I leant right up to the window, trying to make out what was going on outside as we fled. It was so dark that I could barely make out a thing. I couldn’t even make out the light from our possible pursuer’s torches once we had left the camp area. I was glad that it was unlikely that we would be spotted, but I had to wonder how Rosa was managing to drive the carriage in this darkness. Because of the darkness and because of the state of the road we were travelling on, we weren’t going fast. We were at least moving faster than we would on foot.

“Do you think they will have spotted us?” I asked Serin.

“I doubt it. They would have to have keener senses than Altria to have picked us up from that distance.” She answered.

“That’s a relief.”

“It won’t take them long to realise that there was someone at the camp, recently once they come across it though. Although, we should have put some distance between us and them by then.”

“I just hope this trail leads out of the forest.”

“So do I. But depending on where it exits, we could still be in trouble. They could be watching all the routes leading away from the capital, not just this one.”

“That would make sense. We have no way of knowing where this leads to, until we get there.”

“If it comes to it, we’ll have to leave the carriage and continue on foot. I’d like to continue as far as possible this way. Hopefully, we can stay ahead of them. Getting Rosa to part with her carriage won’t be an easy task either.”

“I suppose it could mean losing her job.”

“It could, but I would speak to her employer once we returned to town. I’d hope that they would understand under the circumstances.”

“I’m sure that they would listen to you.”

“Perhaps. For now, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that.”

As we spoke the carriage rocked as the wheels hit a large rut in the road. We both hoped that it would be able to hold out on this ruff trail. Rosa seemed certain that it could manage, and we both just had to have faith in her driving ability.

We had been moving for a little over half an hour when we came to a stop. When it became apparent that we weren’t about to start moving again right away, Serin and I got out of the carriage to see what was up.

“Is everything okay?” Asked Serin.

“Yes… We’ve reached the cottage. I just wanted to check over the horses, give them a little water and rest before we move on. From here on in it’s a unknow trail to me. This kind of path is harder for them than on the road, so I want to check they’re okay.” Answered Rosa.

“It can’t be easy for them dragging a carriage down here.”

“It isn’t, but they seem to be holding up alright.” Rosa said patting the head of one of her horses.

“Altria, are we being followed?” Asked Serin.

“If we are, they’re some way off. I can’t see anyone from here.” Answered Altria.

“Good… Theo, do you think Celine can check back there, like she did earlier?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask her.” I replied. “Celine, are you there?”

“Yes master.” She replied reappearing almost instantly.

“We need your help. Can you check back down the road to see if we are being followed?”

“I can. I’ll check now.” She said before zipping into thin air once again.

“That’s pretty helpful… do you have any idea how long she’ll be?” Asked Serin.

“I don’t think it will take her long. It looks like she’s transported herself there.”

“Good… Rosa, how much longer do the horses need?”

“Not long. They’ve finished drinking now, we can move once Celine returns.” Answered Rosa.

“Okay, then let’s get ready to move as soon as she returns.”

There wasn’t much to prepare once, Rosa had finished with the horses she and Altria climbed back onto the driver’s bench. Serin and I just stood there in the darkness waiting for Celine to return. We didn’t have to wait long, just a couple of minutes before she popped back into existence.

“What did you see?” I asked her.

“The search party has reached the campsite. It looks like they’ve realised someone was there. No one has left the area, yet. It looks like they’re preparing horses for a small group to come this way.” She explained.

“That’s not good…”

“Did you see how many horses they had?” Asked Serin.

“Four.” Replied Celine.

“That isn’t great, but we stand more chance against that number, than with the whole group… Did you get a look at who they were?”

“I’m not sure who exactly, I couldn’t make out any insignias, but they all looked to be elves.”

“Elves… Then chances are they aren’t going to be friendly if they find us. There’s a high probability they were sent by the king, and even if they weren’t, if they recognise Altria, we’ll be in trouble.”

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“We move on. We can’t outrun the horses, but we can keep putting distance between us and the rest of the group. If we have to fight, the last thing we want is the rest of their group catching up with us mid combat.”

“Sounds sensible.”

“We’ll halt the carriage as soon as we spot them approaching. Celine, you have good night vision. Can you keep an eye on our rear?”

“I do. I’m not sure if I want to do that for you though.” Celine replied slightly cheekily.

“Would you do it for me?” I asked.

“Of course, I would master!”

“Thank you, Celine. I’m counting on you.”

“Let’s move out.” Instructed Serin. “Altria, Theo, be ready to fight. Rosa if it comes to it, I hope you can cover us with your bow.”

“I’ll do my best!” Replied Rosa.

“That’s all I ask.”

Serin and I climbed back inside the carriage, and we rolled into action, heading further down the forest trail into the darkness. Celine disappeared once again. I presumed she positioned herself somewhere outside to watch our rear. Altria was busy helping Rosa up front and while Serin and I kept a watch from the window, our field of vision was limited and seriously hampered by the darkness. We just had to hope that Celine wouldn’t let us down or betray us.

We sped through the darkness as fast as we could safely manage. It wasn’t much faster than we had been going before we knew they were giving chase. It really was only going to be a matter of time until they caught up with us.

“What are we going to do when they catch us? Surely we can’t just attack them as soon as they approach.” I asked Serin.

“I know how you feel, but we might not have much choice. If we wait for them to make the first move, we would be put at a disadvantage… I don’t like it, but if they come at us aggressively, we’ll have to fight first and ask questions later.”

“I understand, I just don’t like the idea of having to hurt someone we don’t know is against us.”

“Neither do I… But if we don’t act swiftly, we could all be in serious danger. We’re already at a disadvantage, we don’t know how strong they are and only two of our number have had a lot of fighting experience.”

That was my worry as well. I had some experience now and I no longer felt like a complete novice, but if this turned into a fight, it would be a first for me. I had only ever trained against competent fighters, never fighting for my life against them. This wasn’t going to be like fighting against monsters. Even the demon woman, I wasn’t aiming to kill her. As much as I didn’t like it, I knew that hesitating would only put people I cared about at risk.

The carriage rolled on through the darkness, bouncing from side to side occasionally as we hit one of the bigger bumps. We had already been riding for about half an hour when Celine reappeared inside the carriage.

“They’re closing in, about half a mile down the road.” She said hurriedly.

Serin slid open the driver slot.

“Pull over. They’re approaching!” She shouted through the gap.

The carriage immediately begun to slow as Rosa controlled the horses and gently brought us to a stop at the side of the road. As soon as we came to a halt, we all jumped out of the carriage. I could already make out the sounds of hooves galloping towards us through the darkness. It wouldn’t be long until they were on us.

“Rosa unhitch the horses and tie them up out of the way. You don’t want them getting injured.” Shouted Serin.

“Right.” Answered Rosa before setting about her task.

She walked them a short distance into the forest and tied them to a nearby tree. They were just out of sight and hopefully out of reach of any stray arrows.

“You two with me. We’ll keep between the carriage and the treeline. Wait for my instructions.” Serin ordered.

She had naturally taken over the leader’s position. Neither I nor Altria had a problem with that, Serin always kept a calm head we were both more than happy to follow her. The sounds of hooves got louder and louder until eventually four dark figures loomed out of the darkness towards us.

“There!” One of their number shouted.

All four horsemen slowed their approach, while we all waited almost holding our breath wondering what was going to happen next.