The Enemy Arrives
After the fierce storm, the sun returned bright and hot the next day. Will's mood followed suit, vacillating between gloomy and angry and leading him to quarrel with Charles as a result. Two issues preyed on Will's mind: the lack of enemy action they'd seen since their arrival in Merrytown, and the conversation, if you could call it that, he had had with Lizzy while walking back from the widow's house. He recalled that night with dismay, for her appearance had been distracting—she had looked exquisite in the dress she wore—and he had been unable to respond as nimbly as he should have to her sharp inquisition.
His quarrel with Charles began when he broached the first of these topics with his friend. Although they'd made strides in preparing Merrytown for invasion, Charles' scouting efforts had turned up no sign to date of Auroran soldiers encroaching northward. "I worry," Will said, "that something is afoot that we've missed while hidden away in this remote village."
"Yes, but what a village it is!" Charles answered dreamily. "Where else could I have found such an angel?"
"Charles!" Will chastised him. "You are here to be a fighter, not a lover! Have you forgotten your duty?"
Charles laughed. "You really are itching for a battle, aren't you? I declare that I do not know a more awful object than you when you have nothing to do."
"You forget your place!" Will snapped. "I'm your prince and your commander! This woman you're so fond of could easily become the Aurorans' next victim if you do not keep your focus! Must I forbid you to see her, or are you ready to be a soldier again?"
Charles glared at him for a moment before pressing his lips into a thin line. "You're right," he finally said. "I'd never forgive myself if I weren't ready to defend Jane and these people. The Aurorans are still out there. Let's see what we can do to find them."
Grateful to have Charles' full attention again, Will neglected to ask about Lizzy. He had wanted to ask whether Charles had observed anything unusual about her during his visits to Jane, or if Lizzy's sister had mentioned anything about her that they should know. The girl had raised his suspicions with her questioning, making him wonder whether she threatened to make trouble for them.
Once he and Charles began plotting their tactics, however, Will soon forgot about her. It is for the best, he thought when he recalled her again just before falling asleep. If he had asked Charles about Lizzy, his friend's mind would no doubt have turned back to Jane, or worse, he might have assumed that Will's interest in the young woman stemmed from something more than concern that she might interfere with their mission.
By the afternoon of the second day after the heavy rains, conditions had dried out enough that Will had decided to enter the forest again to gather more raw materials for weapons. The solitude of the woods gave him a chance to reflect. His plotting with Charles had been timely, making him much more alert than he had been in recent weeks. His vigilance served him well, as did his good fortune to already be kneeling in the brush when he caught sight of the purple striped uniforms. He crouched into as small a position as he could, holding his breath and watching as two enemy soldiers passed by. Something was afoot. After nearly six weeks in Merrytown with no sign of the adversary, they had finally arrived.
Once the two men were safely past him, he rose and resumed moving. Will crept swiftly but lightly, his eyes rapidly scanning around and down, trying to avoid both obstacles in his path and any additional Auroran spies who might be in the vicinity. He needed to return as fast as possible to the village to warn everyone and prepare for battle. He couldn't be sure how many Aurorans were around, or how soon they planned to attack.
A sudden glow amid a patch of trees caught his eye, as bright as sunlight but much closer to the ground. He lowered himself behind a fallen birch and peered between the leaves to get a better look into what appeared to be a small clearing.
He frowned when he spotted Lizzy sitting on a tree stump, his unanswered questions about her returning with a jolt. Now he had new ones: what was she doing so deeply in the woods, and what was creating that glow? He looked closer. The glow was coming from her hands. He watched her for a moment until she opened her fingers, revealing the contents within. He sucked in his breath.
Gemstones. She held what were clearly gemstones of gold, silver, and if he were not mistaken, ruby and emerald. Yet these gems were more brilliant than any he had ever seen in the castle. His heart began to beat rapidly as he noticed their shape—that of acorns.
And one of them was golden. Like the symbol on his sash. Like the images on the dress she had worn at the Burg home.
How had a simple farmer's daughter acquired such valuable jewels? Had she stolen them? And from where? And what did it mean that one of them was a golden acorn?
His next thought was more practical. He had to hurry back to Merrytown to sound the warning, but couldn't in good conscience leave the girl here. As long as she remained in the woods, she was vulnerable to encountering the Aurorans and whatever nefarious actions they might have in mind. He had to get her to safety.
He slipped as quietly as he could through the brush until he stood only a few feet behind her. Hearing a noise, Lizzy turned and spotted him, a startled look on her face. Before she could speak, Will rushed forward and grabbed her firmly, wrapping his left arm tightly around her torso and covering her mouth with his right hand.
She squirmed ferociously in his grasp . Saliva drooled down his hand from her attempts to bite him. He needed to calm her down, and quickly.
"Please, Lizzy," he whispered, "I intend you no harm. But there are Aurorans in this forest, and I am sure that they do."
She trembled, but ceased to struggle.
