by Wylie, Jen
The other men continued their debate, growing frustrated as it became clearer they had no idea what to do.
"Just ask Prince," she finally snapped. She wanted to get moving whatever they choose to do. Sleep had begun pulling at her, and the last thing she wanted to do was close her eyes and dream.
Every one of them looked up at her in surprise.
Bo looked over at Prince and then back to her. "What do you mean?"
She grimaced and looked away, specifically avoiding Prince's eyes. What if she was wrong? "I think he's from here, these lands. He should know something at least."
Her words caused more of a ruckus than she'd thought they would. She grimaced at all the noise, moved her hands to her head, and tried to hold her brains inside.
"Is this true?"
Prince pressed his lips together angrily, but nodded.
Everyone started yelling at once.
"Very well," Prince eventually snarled. "If you will all be quiet I'll tell you what I know." Everyone thankfully grew quiet immediately.
He picked up a stick and leaned forward, flashing an angry glare at her before looking down at the bare trail before him. He started drawing lines in the dirt with quick, efficient strokes. "The shoreline. Running from north to south here, mountains." He paused and looked up at the others. "Don't think of crossing them, they aren't passable. They are to be avoided. If you think the forests are full of nasty creatures, the mountains are much worse."
He drew few more lines. "The north is held by the Frans. Their border extends to here." He drew another line. "The southernmost part of their lands is forest that extends to the sea. The border is marked by the tree-line." He pointed further down, and drew another line cutting the land between the mountains and the shoreline in uneven halves. He tapped the larger space next to the mountains. "The forests. They are inhabited by the Were, the Fey, and creatures that come down from the mountains. Humans are not permitted in them. Stone markers show the borders, as some forest had been granted to them when they first settled here. Mostly everything has been cut and cleared. A few were smart enough to leave some for hunting and foraging. Some even replanted."
Avery pointed to the other area. "So this is where the people are. Are they split into countries?"
Prince shook his head. "Not as such. The whole area is divided into many small city states. Each has a small walled city and its ruling prince. Few live beyond the walls, the odd farmstead. It is mostly crops and pasture-land."
"Why the walls?" Bo asked.
"To keep the monsters out," Prince answered with a faint smile. "Mostly they are all fighting each other over land." He drew a line down the center of the humans land. "There is one main road that connects them all. It even runs up into Franua. We should be coming across it soon."
Bo and Cain regarded each other quietly for a moment.
"We should find that road," Cain decided and Bo nodded his agreement.
Avery turned to Prince. "Do you think we are still in Franua?"
Prince nodded. "The forest still runs to the shoreline, so yes. How far in, I don't know."
"How bad are the winters here?"
"This far north, bad," Prince replied with a frown. "Lots of ice, lots of snow."
The men all grimaced. "We need to get to one of these cities before the bad weather hits," Bo declared.
The men started talking quietly, making plans, and she closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the tree. At least they had a plan now.
Dark images suddenly appeared in her mind, trying to swallow and drown her. Her eyes snapped open. Fear overwhelmed her hatred for a moment. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to push the clawing hysteria away. Somehow she managed, concentrating on the hate until the shadows in her mind mostly drifted away. She glanced at the others quickly, hoping they hadn't noticed her distress.
Prince looked solemnly at her. "You told my secret."
She shifted uncomfortably against the tree. "It wasn't a secret. You never told me, I just guessed."
"There was a reason I didn't say anything."
"And what would that be?"
He paused and glanced around at the others before looking back at her. "I can't expect any of you to understand what it means to be a prince in these lands. It is much different here, much more dangerous."
She rolled her eyes. "That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard! Why don't you just say you don't trust us?"
He inclined his head slightly. "There is a bit of that as well."
His answer wasn't really a surprise, but for some reason his admitting it hurt. "You can trust us."
"You wish to talk about trust?" His face looked far too innocent as he raised his eyebrows. "So should I tell your secret? The one you never told me, but I guessed?"
Dumb, arrogant, blighting idiot prince. She tried to keep the anger from her voice, but it didn't really work. "You should have just told us! What you know can help us here! Mine isn't good for anything."
Prince smiled slightly and tilted his head to the side, still all fake innocence but real anger. Yes, he was rather furious with her. She didn't really care.
The others watched them both in morbid fascination.
"It would be good for you," he finally said.
She grimaced. "Good way to get me killed."
Avery interrupted them. "Aro, what are you hiding?"
She clenched her teeth and continued to glare at Prince. "You'll tell them if I don't. Won't you?"
"Yes, I will." His faint smile wasn't friendly. "It's your choice."
"That isn't any kind of a choice." How exactly was she supposed to tell them? "I don't want to tell them at all," she muttered. She closed her eyes, thinking quickly through her anger. It didn't matter really. Her pretending to be a boy hadn't saved her. They hadn't either. "Fine, then."
Everyone waited for her to reveal her secret. She stalled, leveling her gaze on Prince. "You were right. About depending on others. If I want to live, I need to start taking care of myself."
