Fortunately for both Heinrich and I, it didn't take Daredevil's leg very long to heal. The wound was minor and he was able to walk without the slightest bit of a limp. I was glad—Luthias would have probably killed us both if we'd permanently damaged his horse. It took much longer for Luthias to stop treating Heinrich like he was the biggest idiot in the world.

We had settled into a comfortable routine for a while. I had grown used to the traveling and not staying in any one place too long. I had grown used to the battles and knowing that we could be assaulted any moment—it happened frequently. I had grown used to the injuries, the sight and smell of blood, the cries of dying men, and the cursing of the wounded. I had grown used to my own identity as a man. The woman I once was seemed like nothing more than a dream. We had survived the nightmare of Sleepy Hollow.

I never forgot that little girl from my dreams. I was grateful that I'd told Luthias of the dream despite the risk of him not believing me. Sometimes I dreamed of her again. Though she was only a child, she frightened me. Sometimes she cursed my name—my real name. I tried to convince myself that it was only a figment of my imagination. I had always had a very strong faith, but I prayed silently under my covers at night that God would keep these nightmares at bay. I prayed that we would be safe from this nightmare and that it would stay safely locked away in the realm of shadows, illusions, and dreams.

Luthias sensed that something was wrong, but he didn't ask. I could tell that he knew something was wrong with me just by the expression. I began to lose weight again and Heinrich commented that I was very pale.

"What's the matter?" he asked me.

"I don't know," I confessed, "I've been having strange dreams lately."

The worst of it came one stormy night. Storms never bothered me—I actually found the sound of the rain very soothing. Though it was cold in the tent and the flaps rarely stayed secure, I ignored the weather enough to go to sleep. Luthias was still awake, examining a map by lantern light nearby. He was trying to figure out where we were needed next. Though I felt very uneasy, I reminded myself that I was perfectly safe with him. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep in the dim orange light.

We were back in Sleepy Hollow, back in the clearing where Luthias had almost met his fate. The two little girls in pink dresses were gathering firewood there. The younger one saw me standing there. She backed away from me with wary eyes, eventually fleeing.

The older one did not. She had a chilling presence. Though she couldn't have been more than eight or nine, her presence seemed very sinister, dark, and forbidding. She approached me with a cold smile.

"I know what you are," she taunted, "you're a big nobody just like me."

"Who are you? Why do you keep invading my dreams? What have I ever done to you?" I demanded.

"You took him from me," the little girl snapped, "the Hessian commander was mine! I would have had everything if you'd just minded your own business! Since I can't have him, I suppose I'll just have to make do with you."

I was surprised at how the pitch of her voice changed. She went from sounding like the child she was to a fully grown woman. I shrank away from her. Though she only held a stick in her hand and I was armed with a sword, she was entirely too menacing for me to even remember that she didn't pose a threat. Instead of brandishing the stick, she snapped it in two.

British soldiers flooded in from all sides. I was surrounded within seconds. My heart was thundering and I felt like a trapped rabbit. I yelled out for help, yelled out for Luthias, yelled out for God. Unfortunately, it seemed too late. I held them off for only a few seconds. The little girl stood by a tree and watched.

"You silly goose! You didn't really think you'd escape from me, did you?" she giggled.

I cried out in pain when a saber gashed my side. I doubled over in pain.

"Well…that German bastard will get our message loud and clear, won't he?" I heard one of the soldiers say. The last thing I felt was the pain of the sword blade slicing through my neck.

"Ruth! Wake up!"

It was Luthias's voice. I jolted awake in shock at hearing my real name. Breathing raggedly, I stared into his unusually intense blue eyes. Much to my horror, my own filled with tears and I began to sob uncontrollably.

"Shhh," he hissed, trying to shut me up. I felt my cot give a little with his weight as he sat down. In an attempt to muffle my noise, he pulled me towards him so that my face was buried in his shoulder. It seemed that the harder I tried to stop crying, the worse it got. He said nothing to me and merely waited for the spell to pass. Ashamed of myself, I mumbled an apology and blew my nose in my handkerchief.

"What were you dreaming?" he asked.

"It was awful," I sniffed, "that little girl from my other dream was there…she said that you were hers and that I took you away from her. Then, she said since she didn't get you, she'd have to make do with me. She was holding a stick and broke it in two. Then, the British soldiers came from all sides and I was trapped. They chopped my head off."

He frowned. One of his massive hands cupped my cheek.

"You have a fever," he commented thoughtfully, "that would explain the dream."

"It's more than that," I objected, "I've been having these terrible nightmares since we passed through Sleepy Hollow. I feel like I'll never stop having them."

The little girl in me noticed that his hand was still on my cheek. I leaned into his touch. The coldness of his hand felt good against my burning skin.

There was a small amount of sympathy in his expression.

"It is the war," he said quietly, "war does this to soldiers. At first, it is all talk and bragging…what you'll do, how many men you'll kill, what a hero you'll be. Then comes the fighting, the wounds, the blood, the questioning. Soon, you can't escape because it's there when you close your eyes."

He made me nervous when he did that; it was like he could see right past my skin into my soul. The intense blueness of his eyes only added to the effect.

"Does it ever go away?" I asked, sniffling awkwardly.

"No," he answered truthfully, "but it will get easier with time…if you don't run from it or allow the guilt to possess you."

It was a blessing to know that we were in this together. I could vaguely understand his icy exterior—he was that way because he was protecting both us and himself. Being a soldier was all that he knew.

"You will be the only woman that understands," he said, slowly letting his hand fall away, "and he will be very lucky."

I'm not sure what made me say it. Maybe it was the fever that burned through my veins and fogged up my mind.

"I love you, Luthias."

It came out as easily as air itself, but I felt my throat constrict afterwards. I shivered involuntary as a breeze moved through the tent. The light in the lantern flickered.

"Why?"

His voice was icy and hard. I could feel a second wave of tears coming, but I pushed them back.

"Because you were there when I had no one," I answered truthfully.

"It is the fever talking," he muttered.

"No, it isn't! I swear," I pleaded with him, "I was perfectly sane when I realized it!"

For one awful moment, I felt him freeze up. Would he scold me? Would he leave? There was a lot at stake here. I heard his sharp intake of breath and hoped dearly that I hadn't just royally messed up everything.

Then, his hard kiss made me nearly pass out. I winced a little at his sharp teeth—the coppery traces of blood tinged the kiss. He was rough, yes, but I expected that. The blazing heat in his gaze when he pulled away told me that he'd been affected as well. It was different than the first time when I'd come to him out of desperation.

A very distinct heat pooled in my middle.

"Go back to sleep," he ordered, "you won't fight well with a fever."

Puzzled, I lay back down. Just before I went to sleep, I felt him spread another blanket over me and smiled.

He didn't know how to voice it, but I was grateful that he shared my feelings. His capacity to share them was limited.

He had taught me about war, so I would teach him about love. And when this God-awful situation was done, we would have each other.