Will looked around and noticed a patch of oak trees about twenty feet from them. Turning the girl to face it, he asked softly, "Can you climb that tree, the second one from us?" The tree in question was tall and sturdy, with boughs that branched out enough to allow a climber some leverage. Furthermore, its upper limbs were well-hidden by the neighboring oaks.
She nodded.
"All right. I am going to let you go, but first, you must promise me that you will move fast but neither run nor scream. Then you must climb that tree as high as you can, and I will be right behind you. Do you promise?"
She nodded again.
Will inhaled and released her. Instead of moving immediately toward the tree, she knelt down. He thought that she was in fact planning to run, but no. She had bent over to gather up the gemstones in a cloth that lay on the stump.
Clever girl—not wanting to leave something so valuable behind, especially something that could reveal their presence to the enemy.
Jewels in hand, she moved quickly toward the tree and began to climb. She was limber and fast, and as he watched, he noticed she wore knee-length men's breeches underneath her skirt. Unexpectedly, he blushed, realizing what he might have seen had she not worn trousers.
There was no time to worry about embarrassment. As soon as she reached the upper branches, he too began to climb. He settled into a strong fork between two limbs, slightly below Lizzy.
She stared down at him, her frightened eyes as large and round as saucers. They were hazel, he observed, framed by dark lashes and a few auburn curls that had escaped from the ribbon that held her hair. Her skin was a golden hue from the sun, with freckles lightly dusting her small nose. Her lips were pink and full. A vision of her in the form-fitting emerald ball gown flashed through his mind.
Will tightened his fists. He should not be noticing her this way at a time like this! He turned his attention away from Lizzy, scanning the forest from their high perch, hoping to spot the enemy spies.
Lizzy tapped his arm with her foot. He turned toward her, and she pointed. The spies were nearby, scarcely seventy feet away, and heading in their direction. He placed a finger over his lips, and she nodded. As the men walked closer, their voices became audible.
"…very few young men in this village..."
"…so isolated, we can take it easily…"
The girl gasped and immediately covered her mouth with the hand that held the jewels. As she did so, two of them fell to the ground, making a distinctive plopping sound.
The Aurorans froze and looked around. Sweat began pouring down Will's face. The gold and red gems had fallen in the grass beneath them, and were shining as brightly as if someone had lit a small fire where they lay. His mind frantically raced as he tried to determine how he would fight the two men and protect the girl, since he was certain they would soon be spotted. The spies were already looking in the direction of the gemstones; all they had to do was approach and look up.
A warm summer breeze started to blow, creating whistling sounds as the trees swayed. Several acorns dropped from the tall oak trees around them.
One of the Aurorans chuckled. "Nuts falling, that's all. To be expected when your land is full of forest."
How had they not noticed the gems?!
The two men began to walk again. Will and the girl watched until the Aurorans became specks, striding in the direction of the stream.
He waited for some time before he motioned to the girl that it was time to descend the tree.
When Lizzy reached the ground, she exhaled heavily, as if she had been holding her breath all this time. She rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes.
He shifted awkwardly, unsure how to respond to her obvious distress. He finally decided that if he could touch her to restrain her, he certainly could touch her to provide solace. He gently rubbed her back and said softly, "It's all right, Lizzy. You're safe now."
It seemed to help; she lifted her head and re-opened her eyes. Then she bent down and recovered the fallen gems.
The gems! It was time to find out where they had come from. He grabbed her hand that clutched the jewels. "Where did you get these?" he demanded.
"They're acorns," she answered. "Look around, they're everywhere! To be expected when your land is full of forest," she mimicked the Auroran.
Did she think he was a fool? How could she tell such a ludicrous lie! "Those aren't acorns, those are the finest jewels I've ever seen! Where did you get them?"
She laughed. "If they were fine jewels, don't you think the Aurorans would have noticed? And don't you think it's more important to return to Merrytown and warn everyone about what we've seen, rather than standing here interrogating me?"
Will wasn't used to dealing with insolence, and his temper flared. "Who are you, a thief?"
"Just what I appear to be, a farmer's daughter who has never been far from my village. The real question is, who are you? And why are you here in Merrytown?"
"Our village and farms in the south were burned, so we fled—"
"That's the story you've told everyone, but it's a lie! You and Charles have never farmed anything in your lives. You're lucky Widow Burg is too old, Anne too sickly and Caroline too lazy to check on you! But everyone will soon know when you produce nothing for the harvest. So why are you really here?"
Will wondered what to say. Tell her the truth? Ha! Trust this odd girl who might not be a camp girl—too far from the battlefront, he reasoned—but most certainly was a thief and a liar?
He suddenly noticed that she had begun to rub one of the gemstones, the red one, between her thumb and forefinger. He watched the gemstone gradually lose its color and shine, and turn into the simple brown acorn she had claimed it was all along. How had she done that? Was she a sorceress, too? A chill swept through him. Who was this girl?
"You're a captain in the king's army, and you've come to protect us!" she declared. "And you're something more, too, but it turned brown before I could see…"
Suddenly her face broke into a huge smile. "I know who you are! That's why you could see the gemstones! You're the one I've been waiting for!"
