The Capture

Chapter 1

Near Carlisle, 1093

A lover's tryst. Mimi could not help smiling to herself as she hurried away from the keep, careful not to be seen. It would be her very first such rendezevous, and excitement filled her.

She was in disguise. She had shed her fine outer tunic with its long, jewel-encrusted sleeves for a peasan'ts coarse woolen shift. Her gold girdle had been exchanged for a braided leather belt, her pointy silk shoes for wooden clogs. She had never been clever enough to borrow a pair of rouh wool socks from the dairymaid, and an old linen veil covered her honey brown hair. Although her lover was her betrothed, a clan-destined meeting was out of the question for any lady, much less herself, and she was determined not to get caught.

Mimi's smile broadened. She was immersed in visions of her handsome laird sweeping her into his arms for her very first kiss. Her marriage had been arranged for political reasons, of course, so she knew very well how lucky she was to have fallen in love with Michael Mackinnon, a young man who had been her friend since childhood.

The sound of voices slowed Mimi. For an instant she thought that Michael must have company, but then she realized that the voices were not speaking in Gaelic or English. With a gasp of fright she scrambled behind a big oak tree, crouching down in the grass. She peeped around it. For an instant she could not move, frozen with disbelief.

Norman soldiers filled the small glade in front of her.

Abruptly Mimi haunched down even more, her heart slamming against her ribs. All thoughts of her tryst with woods and into the sunny glade she would have walked right into their camp!

Mimi was afraid to move. She had been teased by her father many times that she was far too clever for a girl, and now her mind was already spinning out its own conclusions. Why were the Norman soldiers there, on Scottish soil? Did they know of the wedding of the Lidel heir that would take place on the morrow? Liddel was an important outpost for her father, Malcolm, holding Carlisle and this part of the border for Scotland against the marauding, treacherous Normans. A fragile peace had reigned in the past two years since Malcolm had sworn fealty again to their Norman king, Rufus the Red, at Abernathy. Had the Normans been so clever, then, knowing that Liddel would be so preoccupied with the wedding festivities that they could camp under its very nose and spy--or do worse? Outrage swept through Mimi. They were up to no good; she must relay this information immediately to Malcolm.

Her knees began to ache from squatting behind the tree. She raised herself slightly to take another peek at the Normans. They were making camp despite the fact that it was still several hours before dark. Scanning the group of men in front of her, she instantly saw why. Her eyes widened. One of the Normans was hurt. Two of the knights were helping a huge man dismount from his destrier, blood pouring down one of his powerful legs. Mimi hated the sight of blood, but she did not look away. She could not. For she was looking at a man she had seen just once before, but had been unable to forget.

Suddenly it was hard to breathe--her lungs felt crushed and her mouth had gone dry. If only she had been able to forget him. Two years ago at Abernathy he had stood behind his rotten King, William Rufus, towering over the King's head of flamming red hair, his face a hard mask, while Rufus was openly smug. And beneath Rufus, on his knees in the dirt, had been her father, Malcolm, the King of Scotland, forced at the point of a sword to swear allegiance to the King of England.

Mimi had been the only maiden present---women were not welcome at such events--and she had come in disguise. It had been a gathering or armies, after another attempt by Malcolm to invade and conquer Northumberland. She had been surrounded by much of the Scot army, all loyal to her father. Yet their numbers had been pitiful in comparison to the forces facing them--the most brutal in the land---that of the Earl of Northumberland. The man she could not remove her gaze from was bastard heir to the earl, Matt Ishida.

As she stared at Northumberland's bastard now. Mimi's fists clenched. Her gaze was riveted on the man. He was one of her father's worst enemies. She prayed his wound would cause him to die.

He did not appear to be at death's door. Although he had to be weak from loss of blood and in great pain, he wore an expression similar to the one he had worn at Abernathy-- hard and inscrutuble. She knew he was ruthless; never had he showed the Scots any mercy. Was he incapable of feeling? Was he even immune to physical pain?

Mimi collapsed. She was perspiring heavily, her mouth absolutely dry. This was worse, so much worse, than she had first thought. Matt Ishida was not just ruthless but a great military commander, exactly like his father, and his prowess was undisputed. He was also ambitious. The family's astonishing rise to preeminence from a history of landlessness was well known, and the whole realm feared the ambition of all the Ishida's. What was he doing here? What disaster did he intend to unleash upon Scotland now?

Mimi knew she must return to the keep and seek an audience with her father. Yet she was terrified of moving, for to be caught by these men wouldbe a catastrophe. Nothing could be worse. Depsite her fear, somehow she must dare to creep backwards, farther into the woods, until she coul safely turn and run.

The camp was busy. The horses were being unsaddled and fed. A small, smokeless fire had been stoked. Broadswords, battle-axes, lances, and shields were placed carefully by the heavy leather saddles. Every indication told Mimi that this was a serious war party. If she did not escape now while the knights were still preoccupied with setting up their camp, she would have to wait until they slept, and then there would be watchful guards posted. Mimi positioned herself in a crouch, refusing to give in to her fear. A twig snapped as she shifted her weight, but no one heard it.

She let out a long breath, backing up a step, never taking her gaze from the camp. At that exact moment a breeze materialized, moving the branches of the big oak tree right above her head. Mimi froze, praying.

