Chapter 3 - The Secret

I watched as the boy’s legs started to shake and he lowered himself to the ground. He sat unmoving behind the net. We were all shocked when his face began to melt into a smile.

“I’m looking for you!” he said incredulously. He grabbed the net with both hands and eagerly pressed his face against it. “I mean, it is you, right? It has to be. No one else can handle a weapon like that.” His expression changed to wide eyed curiosity. He pushed his face even tighter against the grid of rope and asked “How did you do that raid last week in town? You know, when you freed the prisoners from the jail and everyone was distracted while you robbed the silversmith? How did you break into the jail, eh?”

I kept my face steady but inside my heart sank. He knew. No matter how he had found out, he knew who we were. He had come looking for us and he had found us.

“So will you help me?” his face turned serious and he scanned our faces. When he came to mine I avoided his gaze. “I know who you are. And you know that I know. You can try to pretend that you’re not, but I KNOW WHO YOU ARE.” For the first time since we had captured this yellow haired youth, his face didn’t show fear. His exhilaration over finding us seemed to have overpowered his nervousness, and while he kept his face steady his eyes were dancing with excitement.

“I need you.” His voice continued as I glanced subtly at Gail. “I know something important. I’m the only person who knows.” That was enough to cut us off mid-worried glance and stare at the boy. He knew he had our attention, and he held it with his magic eyes.

“There’s a secret that only three people in the whole world know. The Queen is one. I am the other.”

“Who’s the third?” asked Jayn quietly.

“That’s part of the secret.” He was standing now, a grid of shadows from the net crisscrossing his entire body. “This is a secret that the Queen would guard with her life. It could change everything we know.”

“Cut the drama.” I said, suddenly, taking a step up toward the net. I pulled my face against the net so that my face was close to his. “Are you going to talk about “the secret” or are you going to tell us what it is?”

I could feel his breath on my face as he said, “Let me out first.”

“Of the net?”

“Yes, let me out of the net.”

“Why?”

“Because otherwise, you’ll leave me here after I tell you.”

He was smarter than I thought.

I scanned the net, which was covering his entire body. One end was thoroughly ensnared in a thorn bush and I noticed he had stepped through one of the loops and his leg was tangled. There was no way he was getting out of that without us knowing.

I pulled Gail, Kaitrinn, and Jayn off to the side. Quinn, standing at least two heads shorter than our gangly prisoner, held a dagger menacingly in front of her and glared into him with her doe-brown eyes. I almost laughed at the picture, but felt comfortable enough with her standing guard to turn my back on the boy.

“He knows.” I said to the somber group around me.

“Let’s just let him go.” Said Kaitrinn, reaching her hand to her cap to tuck in a stray curl.

“We can’t,” said Jayn quietly. “He knows who we are and knows the general area of our hideout. If we let him go, who knows what could happen " or who he could bring back.”

“We could always hear what he has to say,” suggested Kaitrinn with a shrug. “Let him out of the net, let him tell us his “secret” and decide what to do next.”

“If he’s not in the net, we won’t have time to chat about ‘what to do next’. He could escape.” Said Gail gruffly. “He knows. We just have to get rid of him.”

I wouldn’t let myself think about killing the tall, blonde boy. Somehow inside I knew that I would have to think about it eventually, but I shoved it out of my mind, wanting to hold it off as long as possible. “He doesn’t know everything.” I said. There was one thing he didn’t know; one thing that was hidden beneath rough caps and too big tunics.

“He knows enough.” Said Gail. And I knew she was right.

Jayn said softly, “We have to do something with him. We cannot let him go.”

“Let’s keep him around for a bit.” Said Kaitrinn. “See what his big story is, and get as much as we can out of him before…”

I could tell Gail was still wary of releasing him from the net, but I latched onto the only idea that didn’t involve an innocent death by my sword. There had been too many in the past.

We circled the net, this time holding our weapons out so the boy could see them. I slowly raised my bow until my arrow was pointing at his face.

