Phillip pushed himself upright, against the walls of his
prison. He'd never imagined his most trusted adviser would turn against
him, yet, it had happened. He didn't know who he could trust or turn to
for help. Then, he recalled his dream. A dream of a little bird,
called a wren, coming to his rescue.
He wasn’t sure how he knew the bird’s name. It wasn’t one he had ever heard of before but
he knew, and that gave him hope.
Climbing the stone wall up to the narrow window, he called, “Come,
little wren, come – help me!”
The voice startled her.
Standing, she looked around but could see no one. As she brushed her knees off and exchanged
seed packets, she heard his voice again, “Rescue me!”
“Where are you?” she looked about.
“I’m up here – in the tower.
Come wren, you can help me. I
know you can,” the voice pleaded with her.
“I’m coming! But I
can’t see you – keep talking!”
***
“Are you up there?” It
was the voice from his dream – the voice of the wren. “I’ve come as far as I can. This door won’t budge!”
She sounded scared.
Lost. “It’s never been opened in
my life time.”
“Is there any way you can pull up on it?” she asked.
“There is a ring on this side of the door,” he returned,
“But I have tried it many times. It does
no good.”
“Pull it away from the hinges,” she instructed. “There is a hook down here, and it is
jammed.”
Pulling steadily, the door slid towards him. There was a bit of rattling, and an
exclamation, followed by her clear voice, “It’s free! I think you can open it now!” As he leaned it against the wall slender hands
reached through the opening and then a cobweb covered head pushed its way into
his world and into his heart.
Shakily, she pulled herself on to the floor and lay there,
resting. “I hate ladders. Thank you so much for opening that thing up!”
“Thank me?” he burst out, “Thank you for coming! Thank you for caring!” Sinking to the floor beside her, he engulfed
her in a hug, crushing her to his chest, “Oh, I knew you would come. I knew you would. Let’s get out of here!”
Releasing her, Phillip practically flew down the ladder
stairway. He couldn’t believe she had
come, and yet he could. He had always
known she would… his dreams always came true – eventually. That is why he had spent years preparing for
this moment, yet, it wasn’t at all the way he had imagined it would be.
Stopping in a room, “There are a few things I want out of
here.” He glanced at Wren, she was even more beautiful than he had imagined she
would be, flushed with excursion, covered with cobwebs and debris, waiting
patiently for him, “And then we can get going.”
She nodded, turning to look out the window. The sun was hanging low in the sky,
indicating that it was near evening. All
day – she had been in the castle all day?
It had to be so.
***
“Stick close to me,” he cautioned, as he began to work his
way around the pool. He hugged the wall
tightly, feeling his way along. Wren
kept right on his tail, unsure if she should be following this stranger, yet
unwilling to leave him. About two thirds
of the way around, he stepped into a crack in the wall. She glanced backwards, and then followed
him. Moments later they were pushing
their way past a lilac bush, outside under the starry sky.
Thankful for the full moon, they raced down the hill to a
narrow foot path that he was obviously familiar with. Following it, they crossed the valley she had
seen for the upstairs window and then climbed to the top of a small butte. The butte stood high above the surrounding
country. From its top they could see the
castle and a small town about five miles distant. A river separated them from the town, but
peer as she might, Wren could see no bridges.
As she surveyed the land, Phillip gathered sticks and dry
grass, depositing them into a well used fire ring that was dug into the mouth
of a small cave. He lit the fire and
then continued to gather fuel. Figuring
that was where he planned to spend the night, Wren ventured in.
Looking in, “Are you ready to go? Let’s be gone!” He quickly skirted the cave, running along
the brim of the butte. Soon they reached
an animal trail that zigzagged to the bottom of the ravine and along the
river. They followed it in silence until
they came to a foot path that was wide enough for them to walk abreast. Looking over his shoulder at the butte he
smiled, “They will be able to see that for miles!”
Running. Escaping. Strangers, bound by circumstance, held by love. She rescued him, when he had no one. He led her across country, to a new home -- a new way of life.
Trusting. Meek. Wren stood by him.
Cunning, brutal, ever one step ahead, Phillip adored her.
Only she could change him and restore his honor.
*---*---*---*---*---*---*
Word Count: 880
