We came to rest near another village. This one, thank God, was far away from Sleepy Hollow. Luthias had successfully gotten us on the American side and the Americans were very happy to have us. Something told me that the American General, Jackson McAlester, was a tiny bit afraid of Luthias. The poor man was uneasy around Luthias right from the start, but that might have been due to the differences in their statures. It was like seeing a flea next to an ox.

As I walked between Heinrich and Luthias, I looked around the town. There were differences that I'd never noticed. The women saw us and began to giggle, blushing furiously and acting like fools. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Most of them were staring at Luthias, but he didn't seem to care. I had always wondered why women seemed attracted to men who were apathetic—it was funny considering I had once been that way.

I still was.

We gathered up supplies and stopped into the tavern for a noonday meal. I had forgotten what it was like to eat indoors. The other patrons had mixed reactions to us; some of them didn't really seem to care much whether we were there or not. Some of them were afraid or they stared at us with looks of loathing. Some of them left. Our bowls of stew were served to us promptly, probably in hopes that we would leave soon. The hot food felt wonderful in my stomach and a warm, hazy, sleepy feeling washed over me. Shortly after we finished our meal, our group of soldiers began to splinter off in different directions. We were all to meet back here at sundown to get back to camp. Luthias had already warned them of excessive drunkenness or being late. I wanted to go with him, but Heinrich tugged at my sleeve and led me off in another direction.

I should probably explain ahead of time that I had never drank before. Heinrich was nice enough to buy us both drinks after Luthias had gone.

"But…" I protested.

"He said not to get drunk," Heinrich reminded me, "he didn't say we couldn't drink."

My strict upbringing had stated that I should never drink. The tiny bit of wine at communion was all I had ever been allowed, and I didn't really like the way wine tasted. I wasn't even sure what it was in the mug—it was dark and bubbly.

I was reminded that my old life was gone and that the only people I really had to be accountable to were Luthias and God.

I took a swallow.

The flavor was…odd. I couldn't really tell if I liked the taste or not. It seemed to burn like fire down my throat and I was thankful I'd eaten just moments before. It would have been very unpleasant on an empty stomach.

"Now you're a real soldier," Heinrich chuckled, "liquid courage, they call it."

I could see why. After I'd finished off what was left in the cup, I was feeling rather strange. My face felt flushed and my mind was a little fuzzy around the edges. It was as if every ounce of tension I had in my body had gone away. The very real danger that we were always in seemed very far away. Heinrich had the bartender refill our cups and looked at me expectantly.

I didn't dare finish off the second cup. I only drank a little out of it and satisfied him by pretending to drink after that. Thankfully, something else caught Heinrich's interest and I didn't have to show my supposed cowardice. The cup stayed on the bar and we left.

"Look over there," he commented.

Luthias's horse was outside a nearby building—I guessed that he and the American general were talking inside. A gleaming chestnut mare stood nearby and Daredevil was acting rather…interested…in her.

"Watch this," Heinrich whispered mischievously. He untied the general's horse, then untied Daredevil.

"Heinrich, no!" I hissed, but it was too late. The mare bolted towards the woods. Daredevil was in hot pursuit of her.

"Heinrich!" I protested as he was overcome with a fit of laughter.

"Well," he said, still chuckling, "they deserve a bit of fun, too, don't they?"

"Luthias is going to kill you," I reminded him.

"Nah. We'll get them back."

I groaned.

We ran towards the woods.

"Oh, no…" I lamented.

The horses had backed up as far as they could go into a clump of trees. A pack of skinny, snarling wolves had cornered them there.

"Heinrich, have you lost your mind?" I exploded when he drew his sword.

The wolves glanced at us and a few of them began to come forward. I nervously drew my sword as well.

"They don't scare me," Heinrich snorted, "and they shouldn't scare you, either. Luthias taught you enough…this should be easy."

The first wolf lunged. I didn't realize I'd moved until the sickening spatter of blood on the snow violated my ears. Heinrich's sword sang through the air as well. The other wolves, desperate for food, lunged for the ones we'd injured. Not wanting to take any more chances, I wiped my blade on the snow, sheathed it, and swung up onto Daredevil's back.

"Come on, Heinrich!" I yelled furiously, "Quit feeding your over-sized ego and let's get out of here!"