"Aro, that is not–"
An idea came to her. Raising, a hand she cut him off and looked over at the men, her face grim. "I saw a Were." When they all started to speak at once she raised a hand to silence them. "Let me tell you the whole story. Before I ran into the slavers, I saw a giant wolf." She pointed to her head. "It spoke in my head, telling me to run. I thought it was me thinking it, so I did...straight into the slavers. I didn't know Were could talk in your head like that."
Prince raised his eyebrows and shook his head slightly. He wasn't going to let her get away with not telling everyone she was a girl. For a moment she rather hoped he would pity her and leave her alone. She didn't want to deal with this right now, even if it was a distraction from her memories.
She paused, trying to think of how to say the words. "The Were had one last comment before he disappeared." She glanced at Prince. He watched her intently. No more stalling. "He called me a stupid girl and ran off."
She looked back at the men. They all stared at her in shock.
Avery leaned in toward Bo. "Was the secret that she saw a Were or that she's a girl?"
"Rot it," Bo snapped. He rubbed his forehead, clearly at a loss. "This is…this is…"
Avery remained innocent. "You didn't know?"
Both Bo and Cain glared at him. "And you did?"
Avery grinned and winked at her. "She's a tough girl, but definitely is one. Too curvy and pretty for a boy. And seriously, did you think both Kei and Prince prefer boys? You've seen how they've been acting with her." He made a tsking sound. "You two need to pay more attention."
She watched Bo and Cain try to hide the fact that they had thought Prince and Kei liked boys. Normally she knew she would have burst out laughing and made some sarcastic comment at them...but she didn't. She couldn't. Not even a small smile would form on her lips. She worried at her swollen lip as she tried to figure out what was going on inside her head.
"Well," Bo said finally.
&n
bsp; Cain shook his head but smiled up at her. "I understand why you didn't tell us."
They both looked more shocked than anything else. Avery was clearly amused. She let out a deep breath. That hadn't gone so badly. "We don't have any problems then?"
"Don't worry, pup," Bo said. "Nothing has changed."
She doubted that, but nodded. Pain shot through her head.
"Well enough of all that," Avery said quickly. "What are we doing now?"
"You three jump into the stream and head east as far as you can." Bo's eyes flickered over to her, and she knew he meant as far as she could make it before collapsing. "Cain and I will make a false trail for a while and then come and join you."
She didn't comment on how quickly Bo had changed the topic. She didn't protest when Bo lifted her over the low brush between the stream and the trail and gently set her in the water. She did flinch, even though she didn't really know why. Prince and Avery both jumped over on their own.
She let out a little gasp as cold water quickly started to fill her boots. The stream wasn't very deep, not even up to her knees, but she didn't remember it being so cold.
As they started walking carefully upstream, Avery touched her arm, making her jump. "You don't have to worry," he said quietly. "We aren't going to hurt you or anything."
She glared over at him in response. She didn't want to be reminded.
He shrugged. "Bo and Cain like their women, uh… more mature."
She grimaced. "Fine. I'm not done growing. No need to rub it in."
"Oh... I didn't mean to imply…" A shy grin spread across his face. "Of course, you're my kind of girl."
"I don't want to talk about this," she said flatly
Prince turned on them both. "You touch her and I will kill you," he snarled before spinning around and moving angrily ahead of them.
She raised her eyebrows in surprise. She certainly hadn't expected that response, not with the way he'd been acting and being angry with her for telling his secret.
Avery only laughed. "You were right about him. He definitely has taken the role of overprotective brother."
She clenched her teeth together, suddenly angry again. Of course. Prince was just like a brother. She didn't want to think about her brothers right now. Missing them. She couldn't…
She pushed the heels of her hands against her temples at the sudden pain in her head.
"Aro? How are you doing?"
She turned her head away. "Just stop talking."
He flushed and looked down at the water. "Sorry. I know things are hard right now."
"Hard? Blighting idiot," she muttered as she lowered her hands and started walking faster before Prince pulled too far ahead of them.
Chapter 16
Anger and Forgiveness
The cold water certainly took her mind off of almost everything else.
She stumbled along, trying not to twist her ankle on rocks or submerged debris. She kept her arms wrapped around herself, more from her shivering than pain. Prince had moved far ahead of them. Sometimes she lost sight of him altogether as the stream gently curved and overhanging scrub and branches blocked her view.
She didn't worry about it. They both could certainly use time to cool their anger. Besides, she wasn't alone. Avery kept pace with her, and a close eye on her. She kept her mouth clamped shut to keep from yelling at him. Would everything change now that they all knew she was a girl?
She paused suddenly as she caught sight of Prince sitting up on the far bank. Maybe he'd calmed down already? It could be possible, they'd been walking for quite a while, long enough she couldn't feel her feet.
As they approached he nodded his head upstream. "I found the road. We can wait here for the others."
She looked upstream and could barely make out what looked to be a crude wooden bridge in the distance. Looking up at the sky she frowned. It wasn't even noon yet. She had hoped they would be traveling most of the day. Yes, she was tired already, but not tired enough to pass out and avoid the dreams she knew would torture her.
