"No, bludy, way" Horace said. "She didn't."
"She did" Will said, smiling. "I told you so."
Horace smiled back approvingly at his friend. "Fine, you win" Horace said.
"Hand over the money" Will said. Horace handed Will 10.
"How'd she figure out you liked her?" Horace asked.
"Amber told her" Will replied. Horace grabbed his friend in a firm embrace.
"Congratulations then" He said.
"Horace you're gonna kill me" Will gasped. Horace realised he was holding his friend to tight in his happiness for him, so he let him go. Will staggered back, gasping.
"Sorry" Horace said apologetically.
"Don't worry" Will said.
"What are you two doing?" Alice asked, walking up.
"Nothing" Will and Horace replied in unison. Alice slit her eyes, looking at the two. Then, she shrugged.
"I'll take your word for it" She said. The two released a breath.
Alice raised an eyebrow at them. Will came up with an excuse the quickest.
"Just a bit cold" Will said. Alice nodded, still looking sceptically at the two.
"Well, I'll leave you two to do, whatever you were doing" Alice said, before turning and walking off. The two boys sighed relief.
"That was close" Horace said. "Good thinking Will."
"Thanks" Will said.
It was late by the time anything actually happened. Alice lit the fire to tell a story to her kids before they went to bed. Horace and Will sat in, and it was a tale they had never heard before. Of Alice's wild race through Gallica.
"Of course, I wasn't to know at the time that my own stepfather actually hated just me, but you know, life's life" She said. "He didn't know i'd escaped to start off with. But one of the sentry's had told him, and he apparently had mercenaries after me. I'd heard some talk about it as I eaves dropped on some travellers. I took a different path, that seemed to not leave tracks as I observed. The wind blew dust over them, removing any sign I'd been there."
"This came in quite handy. Sometimes, Mother Nature helps, sometimes she doesn't. Blackie, still in the middle of training, was a bit of a struggle trying to move without anyone noticing him. I didn't mind at the time, but from experience, I know that was quite inconvenient. It was restless for the first few nights, of course. As would seem inevitable."
"Being inconspicuous isn't easy, I'll tell you that. Especially with a massive black battle horse and no outside survival experience. Everything, really, was pure instinct and even luck and tact. I knew to survive you required sufficient rations of food and water. Fire was important, along with shelter and ways of defence. Lucky I'd been training."
"The mercenaries must've had a hard time finding me, and by the time I reached Skandia, they were way behind me in Gallica. I snuck onto a ship to Araluen. It was a few rough days at sea, but I made it unscathed. I slipped off the ship with Blackie, successfully unnoticed, and headed toward Redmont."
Alice looked up to the sky. "And we'll have to go on with this another time because it is ten o'clock at night" She said, looking back to her kids, getting up.
"Awww" Her kids whined.
"Come on you two" Alice said, starting toward the house. Her kids followed.
"She's a good story teller" Horace said to Will as Alice walked into the house with her kids. Will nodded in acknowledgment.
"I agree" He replied. "I'm still curious on how on earth she snuck on and off a Skandian wolfship, with a battle horse, without being noticed.'
Will shrugged.
"She's Alice."
