Chapter 4

The Enemy

A week passed, a week full of successful robberies and thefts. Marius and Aurora had continued moving, traveling a little farther each day, finding small, poor villages where the people already knew their names. They had been right; that first theft had been the easiest by far. Aurora had a long gash on her upper leg, which had been cleansed and bandaged by a healer woman in a small village near the border of Ayortha. Marius had a black eye after a driver had put up quite a fight, and a few cuts along his chest from the sharp branches of the forest. But neither could deny that a few physical wounds were a small price to pay for the satisfaction of bringing help and relief to the poor and eternally grateful village folk.

They crossed the border into Ayortha on a Saturday afternoon, and they could see the forest thinning up ahead. They made a small camp near the edge of the woods, so that they could see an enormous manor home just a few feet away, and beyond it, the palace, surrounded by more manors. Marius went to scout out the area near dusk, leaving Aurora to guard the encampment.

Aurora sat on the soft, dewy grass, absentmindedly patting her horse's nose. She twirled her hair around a finger; in the last few rays of sun, it really did sparkle a flaming red. She thought of the week that had just flown by, of how they had arrived in villages to the cries of "It's Flaming Red and the Sundance Kid!" She was trying to convince Marius that he had been named that because of the way his eyes danced and twinkled with the sun. He was certain it was just because it sounded good. She was amazed, nonetheless, at how quickly news of their exploits had traveled; no matter where they went, the people always knew exactly who they were. Which made her wonder, did the authorities know who they were? And more importantly, did her parents know?

Meanwhile, in Kyrria…

The endless merriment from the wedding had finally ceased after a whole week, and the newlyweds had left to spend some quality time in the countryside. The palace was a mess, and all family members, except for Charmont II who had left already, were busy cleaning. The queen was outside on the lawn picking up used firecrackers and burnt napkins when a squire could be seen running toward her.

"Your… your maj… majesty," the young boy said breathlessly, bowing as he tried to catch his breath.

"What is it?" Ella asked.

"I couldn't find the king, so they told me you were out here. I have an important message from Hamnotting, your majesty," he said, handing her a scroll.

She took it and unfurled it. It read:

Your majesties,

It has come to many an attention that there have been an unnatural amount of vicious highway robberies in Hamnotting and many other areas of Kyrria. We believe that the same two ruthless bandits are responsible for all nine of the thefts reported just this past week. They have stolen an unmentionable amount of gold, which seems to have made its way into the hands of the serfs in our villages. The tax gatherers have reported thus, that nearly all of the citizens in our villages who have rarely been able to pay their duly appointed taxes now have the amazing ability to do so. We have interrogated the citizens about this suspicious occurrence, but they have insisted that they do not know how the gold came to be at their homes. However, my scouts have reported seeing a pair of masked brigands hiding along the road, but they vanished before they could be caught.

I write on behalf of the Mayor of Hamnotting to request an assembly of your knights to assist in the finding, capturing, and imprisonment of these devious and wicked outlaws. If you wish, I will travel to the palace immediately. Thank you.

Signed,

Stom Herzlos

The Sheriff of Hamnotting

Ella read the letter quickly. "Has anyone been hurt?" she asked the squire.

"Nearly twelve nobles have been wounded, your majesty," he said.

"How badly?"

"Some more badly than others, your majesty."

She thought for a moment. Of course, it was terrible that people had been hurt, but she couldn't help but be amused by these two outlaws, stealing from the rich and giving it to the poor. She almost didn't wish to catch them, but that would probably be viewed as treason. She rolled the scroll back up and handed it to the boy.

"Well, that is terrible," she said in her best falsely-concerned voice. "I believe the king is on the balcony," she told him. "Oh, and see if someone can make flyers with a sketch of these bandits. I'm sure the king will offer a reward."

The squire hurried back to the castle, leaving Ella to chuckle softly. She picked up the trash she had collected and was about to walk back when she noticed her daughter's stable. Her horse wasn't in it; Ella rolled her eyes, but didn't feel angry. She hadn't really expected her daughter to clean up after her sister's wedding. In fact, she would have been shocked had she assisted.

She loved her daughter very much, and, quite against her will, rather blamed the other children for Aurora's distance. She knew they had always made fun of her as a child, and although she had tried to get them to include Aurora in their games, they never did. Although of course she also blamed the kingdom's citizens; they had shunned her ever since she had been born with red hair. She and Char found nothing wrong with Aurora's want to wear britches, or ride horses, or be opinionated. Of course, Aurora didn't help the matter by acting the part to its fullest, flaunting her differences, deliberately being rebellious; Ella remembered with amusement the way Aurora had rode into her debutante ball on her horse wearing a feathered hat. But she knew it tired, and hurt, Char to know that Aurora blamed the whole family, not just her siblings.

