Page 72 of Bewitched

“A flash of light? Did you really see something?” he asked, not sure he wanted to admit that he had not only seen it but felt it, too. Something magical transpired between him and his daughter, but he wasn’t exactly sure what it was. Since he was so used to hiding magic, he didn’t feel comfortable discussing it with the handmaid.

“I-I guess I am mistaken,” said Henriette, not willing to talk about it either. “Well, I suppose you have things to do, Sir Rhys. There seems to be a ruckus down in the courtyard. I am sure you’ll want to look into it.” The woman reached out for the baby.

“Nay. I’ll keep my daughter with me for now.” Rhys was not about to hand the baby back to her. He pushed the bottle of blue milk into a bag hanging at his side. “I’m not needed down in the courtyard. You can go back to your duties now, Henriette. You are dismissed.”

“But Lady Medea told me to watch her child. I’m not sure I should leave without her permission. Plus, I am not sure I should leave the baby with you.”

“You are naught but a servant, Henriette. It’s not proper for you to speak to a knight in this manner.”

“I’m sorry, my lord. Please forgive my ignorance,” she said, bowing her head.

“Go down to the courtyard and give Medea a message for me, please.”

“Of course. What shall I tell her?” asked the woman.

“Tell her I need to talk with her. It is very important.”

“I will tell her you are awaiting her in the tower,” said Henriette.

“Nay, not here.”

“Then where?”

“Just give her the message. She’ll know where to find me.”

“Of course, my lord.” The woman left, quickly heading down the stairs. Rhys was about to leave after her, but heard voices at the foot of the spiral staircase and stopped. He realized it was the King’s guards coming back up to the tower room. “Damn,” he whispered. He needed to leave here with the baby before he was discovered. He couldn’t be stopped from taking the child if his plan was to work.

He headed back into the room, closing the door. Then he placed the baby on the bed and hurriedly tied the rope around himself. Darium’s raven landed on the windowsill, shrieking.

“I know, I know, Murk, but thank you,” he said, realizing the bird was giving him a warning. He picked up the child and headed over to the window, sending the raven back into the sky. Once the grappling hook was securely latched onto the sill, Rhys held the baby protectively in one arm, and used his other to lower himself to the ground. He was halfway down when the baby started wailing.

“Shhh,” he said, hoping to silence the little girl. If he couldn’t, the child would give away his presence here. He couldn’t grab the bottle now since he needed to hold on to the rope. “Quiet, my little Lily,” he said, deciding to name the child since Medea hadn’t bothered to do it. “You are going to get us into a lot of trouble.”

As soon as his feet hit the ground, he felt Medea’s presence. He whirled around to see her standing there with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. “What do you think you are doing, Rhys Blackseed?” she spat.

“Medea. Nice to see you again, too,” he said, flashing her one of his best smiles.

“You are stealing my baby?”

“Our baby,” he corrected her. “And I wasn’t really stealing her. I just wanted to see my daughter, and I knew you wouldn’t let me.”

“Hand her over!” she all but screamed. Her eyes started getting really dark now. He knew that meant that the evil inside her was starting to take over.

“Now wait a minute, Medea. I only came for little Lily, because I knew you’d come looking for her. Then, I’d have a chance to talk with you. If I just showed up here, you’d want nothing to do with me, since the King told you that awful lie about me.”

“Lily?” she questioned. “Is that what you called her? That’s not my baby’s name.”

“Nay, I know it isn’t. The handmaid said you didn’t name the child. I took the liberty of naming our daughter Lily, since she was conceived in a field of lippenbur lilies.”

“That handmaid let you have her?”

“Now, don’t be mad at Henriette,” said Rhys, holding up a hand. “None of this is her fault.”

“I’ll be mad at whomever I want to, and you are number one on the list, Rhys Blackseed. How could you ever even consider kidnapping an innocent child?”

“I told you, I was only taking Lily with me for now, because I knew you’d come for her and I would then have the chance to talk to you. I would never hurt her. She’s my baby, too.”

“Stop calling her Lily.” The child continued to wail.