Written in 60 minutes

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If Mary Mae learned that Jason had attempted to facilitate a marriage between the Houses of Nevoie and Cassadine, she would never forgive him. It would hardly matter to her that Jason hadn’t set out to do any such thing, that he’d not known Elizabeth’s identity when he had accepted the job.

She would merely tell him that accepting tasks from Valentin Cassadine, scourge of the kingdom, meant accepting that the risk that Jason would be enabling Valentin’s quest for power. The disappointment she already felt would only deepen, and Jason was dreading the inevitable look in her eyes.

Perhaps that was how he found himself on the road to Wymoor and not Tonderah — the knowledge if that if Mary Mae had to learn about any of this, it would be with the promise that he would attempt to set it right. Though what he would do when Valentin learned of this perfidy—

That was yet another task to be dreaded.

“Who is this person you’re taking me to?” Elizabeth wanted to know. She urged her horse forward until she’d pulled even with his own. “How can you be so sure that she’ll know how to find this woman you’ve told me about?”

“It was her pub where we met,” Jason replied. “And even if it were not, Mary Mae knows everything. Or knows who to ask.” He hesitated, his fingers tightening ever so slightly on the reigns. “She does not know who my father is. You should not mention it.”

“I had no plans to betray that confidence. What reason would I have?” she added when he just looked at her. “You’ve not forced me to travel to the capital. I suppose you could still be leading me there and not telling me—” She fell silent, then looked at him again.

He grimaced, faced forward. He had no way to reassure her — from her own words, she knew little of the southern part of the island—Nevoie was to the north of Rhigwyn, and she’d spent most of the last decade in Shadwell. “I suppose you’ll have to trust me.

She pressed her lips together, then also looked to the road ahead of them. “I don’t suppose I have any choice in the matter. If and when we reach your Mary Mae, I’ll say nothing of what you’ve told me.”

—

The road stretched ahead of them, a long dirt track bordered on both sides of thick, heavy trees that obscured any signs of civilization. Or landscapes that could offer some idea where they were in relation to the coast. If she recalled her lessons correctly or the maps she’d studied, Tonderah and Shadwell were near the eastern coast, and Wymoor a port in the west.

If they were traveling away from the coast, then surely that would be an encouraging sign?

But once the idea had been planted that he’d only pretended to gain her trust and cooperation, Elizabeth couldn’t quite let it go. What would she do if he was taking her to Valentin? She’d promised herself if she were ever in the presence of that man again, one of them would not leave the room alive. She would never let herself be taken captive again.

Had she walked herself straight into a trap?

The daylight was short, the sun dipping down beyond the tree line, and there had been no break in those lines of trees, no turns leading into a village or a town.

“Where do we break for the night?” she asked almost hesitant. She cast uncertain eyes towards the sliver of moon visible behind the clouds. In no more than an hour, it would be difficult to see anything with so little moonlight to guide their way.

“We don’t. You want to find the woman claiming to be your sister, and I want to stay as far ahead of Valentin as I can. He’s expecting you in the capital. I don’t know if he’s watching the roads, but if he is, and we don’t appear the next set of crossroads, there’s no telling how much time he’ll allow to lapse before he takes action.”

“We’ll travel all night? I—” She drew her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down. “I don’t know I am able to—”

“It’s too late to go back, Miss Barrett—”

She exhaled in a sigh. “You might have warned me—”

Jason drew back hard on his reins, his head whipping back to look behind them. Elizabeth’s horse traveled a few feet more before she realized he’d stopped. “Are you going to—”

“Quiet,” he ordered, but he did not look at her, his gaze trained on the rapidly difficult to see road that they’d already traveled. “Quickly in the trees—” He was already off his horse before he’d finish speaking and had come to her, reaching up.

Elizabeth started to slide slowly, intending to use his hand only for an assist, and she jolted when instead his hands wrapped around her waist and nearly yanked her out of the saddle, setting her on the ground with a thud. “What—”

“Quiet,” he repeated, urging her off the road. “Get back in the brush, and stay quiet.”

She closed her mouth, obeyed and hurried past the first thicket of trees, until she found a bush to crouch behind, her heart pounding. Was this is a trick to convince her that she could trust him? Had Valentin already caught up with them?

There were sounds finally, in the distance, the rhythmic pounding of horses racing towards them, galloping at top speed—

She clasped her fingers tightly around the branches of the bush, terrified of what would happen next.

And of what the number of riders would do if they were an enemy?

Jason would be outnumbered.

—

Jason might be surprised that their thoughts had traveled identical paths. He heard the riders before he saw them, and calculated it was more than four, but not more than eight. Between five and seven riders, likely men, were racing towards him..

He reached for the reins on Elizabeth’s mare, urging both skittish horses to calm. He gathered both sets of reins in one hair, and rested the other on the hilt of his sword, moving them towards the side of the road.

The riders finally appeared, and it was only five. Not an ideal number, he decided, but it could have been worse. He hoped Elizabeth had managed to get well-hidden, and that she would stay hidden no matter what happened next.

At best, these were men hurrying to the next village on some urgent task. At worst, Valentin had sent men trailing them who hadn’t realized they’d left the inn at first light that morning and were only now catching up them.

And somewhere between those two points was the most likely occurrence — they were highwaymen looking for any hint of coin. Two horses could and should be enough to quell them if it came to that, Jason decided, though he’d be sorry to see the stallion go. But if he fought them and lost, where would that leave Elizabeth?

He’d brought her to this road, far between points of civilization, with no idea of where she was or going. He could not take any risk that she’d be abandoned here—

Or discovered. Perhaps taken.

The lead rider drew up on his reigns hard, the horse’s gait slowing to a walk as they approach. “What do we have here?” the man bit out in a hard accent, the vowels clipped and suggesting to Jason he was not native to this part of the island. “Where’s the other rider?”

“There is no other rider,” Jason said calmly, cursing the other observant man. He’d not had much time to prepare, and it had taken the man no time at all to discern there were two people. Still, he had do his best to avert disaster.  He lifted his chin. “I’m a horse trader en route to the market in Wymoor.”

“Two fully saddled horses?” The leader sniffed, then dismounted. He scowled as he closed the distance between then. “A stallion and a mare?” He nodded towards Elizabeth’s horse. “If look through those saddlebags, what would I find?”

“Nothing but my own belongings. There is no one else.”

“Who is she? Where is she?” The man started to head for the tree lines.

“There’s no need for this. If the price for you to be leave me be is the horses, it’s one I’ll meet—”

“No man gives up two horses in prime condition without something more precious to protect. Bring her out or I’ll find her myself.”

Jason grimaced. He’d hoped to avoid confrontation, but it looked as if it would be impossible. “Just give me a moment.” He released the reins, started towards towards the same tree line as if he were giving in, but just as he passed the man, he reached for his sword.

The man barely had time to realize what Jason had done before the sword was buried in his gut nearly to the hilt. Jason shoved him back, draw back his blade, turning to face the quartet of furious, angry men behind him.

And spared only one more thought for Elizabeth behind him, desperately hoping she knew to stay back.

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