Aron nodded. "We'll be back as soon as we can," he said to Questa before turning to head back the way they came. Then he stopped. In the distance he could see dirt being kicked up by horses. He cursed. "Are they coming after us again?"

"I'll %&#() kill them." Liadan swore and ran towards the horses with a sharp twisted fork in each hand.

The horse that came into view first was a black warhorse, upon his saddle a finely appointed knight, then more knights came into view on horseback. They did not have their weapons at the ready, so there was no sign of a planned siege. The head knight pushed back the visor of his helm. "Are you from Buckley Village?" he asked as he dismounted. Xavier hid his amusement at the small woman wielding...bent forks? at him. "I am Xavier DeVale, an emissary from the King."

Liadan glared at Xavier. "Where were you before now? Isn't protecting villages like Buckley your job?!"

"We arrived as soon as we could. The minute word reached the castle that there was an attack planned, Wulfsen and I left." Xavier removed his helm. "King James had just bestowed his son with the lands and we were preparing to come here. We both regret that we arrived so late. Wulfsen and the rest of the men went on to the village to see how bad things are."

"As bad as they get." Liadan said bitterly. "Too little too late."

"We both wish we could have been here in time," Xavier replied, regret deep in his eyes. He knelt in front of Lia. "May Wulfsen have luck in discovering some survivors. In the meantime, I have been told to offer everyone refuge in the keep until we can rebuild. I suspect, however, you all may have already been planning on that."

Liadan was angry and frustrated at not having any of the perpetrators to take it out on. She glared at Xavier, then kicked him in the face.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:45, Sun 10 May 2015.

Xavier winced but accepted the strange little woman's anger, it was deserved. If only they had had wings. He rose to his feet and towered over her. "Are there any injured or unable to walk that needs to ride the rest of the way?"

"My daughter has a bad ankle, but she's gone missing." Liadan said. "I have to find her."

"I can assist with the search." Xavier pulled his sword free from the scabard. He instructed half of his men to guard the refugees, the rest to accompany him.

Liadan ran ahead. She was feeling more than a little panicky at this point.

"YEHUDIT!" She cried.

Aron ran after her, Xavier and his men in pursuit. Aron was pretty sure they thought Lia had heard or seen something, since they didn't know how Lia could be.

Liadan heard Yehudit and picked up her pace. Her daughter was calling her, she might be in danger.

Xavier, being younger, passed Aron so he would be in a place to protect Lia, Yehudit and Sileas. At least Sileas was still alive, that would calm some of the fear he had seen in Wulfsen's eyes.

Liadan put on a burst of speed when she spotted Yehudit and Sileas. When Liadan reached them she gathered Yehudit in a hug, then held her at arm's length to scold her for wandering off. After scolding and hugging Yehudit again and making sure she wasn't injured besides her unhealed ankle Liadan turned to Sileas. "Thank you for bringing Yehudit back."

"Of course," Sileas said softly. "Her place is with her family." Sileas found herself feeling uncomfortable. "Xavier, whatever are you doing here?"

Xavier studied his friend and gave her a small smile. "The King was about to send us out here to bring protection to the villages when some of our spies brought word of the imminent attack. I but wish we had gotten here sooner."

"And your place is with the family." Yehudit told Sileas, lightly tugging on her arm. She looked at Xavier and recalled how he looked with his shirt off.

It would have been nice to be able to believe that but selfishly it occurred to her that no one was bothering about how she felt or if she was all right. She had no one to wrap their arms around her any longer, so she just remained silent. She watched and waited for her moment to sneak off again.

"Let's go back to the others." Liadan said. "We need to stay together."

Except for Yehudit, Sileas was certain no one would notice she was gone. And Yehudit would be better off without her. For now though, she would play along and follow everyone to the keep.

Yehudit clung to Sileas's arm. She was not letting her cousin out of her sight.

Xavier kept a close eye on the two girls. Ladies, now. He didn't want to ask and upset Sileas, but it was very obvious that the attack had left her bereft. Now that he was walking calmly, he realized she was the only Spencer here. He prayed he was wrong. Maybe some of the villagers stayed behind to look for survivors.

He cleared his throat. "Yehudit, your mother tells me your ankle is injured. Ares would be most pleased to offer you a ride to the keep so you can rest your ankle."

Yehudit looked at the horse. "I'll fall off and break my neck."