House of Heirs by S. E. Gutierrez (color ebook reader txt) 📕

All she felt was cold. Bone chilling, teeth chattering, blood freezing cold. Then arms wrapping around her, pulling her up, and working furiously to warm her. She heard shouting, orders being given, and horses huffing.

"Get her to Cadwell Castle, preferably before she freezes." she heard a man shout, sounding so far and yet so close.

She felt the heat of a horse underneath her, and the arms tightened. "All right men, lets go!" the man called.

She shuddered against the wind, and could feel the heat seeping out of whoever was holding her. The icy snow bit into her cheeks as her rescuer shifted her in the saddle. She struggled against his arms. She knew she was too cold, too frozen, and would only put him at risk.

"Would you stay still?" the man muttered.

"I- I'll on-only m-m-make you c-colder." she stammered, her whole body shivering.

The man grumbled something and held her closer to his chest, struggling to wrap his cloak around her. She tried to push herself away from him.

"I thought I told you to stop wiggling." the man glowered, his face pale, but determined.

She cracked her eyes open enough to glare at him. "I-I'd pre-prefer it if m-my rescuer d-didn't c-catch a c-cold."

He grunted, and sqeezed the frozen girl even tighter. She mumbled her prostest, but lacked the energy to argue any longer.

Eventually, darkness crept in, and she lost consciousness, only stirring when she felt strong -- but rather cold, she noted -- arms lift her from the horse, and carry her into a warm room. She could hear a fire crackling, and people murmuring around her, but she couldn't stay awake. She was still so cold, so tired. When someone gently laid her down, she didn't protest, and lost herself to sleep.

 She shot straight up, startling the three men that sat around her. "Where am I?"

"Excuse me?" asked the man with a voice she recognized, but only just.

"Where, pray tell, am I?" she said again, her eyes deadly cold, her voice sharp as daggers.

"Cadwell Castle. The infirmary wing, to be exact." offered the second of the three men.

She studied him, taking in his bright brown eyes, his sloppy shock of honey colored hair, and the hint of amusement that never seemed to leave face. There was something about him that made her think she should be familiar with him. Maybe he was a renowned noble? Perhaps a duke? She couldn't quite place him. Shifting her gaze to the third man, she cocked her head as she took in his shaggy graying hair, wiry glasses, and round fgure. She brought her eyes back to his face, and he held her gaze. He had a grandfatherly air about him, she decided.

"Who are you?" asked the man with the familiar voice.

She fixed him with a glare. "I'm--" she started. "I'm-- I don't know?" her voice quieted. "How can I not know who I am?"

The Man With The Familiar Voice frowned, not willing to trust her. "How convenient." he muttered.

She glared. "And who might you be?"

"Samuel Braun. Captain of The Guard Elite." he shot back.

"Guard Elite? Why is that familiar?" she questioned, her voice cold and cutting.

The Captian rolled his eyes. "There isn't a person on the continent that doesn't know who we are." 

There was an edge to his voive that she couldn't quite place. Something hard, and cold, but at the same time vulnerable. She toyed with the chain around her neck. Familiar yet not, she thought. She noticed the grandfatherly man eyeing her, watching her twist the chain around her fingers, opening and closing the locket attatched to it.

"What have you got there?" he asked, his voice just as comforting as his appearance.

"Hm? Oh, it's a locket. I don't remember where I got it, but I think it's something that I wear often." she stated matter-of-factly.

"May I see it?" he asked, stretching out his hands as she lifted the silver chain over her head. She noted Braun's eyes following her every movement, analyzing and evaluating.

She dropped the necklace in the man's hands, and he inspected it. Upon opening it, he smiled. "To my darling Ceralynn on her 18th birthday," he read. "I love you forever, papa."

She frowned. It sounded right, but for some reason she couldn't quite pin-point, it didn't sit well with her. "Hm, seems my name is Ceralynn. Call me Cera."

The man with the honey hair, and laughing eyes smiled. "Wonderful. Miss Cera, I invite you to stay here until we gather more information."

The Captain's jaw dropped. "Your Highness! Johnathan, is that wise?"

Cera raised an eyebrow. "Your Highness?"

The gray-haired man sighed. "Well, the invitation has been extended. At least we can keep an eye on her."

"My thoughts exacty, Graham." Johnathan grinned.

Graham nodded. "Miss Ceralynn, would you mind if I took the cahnce to examine you further. I think you may have some broken ribs, but it's hard to tell."

