The Lies that Made Us

Brynn

It was hard to tell when the sun went down as the storm appeared to follow him as he rode fast towards the village. The darkness and rain slowed him slightly as he could not see clearly. The frequent lightning helped him notice trees and other objects in his way, but the ground became muddy as the forest thinned, and he didn’t want to chance his horse slipping and Amelia falling off.

She was so still and quiet that, a few times, Brynn was afraid she had died, but every so often, she would whimper or shift. He would feel a small moment of relief and continue. Eventually, he saw lights in the distance, and he dared to quicken his horse’s pace. The village was a good size with cobblestone streets and many buildings.

He had been there with his father about seven years ago as they stopped for the night on the way to some lord’s estate. He remembered the inn they stayed in and knew it was in the center of town. The storm had made the streets near-deserted, allowing Brynn to ride faster than he normally would.

He had to turn around and double back as he missed the inn the first time. It was between two other large buildings, all with torches lit. He pulled up his horse, wondering how he would dismount with Amelia when Owain appeared by his side. He gently took Amelia off Brynn’s horse before Brynn hoped down. A boy came to meet him, and he gave the boy a stack of coins before going on into the inn with Owain following him.

The bottom floor of the inn was full of those escaping the rain. Many stopped talking to look at them as they walked into the room, their eyes going to Owain, who carried an unconscious Amelia. Brynn stared at them all for one second before going to the bar with Owain just behind him.

“I need a room, quickly,” said Brynn to a man behind the bar. “This lady is sick and needs a place to lie down.”

The man eyed Owain and Amelia before looking back at Brynn. “What is the matter with her? We don’t want any illness spreading here.”

“You cannot catch what she has. She had a fall off her horse and is now wet through,” said Brynn.

The man looked as though he didn’t believe him. “I am not sure we have any rooms. We have many who stopped because of the storm.”

Brynn reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of coins. He placed them on the bar before the man, splaying his fingers as he covered the coins with his palm. His royal ring he wore gleamed in the candlelight. The man looked down at it before staring at Brynn.

“You are of the Carrews?”

“This is Prince Brynnwyn Carrew, brother to the king,” said Owain. “If he asks for a room, you better find him one.”

Brynn took his hands off the coins, and the man scooped them up. “You need more than one?”

“At some point. My guards will come in soon. You should feed them as well as this man here. See if you can find them all some sort of shelter. I want a room for this man, but the rest of my guards can sleep in your stables if necessary, or you can double them up in rooms if you have them.”

The man nodded. “What else do you require?”

“Warm water and plenty of blankets,” said Brynn. “Is there wood in the fireplace?”

The man nodded. He reached under the bar and pulled out a small key. “I can send someone up to light it.”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Brynn as he took the key. “I can light the fire.”

“It is on the second floor, door at the end of the hall. Do you want me to show you up?”

“No, we can find it. I do not want to be disturbed at any point,” said Brynn. “See to what I asked.” He looked at Owain and moved his head towards the stairs.

They made it to the second floor, and Brynn went to the end of the hall. After unlocking the door, he looked at the small fireplace and threw his hand out. A fire sparked and quickly caught on to the logs.

“Put her on the bed, Owain, and be careful,” said Brynn as he took off his wet cloak and threw it on a chair by the fire.

Owain placed her on the bed. She groaned and turned slightly before curing up and shivering. Brynn walked over and started to take her cloak off. “Go downstairs, Owain, and wait for my guards. Make sure the inn keeper gives them what I asked and that they do not cause any troubles.”

“Shouldn’t I stay here and help?” asked Owain as he stared at Amelia.

“I will need to concentrate with no distractions,” said Brynn as he carefully slid Amelia’s cloak out from under her.

“I hate to leave her like this. I promised Lord Fox I would do everything to keep her safe.”

“You have done all you can.” Brynn stood up and put Amelia’s cloak in the chair next to his before looking at Owain. “Go do as I ask. I promise I will help her. I will not let her die.”

“She didn’t do it,” said Owain quickly. “She didn’t kill your father.”

“I never thought she did,” said Brynn. “I promise you I would never hurt her. I believe you know how I felt for her before I left. I can tell you the only thing that has changed is my feelings have grown. I must save her. It is the only option.”

“Can you at least come to get me if I am needed or if something changes? Let me check on her at some point.”

“I will find you if it is needed. You can check on her in the morning. Until then, I do not need to be disturbed. Make sure I am not. Now go so that I can get started.”

Owain took a bag off his shoulder. “This is hers. I know it contains several herbs, some elixirs, and other things she made. I thought they could be helpful.”

“Thank you; now you should go downstairs. My guards should be here,” said Brynn.

Owain took one last look at Amelia before walking to the door. He met a young maid there who held a bowl with a pitcher of water and several blankets on her arm. Owain took them and placed them in the room before leaving.

.Brynn grabbed the water and pitcher that also had a few rags and placed it on a table by the bed. He poured the warm water into the bowl and sat down on the bed by Amelia. As he looked down at her, he moved some wet hair off her face. She turned her head towards his hand as he gently stroked her cheek. It was cold, and she moaned as though in pain.

“I’m going to help you, my love,” he whispered. “You have to fight it, though. You cannot give in. I know it has been awful these three years. I am to blame, but I will find a way to make it up to you. I will spend the rest of my life showing you how sorry I am and how much I love you. Just please, stay with me.”

