Seventh Crown XVIII

Do not read if you had not read the previous parts.

Seventh Crown XVIII

~

When they awoke the next day, the first thing the guards did was check on Cody. He had woken up before them and was skinning a pair of rabbits he had caught while they were sleeping. He looked a little better, but his face was still beaded with sweat and although he was not shaking as badly as he had been the day before; he was still trembling a little.

"Good morning, Cody. Feeling better today, aren't we?" Skye asked politley

Cody nodded, "I feel much better. Last night was cool and I slept well."

Cage examined him more closely and noticed the patches of mud on Cody's knees, as if he had fallen. And his right sleeve had a small tear in it that was not there last night. While the rest of the men made breakfast, Cage talked with Cody.

"What happened to your pants?" He asked, Cody hesitated before he answered, "I kneeled down to pick up those rabbits, the ground was muddy."

Cage looked around him, the heat from the day before had baked all the dirt until it was as hard as a brick. The only place that the ground was still muddy was a puddle over at the edge of the camp where Jon had spilled a bucket of water. He noticed the knee-shaped imprints at the edge of the puddle.

"You slipped in Jon's spilled water puddle?" Cage asked, nodding his head towards the puddle.

Cody nodded his head quickly, "Yes," he said, "I shot the rabbits while they were drinking from it." He said the words too quickly, confirming Cage's suspicions.

"No, you didn't." Cage said firmly, shaking his head."You fell, didn't you."

Cody readied another lie on his tongue, but Cage cut him off, "You are not as strong as you want to be, deal with it. Please be more careful, do not push yourself or you will get hurt. "

Cody shook his head guility, "Yes, sir, Cage."

Cage walked over to the others, still worrying about Cody. What if he pushes himself too hard? What if something happens when I'm not there? Cage though, but then he dispresed those thoughts. Cody was like a child, he had to learn. Cage could not live Cody's life for him, he needed to believe that Cody would be careful. When he reached Rebecca, she wanted to know what happened.

"Is Cody okay?" She asked, a serious edge in her otherwise light tone,

Cage shook his head negitively, "No. He fell while he was killing the rabbits. He just doesn't know when to admit defeat, I'm afraid he will hurt himself badly."

Rebeccas face contorted sadly, "And nothing you say will change that?"

Cage sighed, "He's a man. Men don't want to take others' orders and suggestions, it makes them feel childish."

Rebecca let out a short laugh, "Yeah, I know what that's like."

Cage raised an eyebrow, "But you are the Queen, you don't get ordered around all the time."

Rebecca smiled, "You wouldn't think I have orders to follow. But you forget, my father still has power over me. And he forgets that I am an adult and the Queen. He doesn't need to order me about and treat me like I am still a silly, light-hearted eleven year old."

Cage nodded, "I understand that. If I had children of my own, I would probably be the strictest father ever."

Cages mention of children brought another memory to mind; Cage holding the small child, Rose, and him kissing her forehead before they left.

"So," Rebecca began, "Do you like children?"

Cage stiffened, "No." He lied, "Children are messy, fussy, loud, bothersome, time-consuming, and annoying. I am glad I do not have children."

Something about the way he said it struck her as odd. He almost sounded like her father when he ranted about something Rebecca had done wrong. That made Rebecca realize how little she knew about her loyal dog. Did he ever have children? She wondered. She knew how gently he had held the infant, like he had done it a thousand times before.

The sun was not as relentless as it had been yesterday, and riding was quite comfortable. The whole group was lost in thought as they traveled once again. If all went according to plan, they would reach the next town by afternoon, if not earlier. Cage was a little worried, the last town had set them back a day, he hoped this next one would be fine.

The afternoon came and the sun did not spear the guards at all. Cody was shaking from left to right while sitting on hit horse all the time. He had promised himself to get better so he could stay till they complete their mission but he could not handle it anymore.

"Cody, are you okay, man?" Jon mumbled and scared the life out of Cody. He fell on the ground and hit his head on a rock. "Oh, Cody!" Skye paniced and stood up from his horse fast, rushing towards Cody to help him stand up.

"Man, do not scare us like that." Skye pointed out while Cody was trying to stand on his own two legs. "Me? Jon was the one who scared the crap out of me! I thought I was going to break my neck, you know?" As Cody said that, Jon started laughing. "Eh, well, I am sorry, mate. I did not mean to scare you so badly. You looked-- well, you still look horrible. Do you want to rest before we enter the town?"

"I am not that ill, Jon, I can rest when we are able to enter the town and stay somewhere in it. We need to arrange everything with the leaders first." Skye sighed and looked forward. "You worry too much. We are late with one day already, we can wait one more hour for you to rest a bit. You push yourself too much."

"You are..right," Cody did not like admitting it but he needed to do it. "Only for ten minutes, okay? No more. We have no time to waste only because of me."

He laid down on twin layers of blankets over the floor and yawned. He could not sleep even a tiny bit last night. His head was messed up with the thoughts and decisions he needed to make.

Close your eyes. You may not open them again.

A voice whispered in his ear and he jumped out of his not so comfortable blankets. His eyes shot open as he tried to figure out where the voice had come from. He sat and scanned the area around him, the hard-packed dirt, the fresh green trees, and the burbling river. Jon walked over looking concerned, "Are you okay, Cody?" He asked, a worried edge to his voice.

Cody shook his head to clear it, "I think so. I thought I heard, a-a voice."

The worry in Jon's face only intensified, "I think you've been out in the sun too long. You really need some sleep." Jon settled Cody back in is make-shift bed, he watched the tired man until he dozed off. Cody slept for a good while, his face never relaxed though. He looked as if he was having nightmares. One hour he was struggling with nightmares and the voice continued to whisper in his ear the most horrible possible things. He felt like someone's hands around his neck, tightening their grip.

You will not wake up again.

Dear Cody.

-to be continued-