A Thousand Blessings - Book One (Blessings Series 1) Read online

  Phillip stopped in to see about the commander, but the ordinarily stocky man was now so frail, he could hardly stand long enough to be of help. Once he had sunken to his knees there before Isabel, so that she had to assist him back into his tent. Isabel admired the young officer and how devoted he was to his commander.

  Her two maids were up and around, but only for a few moments at a time. Fina seemed to fare better than the younger and more fragile Mary. Isabel checked in on them often and saw to it that they were cared for when she was with Elias.

  While Elias slept, Isabel went to the soldiers and made broth and tried to help as much as she could. Just as before Elias fell ill, Isabel was still fetching water and taking it to the camp. Not many were well enough to even make the journey to the stream. For nearly three days, she spent as much time as she could traveling back and forth with pails and every other free moment with Elias.

  ***

  Elias awoke to find Isabel gone. Most times he was awake she was there. When not, her only explanation was that she was caring for the horses. He didn’t believe that. She was tired and run down, and he had a suspicion she had slept little. When she didn’t return for some time, he became concerned and rolled over onto his side, forcing himself to sit up. It took a moment for the dizziness to clear enough to stand. Dazed still, he staggered outside of his tent in search of the princess.

  All around him men were doing just as he was, staggering in an attempt to be of some help. Every face he encountered was deathly pale.

  “Where is the princess?” Elias asked one man as he passed by in an obvious fog.

  “I’m not sure, sir. She was there earlier.” He pointed to the fire where she had been boiling broth.

  “Princess!” What he believed would be a shout was barely a hoarse whisper.

  Elias moved next to Isabel’s tent but found it empty. He continued searching and was becoming increasingly alarmed at not finding her. Finally, hoping to find her making a trip for water, he moved in that direction. At the sight of a heap off in the distance, a few hundred feet away from camp, his heart faltered. It was her. He tried to run but mostly stumbled along until he reached where she was kneeling in the grass heaving and coughing. Both buckets were nearby, water spilled on the ground all around her. It appeared the sickness had come upon her so suddenly that she hadn’t the time to make it back to camp.

  Elias dropped to his knees and wrapped his arm around her. “I’m here, Isabel.”

  “I can’t make it back.” Too weak to even hold her head up any longer, she fell facedown onto the ground.

  Where the energy came from, Elias could hardly fathom. The only explanation was a heart filled with love for this woman that allowed him to lift her and carry her back in the direction of her tent. Before making it to camp, they had to stop for her to be sick again. She cried this time as he knelt near her and stroked her back as she had his.

  With her back in her tent and on her pallet, Elias stayed by her side. She was burning up with fever, so he did just as she had for him and continually wiped her face and neck with a cool damp cloth.

  Phillip found them there together at one point, and Elias insisted that no one else be allowed in to see the princess in such distress. Still feeling the effects of the fever himself, he was half out of his mind and often wept over her. He couldn’t allow anyone to find him with her in such a way, with her wrapped in his arms.

  “Please don’t leave me.” Isabel reached for Elias’s hand. “Please stay with me.”

  “I’m here.” He kissed her scorching forehead. “I’ll never leave you, Isabel. I promise you.”

  For days Elias watched Isabel suffer. Much of the time she was out of her mind with fever, so most of what she said he tried to ignore. The way she reached for him and the things she said made him tremble still. Many times she whispered that she loved him, something he believed in part. A few times she asked him to take her home and begged him to stay with her in Moneia.

  No one disturbed them, though on occasion Phillip would call from the tent entrance and bring them water and broth. Only Phillip ever came so close, and he ensured that even Fina was kept away from the tent. A few times Phillip gave him a look as if to ask if Elias knew what he was getting himself into. Elias ignored his friend’s silent question. His only concern was for the woman who owned him, every ounce of him.

  By the end of the third day, Isabel began to regain some color and her fever seemed to be going down. His relief over her improving condition was difficult to hide as he continually kissed her hands and rested his head on her chest. In all his life, Elias had never prayed as hard or with such desperation.

  “Come lie with me again. We haven’t much time.”

  Elias did as Isabel asked. When he slipped into bed, she snuggled in next to him. They had slept that way since she had become ill. When her fever was at its highest, Elias had first held her to warm her as she shivered. Now, he did so with only one motive: he adored her. His heart was whole when he was with her and yet shattered, as well, as he knew their fate. Her pleas to take her home and stay with her rang ever in his head, and for the first time in his life he was tempted to abandon his kingdom and his king. He wanted nothing more than to steal the king’s bride but knew it impossible, not that he hadn’t fully considered it as an option.

  King Colin had paid the treasury of Moneia no small fortune for Isabel’s hand, though. Her kingdom would be disgraced and so would Isabel and her brother the king if she returned home without marrying Colin. No matter what was ahead for them, the heartache of separation, they had to continue with their journey when she was well enough to travel.

  “What if he never loves me?”

  Elias sighed and kissed her head. “How could any man resist loving you?”

  “You make a good point.”

  “Very humble of you.”

