"Micah Von Clegane!"
Ragaleon called out to her, and she suddenly jolted back to reality. All this while she had been gazing at the knight she had hit with the oar, now struggling for his life in the sea.
The boat she was in was now surrounded by Ragaleon's fleet, with nowhere to turn to.
The knight was helped out of the water, gasping for breath, his armor clinking as he bent over to let out the excess water in his mouth and nostrils, coughing violently.
Micah was gripped on both sides of her arm by two aggressive knights, and in just that moment, the boat Ragaleon was in pulled up right next to the boat she was in.
When they finally gazed at each other face-to-face, they didn't have a word to say.
"You are manhandling my wife; let go of her."
He commanded coldly, and the knights loosened their grip, taking a step backwards at the same time.
One of the knights tried to drag the sailor away, but Micah quickly intervened; she stepped forward, the boat rocking underneath her feet.
"You will not lay a hand on this man; he has done nothing to be punished."
She said boldly, before turning to look at the sailor, who was now gripped with fear.
"He committed treason, helping a queen to escape…"
"He wasn't aware I am a queen; you will let him go, and only then will I listen to a thing you have to say."
She shot back at Ragaleon.
He didn't like her tone; it was harsh and void of any fear, but he heeded her words.
He signaled the guards with a curt nod, and they let go of him.
Micah felt sorry for the man; she had put him through a lot. Taking out the remaining bag of coins under her shawl, she handed it over to him, and he took it from her hesitantly, then bowed.
"Go in peace."
She said before stepping out of his boat and then into one of the fleet Ragaleon brought along.
The sailor was gladdened; he slowly reached out for the oar and then began to row the boat back to the shore.
Micah stood there for a while watching him leave; her only source of escape disappeared before her very eyes, and she couldn't do a thing.
"Take us back to the seashore."
A knight gave a command, and Micah lifted her hand in the air, signifying for him to stay put, then she focused her gaze on Ragaleon.
"I am not coming along with you."
She said, her penetrative gaze meeting his cold golden-brown eyes.
"You will end this charade once and for all, Micah, and return to the castle where you belong!
Ragaleon's jaw clenched as he said those words, but Micah remained unfazed.
"Tell them to leave. I want to speak with you alone."
She said after a brief pause, then turned away without waiting for him to say a word.
His brows furrowed in annoyance; she was out here giving him attitude after he had spent endless days searching for her.
"And what if I don't?"
He asked, perhaps daring her to do her worst.
"You don't want to know what I will do; we are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the sea. If I have no alternative, I can always jump into the water…never to be seen again."
Her voice dropped to a dangerously low tone.
He thought about her words for a while.
When did she become this courageous?
"Is that a threat?"
He questioned, and she scoffed.
"You want to see?"
She asked sarcastically, half turned, her eyes distant.
She was even more daring than she had thought. Seeing that she was reluctant and stubborn, Ragaleon gave his knight a signal to leave.
"But your majesty, it is not safe for you to be out here all by yourself."
A knight said, after skimming through his colleagues, seeing that none of them was bold enough to speak up, he had to take the initiative.
"I will decide what is safe for me."
Ragaleon shot back, his eyes straining with anger.
"Wait for me at the seashore; if I am not back in a while, then come for me."
He added, without sparing the knight a glance.
The fleet of boats that had accompanied Ragaleon were numbered up to ten.
The knights and the royal guards that were in the same boat with Ragaleon stepped out and joined the other fleet; the same was done to the boat Micah was in.
The rest of the eight boats sailed towards the seashore, and Micah watched them silently, and slowly they faded out of sight, enveloped by the thick darkness of the night.
Only then did she turn to look at him, her face masked with surging disgust that she
managed to swallow.
The, both of them were in separate boats, yet they drew closer, each moving to the edge of their vessel until the space between them was small enough for their voices to be heard.
"Why did you come after me?"
She managed to ask after steadying her voice.
"Your hatred for me will lead us nowhere. Micah, you have caused me a lot of trouble. Escaping from the castle in such perilous times is foolish."
He retorted calmly, both hands crossed behind his back tentatively; she let out a sly laugh.
