Chapter 22

Anwen’s eyes opened and everything was blurry. All she could tell was she was in a bright room, and she felt safe. Her mind was slow to awaken, but she slowly began to wonder where she was. Her first thought was she was dead. She remembered being struck by a sword and being held by Maddoc. She had wanted to stay with him, but something pulled her away. She moved slightly and groaned. She felt pain over her whole body. Surely if she had died and moved on, she would not feel so terrible. To feel that much pain, she must be alive.

She blinked several times as something tightened around her. She realized it was arms. Familiar, wonderful arms were holding her. She placed her hand on one and said, “Maddoc?” Her voice sounded raw and unlike herself.

A gentle kiss landed on her forehead. “Yes, my love, I am here.” His voice sounded relieved.

She tilted her head up and tried to focus. She could just make out his face. “Where are we?”

“The summer palace of Calumbria,” replied Maddoc.

Anwen wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. He could not be serious. She tried to sit up so she could see him better, but her side burned so bad she cried out and rolled away from him.

“Be careful, Anwen,” said Maddoc. “You have been through a lot. I believe you are still injured though you are not as bad as it should have been.”

Anwen put her hand on her side. She was wearing a very simple, heavy white nightgown. Through the thick fabric, she could feel some sort of wrapping around her middle. She looked at Maddoc with so many questions running through her mind. “How did we get here?”

“I don’t know if I can explain it, but I believe if you really think about it, you will understand it as I do.”

She shook her head. “I am not sure what you mean. My mind is so foggy, it is hard to think of anything. I think I may be still affected by whatever my aunt gave to me to keep me in my room.”

“I am sure it is that combined with your injury and use of power. I had to have you help me to get us here,” said Maddoc. He put his hand on her arm, rubbing it gently.

“What do you mean you had to have my help? What could you do to get us here?”

“I am not sure this is the right time to talk about it. You need to eat if you can and then rest. I have a healer from town coming in tomorrow morning. This evening you should sleep as much as you can.”

“How long have we been here, Maddoc?”

“Since this morning when I came back to Quinlan. It is almost nightfall. I slept for a few hours, but you have not awakened since we got here. As much as I could tell you were breathing evenly, and your cheeks looking rosy, I had so much fear you would never wake up.” He reached up and stroked her cheek.

“I don’t think I should have woke up. I remember that whatever happened should have killed me. I thought I had died,” said Anwen softly.

Maddoc moved closer to her. “I think you almost did or maybe did for a second. I have never felt such fear and loneliness as when I thought you had left this world forever. I could not let you go, and something in me clicked. I felt as though a long-dormant power awakened inside of me. I knew I could help you. I can’t explain what it was, but I knew I could heal you in some way.” He gave her a small smile. “I’m not as good at as you. I could not completely heal you, but it was enough to save you. I wanted the healer to come tonight, but he is out of town until morning. One of my servants will fetch him as soon as possible.”

Anwen knew the look on her face was one of confusion. “Maddoc, are you saying that you healed me in some way?”

He nodded. “I did, and with your help, I brought us here in a few seconds. I had to get you out of there and to safety. All I wanted to do was protect you.”

“You are a…” she hesitated and shifted in the bed. “You are a life-giver?”

Maddoc bent down and kissed her forehead. “It would seem so. I know you think it is impossible, but there is Lucidalan blood in my family. I believe my line has been unbroken for many years, a least over five hundred. Which would mean, the Lucidalan queen who was a life-giver would be one of my ancestors.”

“There are always two,” said Anwen in a whisper. She took Maddoc’s hand and felt it grow warm in hers. She knew what he said was true. “When I was born with the Gift, they looked and looked for another to be a life-giver, but one was never found. It was because the second wasn’t born in Lucidala. It was you.” She closed her eyes, feeling the strain of thinking and staying awake almost too much.

“You need to rest some more. Are you hungry? I could get you some food before you sleep.”

“Yes, not much, but a little food would help, and some water. I would like to clean a little if possible and see to my needs. I don’t know how much I can manage. Perhaps you should call a servant?”

“I will have one of the few servants here fetch you some food and water, but I will help you with whatever you need.” She was about to argue with him when he shook his head. “I am not sure I could ever leave you again, at least not for a very long time. Please let me stay here and do what I can for you. I need to be close to you, Anwen.”

He sounded so desperate and sincere; she could not deny him. She nodded as he slowly sat up. “I will be gone only a minute. Do not try to get up without me.”

He wasn’t gone long, and Anwen fought to stay awake. She did want to clean a bit and eat before she rested again. If she knew how hard it was going to be, she might have changed her mind. With Maddoc’s helped she somehow made it to the washroom where she took care of her needs and cleaned herself. She would have loved a bath, but Maddoc did not want her to get her wound wet until the healer saw it.

After feeling somewhat refreshed, she got back in bed, sitting up as Maddoc brought over a tray of food for her. She ate what she could and drank some water while he ate some food of his own. She looked at him in the candlelight and could see his face was rugged, and his eyes looked tired.

“You seem almost as exhausted as me, Maddoc,” said Anwen with concern.

“I did not sleep last night. I rode straight to Quinlan once I heard what was happening to you. The journey here took a lot of energy too. I have much to learn about being a life-giver.”

“But not tonight,” said Anwen as he took her tray and put it on a table by the bed. “You should rest with me.”

“I will,” said Maddoc. “Let me go take this to the servants first and let them know we will not need anything else tonight.”