“If you try to run,” I told him, “I will kill you.” His body flinched but he didn’t look away from the arrow. I hoped I was telling the truth " that if he ran, I could indeed force my fingers to draw back the bowstring and end his life.

“Bluejay” I called, using Jayn’s code name. She walked up and began to use one of her knives to hack away at the rope surrounding the boy. Just as she was about to cut the last rope, everything changed in a single moment, just like it had when Jayn had first cut down the net and the pieces of the puzzle had fallen together in the boy’s mind.

This time, what started the fateful change was more simple. Quinn’s cap fell off. She had scurried up a tree as soon as I had taken over guarding the net. She had done a quick scan of the surroundings with her spyglass, and then dropped down from a branch. As she did, a twig caught her cap.

My face was securely glued on the boy’s, daring him to escape, but when his eyes widened I followed his gaze behind me. There stood Quinn with her shoulder length hair knotted into a braid. The twig that had stolen her cap had pulled wisps of hair out of her braid, and they framed her face.

She stood by the tree, her eyes wide with horror as she reached up to feel her hair. Jayn’s knife cut through the last rope just as I cried, “Jayn, stop!”

Jayn. I had just called her Jayn.

The boy looked at Quinn, looked at Jayn, looked at me. Once again, putting together the pieces. He knew. He tried to hide it, but it was too late. We were good at putting together pieces, too. And in front of us stood a man who knew where we lived, who we were, and the one thing that we had sworn no one would ever know. The men the sheriff had been chasing for years were women. This tall, young man who was so fascinated with secrets now knew one that we could never let escape. And he was standing outside of the net.

“Yes.” My voice was strong as I gave Gail the command to kill. But I turned my head away. I didn’t want to watch the boy with eyes like the sky before a storm die.

I waited for the scream but it never came. All I heard was metal hitting metal. I turned around to see Kaitrinn sitting with shock on the grass, blood seeping from a small wound on her arm. My jaw dropped as I watched someone - who looked just like the nervous boy we had found earlier, but couldn’t possibly be " holding Kaitrinn’s short sword to Gail’s throat, as Gail’s sword lay useless on the ground.

We could have still killed him. Kaitrinn was barely wounded and could have gotten up and plunged a dagger into his chest. Jayn could have sent another knife flashing through the air. I could have raised my bow, strung and ready, and shot an arrow at his heart.

But he, also, could have sliced the sword right across Gail’s throat. Could have killed her and ran. Instead he chose to hold the blade there, at her throat, putting himself at more risk every moment he stood there in front of us. He chose not to kill, and there had to be a reason. So we waited and watched as he opened his mouth.

“You don’t know who I am.” I had thought I did, while he was the terrified boy who we first stopped on the road. Then I thought I did while he was trembling with energy after he discovered who we were. But now, he was right. Who was this boy, with the dusky blue eyes that stayed soft even though his face was now sharp as the steel blade he held?

“But I can tell you this.” He continued, his gaze fixed directly on me as he lowered the blade away from Gail. “I’m worth more to you alive than dead.”

We walked back toward camp; captive and captor. Except I’m not sure who was the captive. The boy was outnumbered, but I think he had the upper hand. So the boy walked freely alongside of us as we started toward our hideout.

He had just gotten lucky, I told myself as I yanked aside a stubborn branch. He had shocked us into allowing him to live, that was all. But I somehow knew that what he lacked in practice he made up for in skill.

I kept my eyes trained on the boy’s face as we came up to Foresthenge. I watched his eyes widen when the curtain of greenery was pushed aside to reveal the tunnel into camp. Once we reached the clearing, he stood staring as the rest of the girls began to strip off weapons. Kaitrinn began to wrap a strip of cloth tightly around her arm. When she saw the boy looking at her, she raised her eyebrows, smiled, and gave an impressed nod. The boy saw she wasn’t angry and smiled back at her.

