Chapter 10

The next day, I found myself walking alone to the Forge. Arthur usually walked me over there, but I guess after yesterday he thought it better to avoid me. I'm glad he did. I was still burning, and ready to kick his butt. How dare he kiss me!

Outraged, I made my pent-up-way to the Forge, concluding to vent to Alfred about his stupid older brother.

Alfred was already at the Forge, facing away from me, so I couldn't see his expression. He looked like he was brooding; elbows propped up on knees.

"Good morning, Alfred." I smiled tightly. "Your brother's

an asshole, and won't leave me alone."

"Brother?" He asked vaguely, completely uncomprehending. "Arthur's gone…"

His eyes appeared almost gray in the dim light.

"Alfred?" I asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

His eyes drifted up to mine, unfocused.
"Arthur's gone." He whispered.

I stopped in my tracks. "Gone? Gone where? Gone riding…?"

Alfred shook his head, eyes wide. "No, no! Gone on another mission! He's going back to France to fight, and he won't come back. People don't come back from war twice!"

'Gone to France?' I thought, heart sinking. My arms fell limply to my sides. Alfred was right; people didn't come back from war twice. Arthur was lucky to have come back to England once.

Steadying myself, I put my hands on the table. I wasn't sure if I felt relieved, or something else.

I was glad Arthur wouldn't torment me anymore with his assaults, but at the same time, he's promised me he'd take me back to France. How could he do that if he was…gone?

Involuntarily, I felt the tears come. There was no way I could get back to France myself; Arthur had been my only hope at that. At this point it seemed more likely that I'd fly to the moon than across the English Channel.

Alfred finally noticed my tears.

"Oh, Amelie!" he said, "Don't cry! Arthur might come back…someday…" He patted my back awkwardly, unsure if he could hug me.

"No he's not!" I shouted at Alfred, pushing his hands away. "It's like you said, Alfred. People come back from war twice. Especially not now! England's desperate, and they're putting all their forces in for a final push. It's reckless, and not well planned, and people will die. I've seen the plans. They're not good. Arthur's not coming back! And I'm not going back home!" I sobbed.

Alfred frowned. "I know Amelie. He's your only shot at getting back to France. I wish I could get you over there somehow, but I don't see any way. No offense, but it'd be easier if you were a guy…then we could just put you in the army or something and you can ditch over there…"

"What?" I sniffled. The idea was so absurd, it almost sounded reasonable to me. One thing I knew for sure is that I didn't want to remain a servant here in England. I hated to admit it, but without Arthur, there was no point in me waiting around here.

"What was that about the army?" I mumbled, throat swollen.

"Oh, nothing." Alfred conceded. "I was just saying that if you were in the Army, you could get over to France, no problem. But seriously, it won't work, cause you're like…a girl. Not that that's a problem, or anything! Forget I said that..." Alfred blushed.

"But…you actually have a point. If I…dressed as a guy, I would be able to get across, wouldn't I?" I said slowly, making the plans in my head. "Where's the nearest recruitment center?" I asked Alfred.

"I always give you the worst ideas…" Alfred mumbled. "No. Forget about it, seriously. That has got to be against the law. Besides, I am not letting you go fight in war, even if you're just going over there to simply to get there. It's to dangerous, plus, you'd have to train for at least a month…"

'Too dangerous?' I stared at Alfred. 'Have you seen me fight with a sword? Arthur said I was a "natural."'

"Yeah," Alfred whined. "But still, it'll never work. People will discover you before you ever get a chance to get on a boat."

"Yes," I said. "But if I ever do get on one of those boats, they won't turn back just to drop me off. Really, I'd just have to hide my…femaleness…from the other recruits for like a month, you said?"

Alfred stared me down. "Get this crazy idea out of your head! It WON'T WORK. Period, end of discussion. Now go practice sword fighting or bend metal, or do something more feminine, please!" Alfred huffed.

"See?" I whispered to him, cocking my head to the side. "I can't do anything like a 'normal' female. I suck at cooking, I haven't held a needle, and don't even talk about cleaning. I love tinkering, and fighting. I was meant to be a warrior, Alfred."

Alfred closed his eyes and sighed, shoulders slumping. "I know." He conceded. "I've seen you fight. I'm sure you could hold your own in recruiting. I'll see what I can do to make sure you get separate quarters from the other men…"

Alfred trailed off, defeated.

"Thanks, Alfred." I gave him a tight hug. "I owe you one. And don't overthink this. I'll be fine."

Alfred gave me a withered glare and slouched his way to the castle.

"You're in." Alfred huffed.

"Really?" I asked, jumping up from my seat at the workbench. "That was fast." It hadn't even been the entire afternoon before Alfred had come back.

"So…" I slid up to him. "How'd you get me my own quarters?"

"Well," Alfred rolled his eyes, "I told them you were a cripple. Handy trick I found out a few years ago. People hate sharing rooms with handicapped." Alfred sneered.

"Oh." I said, staring at Alfred's leg. "Does this mean I have to act like I'm injured or something?"

"Nah," Alfred waved his hand. "I told them it was a mental disorder. Which is sorta true…since you are crazy after all." Alfred snickered. "What woman would join the armed forces in their right mind?"

"Hey!" I punched him playfully on the shoulder. "I'm doing this because I need to get home! I'm getting desperate here, can't you tell? The longer I stay here, the more dangerous it gets for me!"

"Yeah, I know." Alfred ran a hand through his hair, tousling it. "But what if I don't get to see you again?"

I paused. I hadn't thought of that. "I don't know." I felt small. Alfred had become my best friend here. Even closer than Elizabeta; I spent so much time with him.

Suddenly, my gut clenched.

"I'll come back." I said firmly. "I'm not sure when, or why, but I will come back to England again."

And I knew, deep in my bones that this was true. No matter how desperate I was to get away from this land, I had a connection here. Alfred would always pull me back.

I hugged Alfred to my chest. "I'll see you again. Don't worry."

Author's Note: Sorry it took me a little longer to update - My computer is on the verge of dying because my cat chewed and broke the power cord. Stupid cat (*glare). So this is not my computer that I'm working off of, so I have very little time to type. Sorry! Bear with me until another power cord ships!