As he moved to get out of the bed, Anwen caught one of his large hands with both of her own. She kissed it as he paused and looked at her. “I love you, Maddoc. I may not know what is truly happening or what the future will look like, but I am not worried or scared because all that matters is you are here with me.”

He leaned over her slowly, and gently kissed her lips. “I will not leave you again. However we go forward from this, it will be together. I know what it is like to lose you for a few minutes, and that was more than I could bear. I will not let it happen again.”

“I will not lose you either, Maddoc. I will protect you for Calumbria, for your mother, for yourself, and me. I could not do without you.”

He kissed her again and lay down next to her. He held her until she fell asleep, the tray and servants forgotten for the time being.

************

The library of the summer palace was not very grand. It was serviceable, and there were a number of books, but it was nothing compared to the Grand Palace library or the Great Library in Quinlan. Still, it had what Maddoc needed. He stood over a table with many books open to different maps. He tried to find every map of the world beyond the land they lived in. He looked over each, trying to find just the perfect place.

He was looking at a promising village at the south of the land just east of where they were. It was on the coast. It was a little too close to Parvilia for Maddoc’s liking, but he thought it would be a pleasant place. He was about to find a book on the area when the door opened. He looked up to see Anwen coming into the room.

She wore a simple cream-colored dress that one of his servants had bought for her in the village. She walked slowly towards him, giving him a soft smile.

“What are you doing downstairs?” asked Maddoc as he straightened up to meet her. “The healer said you needed to rest for at least another week.”

“I cannot take looking at those walls for a moment longer no matter how lovely the room is. I missed you as well. You have been gone for some time.” Anwen looked down at the table and picked up one of his books. “What are you up to?”

“I’m looking for somewhere for us to go and live. I have narrowed it down a bit, but I wish I knew more about the land outside of ours. I want to go somewhere pleasant where you will be happy.”

“Go somewhere outside of our land?” asked Anwen.

“Yes,” replied Maddoc. “I had some money with me when we got here, and there is some stashed here in the palace. I believe it is enough to set us up well. We can find a pretty home, maybe close to the sea. I could sell a few things here. There are some jewels I would rather you have, but if selling them means a secure future for us and our children, it will be worth it.”

“You want to leave Calumbria? You wish me to never see Lucidala again?”

Maddoc looked at her as she put the book in her hand down. He took her hand. “I wouldn’t say never. I know you have many people you care about and care about you. Once we are settled, you can let them know where you are. They can come see you, and one day, you could visit Lucidala again.”

“Maddoc, you cannot mean we would give up our responsibilities to our kingdoms. You are the King of Calumbria. You cannot just leave this place behind.”

“I can, and I will. Look at what happened to you, Anwen. You have been hurt more times than I wish to think of because of me and my position. You almost died on our first journey together. You were insulted because of your connection with me. My uncle drugged your mother, and then you to force you to marry him.” He gripped her hand. “You almost died in front of my palace. I cannot stay here and let all this come between us. I cannot let you die because of who I am.”

She sighed and let go of his hand. Walking over to a chair, she sat down. She was silent for several seconds looking down before she raised her head to stare at Maddoc. “I would go anywhere with you. All I want is to be with you, but I cannot let you give up who you are. You are the king of this kingdom. You were meant to rule. I will not let you leave that behind for me.”

Maddoc walked over to her and kneeled down in front of her, taking her hand. “I would give up anything to be with you and keep you safe. You mean more to me than any titles or riches.” He felt weak and desperate. Tears came to his eyes. “I can’t do it, Anwen. I can’t live every day knowing I could lose you so easily.”

Anwen covered his hand with her other one. “You cannot abandon your kingdom, Maddoc. Think of your mother. You cannot leave her. Remember your people. What will happen to them if you leave them under the hand of Prince Korben.”

He pulled her hands up to his lips and kissed both of them. “I don’t know. I don’t think I can do it.”

“You can, and you do not have to do it alone. I will not leave your side. I have to see to my kingdom, but I will need you with me for it. Together we can do this. Do you not feel how deeply we are connected, Maddoc? I think we were meant to rule together. We can lead both of our kingdoms into a new age of peace and advancement. We can help others in the land see changes that need to be made. It will not be easy, but nothing worthwhile is.”

He looked up at her. “But what if I lose you?”

“I cannot promise you I will always be safe. There are no guarantees in life. I worry constantly about losing you. What I can promise you is as long as I have breath, I will love you and help you be who you are meant to be. I will protect you and fight for what we both know is right. You know we cannot run away. I know you do.”

She let go of his hands and put a hand on each side of his face. Leaning down she kissed him. “You are the true King of Calumbria. We will travel back to Quinlan together and make sure you keep your crown.”

He moved up and kissed her again. “We will travel to Lucidala and make sure your aunt has no hand in your kingdom. We will support your mother and make sure your throne is secure. I will help you lift up your people.”

He opened his arms, and she fell into him. After kissing him, she stared at him as he said quietly, “You will become my wife as soon as possible. I had wished you to have the wedding and notice you deserved, but I will not go back to Quinlan without the security of knowing we are bonded together forever.”

“I do not care about ceremonies or notice. All I want is you. As soon as it can be done, I will officially become your wife. I feel as though we are already bonded permanently,” said Anwen.

Maddoc surrounded her in his arms and held on to her with everything that was within him. The future terrified him, but as long as Anwen was by his side, he would find a way to face it.