“How did you do it?” I asked.

“I scratched her with the knife while I was taking her sword. I don’t think I hurt her too bad.”

“Oh, I’m sure you didn’t. It takes more than that to bring her down.” I gave him a look, trying to show him we were tougher than we seemed. Our pride had been hurt, I’m afraid. We had underestimated him. However, there is a certain kind of respect that comes when you know someone can kill you and they know you can kill them.

He gave a little bow. “Excuse my manners,” he said seriously, but I could see the corners of his mouth twitching. “I don’t think we’ve been introduced. I’m Luke.”

I waited for him to give his last name, maybe a title, explain who he was, but he didn’t. So neither did I. “I’m Gwenyth.” I stuck out my hand and he gave it a strong shake. We had come to an agreement.

Or so I thought, until that evening when we were sitting around the fire. We had just finished the leftover venison stew and I was unlacing my boots, preparing to settle in next to the fire.

“Ready to tell us this secret then, Luke?” Kaitrinn leaned forward eagerly. They had spent most of the afternoon together, Kaitrinn giving him a thorough tour of the camp. I had watched out of the corner of my eye as Luke eagerly explored the canvas tents. The rest of us had kept our distance.

But now, warm by the fire with a good meal in our stomachs, we were all starting to relax. And, I must say, I was just as curious as Kaitrinn to hear what kind of secret could have driven this young man on a search deep within the woods.

Surprisingly, he now seemed indifferent. “Oh, nothing really.” Luke said, avoiding our eyes.

“We’re too smart to let you get away with that.” I said, only half teasing.

“Alright then, I’ll tell you the truth.” He said, but I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like the truth. “If I tell you, I know you’ll kill me.”

Almost in unison, all five of us opened our mouths to protest and then closed them again. It was no use trying to convince him otherwise; he was probably right.

“We brought you all this way and you’re not going to tell us?” Jayn asked, her voice rising. “We let you live and you aren’t going to speak?”

Luke tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “Would you?”

That ended the conversation quickly.

The silence was uncomfortable until Jayn began the nightly routine of tuning the strings on her lute. She began to strum a soft melody, and the notes began to waft through the clear night air and ease any tension in the atmosphere. It was a song I knew well, and I hummed along softly. Suddenly, I heard a gentle, low voice drown out my humming and begin to sing the words that ran inside my head.

Bird on a briar, bird on a briar,
Mankind is come of love, love thus craves.
Blissful bird, have pity on me,
Or dig, love, dig thou for me my grave.

Without looking at Luke, I added my own voice to the next verse; quietly at first, but growing more confident as the song smoothly glided along.

I am so blithe, so bright, bird on briar,
When I see that maiden in the hall:
She is white of limb, lovely, true,
She is fair and flower of all.

Quinn’s voice joined in, high and clear. Then Gail’s, low and husky. And then Jayn’s, smooth as silk.  Kaitrinn’s, sweet and lilting.

Might I her at my will have,
Steadfast of love, lovely, true,
From my sorrow she may me save
Joy and bliss would me renew.

The night seemed even stiller after Jayn strummed the last note and our voices fell silent. When the girls and I stretched out on the ground to sleep, Luke spread his own cloak on the ground a short distance away from us. Without speaking, we had agreed that he would be allowed to stay.

I thought I was the first one awake the next morning. It wasn’t until I walked through camp on my way to the stream that I noticed Luke’s bed was empty. I looked around but didn’t see him. Deciding he was simply relieving himself in the woods or some such thing, I continued to the stream. The water was fresh and cold, and I gave a little gasp of pleasure as I splashed it up to wash my face. I was going into town today to meet Gavin, so I took some extra time getting dressed in a way that would help me blend in with the busy masses of women going to market. It always felt strange exchanging my sturdy pants for a long, linen skirt, but I enjoyed the feel of the soft fabric swishing on my legs. I was just lacing up my bodice over my rough, cotton shirt when I heard a loud clatter in the kitchen. Glancing out of the supply tent where I was changing, I saw a head of yellow hair peek nervously out of the tent flap before darting back inside. Oh, Luke. This strange boy was as mysterious as the secret he refused to share.