She sighed as she walked back to the castle. She thought with regret the times she had played with the other children, gave them gifts, spent time helping them learn their studies. She hadn't thought Aurora would want that, but now she realized that it had been her greatest failure as a parent. She should have spent more time with her, laughed with her, gotten to know her. But Aurora had been so resistant, and by the time she had turned sixteen, it was just too tiring.

The more she thought of it, the more she almost thought that those bandits nearly sounded like a very Aurora-esque idea. But that was ridiculous, Aurora had been here the whole week… hadn't she?

Giving her litter to a servant to dispose, she walked to Aurora's room, which was very quiet and dark, as the curtains had been pulled shut. It was so unlike any of the other children's rooms; no dolls lined the mantle, no maps filled the walls, no bottles holding chemical experiments covered the desk, no sheets of music were scattered on the floor. In fact, it almost felt like no one lived here at all. Ella walked to the closet, and upon opening it, found that it was nearly empty. Something felt wrong, but Ella couldn't imagine Aurora just taking up and leaving. But then again, she didn't know Aurora all that well, did she?

She thought about telling Char, but she knew that by now he was most likely distressed about the two thieves. She sighed, but decided to forget about it. Aurora couldn't have run away… could she?

Aurora had sat pondering the fame of Flaming Red and the Sundance Kid for quite some time; the sun had all but disappeared, and she was beginning to grow worried. Where was Marius?

Her ears caught the snap of a branch. She leapt up and unsheathed her sword. She looked around, wondering if it could be Marius, but something told her he wouldn't be this quiet. The sky was still light enough to see a few feet in every direction, but something in the pit of her stomach worried her.

She stepped forward a little, her sword in front of her. Holding it with her right hand, she reached up to check her mask, but she barely heard the whoosh of an arrow before she was thrown to the ground. Her body shocked by the impact of her fall, she only just felt a searing pain in her shoulder. Looking down, she saw an arrow sticking straight out of her left shoulder just under the tip of her collarbone. She heard a thud not far away, and raised her eyes to see a man standing under a tree a few feet away. Bringing herself to her knees, she strained her eyes to see him.

"The game's over… Flaming Red," a drawling, mocking voice reached her ears. With a great deal of effort, she brought her right hand to her left shoulder and yanked the arrow out, tip and all. A surge of blood flowed from the gaping hole in her flesh, but she twisted her arm so that her left hand could cover it. She tried to stand, but felt dizzy and returned to her knees. The man laughed, and walked over to her.

"I was going to bring you in to the prison, but I think standing here and watching you die will be much more rewarding," he said, his cold voice sinisterly amused. He grabbed her by the collar and pulled her up so that her face met his. It was pointed and sneering, with a long, hooked nose and a carefully curled, handlebar mustache.

"Where's your little friend? Hm? Where's the little Sundance Kid?" he asked, and she smelled with great disgust his alcohol-laden breath. She didn't answer, but instead spat in his eye. He let her go and stood back, wiping his eye.

"Not going to tell? I'll just find him myself," he said, and pulled another arrow out of his quiver, fitting it to his bow. Finally getting to her feet, she slumped against a tree for support, her sword still ready. With a smile, he raised the arrow so that it pointed straight at her heart. Her reflexes had not been lost, however; he let go, but in a flash, the side of her blade whacked his arrow out of the way so that it landed with a soft clatter a few feet away. She stood straighter and began to walk toward him; although he backed away, he strung another arrow and shot; again she flung it to the side. She knew there was a frightening glint in her eye. She didn't even know who he was, but she hated him. He noticed it, too, but tried once more to shoot her, aiming higher, but she blocked it again, and with another swift move, sliced the belt from his britches which held his sword.

Finally, he was trapped. He couldn't fit between the two trees he was backed up against, and her sword was pointed straight at his heart.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice low and menacing. Her hand was still clutched against her wound, but the blood continued to flow; the lower part of her right arm was stained with it, eerie in the moonlight.

His face hadn't lost its triumphant arrogance. "Someone whom you cannot beat," he scoffed.

"That doesn't answer my question."

A nasty smile curled his lips. "Fine, then. It will serve you well to know who will be hunting you, every morning and every night."

In her anger, she slashed a thin cut along his cheek. "Answer the question."

"Stom Herzlos, Sheriff of Hamnotting."