Cera noded, shifting closer to him so he could poke and prod her back, chest, neck, and stomach. She winced when he pressed against her lower ribs, and gased when pushed a little harder. She was shocked at how much it hurt. She had bruises along her back, and scrapes on her arms and legs. As Graham continued to probe her, Johnathan said his goodbyes, and left, leaving Captain of the Cold Shoulder to oversee Cera.

The little room was warm and homey, with two beds along the far wall, a desk shoved underneath the window and piled high with papers, and a long table sat in the center of the room with herbs, potions, bandages, and other healing essential scattered about it. She lay on the bed in the corner, with Braun glaring at her, and the healer Graham giving her endless pokes, jabs, and prods. 

"Where, if I may ask, did you find me." Cera questioned, breaking the silence. "All I remember is cold, horses, and arguing with someone."

Samuel gave her an odd look. "My team and I pulled you out of the River Holden, the border between here and Ellisen. You were frozen, half dead, and battered. How, if I may ask, did you get there?" 

She stared at the ceiling, racking her brain. How did I get there, she thought. "I wish I kenw", she murmured. "All I really remember is waking up to you three. Some things feel familiar, like my necklace, but I can't quite place anything. I know I prefer Cera to Ceralynn, and that I'm not from here, or Ellisen -- I think. But that's it. I don't remember any faces, or names, not even any places. It's rather odd, really, being a blank slate. Not particularly pleasant, but not terrible bad either."

Graham started poking at her ribs again, and she gasped when he touched the sore spot. "Yes," he said, almost to himself. "Cracked."

"My ribs are cracked?" she asked.

"Yes. The bottom two on your left side. Nothing that won't heal, but it will be rather painful for quite some time. If I may, I'd like to examine your head, to make sure there are no serious bumbs, bruises, or other damages." he responded, his voice even and warm.

Cera nodded. What had happened to her? She hadn't the slightest clue. She grumbled when Graham flicked a rather sore lump on the back of her head. 

"You must have hit your head rather hard to have a bump that large. It could explain the memory loss. Perhaps you'll remember more as time passes. One can only hope, though." he said, giving her head one more poke. "It seems that other than some rather bad bruises and two cracked ribs, you aren't in terrible shape. I suggest rest, food, and heat. You're sill rather cold."

She nodded, relaxed against the wall, pulling the blankest back up to her chin. "How long has it been since you found me," she asked. "And how cold was I?"

Graham opened his mouth, but Samuel beat him to it. "It's been slighlty less than a day. And you were so clold your lips were blue, and you couldn't stop shaking. Though how you managed to argue with me will forever be beyond my comprehension."

"It was you?" she aksed. "Makes sense. Only you would manage to bother a poor freezing girl you pulled out of an icy river."

"If I recall, it was only because you refused to stay still." he growled.

"I was simply trying to prevent you from getting a cold. I thought that was rather considerate, don't you?" she retorted, her voice dripping with sarcastic sweetness.

He glared. "It would have been much easier had you just accepted my help."

"Or had you accepted mine." she fired back.

"Oh, would you just --" Samuel started.

"Sam, why don't you fetch His Highness, and show Miss Ceralynn to her rooms?" Graham cut in.

"Yes, Graham." Samuel conceded, sighing.

Cera shifted, aiming to stand, but was quickly scolded by Graham, who insisted that she either be carried by Samuel, or rolled around in a rickety old chair with equally rickety wheels attatched. "I'd rather just walk on my own." Cera grumbled.

She threw her legs over the edge of the bed, and managed to take a step or two before she gripped her side, and winced. Her broken ribs were going to be more of a problem than she thought. Graham tried to push her into the chair, but she resisted.

"No." she grumbled. "I'll walk on my own."

And with that, she slowly made her way to the door, determination etched in her face. Graham stared at her, and Samuel rolled his eyes, trotting after her as she started down the hall.

 Samuel followed behind her, keeping quiet and wondering when she would realize she didn't know where she was going. As it were, he let her get all the way to the opposite end of the castle before saying anything.

"Miss Cera," he caught her attention. "I do believe we've gone in the wrong direction."

She whirled around and glowered at him. "Well why didn't you say anything? Where did I take a wrong turn?"

He smirked. "When you left the infirmary."

She glared at him, hoping to kill him with her eyes. She refused to show him just how much she hurt, or how tired she was. The light gown they'd dressed her in did little to sheild against the drafty corridors of the stone castle. She let out an exasperated breath before she started down the path