by Wylie, Jen
Kei shifted slightly, moving closer to her. She smiled over at him but didn't say anything.
Avery came over to join them a short while later. "Are you cold, Aro?"
She nodded slightly. "Just a little."
He frowned. "We'll be able to have a bigger fire tomorrow night."
"We're moving then?"
He nodded. "First thing in the morning. We're taking watches tonight, just in case. Tomorrow we'll follow the stream into the woods a goodly way and set up another camp."
"We aren't going to keep moving?"
"We haven't come to any decision on that yet. The sea provides a good amount of food. We won't be so lucky in the woods. Water will be a problem, too. We've nothing to carry extra in. Cain is going to try to make up some water skins from some of the leather we salvaged. We'll see if that works." He smiled at her. "Don't worry. We'll get it all sorted out."
She bit her lip and nodded, wishing silently that they'd stop treating her like a child.
Avery turned to Kei. "You have the last watch. I'll be getting you up."
Kei nodded.
Avery looked back and forth between them a few times, his head cocked slightly to the side as if trying to figure something out. Had he found out that she was actually a girl? He didn't say anything however, just gave a brief smile. "Get some sleep, you two. We've a busy day tomorrow."
As she settled herself next to the fire she noticed Prince watching her and guilt stabbed her heart, forcing her to look away. After everything he had done, she had abandoned him without a second thought when Kei had returned. Yet there he sat, not even with his customary frown, but just simply watching her quietly.
"Gah."
"Aro?"
She looked over at Kei. "I'll be right back." She grinned at him, "Keep my rock warm."
He laughed, shaking his head at her, and settled back down as she got up.
Heading quietly out the back way of the cave, she turned once and looked at Prince. He still watched her. She gave him a slight nod toward the pool and then continued on.
She waited out of sight by the pool, worrying at a fingernail.
"Don't bite your nails. It is unseemly."
She lowered her hand and grinned. "I'm supposed to be a boy."
Prince frowned at her. "That is no excuse."
She rolled her eyes dramatically. "You are such a prince." Her words brought a faint smile to his lips, but it faded quickly and she winced. "I'm sorry."
He shook his head slightly. "You have nothing to be sorry for, child."
She grimaced. "You've done so much for me. And..." She sighed and rubbed at her head in frustration, unsure of how to say what she wanted him to understand. "I just...gah!"
He rested a hand on her shoulder as she struggled with putting into words how much he meant to her, for everything he had done and said. Especially for being there for her. She didn't know what to do, how to be friends with both him and Kei when they didn't get along.
He gave her shoulder a little squeeze. "Stay with Kei. I know you missed him. I will be here if you need me."
She looked up at him and saw he was actually smiling and a small smile came to her on its own. He wasn't mad, so everything would be fine. He had said he would stay, he would be here. His words meant more to her than he could possibly know when everything else seemed to be disappearing around her.
"Come on," Prince said, the smile still amazingly on his face. "Time for bed."
She opened her eyes wide in mock astonishment. "You found me a bed?"
He swatted her lightly upside the head.
She laughed and followed him back.
Kei looked over at her in concern when she settled back down next to him.
"I'm fine." She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes. Everyone was getting along. Everything would be fine.
* * *
Morning seemed to come too quickly. She had meant to get up early with Kei and stand watch with him, but he hadn't woken her up. In fact, she ended up being the last to wake. That made her cranky.
She ate the little food they had left for her and proceeded to help pack up. Most of the others had gone out searching for what food they could find. Prince remained in the caves with her, trying to put all their salvaged belongings into portable bundles. She grew frustrated as she found herself reaching for her knives more than once and not finding them there.
Prince remained strangely quiet and she looked up at him. He stood there, fingers resting gently on his chest. She'd seen him do it a number of times before, but hadn't really taken notice. Where his fingers rested though, could have been where a chain or pendant had hung. "Did they take something important from you?"
He nodded slightly and his fingers curled before he dropped his hand. "Important. Yes, you could say so." He looked off into the distance. "I need..." He started, but stopped and looked down at her briefly, before turning suddenly and walking away.
"Uh, strange," she muttered.
Kei walked in from the beach. "What's strange?"
She sighed. "Nothing." She looked over to where Prince had disappeared toward the pool.
Kei followed her gaze and frowned. "Did you fight?"
She shook her head. "No. I don't think so." She worried her lip, trying to figure out what had happened. "I think it's just hard on all of us, losing everything."
Kei nodded. "Harder for him. He had more."
She nodded. "True."
Bo came in, followed by Cain. "You all finished in here?"
She nodded. "I think so. You have any luck?"
He smiled and held up a bulging shirt. "Didn't do too badly if I do say so." He nodded in Cain's direction. "Cain has another. Garic actually speared a few good sized fish. They're cleaning them now."
She made a face, wondering how good a job they could be doing with just sharp chips of rock.
Everyone came in and gathered up their sparse belongings. She only looked back once before following the others up the embankment and into the woods.
