This is Part Two of a three-part short story. Be sure to read Part One first! If you want to read more, check out Part Three.
They ran faster than they had before, the threat of the hounds now real at their backs. At times, the cry of the dogs sounded louder, then they would be but a brief utterance in the bellowing thunder, the roaring wind, and the lashing rain. After a time, the baying hounds were out of earshot and the young couple began to slow. They were utterly unrecognizable now as the tailor's boy and baron's daughter that they had begun the night as. Scratches and bruises covered their arms, legs and faces. Their clothes now barely hung on by a thread and their hair was a matted, muddy mess.
As they continued on, the forest began to open out and soon they came to a place where large boulders began to replace the trees. One boulder lay at an angle, large enough that crawling under it would grant them some break from the storm. Calder walked over to it, Ainé's limp wrist in his hand and she in tow with plodding steps.
'Here' he said, beckoning her towards the sparce shelter. 'At least we can dry off a bit. I don't think the dogs are still on our trail, it's been a while since we heard them.'
Ainé crawled silently beneath the rock and lay her head down on her hands. No care remained in her for creepy crawlers, or the cold, damp earth on which she lay. Calder could take little more this night and as he watched her maudlin form curl into a tight fetal ball, he imagined his heart shattering into a thousand tiny pieces and he slumped to his knees.
'I'm sorry. I should have never taken you away. If I were more of a man, I'd have accepted my fate.' Ainé watched him with a lonely dead eye. 'I was selfish. I had no right. Tomorrow, when the sun is high and the sky is clear, I will bring you home and return you to your father.'
Ainé sat slowly up at that, her face to the ground. 'Don't.' she said and Calder felt his heart piecing back together. 'Don't leave me alone. Not now. I love you, Calder.' And his heart filled once more with blood. 'I love you so much that it hurts when you're away. I love you, Calder. And I'll follow you anywhere, wherever it leads us.' And the flames that drove him to this madness reignited, fiercer than ever before.
'Thank you.' he said. 'I don't know that I deserve such words, but thank you.'
They watched each other in silent conversation for a while, the pitter-patter of the rain a lullaby washing their terror away.
'I knew you couldn't stay mad at me for long.' said Clader with a satisfied grin. He sat beside her and out of the rain.
She punched him in the arm once he had made himself comfortable.
'Idiot' she said, 'Just shut up and hold me.' and the irritation was gone as soon as it has appeared, the smile that melted Calder's heart without fail once more upon her lips.
The storm had started to ease; the clouds began to clear, the wind reduced to a whispering gust, the rain to a light drizzle, and the light of the gibbous moon began to shine down through the canopy of leaves. Ainé and Calder sat content beneath their paltry refuge in each other's embrace. Ainé's head rested on Calder's wide shoulders, her golden waves of hair flowing softly over his chest.
Their escape was merciless, as if the gods had put their love to the test, but they were safe now, happy even. Once the first rays of sun began to peek through the leaves, they would find the road and safety more assured.
'What will we do now?' asked Ainé. 'We have no coin, or home to call our own.'
Calder returned his most winning smile. 'Who said we have no coin?'
Ainé lifted her head to face him in shocked disbelief, her mouth open wide, her eyes sharp and questioning.
'You didn't!
'Well I never said you were all that I took from your father!'
'Calder!'
He shrugged his shoulders. 'What? I knew we'd need something to keep us going. It was just lying there. I doubt he'll miss it much considering the taxes he levies.'
Ainé settled her head back onto his shoulder. 'You always were a bit of a rogue.' she said, then she giggled and held him tighter. Soon after, she was sound asleep.
