Previously:

They rode to the top of a hill and looked at the valley that lay in front of them. Curls of white and black smoke rose from between the trees. Even from the hill, they could hear the screams of terrified people.

She kicked  Cadeym's sides and tore down the hill into the village.

~~~

Adelaide kicked Cadeym's sides more, urging him to go faster. She had to get to those people.

"Addy! Slow down!" Philip yelled behind her.

Slow down? She thought. How dare he tell her to slow down! There were people in the need of help down there and he wanted her to slow down!

The land flew by and she was soon in the village. Horrified, she looked around at the scene that unfolded in front of her. Buildings, homes and stores, were set on fire. The roof collapsed on a house and a woman screamed, clutching her two children, their little faces covered in soot and streaked with tears.

Children ran about the village, looking for their parents. Everywhere she looked, there was chaos.

Adelaide jumped off of her horse and ran over to a woman who was lying on the ground, a dark patch of blood pooled beneath her. The woman's face was paling, due to the loss of blood.

"Madam, where are you injured?" Adelaide examined the woman, trying to find the wound.

The woman pointed to the back of her head. "The creature bashed in me 'ead." She grimaced.

"Let me tear off a piece of my petticoat and I'll bandage you up." Addy went to tear off pieces of linen, but the woman stopped her.

"I'm afraid me time is near, lass. Don't bother tearin' up yer clothing on the like o' me." She took a deep breath. "There is one thing that you can do fer me."

"Yes, what is it?" Addy took the woman's hand.

"In that basket," the woman gestured to the the basket that lay by her side, though Addy had paid no mind to it. "in that basket..there is.." the woman started to breathe deeper.

Addy went for the basket and removed the piece of cloth covering it. She gasped when she revealed the contents. A little baby, cute as a button, slept peacefully. "Madam, your baby?"

"Aye. I know she is but a wee babe, but I fear I won't be able to care for 'er much longer." A smile formed on her lips. "Roisin. 'Er name is Roisin. I know I am asking a great deal o' you, miss, but you look trustworthy and you are a young woman. Please make sure that me wee lassie is taken care of." She gasped and her eyelids fluttered. "Please..make sure..she is.." The woman's head tilted and the life left her body.

"Madam?" Addy shook the woman lightly, but urgently. "Oh my..." She turned her attention to the baby in the basket. Her lips were shaped like a little rosebud and she made a small sigh noise in her sleep. "Roisin." Addy took the basket and stood.

Philip stood in the center of the village and gawked at the mess in front of him. People stopped screaming and just stood, silent, crying over the dead. "Who did this?" He yelled.

Every eye turned toward him. "The ogres!" A woman called out. She stepped forward. "They came and destroyed our village."

"In which direction did they go?"

"They headed north." The woman disappeared back to where she had come from.

Philip rushed over to his horse and made sure the packs were secure. They had a long hard ride ahead of them. "Adelaide! Where are you?"

Adelaide came forward from the crowd carrying a basket. "What is it?"

"We must go now! The ogres have headed north and from the looks of it, we are not too far behind them."

Addy glanced in the basket and all around her. "Philip, we can't leave now. These people, they need our help."

"No, I am sure they will do just fine on their own. Now, please, darling, we must go now." Philip held his hand out to her and raised his eyebrows.

Adelaide looked at her basket. "I cannot, Philip. I am so sorry, but I cannot."

"Why not? Only a few hours ago, you were dead set on finding these ogres and slaying all of them. They killed your parents, for God's sake!" Philip walked up to her. "Darling, please. Come with me."

She pinched her brows together. "No, Philip. And do not call me that. I am not your darling, nor will I ever be. You and I have nothing in common with each other." She set the basket down and picked up the little girl in her arms. "Do you see this, Philip? Do you see her? This little baby's mother, and most likely her father as well, were killed by ogres too. I cannot leave her. She is like me. Her mother's last breath was spent asking me to take care of her daughter. I will not ignore or leave a dead woman's child!"

Philip looked at the baby, who only blinked at him, before she wailed and began to cry. "Fine. Stay here if you must. Take care of that thing."

A hot anger burned inside of her and Adelaide reared back her hand and slapped Philip across the cheek. "How dare you! This is not simply an it! She is a child, defenseless and innocent as a butterfly and I refuse to leave her alone. She has no parents now, just like I have. And as I recall, this tiny, destroyed village is on the territory of your kingdom. How can you leave them, your people, and leave? There are children here, orphaned! They have no parents." She glared at him and held Roisin closer to her hip. "A good king would never abandon his people in their time of most desperate need, sire."

"How dare I? How dare I? My father, the king, has been kidnapped, taken, by these foul beasts. I cannot sit here and help these people rebuild houses from ash! It is my duty to this country and to my father to make sure that he is returned safely and alive." He mounted his horse. "I must go now if I have any hopes of catching them."

Adelaide nodded. "Fine. Do as you must." She turned and began to walk away.

"Adelaide!"

She stopped but did not look back at him. She refused to. "What is it, my lord?"

He sighed. "I do not want to part like this. Please, come with me."

"You know I cannot do that. I cannot leave Roisin behind. I am responsible for her well being now and taking her with me to chase down a pack of ogres is not safe."

"Leave her with one of the women here. On our way back, we will stop and you can get her again. Please, Adelaide. You want this just as much as I do."

She turned back to him. "No, Philip. I do not, not anymore. A few minutes ago, I did. I wanted revenge more than anything. But that changed." Addy looked at the sweet baby at her hip. "I know what it is like to lose both parents. I would not wish that upon anyone, and I will not leave this little girl to that fate. I cannot do that to her, Philip. Can you not understand that?"

"Why the sudden change? These pieces of filth murdered your parents. Don't you want to seek that same vengeance?" Philip looked at her intently.

"I want them to pay for what they did, but it will not come by my hand. Not anymore. I believe that my parents, God rest their souls, would want me to take care of this girl. If I left to find their killers and left her behind, they would be disappointed in me. I cannot leave her, Philip. I won't. I am sorry, but I refuse to."

He gave up trying. She was obviously resolved in staying here to take care of the child. "Fine. Just, Adelaide, please stay here. When I return, I would like to find you again."

"Why?"

"Because, I...I care for you. I know you do not return those same feelings, but please wait. You are not married and with a young child on your hands, I doubt you shall ever be. Any man who sees you with a child, unwed,will see you as soiled property and will not marry you. I can provide you and the baby a secure, comfortable life, if you allow it. Please stay."

"Philip, I am greatly honored by your offer, I truly am. But one day, you would fall in love with another woman and be so miserable because you would be bound to me, a woman who does not love you like a wife should. I would not do that to you."

"Adelaide, how could I fall in love with another woman when I am already in love with you?" he smiled. "Just stay here. I will return for you." Before she could get in another word else wise, he road off in pursuit of the ogres.

Adelaide stood rooted to the ground. His offer was absurd. She would never allow him to do such a thing. She looked at Roisin, who stared up at her with enormous blue eyes. "Well, my sweet little lamb, I am afraid it is just you and me now."

~~~~

A/N:

Hey guys! I know this is a huge plot twist, but I was kinda hitting a major block here. I may change this and see how it goes. Let me know in the comments whether or not you guys like this and want this to continue. I may re-do this chapter if I am unhappy with the way the next few chapters go. I want this to be a good story, hopefully it won't be too short. But we'll see.

Again, please comment, vote, add, and follow for more! I send out messages on when I update my stories and things!

Thank you so much for reading and giving feedback! It is very appreciated!!

Peace,

-Red