Taking the rag and dipping it in the water, he cleaned off her face, removing any trace of blood left on her. He then washed his hands as best he could before placing one hand on her upper chest. , just above the sun symbol on her dress. He pressed down, feeling his magic pour into her. There was so much darkness in her left by the tainted weapon of the shadow warrior. It threatened to douse her light and bring her over to become one of them. He would not let it happen. He pressed harder as she gasped. More of his magic went into her, calling for her light to come forward.

He did not know how long he worked as he grew weary and sweat covered his brow. Eventually, he felt the darkness retreat and the light inside her shine brighter. He sat back and took deep breaths. He would have to do a bit more later, but it would be enough to rest for now. He was a little worried about her wound, hoping it had completely closed up and would not become affected.

Carefully rolling her over, he undid the first few ties on her back to slip her dress down. As he moved it to check the wound, something else caught his eyes. He could see just peeking out from her dress, several raised faded red lines criss crossing along her upper back. Concerned, he pushed her dress down further until he realized what they were.

Too many long scars to count covered her back. They kept going well down below where he had pushed down her dress. Brynn grew angry, realizing how she must have got them. He wondered if his brother had done the whipping himself or watched as another hit her over and over.

Brynn carefully traced a few of the scars with his finger as more and more shame filled him. He wondered how she was alive or even able to function with all that had happened to her. He had grown a little frustrated the last few days with her mistrust and hateful words, but how could he blame her. She must have forgotten almost every good thing in the world if this was what she had experienced. He wondered if she had to go through even worse things.

He finally looked at her wound to see his magic had closed it completely. It was a little red, and he thought it could use some medicine. He looked over and saw Amelia’s bag close by. As he picked it up, a small red book fell out, and he let it be for the moment, shuffling through the bag until he found something he thought might work.

He opened the small jar, smelling the ointment inside. He recognized the scent of herbs that would help with infections and healing. After cleaning the wound, he put a good amount of ointment on it before pulling her dress back up and slowly rolling her back over, pulling the bed cover up.

He stood up and grabbed her bag to put the ointment back in as he looked down and saw the little red book that had fallen open on the floor. Bending down, he meant to just pick it up without reading it, but his name in Amelia’s handwriting caught his eye, and his curiosity got the better of him.

The book was open near the middle, and Bren dropped the bag as he read the few lines on the page.

Brynn,

It’s hard to believe you would forget me. After all that we shared, I thought you would still feel something for me even if it isn’t love. I thought you, of all people, would know I am incapable of what I have been accused of. I hate how much I still long for you, knowing you have forgotten me, but I cannot tell my heart what to do. If I ever saw you again, I am not sure if I would slap you or throw myself into your arms, but I do know I could not stop my heart from almost bursting with gladness in seeing your face again. Above all. I hope you are happy and satisfied somewhere. I could never wish ill on you.

Always yours,

Amelia.

He felt breathless as he read over the words again. He looked at Amelia as she slept before turning the page to find another letter she had written to him. He checked the whole book; every page was filled with notes to him. Walking over to the fireplace, he threw his cloak out of the way and sat down in the chair. Though he knew he probably shouldn’t, he read every single page of the book. It started about six months after her imprisonment in the tower and ran to a few days before he arrived.

The short messages ranged from pleading with him to help her to lamenting that he did not love her anymore. She praised him in one message to curse him in another. But no matter the tone of each little note, they all ended with the same salutation, Always yours.

He quietly cried as he read through the small book. He could see smudges where he knew Amelia’s tears must have hit the page. He nearly broke down and threw the book in the fireplace as on one page about a fourth of the way through, she explained in detail what Gareth had done to her. Later in the book, she disparaged herself for giving into him despite the pain.

As he read the book, he felt like he could feel the pain, dread, boredom, and hopelessness she experienced while in the tower. As much as it broke his heart, he knew it was at least ten times worse for her. As he reached the end, he sat there in despair, wondering how he could ever gain her trust or forgiveness.

Sometime in the night, he stood up to place her small book back into her bag. As he approached the bed where he had left it, Amelia sat up and gasped. She looked at Brynn with terror in her eyes before standing up and trying to flee. Brynn caught her and held her as she struggled against him, pleading for him to leave her alone.

“It’s alright, Amelia,” he whispered. “You are safe here, I promise.”

She stopped at the sound of his voice and looked up at him. Her wide eyes closed a little as she reached up to touch his face. “I thought you were him. I couldn’t let him do it again.”

“It is me, Amelia. I will not hurt you.”

She leaned into him, and his arms wrapped around her. She sobbed against his chest. “I didn’t do it, Brynn. I didn’t.”

“I know. I never thought you did.”

“Why didn’t you come back? I thought you would come help me, but you never came. Even if you didn’t love me anymore, I thought I would at least still mean something to you.”

“I never stopped loving you, Amelia. I was a coward.”

She started trembling against him before he felt her collapse completely. He picked her up and took her back to the bed, laying her down. After putting all the blankets up over her, she still shivered terribly. He pointed his hand towards the fireplace, making the fire grow higher before laying down next to her. She leaned into his warmth, and he put his arms around her, letting his magic do as it wanted. It surrounded them both, and he felt it spark hers though it felt weak. The darkness within had grown, but he felt their combined magic cover it before making it retreat until it was almost nothing.

She gave a gentle sigh, and Brynn held her tighter. Exhausted and feeling more settled than he had in years, he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.