The Everlands Chronicles: The Truth

by A. J. Bell

  Before we left for Greenville, Sir Richard kept giving me advice as to how to treat Meav, how to gently help her up and down from her horse, how to get her coat for her, how to give her my arm while walking on the street so that men would know she was taken, and so on. If only he knew how worthless his advice was.

  As soon as we were out of the city of Abilene, I let my hair and breasts loose, and enjoyed both the breeze and the freedom. Meav insisted that I wear one of her dresses she had brought with, but I would never ride a horse in one of those. Also, it wasn’t wise for two women to travel alone, so I kept my trousers on while on the road. I also brought an extra sword for me to use, if needed, and with it came an extra dose of confidence. I felt like I could handle any trouble that might come my way. Besides, Meav did have a “good fist.” Ever since she found out I was a woman, she decided she was ready to test her punching skills. However, her extra confidence didn’t prepare her for life on the road, like I was.

  I had learned from Sir Richard to take small naps during the day while our horses rested. That way, during our journeys together, we wouldn’t be as tired when traveling at night. It had proven to be safer that way, because most travelers were robbed while in deep sleep in the middle of the night, but we could outsmart any thief who may possibly be waiting for less prepared travelers in the darkness.

  We traveled by moonlight, another lesson learned from Sir Richard. Our horses were able to walk in the darkness safely, going at a slow pace to prevent thieves from hearing us approach. A rider on horse, at full speed and carrying a torch, would get more attention from thieves than one who blended with the shadows. Also, on the bright side of things, we could take a nap if the horses’ pace was steady enough.

  During the night, while we were riding, I kept watch on Meav. I felt awful for her since her head kept falling forward as she tried to fight the sleepiness she felt. She wasn’t complaining at all, but I knew it wasn’t easy for her. She had never left Abilene before. Unlike her, I had traveled along Sir Richard for years, and I was used to life on the trail and its hardships. Coach traveling would have been a better choice for her.

  I decided to stop and rest at an inn near a small village a few miles east of the road to Gether. We would taking this small detour and rest until morning. Meav was glad we did. She fell asleep as soon as we got to our room.

  The next morning, I readied the horses stealing many looks my way since I had changed into my gown. My shirt and trousers were in my bag since we would arrive in Greenville in full daylight, and I wouldn’t get another chance to change. Meav was having a hearty breakfast when I joined her – ham, eggs, potatoes, and apple cider. I just nibbled on a slice of bread and butter with a glass of fresh milk. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two men staring at us. Instantly, I sensed trouble. Then I saw Meav smiling shyly at them.

  “Tell me you haven’t been flirting with those men!” I pleaded.

  “There is nothing wrong with flirting. We are girls and we are supposed to do it once in a while. You should try it. Besides, they are kind of cute,” she said happily.

  “They’re evil-looking! There are worse men out there than your boyfriend Broody. These men look like trouble, so finish your food and let’s be off,” I reprimanded her. She fell quiet for the rest of her meal. We packed the leftovers so that we could have a snack on the road without the need to stop. Meav was very quiet after that.

  Even though the men were gone, I still couldn’t shake off the feeling that Meav’s flirting was going to get us in deeper trouble than I could’ve gotten us into if I were dressed as John.

  Before we left, I fastened on Heaven and my spare sword I carried on every trip. Meav looked at me like I was crazy, and perhaps I was, but I would rather be crazy than to have to get into a fight in a place where I knew no friends.

  As we passed through the streets, we noticed the gloomy faces of the peasants staring at us. I didn’t recall the village being that way when we first came.

  In spite of my worry, we arrived at Greenville without trouble and with plenty of time to enjoy ourselves. We stopped at the Winter Inn near the city’s entrance to leave our horses to be tended there. We then took a walk through the town’s market where anything that could be legally purchased was sold. There was stand after stand of jewelry, fabric, animals – anything and everything was found at Greenville’s market.