Several of the knights nearest to the woods-- and to her-- turned, staring directly at the tree she had been hiding behind. They saw her at once. Mimi did not need any more encouragement. She lifted her skirts and fled.

"Halt! Halt now, wench!"

She heard them crashing through the woods. She ran as hard as she could. Having been raised with six brothers, she was a good runner, fast for a girl, but she was unused to the clumsy clogs. Abruptly she tripped hard and went sprawling down in the grass.

"Oh ho!" shouted one of the men with lecherous laughter. Just as she gained her feet, he was upon her, his hand closing on the folds of her tunic at the nape of her neck. He jerked her back to him.

Mimi screamed as he reeled her in, and when she was close enough, she tried to kick him in the groin. He easily evaded her, and both he and his companion laughed at her very real efforts of resistance.

He immobilized her, enfolding her in his arms. Mimi writhed, but quickly she went still. There was no way to escape his hold. She fought to catch her breath.

"What's this?" Her captor's eyes widened as he got his glimpse of her. His friend was startled into silence as well.

The veil had slipped, and they could clearly see her features. Mimi was well aware that she was beautiful, for she had been told so many times. Indeed, traveling mistrels frequently sang about Princess Mimi and her incomparable beauty. She had a pale, perfect complexion, a small, slightly upturned nose, high cheekbones, and an intriguingly heart-shaped face. Her eyes were almond-shaped and caramel, her mouth full and red.

Yet Mimi knew that beauty of the flesh was unimportant. That concept had been drummed into her head by her mother since she was a child, so she had never cared one way of the other about her looks, until Michael had told her how beautiful he thought her to be just yesterday. And until now. Until she was caught by these two Norman knights whose intentions were obvious. Desperately she tried to think, her wide, catlike eyes filled with a mixture of defiance and fear.

"Ha!" The young knight laughed, pleasure transforming his countenance. "Look at this! Look at what I have found!"

"Ahh, Will, we found her -- we found her," his cohort responded. The other men in the camp had heard Mimi's screams and began to gather around the trio.

"Usually I don't mind sharing, Guy, but not this time," Will replied, tightening his hold on Mimi's arms.

But Mimi wasn't struggling. Wasting her energy was pointless, especially if she needed to converse her strength in order to resist these men. The two knights began to argue over her fate, while another dozen knights ringed them, jeering and leering.

A flash of dull silver color caught Mimi's attention. She saw a knight emerging from the tent, striding towards them. Both Will and Guy fell into silence as the older man approached, elbowing through the circles of men. "What's the ruckus?" His cool dark blue eyes fell on Mimi. "You are disturbing Yamato. What have we here? Tonight's entertainment?"

Mimi had had enough. "I nae be amusement fer the likes of yae!" She had decided to continue her disguise for as long as possible, and she spoke in a heavily accented burr. "Norman pig!"

"Come now, girl, don't you like Normas?" The older man was slightly amused.

"I hate ye all, damn ye to hell!" Mimi spat. She was quaking inside, but she would never let them know it. Then her heart lurched. For behind the man, the tent flap moved again, this time to expose Yamato Ishida.

He limped out, leaning heavily on a staff. His face was drawn in pain and gray in pallor, but his eyes were bright and keenly intelligent. They lanced the small group. "What passes?"

Mimi inhaled. Although a stone's throw separated them, he was bigger than she remembered, bigger and more powerful and more frightening. And he was close to being naked; he had shed his mail and most of his clothing. He wore only a short undertunic which just covered his groin, calf-high boots, and a cloth bandage, high up on one of his powerful thighs.

Intently he met her regard.

Mimi swallowed. She had seen men's legs bare before, of course, but Scotsmen, decently clad in knee-high kilts and tall leggings. Now she quickly looked away, her face already flaming at the male nudity facing her.

"Will appears to have caught us tonight's repast, Matt," the older man said.

Mimi tensed, glancing up. Matt's gaze turned to one of inspection. He did not respond to Ken as his gaze slid down her slim body. Mimi's heart thrudded. She did not like the way he was looking at her, and if he thought to cow her, he would not-- even though she was cowed. She glared furiously back.

"Bring her to me, Ken," Matt ordered, and then he ducked and disappeared back into his tent.

Ken suddenly chortled, a sound at odds with his stern, battle-scarred face and cold, dark-blue eyes. "It appears that his lordship is not as badly off as it appears, and I do think he has settled your argument, lads."

Mimi was paralyzed by the meaning by the meaning of Yamato Ishida's words. The old knight's comment brought her to life. "No!" she cried. Then, remembering her disguise, she reverted to her burr."Nae! Nae!"

Despite her protests, Ken grabbed her arm and propelled her towards the tent. Mimi was a small, slender girl, but nevertheless she fought him every step of the way, digging in her heels, twisting, frantically trying to kick him. He ignored her, dragging her with him as easily as if she were a small child.

Laughter sounded. The men found her pathetic struggle and imminent fate amusing. Hot tears blurred her vision as she heard the coarse jests being bandied about. She could not help but understand what was being so crudely said. Graphic endowment of the man she was being brought to. "His lordship will probably kill her," someone finally joked.

Terror seized her. And then it was too late. Ken was pushing her ahead of him into the tent.

To be continued

A/N: So what do you think? The upcoming chapters will be updated as soon as I can type them. And sorry for the delay, too loaded with the exams. And by the way, the following title of the chapters is not from the novel D yehey for me! XP