She locked her jaw. "A pleasure, Sheriff," she said, before bringing the heavy hilt of her sword forcefully down on his head. He fell to the ground face first, unconscious. She backed away, dropping her sword and clutching her wound with both hands. Her vision blurred a little, and she felt herself sliding, sliding… but someone caught her before she reached the ground.

"Aurora! What happened? What's wrong?"

It was Marius, who turned Aurora around to face him. His eyes bulged and he gasped when he saw her profusely bleeding shoulder.

"Oh no…" he murmured, but scooped her up and carried her swiftly to a small creek nearby. He ripped his shirt along the bottom and dipped the fabric into the creek, and then wrapped the makeshift bandage several times around the gash. The tight binding slowed the bleeding and helped Aurora regain her senses.

"We have an enemy," she told him.

He was pressing a cold, wet cloth against her forehead. He sighed. "It had to happen sooner or later."

She told him what had happened, and who was after them. "We have to go as far as possible, and clear the camp as well as we can, and cover our tracks. Then he'll have nothing to go on."

He nodded. "I'll do it, stay here."

She was still in too much pain to protest, and so washed her hands and arms in the creek, revolted by the way the clear water was turning red. She watched it in sick and woozy fascination, until Marius came over and picked her up again.

"You stay on your horse," he murmured as he helped her mount. "We'll have to go slowly until it's safe to leave the path, so I can cover the tracks."

"Why can't we leave it now?" she asked.

"I heard ogres in this part earlier. We'll go a bit before we travel through the grass."

Their going was very, very slow. Aurora's head hung in fatigue and pain as her horse trotted at a snail's pace, the rustle of Marius covering their tracks behind her. Finally, in the dead of the night, Marius whispered to her that it was safe to leave the path, and with great relief, her horse tore into a gallop. They rode as fast as they could, Aurora dangerously teetering on her horse as she grasped the reins with her left hand, her right holding her shoulder which was throbbing in pain. The moon was still bright enough to see the treacherous roots and underbrush, and her horse happily leapt over fallen branches and narrow streams.

They rode hard and fast until the sun began to break through the clouds. They had no idea where they were, but they at least knew that they were very far away from the sheriff. As dawn emerged, they slowed down and trotted for a bit until they saw a small town. Dismounting, they tied their horses to a tree and tried to decide whether the town looked safe or not.

But Aurora had barely adjusted her eyes to the light of the dawn, when Marius groaned.

"I know where we are," he said.

"How?" she marveled.

He pointed to the flag that was whipping in the wind in the middle of the town's road. "Green and black. We're in Oredya."

Aurora gasped. "Really? We rode farther than I thought."

Marius sighed, not a happy sound.

"Well, will they be friendly?" she asked him.

He frowned. "I doubt it. They could be… but if word of us has reached my father, he's most likely offered a reward and sent out knights to swarm every village. The village folk are easily frightened… I wouldn't be surprised if they'd turn us in."

Aurora frowned as well, watching as a few villagers left their homes to begin the day. Her eyes suddenly caught a large, handsome manor home at the very end of the dirt road.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the manor.

He grunted. "In Oredya, every town is centered around one lord. He controls everything, including what the villagers' trades are and how much taxes they pay. Awful people… but they're hard to get rid of. I've been planning a way to break down this system forever."

She grinned. "I can't wait until you're king."

He chuckled. They sat and began to make a bit of breakfast, Aurora rubbing her shoulder.

"We should change your bandage," Marius urged a few minutes later.

She nodded and they went to a nearby creek. They unwrapped the bloody binding to find that the jagged wound had turned black and crusted with blood. Marius examined it with concern.

"We really need to find a healer," he said.

"How? You said the village wasn't safe," she reminded him.

He sighed, long and heavy, and ran a hand through his hair. "We'll think of something."

An hour later, a figure emerged from the woods. It was hunched over, leaning heavily on a knobby, twisted wooden cane, a hood thrown over its face. Its hands were smeared with grime, and dirt was encrusted under the nails. Its black cloak was torn and grubby, yet if one looked closely, a few strands of glistening red hair had escaped and lay on the figure's shoulder.

It hobbled into the town, where the townsfolk stopped what they were doing to watch it shuffle down the street. It halted at the healer's apothecary, and with a glance around, it ambled inside.

The bell rang as the door closed, and the healer, a youngish woman with the distinctive Oredyan black hair and long nose, came out from the back room. The front of the store held shelves and shelves of vials and potions, but the figure bypassed all of these to stand in front of the healer.

