Finding Heathcliff

Nineteen

Astrid couldn't hear anything but her own heartbeat filling her ears, and the muffled whistling of wind beyond that as she rode away from her companions.

She didn't know where the cobbled streets, twisting and turning as they followed each other up a hill would lead her, but she didn't care, she needed space, she had to take a step away from the sickeningly sheltered life she had led until that moment, a step away from her old self, and from... Orion...

Shaking her head in an attempt to disperse the tears that welled up in her eyes at the thought of Orion, she urged her horse to run faster. Astrid didn't like what was happening to them, she was upset with herself for making him angry, with Orion for not showing more respect to her, for not trying to understand.

He had always been like this, you just didn't care, a shy voice muttered somewhere in her mind. You let him treat you this way for years and never protested, you were happy for him to take all the responsibilities of your queenship upon his shoulders. It might be too late for Orion to change now, he got used to it and revels in it, he likes the notion of becoming the king more than he likes you!

"No," Astrid whispered to the wind, defying the voice speaking in her mind.

It wasn't too late. Orion would never admit it but... he loved her in his own way, just like she loved him. It may not be the sort of love she had read about in books but it was a feeling that, maybe, could grow into such love. He would understand that Astrid couldn't agree with her uncle's way of ruling Eurovea now that she was becoming aware of what was going on, he would help her to make everyone happy, Astrid mused, forcing herself to pay attention to her surroundings, her reality. There was a witch trial happening somewhere nearby and she had to prevent it, she needed to hurry.

The lines of houses on either side of her thinned out, then vanished entirely, and Astrid found herself on a low hill above a meadow spreading behind the village. She pulled at the reins and patted her horse's head, struggling to take a breath against the smoke-filled wind which felt stronger here. The horse, pacing recklessly on the hill's edge, turned around at hearing the sound of his companions' approaching hoofbeats, while Astrid let her eyes follow a trail leading down the gentle slope towards the centre of the meadow where a great fire burned, its tall and wide flames surrounded by hundreds of people.

"Astrid..." Orion's calm, pleading voice followed his hand which squeezed her shoulder suddenly, startling her.

"Orion, please, I need to see what my uncle is doing to this country, I must understand," she said, leaning her cheek against the back of his hand, still resting on her shoulder. "Uncle Arcturus might be wrong about many things, and it's up to us to correct his ways."

Without another word, she urged her horse to descend the path winding down the grassy slope, feeling more courageous when she heard Orion and the guards following her closely. Astrid had no idea what she could do here, but she didn't think she could do it alone, without their support.

They stopped at the edge of the large group of villagers gathered in a wide arch around the fire, and the six men fanned out around Astrid protectively. The people standing closest to them bowed and curtsied in greeting the moment they noticed their presence, but turned from them quickly again, shifting away gradually as minutes passed, as if they wanted to take a distance from the regent's guards.

Astrid frowned. She had been curious to see someone who was not loyal to her uncle, but now she didn't like it, she wished her uncle was liked and respected throughout the kingdom. Just what had he done to them...

Her attention from the sea of people, heaving and swaying, turning carefully around to look at the newcomers in waves even as the word about the presence of the regent's guards spread through them, was distracted by a movement far in front of them. A group of six well-dressed men exited a large tent set to the side, far from the flames, leading a woman only wearing a long white shirt in their midst. They moved towards a tall dais constructed around a thick wooden stake in front of the fire, which had only been burning for effect until that moment.

Astrid gasped as she observed the woman, hands bound behind her back, stumbling up the several steps leading to the dais-- the woman looked like her in many ways. She was young, not much older than Astrid. Her loose hair was the colour of dark honey, gleaming like gold as it reflected the burning flames, and curly, just like hers. The girl was gagged, but something in her demeanour told Astrid that she would not cry or plead with her executioners even if she could.

The sea of people murmuring nervously until then became eerily quiet and motionless as two of the men tied the girl's body to the stake, while the others rearranged logs and twigs lying at her feet to better catch fire from the torch that one of them was holding.

Astrid was sure that someone would break the eerie silence filled only with the whisper of the wind and the murmur of the fire, start crying, call out, run towards the dais to try to save the girl's life, but no one moved forward, only the people's heads turned around, wide-eyed, silent, expectant, as if they were hoping something would happen, waiting for a miracle...

It was Astrid who screamed when the man holding the torch dropped it at the girl's feet, making her vanish behind a screen of hissing flames, once the others left the dais and huddled together, at a safe distance from the hungry fire.

Heads turned towards Astrid, but still, no one moved to help. Feeling dizzy, scared, and nauseated about the murder she was about to witness, about the people's lack of courage, empathy, whatever it was that permitted them to watch the cruel execution, she jumped off her horse and fought her way towards the fire.

She heard Orion swear somewhere behind her, giving orders to the guards before he followed her, but the sea of people had closed behind Astrid, keeping them apart. She could see nothing but the swaying mass of bodies as she pushed her way through, ruthless, relentless, not realising that she lost her hat, not noticing the pain of her toes being crushed under bigger, heavier feet, her ribs being bruised by sharp elbows, she didn't hear the appalled exclamations of those she pushed to the sides, until she found herself, her clothes torn and the lip she had bitten bleeding, in front of all the others, a few steps from the blazing dais.

She stood, shaking, crying silently in front of the conflagration filling her entire field of vision as she understood that she had come late-- the flames roared and danced around the girl who she could only see as a moving, distorted image beyond the blaze. The sharp smell of smoke filled her nostrils, making her vision blur, there was no way she could reach the girl now, Astrid could only wait for the odour of the girl's smouldering clothes and singed hair to join the smell of the burning wood, followed by her screaming, until she would faint from the pain.

Astrid lifted her arms, hoping to press her hands to her ears before the screaming would start, when the smell filling the world around her changed suddenly, morphing into that strangely sweet, smoky scent of burning incense, the mysterious perfume she had not felt for so long. It enveloped her entirely, even as an arrow appearing out of nowhere whooshed past her ear on its way into the fire, and she smiled, content that someone at least had the heart to stop the girl's suffering.

Her heart skipped a beat when she realised that it was not what was happening-- as if in a dream she saw a dark-clad, hooded man fly into the flames and emerge again, unaffected by the heat, moments later. He carried the girl who seemed to be sleeping in his arms, her own arms, free from the bonds Astrid had noticed before, falling to her sides as if she was about to take flight.

Astrid's eyelids fluttered shut and her legs trembled, she had never fainted in her life but she was sure she was about to faint now. Her forehead wrinkled in the anticipation of hitting the hard ground... But the girl was safe, she thought, letting herself fall... into a pair of strong, gentle arms.

She frowned in confusion at the missed impact with the ground and forced her eyes open momentarily, on the verge of slipping into unconsciousness, meeting a pair of large, surprised irises the colour of seafoam.

"I... missed you... I think," she whispered, her hand reaching out to the blond stranger who held her in his arms, wishing to touch his familiar face hovering above her.

But she was too weak, and would never manage to touch him had he not guessed her intention, and brought her hand first to his lips, then his cheek.

"What are you doing here, Lady? You should have stayed in the castle, this world is not safe for you," he muttered and Astrid smiled in reply, as the darkness finally claimed her.