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CHAPTERFOURTEEN
The next few moments passed by as if in a dream; Murdina and Kin hurried back into the castle, and she led him up the servant’s staircase to the upper floor of the keep. There was no one around, and she slipped into her chambers, stuffing whatever clothes she could find into an old saddle bag that had belonged to Aoife.
“We shall have to leave on foot, and you shall be our guide–I know nothing of the countryside to the north,” he said, standing watch at the door.
“We can find horses in Creeston–the town a few miles along the coast. There are ways we can go–ways to avoid the search parties my father will send out for us,” she replied, wrapping a shawl around herself.
She had changed hurriedly out of her dress, causing Kin to blush and turn away as she had pulled on a shirt and breeches–more suited to a man than a woman.
“Then I must trust your guide. Hurry now; I will run to my chambers and fetch the few things I have packed. Then you shall show us the way to leave,” he said.
She nodded and cast a final glance around her chambers. She and Aoife had once shared the room, and a part of her felt as though in leaving, she was leaving memories behind, too.
“Tis’ the only place I have ever known… but I cannae stay here. Nae anymore,” she said, and Kin nodded, offering her his hand.
“It seems both our destinies lie beyond these walls. Quickly, we do not have much time,” he replied.
They made their way to his chambers, and having retrieved the few belongings he had packed–wrapped in a blanket and fashioned into a backpack–they set off back downstairs, making for the servant’s entrance which lay below the kitchens.
“Yer father is lookin’ for ye, mistress,” one of the maids said, appearing from a storeroom with several bottles of wine under her arms.
“I am… showin’ our visitor the cellars,” Murdina replied, and the maid looked at her and nodded.
“I will… tell him I have nae seen ye,” she said, and Murdina smiled.
“And for that, we thank ye,” she said.
The servant’s door led out into the courtyard, where, on the far side, where the wall was overhung by the ramparts of the keep, another door opened onto the rocky outcrop on which the castle was built. The armory lay there, too, and at that moment, it was unguarded, allowing them each to take a sword to hang on their belts. Now, Murdina beckoned Kin to follow, for she had used that same door many times when she and Cillian would slip out unnoticed onto the mull. The thought of Cillian–still drunkenly lying in the rosemary bush–caused a twinge of guilt in her heart. But she knew that to stay for his sake was as much a mistake as to stay for her father’s intentions, and with a deep breath, she pulled back the bolt on the door and ushered Kin through, casting a last glance across the courtyard and up at the castle towering above.
“You are certain this is what you want?” he asked as he closed the door behind them.
“Aye, what future dae I have here?” she asked, and he nodded.
“Come on, is it this way?” he asked, pointing down the rocks from the castle wall.
The way was treacherous, but Murdina had traversed it dozens of times, and she knew every foothold and every hidden danger. Soon, they came to the bottom, where a rocky path led up to the main track approaching the castle.
“We cannae risk being seen from the battlements. My father will already be searchin’ for me. But before we head north, there is somethin’ I must dae,” Murdina said, and she set off at a pace towards the kirk.
Murdina could not bring herself to leave without saying goodbye to Aoife. She was the only thing that brought a tear to Murdina’s eye at the prospect of leaving, and now she wanted her sister’s blessing on whatever the future held. The kirk was dark, the gravestones jagged, and Murdina remembered the symbol of the knot, etched on the furthest grave to the right of where Aoife’s burial mound lay outside the consecrated ground.
“The knot?” Kin asked, but Murdina shook her head.
“My sister,” she replied, and she kneeled in front of Aoife’s grave and whispered a silent prayer.
The mound was piled up with stones, and she took one–a smooth, rounded pebble–which she placed carefully in her pocket. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she sighed, placing her hand on the grave and begging her sister to forgive her.
“We cannot linger too long,” Kin said, and Murdina rose to her feet just as the sound of the castle bell began to toll.
“Quickly, we dae nae have much time. Into the dunes,” she said, taking his hand in hers.
The night was bright with the moon and the stars, but they had soon disappeared into the shadows, taking a track which led through the sandy grassland and on into a straggling forest of birch trees which clung to the coastline, their branches swept over by the winds. There was a sense of freedom in Murdina’s heart, and despite the fear which she felt at leaving all that was familiar behind, a sense of adventure now pervaded her thoughts, after all, with her sister’s blessing and with a sword at her belt, Murdina was certain she was ready for anything…
* * *
“Stay down; they will pass by soon,” Kin urged, as the sound of horse’s hooves could be heard thundering above.
They had spent the night avoiding the search parties riding across the countryside. Dawn was coming, and with the light would come less hope of hiding themselves. Kin was anxious–if they were discovered, he would almost certainly be accused of abducting Murdina, whether she protested his innocence or not.