  She was quiet for some time more. “The question keeps pounding like a headache in my head. What if he never does?”

  “Then I will love you in his place.”

  She lifted her head and looked at him. “Do you promise?”

  Elias cradled her pale face in his hands. “On my very life I will.”

  Only then did she relax in his arms.

  Two days more passed before Elias deemed Isabel was fit to travel. The men who had recovered first worked in shifts on the road ahead while the remainder prepared to depart. They would leave early the following morning. A man had been dispatched to inform the king of the reason for their delay. Had the storms and illness not struck, the caravan would have arrived back in Kidian within the week. Ahead, they still had more than a week’s journey at least. With the storm damage still hindering them, it could take as long as two weeks. It was slow going, something Elias didn’t mind.

  Elias entered Isabel’s tent carrying a tray of broth and bread. Earlier that morning she had been able to keep down a small meal, so he was hoping for the same tonight.

  “You look almost yourself.”

  “You do, too,” Isabel said with a weak smile.

  For several minutes neither spoke. Isabel ate a few bites of her bread before returning it to the tray.

  “How can I possibly go through with this?”

  “You are strong, Isabel.”

  She looked away, tears filling her eyes. “What if I refuse to go?”

  He touched her cheek. “Then I will take you home.”

  Isabel grasped his hand with the little strength she had. “And you would stay?”

  “Always. I would follow you to the ends of the earth.”

  “Are you humoring me? Would you really run away with me?”

  He moved in close. “I would run away with you this very moment if I thought that was what you truly wanted or what was best for you. Right now, I would put you on a horse, dodge that dreaded village that nearly killed us, and take you to Moneia or wherever else you might want to go. I would take you to the sea or the mountains. I would hide you away in a forest if I believed that would
make you happy.”

  Elias took her hand and lifted it to his lips. “Is that what you want? For me to take you home?”

  “Yes.” She looked away. “But…”

  “I know, Isabel. For your brother’s sake and for your kingdom, you can’t go home. We both know that you would never live a day in happiness or peace if you ran.”

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Promise me one more time.”

  “I will love you in his place.”

  In resignation, she simply leaned into him.

  Elias wrapped his arms around her. “Now that everyone is well, these will be our final moments alone.” He shook his head. “I’ve endangered you enough as it is. Forgive me.

  “Isabel.” He grasped her by the shoulders and moved her to look at him. “When first light comes, I will pull away from you. I will not look at you with love in my eyes as I do now, but I assure you that my heart is filled with only you. That will never change. Even when you don’t see proof of my love, it’s there hidden away, longing for you. At the palace I cannot approach you alone. If anyone suspects us, it could mean death for us both. I will not put you in danger with longing looks. You can never do that either. Promise me.”

  “I promise.”

  “But you will have what you need – to know that you are loved. I will love you always, no matter how near or far. That is a never-ending promise.”

  Isabel held her closed hand out to him and said, “Take this for me for safekeeping?”

  When she opened her hand and he saw that it was empty, he looked back at her.

  “Take my heart so that he doesn’t break it.”

  Elias smiled. “I will protect it with my very life.”

  “Where will you keep it?” She grinned as she looked up at him.

  He pretended to tuck it into his breast pocket. “Right here beside my heart.”

  “And when you sleep?”

  He was glad to see her feeling well enough to tease. “Under my pillow.”

  “Elias.”

  “Yes, Isabel?”

  “I wish you were king.”

  The sorrow in her eyes caused him to lower his head and rest it on her lap. He wanted nothing more than to be king.

  The journey back was uneventful compared to all they had endured so far. Each day Elias allowed Isabel to ride amid the party of the soldiers. Just as he had promised, he did indeed pull back from her. Isabel did the same. He was proud of her. Unless she was speaking directly to him, she didn’t look at him.

  At night for supper they would eat under the stars, always in the sight of the others. Because he had risked her reputation when he slept in her tent the way he had, Elias feared reprisal when they returned. If anyone had been suspicious, he was intent on easing their minds. Phillip had warned Elias that eyes were ever following him and the princess since the sickness fell, particularly Fina’s.

  Phillip had tried his best to keep the woman occupied and asked for her help when the first men were taken ill. Early on, Fina had argued that she should watch over the princess, until the sickness became so devastating. From then on she had managed the care of the men until she herself became ill.

  That night as Elias prepared to go to bed, he was surprised when Fina called to him from the tent opening. When he went out to talk to her, she asked if they could speak privately. They entered his tent together.

  “Prior to us leaving on the trip to Kidian, preparations were underway for the royal wing, for the princess’s room.”

  “It was, indeed.”

  “I know the steward has chosen her maid, but I would like to be considered to tend to her.”

  Elias looked at her for a long moment. The woman was bolder than he would have imagined her to be with her slight build and usual quiet demeanor.

  “State your reasons.”

  She straightened to stand taller and lifted her head. “I can imagine no greater honor than to care for Princess Isabel. She is kind and considerate, brave and headstrong. Her heart is tender…” Fina trailed off and sighed. “She will need someone to watch over her in the weeks to come, someone who cares for her and who will walk with her through what will likely be difficult days ahead.”