"May I help you, stranger?" the healer woman asked, eyeing the figure's clothing with a skeptical eye.

"I need treatment for a wound," came a croaky voice from under the hood.

The healer softened, for although she did not know this person from her own village, it spoke in fluent Oredyan.

"Of course," the healer said, and escorted the figure to the back room. But the figure had stopped at the door, eyeing with an air of suspicious interest the flyer that hung from the frame of the door.

WANTED! it read.

Be aware! Two dangerous, ruthless highway robbers are at large! They are armed and dangerous, and have been seen in Kyrria and Ayortha. If you spot both or either of these two criminals, find a knight of His Majesty King Uturis of Oredya immediately. A reward of

2 POUNDS OF GOLD

shall be awarded.

Sheriff Stom Herzlos

Hamnotting, Kyrria

By order of King Charmont of Kyrria and the KAO Alliance

The figure gave a hoarse chortle. The healer was shaking her head.

"Terrible business," she said. "Just terrible. It would just be dreadful if they came to Oredya, don't you think? Just awful."

The figure was still gazing at the poster. "Mind if I have this?" it croaked.

The healer looked surprised, but shook her head. "Not at all. The knights have given us plenty."

The figure nodded and tore the flyer from the wall and pocketed it. It then shuffled to the table in the room and sat down, carefully lying its cane off to the side. This room was also filled to the brim with vials, and with cauldrons and books and shiny tools. The healer quickly washed her hands in a basin and then turned to the stranger.

"What's the problem?" she asked.

The figure paused for a moment, and then carefully untied its cloak so that just the fabric covering its left shoulder fell back. A large arrow wound had blackened under its collar bone, and the healer gasped.

"Oh, that looks awful. How did you come by it?" the healer asked as she rushed to find the right vial.

"In the forest," the stranger simply said.

The healer had begun to dab a thick, gray potion onto the wound, and the dried blood began to come off. The healer furrowed her brow at this answer.

"But it looks like an arrow wound," she said.

The stranger did not answer at first, but then shrugged and said, "Yes."

The healer then saw a bit of the flyer sticking out of the figure's pocket. She gasped.

"It wasn't… them, was it?" she asked excitedly.

"Who?" the stranger asked.

"Those outlaws. The ones they're searching for."

"Oh, them," the stranger said. "It could have been." It gasped as the healer applied a stinging red liquid.

The healer fell silent as she cleansed the wound, but the stranger kept taking a breath as if to say something, but then would remain silent. After a few moments, it finally spoke.

"What do you know of them?" it asked.

The healer's eyes darkened. "Terrible people. Lord Taryceth told us to be on our guard… he said they have been stealing horrible amounts of gold."

"And keeping it?"

"No, that's the worst part. They've been giving it away!"

The stranger gasped again. "No," it said incredulously. "To whom?"

"To the peasants in Kyrria and Ayortha!"

"Not in Oredya?"

The healer grunted. "No… they're probably afraid, our knights are the best," she said in satisfaction. "Besides, we don't have peasants. Everyone is equal."

"So you make the same amount of money as Lord Taryceth?" the stranger asked, its voice less husky.

The healer frowned. "Well… no, but he deserves it."

"So he works like you do, then."

The healer's frown deepened. "No, but he was born to be above us. He shouldn't have to work."

The stranger was silent for a moment. "So if these two outlaws," it suddenly said, "were to leave a bag of gold on everyone's porch in town, you wouldn't take it?"

The healer scowled, wiping the blood off far harder than she had to. The stranger winced.

"Are you from Oredya or not?" the healer asked angrily.

The stranger chortled. "Yes," it said, "but I have traveled to other lands. In some lands, there are no lords and everyone is free to do whatever trade they want." It paused. "Did you wish to become a healer?"

The healer scowled worse than ever. "It is what Lord Taryceth ordered me to do."

"That doesn't answer my question."

The healer threw down her towel and glared at the stranger. "I could report you to Lord Taryceth!" she shrilled. "For treason!"

The stranger, however, still sat calmly on the table, its hood still darkening its face. It shook its head sadly.

"No need," it said, its voice gruff once again. "I will be quiet."

The healer nodded indignantly. "Too right you will." She sat back down on her stool and finished applying a potion. The stranger, true to its word, kept quiet as the healer wrapped a bandage around its shoulder.

"Thank you," the stranger said, reaching into its pocket to pay the healer. The healer turned to wash her hands again and then stiffly thanked the stranger for the money.

"It should heal in a few days time. Change the bandage twice a day, and apply a small amount of this," she thrust a vial into the stranger's hands, "when you change it."

