struck trees lefting them from the earth for days. The rain melted and broke the icicles, tinkering the metal roof top. The storm raging clouds of grief on Novak were not letting up.

He sat on the edge of his bed watching carefully as the healer attended to Talyis. She barely breathed, her face was no longer grey but her lips were still painted a ghostly color. He had pounded the water drowning her lungs out and gave her is own air to bring her back to life. But her eyes had not opened; the only signs of life was the soft wheeze that past through her mouth as she slept. Her brow was furrowed in sadness as her body and the care he had been giving her fought to keep her alive.

After poking her body, the healer brought her shift over her body, bruised from Novak and Gareth's pounding of her organs to work. Novak looked at the healer with anticipation for his assessment.

"She is still very weak, my Prince, but I think she will be able to come to soon."

Novak tenderly smoothed the hair from her precious face never leaving her side.

"And the babe?" Novak asked with a shaky voice, his body was so tense that even the muscle around his music box straggled with nervousness.

"She is very small for how far along the tavern wench says she is. This is very concerning," the healer said.

Delia came into the bedchambrs carrying a chalice of the putrid sryupy drink. She handed it to Nocak sitting protectively over Talyis. Her took the concoction and urged it into Talyis's sleeping mouth.

"Is she any better?" Delia asked and Novak shook his head. "Might I remind you, this is all your fault. Might you learn to not mix love with vengence-"

"Delia, darling!" Gareth came into the room, stopping her tirad. "Please darling," he calmed. "We cannot go back and change what has been done." Delia began sobbing and ran into Gareth's arms.

"I want her well, Gareth. I can't stand seeing her so grey." She wept and Gareth hugged his wife to him tighter. "She's the only one who hasn't tried to change me. She liked me just as I am even my rough round edges."

"I am sorry." Novak broke down from the stoic cloud of sorrow. "I am sorry, Delia." He hugged Talyis's limp body to him rocking with her body. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am so sorry, please come back. I love you. I beg you please come back." His tears fell onto Talyis's still heart shaped face.

Gareth ushered Delia out leaving Novak alone to plead with Talyis to live.