"You want to talk about trouble? Fine."
She crossed her hand behind her back, then sighed.
"We are going to play a little game; I will say something, and you will try to counter it."
She paused, noticing the change of countenance on his face…frustration.
"I have no time for this…."
He was saying something when she interrupted.
"I believe you have been searching for me since you found out I went missing. Trust me, if you had no time, you wouldn't be standing right here in front of me."
She said breathlessly, and she was right.
There was always a downside to anything she had to say.
"So what do you say?"
She added, and his face quickly changed to that of dread.
He didn't say a word; to her, that was a go-ahead.
"More than a year ago, you ordered your men to construct a road in a small village, about three miles from here.
In that process my father's farm was destroyed…completely."
She started off bitterly, and he arched his brows, apparently puzzled.
Micah read the look on his face, then snorted.
"You are quick to forget, but I remember quite vividly. You are nothing but a selfish man; that is why you couldn't understand the pain you put others through just because you wanted to pave a road where your fancy carriages can parade the village!
Ragaleon registered her words for a moment before coming to the realization of what she was talking about.
"It wasn't brought to my notice that a farm resided in that road, and I was made to understand that the legal papers sealing off that land were signed."
Micah recalled that Berth did sell off their father's farm in a twinkle of an eye; indeed, there was no blaming him for such an occurrence.
The first point was countered.
"The agreement was based on coercion; I was locked up in the dungeon and forced into heavy labor when I sought your mercy to let the farm go."
"You were an intruder; you sneaked into the castle and held my son Amilek at knife point. For all I know, you were a threat."
He answered bluntly; another point countered.
"You forced me to get married to you against my will."
She quickly added.
Ragaleon knew this day would come, a day when he would have to face the repercussions of his promise.
Micah gazed at him searchingly; she wanted to hear what he had to say to counter this point.
"I made a promise to your father to keep you safe. He was a good man, and to think that you have no regard for his dying wish is such a shame."
"That wasn't what things seemed like when you tried to strangle me to death the night I escaped!
She screamed, recalling the night he had scared the wit out of her; she remembered his venomous tone, his hand wrapped around her neck, choking her.
There was nothing he had to say to cover that up.
"It won't repeat itself ever again; I give you my word."
He said, raising his gaze to look at her, but she grinned tiredly.
"Your word means nothing to me."
She said in almost a whisper, in a nonchalant tone, as the night breeze caressed her dark wavy hair, making it swerve.
"You can't protect me; I will never be happy, and because of that I will always tempt you to anger, and surely there will come a day when you will end me with your bare hands."
She said, then paused, sliding a string of hair behind her back, and continued.
"You made a promise to keep me safe, but I am not safe around you… Therefore, let me go."
Her voice was dry…final.
She spoke nothing but the plain truth, and he was taken aback at how cunningly she had chosen her words.
There was nothing he could say; she was right, his anger was something to be feared, and she had seen it and tasted it too.
She was indeed going to drive him to the edge, and when he would strike again, hot with anger, he might take her life.
He gazed at her, waiting for her to rethink her decision, but her mind was made up; her face remained cold and determined.
"Where will you go?"
He asked after a while of deafening silence.
"A place far away from here, out of your reach, or that of anyone's."
Her unwavering voice pierced the air as she lowered her gaze.
"I shall only ask one favor from you…that you keep Berth safe, because I couldn't. I failed as both a daughter and a sister, and hopefully a day will come when I will make up for my mistakes."
She added calmly, before looking away, tears glistening in her eyes. She wanted to avoid his gaze; she refused to let him see her in this pathetic state.
Without saying a word, he reclined on the boat. It was done.
Picking up the oar, he turned the boat around, already sailing towards the seashore where his men awaited him.
He rowed the boat with exasperation; he felt defeated, his ego broken.
Barely was his boat far away from the boat Micah resided in when he heard a loud splash.
At first he ignores it, but after a while he pauses and then glances over his shoulders.
His gaze fell on the boat; it was still there, perfectly okay, rocking side to side, but Micah, however…was missing.
He froze, a deep chill running down his spine.
He now turned fully, and a realization hit him… She jumped into the water!