"Thank you," the stranger said again, and then, leaning on its cane, hobbled out of the apothecary. The healer watched the stooped figure go, her eyes still narrowed in distrust. But then she shrugged, replaced the flyer on her door, and went to clean her room.

After cleaning her tools, however, she opened the drawer to put them away when she gasped. There, inside her drawer, was a pouch that had never been there before. Opening it, she gasped again.

It was filled with gold.

Aurora entered the forest once again to hear Marius' applause from their small and well-hidden camp, up in the trees. She threw off her tattered cloak and curtsied with a great flourish of her hands, Marius laughing. She tossed the twisted cane aside and bent down to the creek to wash her hands. Her disguise had worked brilliantly, but she sobered as she thought on the healer.

"You were right," she said to Marius, wiping her hands clean. "The healer would have turned me in in a moment had she known who I was. She had such a stubborn loyalty to Lord… what was his name? Lord Taryceth? … and for no good reason!" she cried in exasperation, climbing the tree to sit next to Marius. He sighed and shook his head.

"The first thing to go," he muttered. "The very first thing."

"I do, however, have a present for you," she said with a sly smile.

He cocked an eyebrow. "What is it?"

She slipped a hand in her pocket and extracted the flyer, which she handed to him. He scanned it quickly, but smiled.

"There's no sketch," he said. "No one's told them what we look like."

She smiled, too, but rested her head against the limb on which she sat.

"We really shouldn't stay in Oredya," she said.

He nodded. "You're right. My father loves catching criminals… so do the knights."

Aurora laughed. "But your knights are terrible! They didn't even realize you were being attacked by ogres!" she cried, chuckling.

He snorted. "I get the worst knights to be my protectors."

Aurora's brow furrowed. "Your father needs to get his priorities straight."

"I've been telling him for years." He paused. "So where shall we go?"

She shrugged, gazing at the flyer again. "My father ordered them," she said with a small smile, indicating the bottom of the flyer.

"Well, he and the whole Kyrrian-Ayorthan-Oredyan alliance are out to get us. What fun," he said with a laugh.

"With some crazy old sheriff to boot. Just my luck."

They were silent for a while, as the sun rose higher and hotter. Aurora could tell that Marius was thinking; whenever he was coming up with a plan, his lower lip jutted out and his forehead wrinkled into a V.

"What's the plan?" she asked shrewdly.

He looked up at her, but then shook his head. "I thought… but we couldn't… it's too dangerous… it'll be surrounded… no, no we really couldn't… if only we had a crossbow."

She looked at him with a puzzled face. "What on earth are you talking about?"

He shook his head. "I thought… but it's foolish."

"What did you think?"

"I thought we could try and get into Lord Taryceth's home… but I'm bringing my own grudges into this. We'd get caught in a minute."

Aurora, however, did not reprimand him for such a foolhardy idea, and instead put on her own thinking face. Her eyebrows contracted and her eyes narrowed, and when Marius saw this he panicked.

"Aurora, no, it's a stupid idea, we'll be sent to the gallows before we even get off our horses…"

But it was no use. Aurora suddenly broke from her thoughts and looked at him.

"How far do you think the Ayorthan border is from here?" she asked.

He pursed his lips, not wanting to tell her, and yet wanting to at the same time. "A few miles." He reached up and pulled a map out of his bag that was sitting nicely on a branch above him. He laid it out so they both could see.

"We were right here when we left the sheriff last night," he said, pointing to a town at the border of Kyrria and Ayortha. "And Ayortha swings down like this, so we rode across and hit the border of Oredya… but then we kept going, so I'd say we're about… five miles."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Aurora said with a smile, jumping out of the tree and beginning to saddle her horse.

"Aurora, where do you plan on going?" he asked nervously.

"Just to a town in Ayortha so we can get a crossbow and some more arrows. They're far more friendlier, don't you think?" she said with a mischievous smile.

"Well, of course, but have you given any thought as to what you'll do after you get the crossbow?"

She shrugged. "A little."

He sighed. Even after only a week together, he knew that she was stubborn as a mule. He packed up their things and saddled his horse as well.

"Alright, then, let's go."

A/N – Hey! Sorry this took so long! I was all inspired, and then I kind of got uninspired, and then I was worrying about my other story, and… well, anyways, here it is! And it was pretty long, too.

So, review, please! I know there aren't many by the Ella Enchanted standards, but by my usual standards, there's quite a lot! So review some more!

Sincerely, yours, etc.,

Emma