CHAPTER 10

BEFORE THE BATTLE

Monica wasn't sure if she could believe that her cousin, just three months older than her, actually made a friend that came with the strangers. Everything was swirling around in her head. If Lloyd was trying to keep Zelda a secret, why tell everybody about her? Perhaps Monica was the only one that knew. At least, that's what she hoped. Monica walked up to little Zelda, eyeing her as much as possible. Zelda was not like anyone else her age. She was wearing a very pretty yellow dress. Although it was covered in dust and dirt, it was still very beautiful and elegant. Monica stared into Zelda`s little blue eyes. Should she trust her? She looked over at her cousin. There should be a reason why Lloyd trust her so much. Seeing that her thoughts were too crammed, she decided to sit down on the ground, along with Zelda.

"Why did you bring me here, Lloyd?" Monica asked, "What do you want me to do with her?"

"She ran away from her father because he was more concerned about the land than he was of her," Lloyd explained, "I had pity for her so I brought her here to stay in this cave until I could figure something out."

"What were you planning to do?"

"I'm wanting to teach her the ways of how we live on the land. I want her to be one of us."

"One of us? Lloyd, she'll never be able to fit in. She's not an outcast from another village. How are we gonna blend her in?"

"That's where you come in. I need you to teach her the ways of how a lady lives in the village. Your mother has taught you about it all, hasn't she?"

"Well, yeah, but how am I gonna teach a stranger the ways of a lady?"

"You don't have to teach her everything. Just tell her as much as you can."

"I don't think this is a good idea, Lloyd. Maybe it's best if we head back to the village."

"I'm not leaving Zelda all alone out here. She needs help. Besides, she doesn't seem to be like all the other strangers."

"Why should we teach her our ways?"

"She wants to be like one of us. Come on, Monica. Do this for me."

Monica sighed and sat down on the ground across from Zelda. "Okay. What is it that you wanna know about us?"

"How does a lady in your village live?" Zelda asked.

"Well, we mostly have our ways of living. We are kind of like the men, only we gather berries and nuts. While the father is gone, the mother is the head of the household. The mother takes care of the children and helps make the clothes that the father brings home. We make baskets out of tree limbs and branches. Our vases are made out of mud and clay. Like most people on the land, most of us know how to climb a tree. Little girls are taught how to make their own dolls and row a canoe. As we get older, we get to choose who we want to marry. If the man loves the girl a lot, he'll ask for her hand in marriage. There's a catch, though. The girl gets to approve of whether or not she wants to marry that man. That's pretty much the life of a lady. We like to be free and have fun, but we still have a lot of responsibilities."

"This land is different from mine. The father is always the man of the house, whether he is home or not. The mother is in charge of taking care of the children, cooking, cleaning, making clothes and a lot of other things. A lady is not allowed to get a job. She must do as she is told by her husband. Men always think that they do all the main work, but what about the ladies? We have to do a lot of things, too, and we never have time for ourselves. I wonder why men in my land do not understand the ladies. Our queen never got married and there are reasons for that. From everything that I've seen in England, I never want to go back there again. I want to join your village."

"I'm gonna make sure of that, Zelda," Lloyd said, "Monica and I will be back. We have a plan."

"We do?" Monica asked.

"We sure do. Come on."

Monica waved goodbye to Zelda and caught up with her cousin. "Lloyd, I'm not very sure what you were talking about back there. What's the plan that you so quickly brought up?"

"I have a plan that will help Zelda fit in with the other villagers," Lloyd said.

"What is it?"

"We're gonna head back to the village and find one of you spare kimonos and let Zelda wear it. We'll tell everyone that she came from another village as an outcast. We let anyone come in because we're peaceful."

"Why do we have to let her use one of my kimonos?"

"Because no other girl in the village knows about Zelda but you. That's why."

"What are we gonna do about her dress? The villagers are gonna get suspicious if they see it."

"Leave that part of the plan to me. I'll figure something out. In the meantime, let's head back to the village and start the plan."

As Lloyd and Monica ran back into the village, they didn't see that Nya was walking by and knocked her over. Nya didn't seem to care. She just brushed the dust off her red kimono and made her way towards the woods. Her sister Jennia, who was taking a basket full of berries back to the village, looked to see Nya heading into the woods and ran up to her.

"Nya, wait!" Jennia shouted, "Don't go into the forest!"

"Why not?" Nya asked.

"Those strangers could be lurking around the land. Who knows where they could be at this point in time?"

"Jennia, I'm older enough to look after myself now. Besides, I'm been given an honor to be married soon to a wonderful man. I can take care of myself. I'm not a child anymore."

"I know, Nya, but we don't know what these strangers are capable of. Besides, father told us to stay in the village. He'll be angry with you if he's being disobeyed."

"I won't wander off too far. I'll only be a few minutes away."

"You'll regret doing this, Nya."

"I don't want to be away from the forest for too long. It's part of the reason why I'm proud to be a native of this land. I'll only be gone for half an hour. That's a promise I can keep."

"I hope so."

Nya turned away and entered the forest. She let herself be surrounded by the sights and sounds of the trees swaying calmly in the breeze. Nya decided to go a little further after five minutes of walking. There wouldn't be any problems of why she couldn't do so. Once she found a free spot of land, Nya sat down and let herself be taken away by the cool, gentle air that surrounded the forest. She never wanted to leave. Who cares if strangers were lurking around? If they found her, let them see that she is only enjoying herself. This was a place that she could spend forever at.

The trees started rustling around Nya, making the native girl jump. She stood up on her feet and made her way to where the sound was. The trees were starting to make the weirdest noise she ever heard. She stopped as she saw a bush moving in front of her. Backing away, Nya looked to see that a figure was emerging from inside the green vegetation. She saw a stranger that looked as though he had a muscular body and carried some sort of weapon that she was unfamiliar with. Whatever it was, she didn't want to stick around and find out what it could do.

"Who are you?" Nya asked.

"Just a newcomer of the land, savage," he said.

"What do you want from me?"

"I was ordered by my governor to take any native down, no matter if they have done anything or not."

"Please spare me. I've done nothing wrong."

"Sorry, native, but I have a job to do."

Just when the man was about to take away Nya`s life, a spear stabbed right through him. It was placed into his chest. It was removed out of him and he landed on the ground, dropping the weapon out of his hand. Behind the stranger was someone that Nya was surprised to see but glad that he was there to help.

"Caleb!" Nya cried, wrapping her arms around her fiancee.

"Nya," Caleb said, returning the hug, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'm just a bit shaken up."

"What are you doing out here? I thought your father told everyone to stay in the village."

"He did, but I didn't listen. I can't remove myself away from the forest, Caleb. It's part of our land. I wish we could take it back."

"I'll make sure that we do. I promise. Come on. Let's get you back to the village."

Nya looked back at the now deceased man. "Wait, let's take that weapon."

"Are you sure we should do that?"

"If we want to see what these strangers use, I suppose we don't have a choice."

"Okay then. Let's go."

Nya held Caleb`s hand all the way back to the village. She was worried another stranger would come after her and do the same thing the previous man tried to do. Nya was furious with the land stealers. They were taking away everything that she loved. It was time to fight back. She wanted the land back.


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