Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

After my confrontation with Elaine, I was restless, not yet ready to return to that empty room that may as well have been a prison cell. I needed to breathe in the night air, to feel free for however many minutes I could snatch from time’s grasp.

I headed deeper into the village, seeking the open fields beyond the castle walls. I knew not where I was going, but it mattered little. Had my father not been nearby in counsel with the king, I would have run away tonight, to some distant town, back to Avalon, or maybe even boarded a ship to Ireland. Until now, I had not realized how much I missed Isolde, how much I had depended on her joy, her playful outlook on life to give me hope. The last few weeks, trapped with Elaine’s anger and depression, had been hor……