  After we had our fun in the market, it was time we got down to business, so we asked about the butcher shop. There was only one in Greenville, we were told, and we were pointed in the right direction. There wasn’t a need for signs to the butcher’s place; the smell of death crept through the air and made us nauseated. I honestly thought it would be impossible to stand the smell for more than a few minutes. Fortunately for us, the inside of the store didn’t smell as bad as the outside. However, as if the smell wasn’t enough, we could also hear the screams of an animal being sacrificed in the back – a pig more than likely. The painful squeals were horrifying. Meav dug her nails in my arm and held onto it tight. She had never been to a butcher shop, since back in Abilene the meat gets dropped by the butcher himself or picked up by Sir Dorian. According to her, the butchery was located in the worst part of Abilene, so Meav and her sister were not allowed to go there.

  We waited by the door for about five minutes but nobody came. I rang the bell on the counter so furiously that the noise echoed in every corner of the room.

  “What can I get you, My Ladies?” Chad was carrying a big chunk of meat wrapped in a bloody piece of cloth, which he dropped behind the counter. Meav was doing all she could do to not throw up after she saw his apron was covered in fresh blood. When he saw Meav’s expression, he immediately took off his apron.

  “My apologies, My Ladies. I normally deal with men,” he said.

  “You look different,” I said.

  His eyes confirmed he didn’t know what I was talking about. “Have we met?” he asked, confused.

  “Chad?” I asked, confused too.

  “No, my name is Ghad. Chad is my evil twin brother,” he chuckled. “He was supposed to be attending the counter today, but he stood me up. How do you know my brother?”

  “Where can we find him?” I asked without responding to him.

  “I was making plans to go and get him as soon as I was done with–” he motioned with his head towards the back of the shop where the screams had come from. Then he looked at Meav and I understood; he didn’t want to say the word ‘slaughter’ and make her even sicker. “I can walk you there, Miss…” I didn’t give him my name. “Right, I’ll wash and then we’ll go.”

  Chad was at the same inn where I had stayed with Sir Richard before. As a matter of fact, he was sitting at the same table he had before, but this time it was not Sir Richard sitting in front of him.

  “Aren’t those the men we saw this morning?”

  “Yes, Meav. They are the same men we saw at Pokan Village. Do you know these men?” I asked Ghad.

  “They are trouble, that’s what they are – Gypsies,” he said.

  I looked back at the men, who really didn’t look like Gypsies, and the fact that they were in Greenville, an Everlands city, made it even more obvious that they weren’t Gypsies. I put on the double ring Kaneethee gave me back at the Gypsy camp the day she died. I always carried it with me. If these men were Gypsies, they would recognize this symbol and show they did. If they didn’t, well, we would have to go from there.

  “You two, wait outside,” I said while fixing my cleavage to show way more that I was comfortable showing. It was a disgusting thing to do, but it might be enough to keep the men around me busy staring at my bosom while I managed to get Chad away from them.

  “What are you going to do, Elle?” asked Meav, worried.

  “I’m going to get Chad out of there and find out what these men are after. I feel they are up to no good.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” she said hysterically.

  “Only a little,” was my simple reply
just before I walked into the inn.

  I took a deep breath as I approached the table, putting on my best smile and flirting with them as I got closer. The men noticed me before Chad knew someone was coming his way. I took the two fingers with the ring to my lips, as if pleading with them to not say a thing. They didn’t show any sign of recognizing the symbol. They weren’t Gypsies! I covered Chad’s eyes with my hands and playfully planted a kiss on his cheek.

  “Guess who, Sweetheart,” I said.

  Chapter 15

  Chad was completely clueless about who I was, but for the men across from him, I was someone who seemed to know Chad very well. Chad moved my hands until my arms were wrapped around his neck. Then he turned to face me, his eyes widened.

  “Is this the way you say ‘hello’ to your woman?” I answered him with a little peck on his lips.

  “Hi… Hi!” he said, surprised.