I took my time putting on a pair of leather shoes and trying, unsuccessfully, to finger comb my hair into some form of obedience. After struggling for a few moments, my rumpled locks still refused to be beat into submission, and I admitted defeat. By the time I ducked out of the tent and into the clearing, Luke had a fire started and was cooking something in a pan over the flames.

I tried to appear uninterested as I busied myself concealing a leather pouch under the waistband of my skirt, but the delicious, meaty aroma wafting up from the fire eventually broke through my resolve. Luke handed me a trencher and fork without a word or barely a glance in my direction. My mouth dropped as I looked down at the slab of meat.

“Ham?” I asked him incredulously. “Where did you get ham?”

He seemed not to hear me and shifted his pan on the fire. I strained my head but couldn’t see what was cooking inside.

“Not going to answer me, then?” When it became apparent that I had guessed correctly, I shrugged and dug into the thick slice of meat. I swear that first bite was like manna from heaven. I savored the juicy piece of meat for a moment before swallowing it. The ham was gone in a moment, and just as I was trying to decide whether to ask for more, Luke turned and slid a cooked egg onto my trencher. This time I didn’t even ask where it was from; I just enjoyed every bite.

After I had finished scraping every crumb from the trencher, I gave a contented sigh.

“Well, Luke, nice surprise, I must say!” I looked at him gratefully. “You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

He still wasn’t meeting my gaze, so I reached up turned his face toward me. I could feel his eyes sweeping my entire body, and then his mouth opened into a soft smile.

“You look lovely this morning.” He said, gesturing to my brown skirt, which had spread to cover the tree stump on which I was sitting. “Still think you look better in pants, though,” was his next comment, which brought my eyes darting to his face. I glared at him for a moment, trying to decide whether to be offended. All he did was wink one of those blue eyes. If he thought he could charm me into helping him with his all-important “secret mission”, he had another thought coming.

“So how long do you plan to stick around, exactly?” I shot at Luke. “How long is it going to be before we get to the point and you tell us this fairytale of yours that ‘only the Queen knows’?”

He wiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Until I’m valuable enough to you that you know you can’t manage without me.”

I stood up and spoke to him through gritted teeth. “We’ve been managing just fine without you for years.”

“But that was before.” His face was solemn now. “Everything is going to change, and you’ll need all the help you can get. As soon as I can tell you " “

I spun on my heel and walked rigidly toward the stable. My blood was boiling. How could I ever have cared enough for this boy to want to spare his life? Those magic eyes had put me under a spell. Were we completely daft? We were allowing a stranger who we knew nothing about to live in our camp. Use our supplies. Sit around our campfire. Cook us breakfast.

I spotted Hawk’s shiny black coat among the trees, and slipped a bridle over his head. “If he thinks he can come in here and take charge, just because of some supposed “secret” that he has that he believes gives him power…” I stopped buckling the bridle and looked into Hawk’s bright eyes. “He’s wrong.”

 

 

Author's Note

Okay, here's Chapter 3! Let me know what you think :)

Reviews

[DaughterNature]

Very nice, I like where this is going. My caution for you is along the same lines as my comment for the last chapter: be sure that you have the personalities for each of your characters set, and be sure that they speak and act according to their assigned personalities. In this chapter, I am intrigued by Luke's secret, but the actual action is distracting. Why would the girls not be more careful about their hair? Why would they cut him free from the net? Why did they allow him to keep the dagger? Why did the girls not have quicker reaction times (especially if they are used to fighting and unexpected situations)? Why do they bring him back to their camp immediately? Why do they trust him so innately? Why does Gwyneth touch him so soon after meeting? Just some things to keep in mind, can't wait for the next chapter!