As Harold lifted Sabina up and placed her head on his chest, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching from a distance.
He immediately knew that they were imperial guards who were after Sabina. If the guards followed Sabina's blood trail, they would find them in no time.
He had to find a way to get out of the forest safely with Sabina. And fast!
So he hid Sabina safely amidst the bushes, took a sharp nail he found on the floor and cut his own palm.
He then stood up and started walking in a different direction, using the blood from his palm to create another blood trail to divert the guards attention.
When he had gotten far enough, he went back to where he had hidden Sabina and waited for the guards to pass.
"We've found her blood trail!", one guard shouted. Captain Gao smirked before going in that direction with the rest of the guards, thinking the blood trail would lead him to where Sabina was.
When Harold saw that he had succeeded in distracting the guards, he carried Sabina on his back and hurriedly walked with a slight limp to the cabin.
*****
Back at the cabin, Harold watched as Louise treated Sabina's wounds.
"How is she?", Harold asked Louise, concern written all over his face.
"The wound in her chest is very deep. Fortunately, you were able to find her and bring her here on time so her wound is not infected. It should heal in a few weeks."
Harold closed his eyes and and breathed a sigh of relief before opening them again.
"I would feel her pulse and -", Louise gasped, unable to finish her sentence when she placed her index finger on Sabina's wrist.
She removed her fingers from Sabina's wrist, took a deep breath before placing it back on her wrist.
Harold could not help but notice the weird look on Louise's face as she was checking Sabina's pulse.
"What is wrong with her?", he quickly asked.
Louise cleared her throat before answering him, "Her pulse...is strange"
"I can feel another pulse inside her."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means...it means...Lady Sabina is with a child.", Louise stammered.
"What?", Harold shrieked.
*****
Sabina opened her eyes with a sharp pain underlying the numbness of her chest. The blanket over her skin made her feel warm.
"Where am I?", she thought to herself.
As she pulled the blanket down and tried to get out of the bed she was laying on, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.
Why did her chest hurt so much?
She then remembered getting shot with in the chest with an arrow and falling down a hill.
How long had she been unconscious?
She tilted her head to get a better look at her surrounding when she saw a figure trotting towards her. She couldn't tell who it was as her vision was still blurry.
She closed her eyes hoping that when she opened them again, her vision would be clear. Immediately she opened her eyes, she saw Harold in front of her.
He got on his knees and reached his hand to touch her face.
"You are finally awake.", he whispered. "Thank you for staying alive."
Immediately Harold's eyes met with Sabina's, her eyes were filled with tears. She was still weak from the wound in her chest that she found it difficult to talk.
With tears in her eyes, she managed to croak, "Harold."
She slowly touched his face as she allowed her tears to flow freely.
It was her first time seeing Harold again after she was forced to marry the King and live in the palace. She had thought she would never see him again because the security at the palace was so tight. She would not have been able to escape without the help she received from someone in the palace. Now he was right in front her.
"Where is Kayla?", Sabina managed to ask Harold despite the piercing pain in her chest.
"She went to a nearby temple with Louise to pray for your quick recovery. You've been unconscious for five days.", Harold explained.
"Five days?", Sabina thought to herself. She was surprised that she had been unconscious for that long.
Suddenly, Sabina's stomach growled and she quickly placed her hand on her stomach. She was hungry.
When Harold's gaze fell on Sabina's stomach, he became low in spirit as Louise' words rang in his head.
"Lady Sabina is with a child."
He inhaled deeply.
Was Sabina really pregnant? If she was, then it meant she was carrying the King's child. How could such a thing happen?
Harold was lost in thoughts.
He was still deep in thought when he felt the warmth of Sabina hand on his skin. He immediately snapped out of his trance and turned back to staring melancholy at Sabina.
"I will make you something to eat now.", he said with a forced smile as he stood up.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not erase the thought out of his head.
Sabina was pregnant for the King.
*****
It had been five days since Captain Gao and the guards were searching the forest for Sabina's body but all their efforts proved fruitless.
"I would rather die here!", one guard complained as he threw himself on the ground.
"We have been searching here for five days now. We have run out of water to drink. I cannot continue to search.", he continued.
"Her body may have been eaten by a wild beast in the forest. That should be why we cannot find it.", another guard spoke up.
"If we cannot find her body, we will all die by the King's hands.", Captain Gao reminded them.
"I'll just die here!", a third guard yelled. The other guards started to murmur.
"Since we cannot find her body, we will create another one.", Captain Gao suggested with a smirk on his face.
The guards started to murmur among themselves again.
How could they create another body? If they took another body to the King, he would definitely know it was not Royal Concubine Sabina's body and they would all be punished for trying to deceive the King.
"Quiet down!", Captain Gao yelled.
"I would make the body unrecognizable to anyone. Not even the king would be able to tell that it is not Royal Concubine Sabina's body.", he started to explain.
While he was talking, he noticed a young woman walking at a distance with a basket on her head. She looked like an herb collector. Captain Gao smiled when he saw her. He had finally found the woman who would replace Sabina.
"Stay here!", he ordered the guards and ran towards the young woman.
When he was a few steps away from her, he unsheathed his sword quietly and he slashed the unsuspecting woman from behind. Her blood splattered his neck and face as the woman fell to her death.
He pursed his mouth in a self-satisfied smirk before shouting, "I have found the body!"
All the guards heard his words from the distance and rushed to him.
"We are returning to the palace!", he announced.