  “Come on, Sweetheart, I didn’t travel all the way here to have you waste my time in this wretched place. Can we go somewhere else, maybe just the two of us?” I said playfully. Chad nodded, hypnotized by my words and my cleavage. “Gentlemen, if you excuse us, my betrothed and I have private things to do,” I said, biting my lip playfully.

  I took Chad’s hand, pulled him up from his chair, and then walked him outside into the nearest alley. He showed no resistance when I pushed him against the wall. He followed my every move as I lifted up my skirt high above my leg. He suddenly realized he was in trouble when I took out the knife I carried on my leg and pressed it against his neck.

  “Pay attention, Chad, for I’ll only ask this question once. Who are those men and what do they want?”

  Before he answered, Ghad and Meav arrived. “What are you doing? Put that knife down before you hurt him!” Meav yelled.

  When Ghad pulled me away from Chad, my knife fell to the ground. “Let go of me, or you’ll regret it!” I yelled, fighting to free myself from Ghad’s massive arms.

  “They’re Gypsies,” said Chad, “looking to overthrow King Tobias.”

  My blood chilled with his confession. “These traitors to the Everlands aren’t Gypsies!” I corrected him with certainty.

  “Are you joining their cause?” demanded Ghad of his brother. By the look on their faces, I could see their loyalties were divided.

  “You shouldn’t have come here. Trouble has come to Greenville. These men are recruiting men and women to join their war. If you refuse, they’ll take someone from you – someone you love – and make you fight. Ghad and I have no one, so if we don’t join them, we’ll be killed.”

  “What else do you know?” I asked, trying to remain calm.

  “They are plotting to kill the King as soon as he sets foot in Abilene, and they are recruiting the people of Pokan, Gaelac, and Tishan for their fight. Abilene is vulnerable because their soldiers were sent away to the border with the Gardenhills, and they know that. They will annihilate anyone who opposes them.”

  Meav was shaking her head in horror. Abilene wasn’t as easy to take as these men judged it to be. Sir Richard’s men were just outside the gates of Abilene, so if his men found out about this plot in time, they could probably retake the villages that were in trouble and protect Abilene at the same time.

  “You didn’t answer your brother. Are you with them or not?”

  “Why should you care?” Chad asked me angrily.

  “Do you forget who was I riding with the night we met?”

  “So you’re that lad. I thought I saw something about the two of you, but I didn’t think it possible for a woman to portray herself as a man without getting noticed. Where’s your master?”

  “He’s in Abilene,” I said. “I must warn him, but I need to know if you are with us or against us. The wrong answer could end your life this very moment.” He stared at me as if studying my words. “Meav, I must ride to Abilene at once.”

  “I’m coming with you,” said Meav.

  “No, the horse will go faster with just me – you’ll be safer here than on the road,” I said.

  “We’ll look after her,” said Ghad, holding Meav’s hand to reassure her that she would be well looked after.

  “No, Ghad, you look after her,” said Chad, looking at Meav. He turned to me. “I’ll ride with you to Abilene. With both of us going, we’ll double the chances to succeed reaching Abilene alive.”

  I nodded. We all returned to Winter Inn to say our goodbyes. While Ghad and Meav parted for his home, Chad and I started on the road. He was a little uncomfortable, since I was dressed like John again and wasn’t sure how to address me. We rode as fast as we could, with no time for conversation. We brought some dry meat and fruits, as well as canteens full of water, trying to avoid stopping unless it was absolutely necessary.

  Our journey started out peacefully. The first day we didn’t see any of the enemy’s men as we traveled. Then, out of nowhere, a heavy rope held by men at each side of the road hit us in the chest. I didn’t have time to grab my sword; their strike was fast and caught us off guard. I found myself thrown off my horse, face down on the ground in a manner of seconds. My face was stinging after I hit my forehead hard on a rock. The blood streaming down my face made it clear that I was hurt, but that was the least of my worries.