"There is a well sheltered clearing just behind me," Prince continued quietly. "The others should find us easily enough, but there is enough cover we can have a fire."
A fire sounded like a fine idea. She knew his words should have at least made her smile, but inside she felt...nothing.
Prince stood and pushed his way through the brush. Avery jumped up onto the bank and turned, holding his hand out to her.
She froze and stared at the hand for a moment and then glared up at him. "I'm not some useless girl!"
He let out a weary sigh. "I know you aren't. Now be quiet and get up here. I'd rather be sitting in front of a fire warming my feet than fighting with you."
She clenched her jaw to keep from saying anything else and held out a swollen, darkening hand. He stared at it for a moment before grabbing her by the wrist and hauling her up the muddy, crumbling bank.
She tucked her hands back under her arms and started pushing her way through the bushes.
Avery followed behind her. "Rot it, Aro. How hurt are you?"
She didn't answer him.
Walking with almost no feeling in her feet was painful. The bushes that surrounded the clearing grew thick and thorny. She had some new scratches on her face and was certain she'd lost some hair as well. By the time she stumbled into the clearing Prince had collected a number of rocks and had started placing them in a ring for their fire.
Prince continued working on the pit, only briefly glancing up at her once. Gah. He was still upset with her then. Fine. She wasn't any happier with him.
Avery walked around her and started putting his things in a pile Prince had started. He silently began gathering up twigs and small branches that littered the clearing. She started to help.
"Sit down."
Her head jerked up at the sharpness of Prince's voice. "I can help."
"Just be quiet and sit down," he snapped at her.
She gritted her teeth as tears sprang to her eyes. He didn't even look at her, just kept working on the fire.
She sat and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. She wasn't going to cry.
He and Avery got the fire going and worked silently for a while, gathering a large pile of branches. When they finished both sat and took off boots and socks, setting them by the fire to dry.
She grimaced, she should have thought of that. Pulling up a pant leg, she began fumbling with her boot laces. She cursed. Her swollen hands were useless on the tight wet knots. She gently rubbed at her knuckles. Bruises were forming but at least the torn flesh from where she'd punched some of the slavers in the teeth had stopped bleeding.
She didn't even hear Prince come and kneel beside her. She jumped as suddenly she found him on his knees in front of her, undoing her laces. She looked up at him, startled, but didn't say anything.
"Her hands are really bad," Avery commented.
"Yes, they are," Prince said quietly, keeping his head bowed as he worked. "What did they do?"
She frowned. "Nothing. It's from blocking their hits and fighting back."
He raised his head to look at her in surprise as Avery unexpectedly chuckled.
"I'm not some useless lady," she snapped.
"Apparently not," he murmured. He got her boots and socks off and rubbed her feet down with one of the shirts from his collection before wrapping them snuggly in it. "Let me see your hands," he demanded.
She held them out and ignored his sigh. She looked passed him, staring at nothing as he gently moved his fingers along her hands and forearms. "I don't think anything's broken," she told him.
"Agreed," he said finally. "However, you may have some fractures, and you've ripped open some of your old cuts." He went to his things and came back with a small leaf wrapped bundle. She wasn't surprised to see it was a small shell full of the purple paste. She let him apply it to her hands and to the new cuts on her face. When finished he wiped his fingers and looked at her sternly. "Lift up your shirt."
> She gaped at him for a moment before snapping her mouth closed and vehemently shaking her head.
He frowned at her. "Keep yourself covered." He gestured to her chest. "But you've been holding your side all day. Let me see it."
Lips pursed tightly together, she did as he asked, lifting her shirt up exposing her stomach and ribs. She looked away in embarrassment until he gasped.
"Wither me, what did they do?" She looked past Prince to see Avery had come closer.
She hated them looking at her. Her face burned. "Enjoying yourself?"
Her body jerked as Prince gently moved his fingers along her ribs. He frowned up at her when she tried to pull away. She looked down and had to admit she looked almost as bad as she felt. Her stomach and side had turned into a shocking array of black and purple bruises intermixed with the odd swollen welt. Her breath quickened in rising panic as he continued to gently feel along her ribs. "Are they b-broken?"
Prince shook his head. "Amazingly, not that I can feel." He glanced up at her. "You're a tough child."
"Stop calling me a child!"
Avery just shook his head and kept cursing under his breath.
Prince gestured she could lower her shirt and she did so quickly. Relief at being covered, and that he'd stopped touching her, nearly overwhelmed her.
He stood in one fluid motion. "I will collect us some water."
"And food," she said quickly. "I'm starving."
He looked back at her as he grabbed a number of water skins. "Food is not going to be easy to find."
"Then why are we out here?" Too many emotions thrashed around in her head. Her voice rose, "Dying under a slaver's blade would be preferable to starving to death!"
His lips became a fine line of anger. "I'll find you something. You need to rest and calm down." He stalked off back toward the stream.
She muttered curses under her breath.
"He's only trying to help you," Avery said in exasperation.
She turned on him. "I don't want to hear it!"