Xavier was at the gate giving orders to the overnight watch. The gates were secured and he was about to leave when he could barely make out a rider coming from the stables. "No one leaves. Understood?" The knights nodded as he focused on the rider. Who would be fool enough to ride out at night with no cloak? Had they sneaked in earlier? All of the villagers knew the gates were secured and locked over night.

Yehudit sat on the ground in front of the gate. She had taken off her shoes and was resting her bad leg on her stick to take weight off of her bad ankle, which was swollen. She looked up at Sileas.

"Get out of the way, Yehudit," Sileas snarled. Then she demanded in a loud voice, "Open the gate!"

"Sileas, what in the blazes do you think you're doing? Riding off in to the night with no cloak? Do you even have a weapon to protect yourself." Xavier shook his head. "Get down from there, you know no one comes in or goes out of the keep during the night."

"No." Yehudit lay back and stretched out to block the way.

"Either you help me on to your horse or back to the Hall. My ankle is too messed up to walk."

"I am leaving," she informed both Xavier and Yehudit. I'll just ride all over the keep grounds to find a way around the gate if need be. If I leave now, I can be at my grandparents by morning. I demand you make an exception and open the gate."

"Why?" Yehudit asked. "It's not going to be much of a wedding if you're not here."

"That's between me and Wulfsen. I'll not discuss it with anyone else. But I do think the fact he's not even looking for me says it all."

"Just because he hasn't found you yet doesn't mean he isn't looking for you." Yehudit said. "Leaving him at the alter is a harsh penalty for losing at hide and seek."

"That is not why I am leaving. It just strengthens my position." Sileas felt uncomfortable. Was she really all right with just leaving him at the altar? After all she did love him, and she wanted to be his wife. But she did not wish to feel like a bedwarmer.

Without a word, she turned Midnight and rode back to the keep, tears stinging her eyes.

"Hey! Are you going to make me crawl?" Yehudit called.

After a few moments of no answer, Xavier smirked. "I'll take you back." He untethered his mount and brought him over. "Do you help getting on him?"

"I'll try." Yehudit tried and failed. She landed face down in the dirt under the horse's belly.

"Well, that's not a good place to be when dealing with a warhorse. Will your mother murder me if I pick you up and put you in the saddle?"

"Only if she finds out." Yehudit thought for a minute. "Or thinks you did. Or thinks you did something worse. You talked to me without her or even my father present, you're already on her hit list."

"You do know your mother is highly unreasonable, right?" He reached out for her hand to get her out from under Warrior.

"Yeah." Yehudit said, grasping Xavier's arm. "She is crazy."

Xavier pulled her out and to her feet. His hand moved to clean her off and then stopped. No point in tempting fate. "Since I'm already a marked man..." he placed his hands at her waist and lifted her up into the saddle.

Yehudit sat in the saddle and wrapped her arms around Warrior's neck. She was not very good at riding horses, usually she was clinging to Sileas.

Xavier wasn't certain how Warrior would tolerate the arms wrapped around him, but aside from some prancing back and forth, he was quiet. Xavier took the reins and walked Warrior and Yehudit to the keep. He saw no sign of Sileas as they walked. He hoped she wasn't off somewhere finding a breach in the wall.

Yehudit also was worried that Sileas might try to escape in some other way. "Can you go faster?"

"Not walking Warrior this way."

"Then walk him a way that moves him faster." Yehudit said.

"Oh, he can move plenty fast, but I wouldn't be able to keep up with him. We're almost to the keep anyway."

"I don't have much time to waste. Sileas might decide to find another way to sneak out." Yehudit said. "My stupid ankle won't let me run around looking for her so I have to get someone else."