  His eyes narrowed as he wondered if she was baiting him in some way. “What do you mean by difficult days? A wedding is in her future. What difficulty could that bring?”

  Fina stared at the commander, her keen perception obvious. “We both know, Commander, where the king’s heart is: in that grave with his former queen. I don’t doubt that he will treat Princess Isabel with kindness and consideration, but I also know he will break her tender heart. I know you have prepared her as best you can, but I don’t think she yet comprehends the rejection of being married and unloved.”

  The woman’s candor was unexpected, so for a moment he remained silent in order to gather his thoughts. After a long silence, he said, “How will you help her if that is indeed the case?”

  When tears filled her eyes, Fina blinked them away. “I’ve wondered that myself. All I can figure is that I will love her as a sister and hold her if she cries. I know she’s scared, though she hides it well. I will help her be brave.”

  Elias let out a long sigh. “You make a good argument, Fina. I believe the princess is fortunate to have someone to care for her such as you.”

  “And, sir, I know what I risk by addressing you this way, so forgive my bluntness.”

  “Speak your mind.”

  “While not as much now, your feelings for her were obvious before, dangerously obvious – and hers for you. I ask that you take greater care than that for her safety and your own. Also, I fear you are confusing her heart. I sincerely believe the king will love her in time. What man wouldn’t? If our princess has already given her heart to another, that will be an unfair beginning for her marriage.”

  He sensed she wanted to say more. “Go on.”

  “Because she is scared, it would be easy to lean on a man such as you. For the remainder of the journey, I ask that you take care with her, Commander. Outwardly, she is brave and bold, but deep down, there is still the tender heart of a bride-to-be, one with hopes for love and happiness. We both know she can have neither with you. Allow her to lean only so much, and give her room to love her husband.”

  “Your concern for the princess is admirable. I will consider your request to care for her and make my recommendation if I determine it will be best for the princess.”

  That statement wasn’t true at all. Even before the woman left his tent his decision was made. He would see to it that Fina was assigned to Isabel. If anyone would watch over his princess, it would be that feisty little woman.

  ***

  The trip resumed and with every passing day, every step of her horse, Isabel knew her destiny drew only nearer. Now that she was well, she wasn’t as emotional as before. Her mind was clear and she understood what awaited her. The magnitude of the responsibility on her shoulders, how Elias had said the kingdom needed her, weighed on her every moment. One born into such privilege had a duty to give of herself even when it was most difficult. Ahead of her, marrying a man with a heart for another, were difficult days indeed.

  Isabel thought of her secret love and considered how that would sustain her through what was to come. Recently, though, the days of riding with the commander and his men were so ordinary, Elias so detached from her, that she found herself wondering if she may have dreamed that faraway love story. Just as he had said, he never looked at her with longing looks. Even when they broke for camp and were alone enough to speak privately, his conversation was more impersonal. Rather than feeling rejected as would be easy to do, she held on to his promise, that he would love her in the king’s place. When her doubt was greatest, she could hear him whisper in her ear.

  Once they stopped for the night, Isabel went to the table to have supper with the commander as usual.

  Elias stood and held the chair for Isabel just as he did each night. Though others were in eyesight, they were to
o far away to hear. He lowered his head just enough to whisper, “You are the loveliest woman in all the world.”

  Isabel drew in a sharp breath and only allowed a slight smile. With her face appearing casual, she said to him as he walked around the table to take his own seat, “I believe you have forgotten your own rules, Commander.”

  “Not forgotten, Princess, just set aside momentarily.”

  She looked at her plate and grinned as her heart thumped a wild rhythm.

  He leaned in. “I have a question for you: When we arrive in Kidian, would you rather arrive at morning time, midday, or evening?”

  Her thumping heart sank as she understood just how close they must be. “I’m sure there is an advantage to each.”

  “There is. If you arrive in the morning you will be refreshed and ready to face your future. In the evening, especially after dark, you will lose the grandeur of your entry into the city.”

  “What would you suggest?”

  “We should arrive in the afternoon when there is light enough for your entry to impress the people but late enough not to have to endure an entire day ahead. You will have one meal with the king and then dancing. After that, you will be able to retire so that you can gather your thoughts.”

  “You are indeed a man of strategy. I would have never likely thought of any of that, or even that I needed to.”

  “That is why I am here, to make the way for you.”

  “Elias.”

  “Yes, Isabel.”

  “You play the game too well. I find it difficult to believe that you have feelings for me.”

  “This is no game. Because of my earlier behavior, I have already caused suspicion. I will not make that mistake again. When we arrive at the palace, all eyes will be on you. I had to see that you were able to maintain your feelings.”

  “Have I passed the test?”

  “You have done well, Princess. I have learned something about you these past weeks. You don’t need me as much as you may believe. You have strength to walk out this journey ahead. You will have to. I cannot be there for you. As much as I would like to, I can’t be.”