  I scrambled to my feet. I had to concentrate really hard, since the blow to my face left me disoriented. I found Chad, and my hopes of getting out of the mess dissipated. He had fallen on a tree branch, impaling himself, and was struggling to get free. I ran to him, holding Heaven and slashing traitors as I went. I knelt beside Chad.

  “Go!” he said. “Don’t waste your time.”

  Instead, I helped pull him off the branch. He was bleeding so heavily that I could see the light in his eyes starting to drain with every drop he lost. I continued to fight while desperately trying to support him. Struggling, I got him up on my horse and sat him behind me. He had one hand on my waist and his other one on the reins while I managed to continue to fight with a sword in each hand, as I had been trained to do so well.

  “They’re gaining on us,” said Chad.

  I took the reins from him and snapped them with force while digging my heels into my horse’s body. It increased his pace, but it wasn’t fast enough. There were too many of them coming for us, and our weight made it hard for the horse to run at full speed. Leaving Chad behind was out of the question.

  “I can hold them back for you. Let me get down. It will give you the time you need to pick up speed.” He didn’t give me the opportunity to deny his request or come up with another solution. He just let go of my waist, hitting the ground hard.

  I turned the horse back around. “Chad!” I called, approaching him.

  “Don’t! The King must be warned!” he yelled. Chad grabbed his bow, and his arrows began flying towards our assailants. I cowardly decided to not look back. My horse felt the extra load lifted from his back and began to pick up speed, while I deliberately kept my gaze forward. I knew that if I could make it to the camp where Sir Richard’s men were, I had a chance of surviving.

  I had another ten to fifteen more miles to get there. I just kept going – my heart beat strongly, my eyes burned with a mixture of blood and tears, my spirits were dampened, and my body was exhausted. I was about to give up the fight. The arrows they were shooting at me were close, and my hope was diminishing. Then, up in the distance, I saw blazing turf fires.

  “The camp! Come on horse, fly! We are almost there, buddy!”

  I ducked just in time to evade another arrow shot at me. It ended up in the belly of a roasted pig on the camp fire, which alerted the soldiers.

  “Help me!” I yelled. “Don’t let them escape; they want to kill the King!” I continued to yell as I rode straight through Abilene’s gates and right up to Lord Darius’s house. I banged and kicked the door hard until it opened. Sir Richard and Lord Darius were standing in front of me with alarmed faces.

  “The men are under attack. Follow me!” I told Sir Richard, short of breath.<
br />
  We rode together to the gates and joined the fight. Our attackers soon fled when they saw our numbers, but we chased after them until they were gone. I stopped by the spot where Chad had fallen. Next to the road lay his lifeless body; blood covered his many wounds. It didn’t matter which one had killed him. All I could see was that he was dead.

  “Greenville’s butcher, what is he doing here?” Sir Richard asked me, his right hand resting on my shoulder.

  “I want to bury him, but not here – in Greenville, his home. He saved my life. I won’t leave him by the road like a worthless beast to rot.” Sir Richard nodded. “These men we captured are innocent. Most of them have been pushed into this war by the enemy taking away their families. They need to go back to their villages and fight there for them,” I said.

  “How do you know this?” Sir Richard asked.

  “Chad had refused to join them; he told me everything. They are planning to kill the King when he arrives in Abilene, so Abilene must be protected. Yet, the villagers also need our help,” I concluded, rubbing the wound on my head.

  “I will send a company of men to the Royal City to deliver a message to Victor, who will send some men to help us in saving the villages. Since we cannot protect everything ourselves, the King should be our priority,” said Sir Richard.

  I knew that for him, it was more than protecting a King; it was his own blood that needed saving. I stood up in front of him.

  “Do you trust me, My Lord?” I asked.

  He looked surprised. “You know that I do, John, with my life,” he said, intrigued.

  “Then let me take some of your men to Pokan. We will free the citizens of Pokan and, with their help, we can move into Gaelac and then Tishan. It doesn’t need to be many men. I just don’t want to go alone. I thoroughly agree the King must be protected upon his arrival, but the villagers… they need our help now!” I pleaded.