Fear pushed and pulled at her, trying to take over, but she tried not to let it show. She was a city girl. Living on the beach had been hard enough. She didn't know what to expect now. She tried not to be afraid. She knew at least some of the others had some experience with it. It helped knowing they would all be looking out for her.
However this wasn't their woods, or their homeland. Childhood stories of wild Fey, magical Elves, and shape changing Were abounding in these woods came back to her. Truly none of them knew what they were walking into. Had the stories been just stories? She knew they all existed, but the tales had often been frightening, not cozy and nice. Even Kei had few memories of his young childhood here. She glanced over at Prince. "Think we'll run into anything we can't handle? Other than slavers I mean."
"I wouldn't think so. Not this close to the beach, or so far north."
She didn't like how his words didn't seem all that certain and again missed her knives. Giving up on that she picked up a big stick as soon as she found one.
They headed into the woods on an easterly course until they came across a stream. Not wanting to give up a source of water, they continued on along its banks. Finally, Bo declared a sizable clearing by the stream the place they would stop.
Personally she considered the spot still too close to the beach, but maybe that was the point. They could still have easy access to the food they could find there.
Her men suddenly sprang into action, seeming to know what needed to be done, gathering rocks for a fire pit, digging a shallow hole for it, and breaking branches off trees with long thin needles for bedding.
She tugged on Bo's shirt. "What do you want me to do?"
He pursed his lips. "Hmm. You can start collecting firewood. Try to find some good dry, dead fall."
She nodded and set about doing as asked, and any other small chores they found for her afterward.
As the afternoon wore on everyone else seemed to be able to constantly have something to do. She
found herself sitting next to Cain watching him in amusement as he cursed at the pile of leather before him. "What are you making?"
"Water skins."
"Do you know what you're doing?"
He scratched his head and let out a sigh. "Well. No. It is not helpful we have nothing in the way of tools."
She picked up some leather pants and examined them. "I'd cut off part of a leg. The seams are pretty good. Then you'll just have to sew the bottom."
He raised his eyebrows at her but took the garment and nodded after a moment. He set about sawing at the leather with one of the sharp rocks. She checked out one of the other pieces they had, a leather vest, and began picking apart one of the seams that had been held together with a thin strip of leather. Cain finished cutting and again began staring the piece of leather, turning it over and over in his hand.
With a sigh she took the piece from him. She deftly turned it inside out and decided the cut end would be the best end to sew. She bit her lip. "I'm going to find some rocks."
She came back with a larger flat one and smaller hand sized one. She pulled one of the larger nails she'd scavenged from her pocket and set about pounding a line of holes along the leather.
Cain stared at her in astonishment. "You can sew?"
She paused, holding in a wince. Boys aren't supposed to sew. "I'm a lot younger than my brothers, so I got taken care of by a lot of army wives when they were gone."
He nodded as if her quick lie made perfect sense. Suddenly his face turned solemn. "I'm sorry, about your bro–"
"Don't," she said quietly, ducking her head and concentrating on her work.
He watched her in silence for a while before standing. "I'll leave this to you then. You seem to know what you are doing."
She nodded, concentrating on placing even holes, trying to ignore the ache in her chest. Trying to hide the tears sliding silently down her cheeks.
* * *
She had almost finished sewing the bottom together when Prince wandered over. She looked up at him. "I don't know how well these seams are going to hold water."
He raised his eyebrows at her and frowned, looking off into the woods as he thought. "Let me see what I can find that might help."
She continued to work, making a few more makeshift water skins, adding ties to the tops. By the time the sun started to set Prince returned with a shell full of something that looked like tree sap. For all she knew it was. With a small stick he showed her how to smear some between the seams and then weigh it down with rocks. "Do that for the rest, we can test one in the morning, we may need to add more."
Darkness came and everyone returned to camp from whatever they had been doing. She happily greeted Kei. He had been gone most of the day scouting the area. They all ate quickly before curling up in lumps around the fire.
The days continued to pass quickly. The men tried their luck at hunting and continued fishing. She and Prince spent time gathering food and scavenging at the beach. Her water skins seemed to work, so she continued making them. The men occasionally brought her other leather they found. The work made for boring and monotonous days. Boring beat being chased by slavers, so she didn't complain.
Kei and Prince seemed to be almost getting along. They weren't openly hostile at least. She could not say the same for Allen and Garic. She heard them arguing more than once, about what she wasn't certain. They still kept to themselves, but she found them watching her quietly on a number of occasions. It would have unnerved her, but she caught them doing the same to Avery and Kei, too. It made her uncomfortable, but she didn't understand, so she ignored it.
It turned out to not matter very much. One morning they awoke to find the pair gone. Thankfully they didn't take anything they shouldn't have.
