The fight kept going; Lucien knew they wouldn't recognize him with his face hidden.
But if they fought too long, someone would.That wasn't an option.
He took the most preferable action available to him at that moment.
He turned to the crowd and spoke.
"Is this what the law has become?" His voice rang loud and clear, cutting through the street.
Rowan heard Lucien and let go of the soldier with a punch on his face and stared at his master; his eyes then darted towards the crowd who were listening intently; meanwhile, a soldier ran past him, brushing his shoulder towards Lucien, maybe with an intention to harm him, Rowan. "Are we really meant to stand by and watch as a pregnant woman is beaten to death?" Lucien acted on his reflex by sidestepping in the moment. The soldier fell on his face, but Lucien felt something like a sharp cut on his left shoulder. As the crowd witnessed this, a few men from the crowd came forward to hold down the soldier who was wriggling out of the hold on him, cursing those men, and this made murmurs in the crowd grow louder.
Taking advantage of this, Lucien pushed further.
"If this can happen to her today, what stops it from happening to your wives? Your sisters? Your mothers?"
The people who had once stayed silent now exchanged glances; doubts flickered in their eyes.
Lucien didn't stop. He took another step forward, letting his voice carry the message. Rowan too looked at the crowd while holding two soldiers in his arms, each. the soldiers protested
"The law is meant to protect. If it no longer does, then what does that say about those who enforce it?"
A single whisper rose above the rest.
"He's right." followed by another, "This isn't justice.",The energy changed and it looked like a good change.
And that was exactly what Lucien wanted.
Because while the soldiers were still focused on him, Rowan was already moving.
As he lifted, the woman into his arms, her limp body held securely as he took slow, careful steps back.
The market had become a chaos and Lucien's words had already agitated the crowd, but it was the soldier's idiotic words that set the fire ablaze.
"If anyone dares to let that man go, your women will be paraded like this too." that was enough.
The second those words passed the battered soldier's lips, fury surged among the assembled throng like a furious tide of water battering against rock.
Shopkeepers deserted their booths. Strangers who had earlier stood by and gawked now pushed forward with fists closed. Wives, mothers, and sisters who had hitherto kept their heads down with fear now cried out in wrath.
The soldiers had overstepped themselves.
And the citizens, who had been silenced for so long now had finally reached their breaking point.
Lucien stepped back a single pace, Lucien saw Rowan from the corner of his eye.
Rowan stood a few feet back with the unconscious woman held in his arms, attempting not to gaze at her face. He had witnessed too much agony in the past, but this looked different in some way and made his chest constrict. His hold on her tightened, his fingers wrapped around the tattered dress material.
Lucien's voice broke through his reverie.
"Rowan." he called, making Rowan's head jerk up.
Lucien tipped his chin, which was signal for the time to depart had arrived.
The unrest was only going to intensify from here, and they needed to vanish before additional soldiers adds to their problem.
Rowan nodded curtly, shifting the weight of the woman in his arms before turning towards in the other direction of the swelling crowd.
The citizens were too immersed in their rage , failed to see two masked figures disappear.
Their carriage driver, who had followed them, was already part of the mob assaulting the soldiers. He wasn't coming back anytime soon.So Rowan didn't hesitate he laid the woamn inside the carriage and he mounted the driver's seat of the carriage, holding the reins in his grasp.
Lucien got into the back, taking off his mask the instant he sat. His hands automatically went up to his wrist, where the whip of the soldier had encircled him before. A small red bruise was already starting to develop, but he disregarded that.
Rather, his gaze darted towards the unconscious woman next to him.
Lucien was no doctor, but he knew well enough when a person was on the brink of fading away.
Taking a slow breath, he dug into his robe's pockets, pulling out a little leather flask. He removed the cap and sniffed; it was alcohol.
Useless.
His jaw clenched ever so slightly, and he stowed it back in his pocket.
"Rowan, hand over your water bag."
Rowan didn't waste any time. He held onto the reins with one hand, grasping the water bag from his belt before flinging it back.
Lucien caught it easily. Without another moment to spare, he poured a little water onto his hand and lightly sprinkled it onto the woman's face.
She stirred.
Her brows furrowed together in agony, and her lips separated slightly as a faint breath escaped. Her eyes opened in a flutter, barely focusing on a thing.
Lucien leaned in closer, his voice low, little adamant. "Hold on."Her eyes faltered; her body was contorting as though she wished to answer, but she lacked the energy.
Lucien sat watching her for a moment before leaning back, exhaling slowly through his nostrils. A let out a sigh.
She was still breathing...so far. and the rest was up to whether she had enough strength left in her to fight for herself.
By the time the cart came to a stop, the sun was set already, leaving just the faintest glimmerings of twilight to linger in the sky. The air was chilled now, its scent filled with damp earth and trees in the still space that surrounded them.
Lucien peered out of the carriage window, his eyes taking in the surroundings.
They had stopped in the middle of a densely wooded road; it was the one that was far from the main road that goes through the forest.
Rowan, who had been driving the cart this long, called out from the front. "Master, we're here." This was place where Lucien's royal carriage stood.
Standing next to it was a man, clad in dark travel attire. His arms were folded, but the instant he saw Lucien alight from the cart, his brows creased.
"Master, you are injured." Samuel was a member of Lucien's circle, he stepped forward. His eyes darted between Lucien and Rowan before settling on the woman. "And you too, Rowan... Who is this lady?"
Rowan, having only just climbed out of the driver's seat, didn't even bother to explain. He just walked the woman over to the second carriage, readjusting his hold to be gentler..
"Long story," he grumbled. "Just take us home first."
Samuel breathed in through his nose, but he did not prod for information. Instead, he nodded and reached out to push open the door of the carriage, moving back to allow the woman to step inside.Lucien followed after them.
Samuel climbed into the driver's seat, holding the reins, before giving one final look back at the wooden cart they were abandoning. It would be left behind here, to be discovered by some other hand, as this matter will surely go to court and they need to discard clues.A snap of the reins, and the horses were in motion.