Reluctantly, Heinrich did. He hopped onto the mare's back just as the biggest wolf snapped at his heels. The horses were more than happy to get out of here. Unfortunately, they weren't without injury. Daredevil was now moving with a limp and there was a gash in the mare's side.

Not surprisingly, Luthias and Jackson had been searching for us. His intense stare was more frightening than any battle I had yet seen.

"Yours, I presume?" Jackson asked disapprovingly.

I guiltily slid off of Daredevil.

"What happened?" Luthias asked in German.

His voice seemed dangerously calm. That wasn't a good sign at all.

"Wolves," I muttered, "in the woods."

Luthias moved closer.

"And how did our horses get in the woods? Did you take them?"

Heinrich looked sideways at me.

"It was my fault, sir. S—He tried to stop me, but I wouldn't listen. I took the mare and she came after me. Then we were attacked by wolves."

Jackson glared. Obviously, he understood enough German to realize what Heinrich had said. Luthias pulled Jackson aside and they talked for a few minutes. Heinrich was beginning to shake. I gave him a questioning look.

He didn't look me in the face.

It was hard to believe he'd ever hated me. Suddenly, I understood: he knew how much I cared for Luthias and didn't want me to be at the receiving end of his wrath. Jackson pocketed some coins and I realized that he had just been compensated for his mare's injury. I would have to patch Daredevil's leg up when we got back to camp. Jackson left, his expression one of foul displeasure.

Luthias turned back to us. He seized Heinrich by the jaw.

"Stupid boy! What were you thinking?"

The sound of his fist slamming into Heinrich's gut was unbearable. I was about to run forward when someone else caught my arm. It was Albrecht.

"Don't interfere," he warned, "you'll make it worse."

Luthias struck Heinrich three or four times, all the while commenting on his lack of intelligence and competence. Heinrich said nothing and didn't bother to defend himself.

"We will discuss your punishment later," Luthias snarled. I opened my mouth to say something, but Heinrich shook his head. I closed my mouth again.

The way back to camp was very quiet. Rather than risk Daredevil being injured further, Luthias walked beside him, leading him by the reins. When we got back, he refused to let anyone else deal with the injury. I watched him carefully clean out the cut while I held Daredevil's reins. If the horse began to get tense, it only took a word or two from his master for him to settle down.

"How serious is it?" I asked cautiously.

Luthias didn't look up.

"Bad enough," he responded irritably, "the wound isn't deep, but it will take a few days to heal. Stupid boy."

He bandaged up the wound with a strip of cloth and quietly petted Daredevil for a second. The bond between horse and rider was a tangible, almost living thing.

"I'm not sure I tried hard enough," I confessed. The guilt had been building to an almost intolerable level.

"Whether you did or you didn't does not matter," Luthias said dismissively, "he has to learn his place."

I could hear the edge creeping back into his voice, so I retrieved Daredevil's grain rations for the evening and fed him. For a few minutes, the only sound was his contented crunching.

"I remember being his age," Luthias commented, "young, strong, and stupid. I thought I was indestructible. Being in battle very quickly changed my mind. I didn't have many friends and the few I did have were killed. You were both very lucky that there were no British soldiers in the woods."

I nodded. I realized very quickly that we had scared him. He would probably never admit to it, but he'd been worried about us.

A strange warmth crept into my insides. Part of me argued that it was just the drink I'd had earlier.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Heinrich until later. The bruises on his face were starting to darken.

"It looks worse than it is," he assured me, "the worst of it will be going without rations for two days and having to keep watch two nights in a row."

"Why did you tell him I had nothing to do with it?" I asked.

"Because you didn't. I was the one that let the horses go and you did try to talk me out of it," he sighed, "let's not talk about it again. I don't want someone to overhear it."

"All right," I agreed reluctantly.

"You love him. I think of you as my sister," Heinrich said, "I don't want him to lay his hands on you for any reason."

Heinrich tensed a little when I hugged him.

"Thank you," I said gratefully.

A momentary silence passed.

"He should marry you after the war," Heinrich commented, "you're the only one who would put up with him."

I smiled.

It was hard to imagine life beyond the war…war had permeated every aspect of our lives. Trying to picture Luthias without his armor, sword, and Daredevil was next to impossible. I could no sooner picture him in a domestic setting than I could picture my mother being brought back to life.

The future suddenly seemed dark and empty. I couldn't ask Luthias to give up being a soldier. With a heavy heart, I closed my eyes and sank into a dreamless sleep.