Chapter 14
Always Trust Your Instincts
Something startled her awake. Staring up at the stars she listened, trying to figure out what it had been. Was it just the wind in the trees, or some unfamiliar animal noise? Whatever the sound had been it didn't repeat and she rolled over, Kei close beside her, listening to the other night sounds around her.
Sleep evaded her and she grimaced, rolling over again and then sitting up. The others all continued to sleep soundly around the fire. She sighed and yawned as she stood and quietly added more wood to it. She poked at it for a while and then looked around at the sleeping bodies again.
She had to pee, but was uneasy at the idea of going off into the woods alone in the dark. The others had warned her often enough not to go off alone. She felt foolish, being afraid of the dark. She wasn't four years old. Still, she grabbed a stick as she picked her way into the woods.
She wouldn't go far, would do what she had to as quickly as she could, and get back before anyone missed her. It seemed the stars had begun fading somewhat, dawn couldn't be very far away.
Trying to quietly make her way back she stopped suddenly, again hearing something that sounded out of place. She turned, trying to figure out what had made the noise, but the sound did not come again. Cursing under her breath she continued on more quickly.
She wasn't certain when she got turned around, but after a short time realized she should have been back to the camp already.
"I hate the woods," she muttered as she stopped.
She looked around, it still wasn't much lighter. She didn't know where she was. Should she call for Kei? Or wait for someone to come and find her? She gripped her stick more tightly.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot." Waiting until morning would have been a better idea. Or keeping the camp in sight, but no, she had been too afraid one of the others would see her and discover she wasn't a boy.
"Gah!" She turned in a circle, but it didn't help.
She continued muttering to herself as her panic grew. Kei would be upset with her. Prince would be furious. She started walking, hoping to come across the stream or the beach, anything to get her bearings. She needed to get back before everyone woke up.
She stopped suddenly as she thought she heard muted voices, people sounds. Yes, off to her left. Relieved she quickly headed for them.
The sound of loudly snapping branches froze her immediately. She peered into the darkness under the trees, glad the sun seemed to finally be rising. She could finally see a little better.
The sight of a giant wolf standing not far from her almost made her scream. A weak whimper escaped her instead as she helplessly raised her stick in front of her.
Run.
She blinked and quickly spun, taking off toward the voices she'd heard. Her mind at least seemed to know what to do and not panic.
She ran as quickly as she could, dodging around trees and underbrush, not worrying about being quiet. She slid to halt, stumbling and gasping for breath as she stumbled amidst the men.
They weren't her men.
The voice she had heard in her head telling her to run hadn't been her own thought. Someone had spoken in her mind!
Stupid girl.
She spun and ran back the way she had come, toward the wolf. It must have been one of the Were. She hadn't known they could talk in other people's heads. The stories never mentioned such a thing, but it made sense. Actual wolves certainly couldn't speak.
It had tried to warn her. Was it friendly?
She never found out, she barely left the sight of the men she'd discovered before they caught her.
One grabbed her by the back of her shirt and jerked her backward so roughly she fell to the ground, her breath knocked out of her. When she looked up, they had surrounded her.
She scrambled to her feet, trying not to choke on the panic rising within her. The men were talking and laughing. She twirled around, counting. Six. A shuddering breath escaped her.
From their dress and speech she was pretty certain the strangers were slavers, not other escaped slaves. "Rot it!"
One stepped forward. "Where are of the rest of you?"
She shook her head, afraid to speak, and certain she couldn't even if she wanted to. Terror held he
r frozen. She couldn't even breathe. Every muscle tensed, ready…even though she had no idea what to do.
"We've caught two of you again already, boy," the man said.
She bit her lip. So Allen and Garic hadn't run off, or they had, but been caught.
"They told us more of you are out here. Our fighters, too. We will find them. Tell us where they are and it'll be easier for you."
She shook her head frantically again as the men tightened the circle around her. She didn't know what they were going to do. Would they kill her? Or just put her in chains again? She didn't want the chains. Never, ever again.
She jumped to the side quickly, hoping to surprise them and break away. Her attempt failed and they laughed as they dragged her back. She fought them, kicking and hitting. "Let me go! Stop! Let go!"
She lashed out with her fist and grunted as she caught one slaver square in the face. Without hesitating she swung her elbow back and spun until she felt it connect with the soft tissue of a second one's throat. Fear overwhelmed her as she blocked a punch with her arm, realizing there were too many of them. Her fear became reality as a fist caught her in the shoulder and spun her. She managed to grab his shoulders and deliver a swift knee to the groin as her brothers had drilled into her so many times. She managed a small smile as he doubled over and she brought both of her fists down on his head. She wasn't strong enough to knock him out, but he would be concentrating on his pains rather than her.
Maybe if she would have remained quiet and passive, they wouldn't have started hitting back. They didn't hit lightly. She abandoned the offensive and concentrated on blocking like she'd been taught. Her hands clenched into fists as she reached out, blocking attacks to her face and stomach. It took everything she had just to protect herself. However she'd never fought with so many before, or with grown men who didn't hold back.