:Chapter 4: The Foe:

I continued to stare at Derek, the prince, when someone shoved into me. I flew over to the side, my knees and elbow scraped by the dirt and rocks on the ground.

"Hey watch it!" I cried. . . in my normal voice. My hands immediately few to my mouth. I watched in wide eyes at the man- no, more like a boy Shane's age- who had purposely pushed into me. Oh no. . . now they were going to know I was a girl and-

"Oh, look what we have here! A prepubescent little baby!" the boy said, tossing his shaggy blonde hair. "I think you're in the wrong place, little boy. You lost your mother?" he hooted with laughter, cracking up at his own joke. Another boy his age, who must have been one of his buddies, snorted along with him.

"Hey watch it!" he, the one who pushed me, mocked me in a high speaky voice. I noticed that a few of the other men, unsuccessfully, tried to hold back a smirk.

I continued to stare at him, too embarrassed to speak. Despite his rude behavior, I had to admit he wasn't too bad on the eyes. With his broad shoulders, perfect blonde hair, his sparkling green eyes, that gorgeous smile and laugh (although I was the one he was laughing at), I couldn't help but blush. His partner, on the other hand, was rather eye offending, with horrible rotting teeth and rather bushy eyebrows. But then again, I wasn't exactly the most handsome creature in the world either.

The boy calmed down, and glanced down at me. "What's the matter, Mommy didn't teach Baby how to speak yet?" He smirked. "Here, maybe I could help you." He stepped about a foot away from where I still sprawled on the ground, and kick a little pile of dirt in my face.

I coughed and quickly rubbed my eyes, which were stinging from the dirt. Despite how gorgeous he was, he was going too far. "Knock it off!" I cried, remembering to use my false voice, spitting out the dirt that had gone into my mouth. I quickly jumped to my feet, facing the boy.

Noticing a major height difference, the boy stared down at me and burst into laughter. "Oh, so I guess the kid CAN talk."

Before anyone noticed I was up to something I drew all the strength I could muster and gave him the biggest blow I could, right into his stomach, thinking that's what a sensible boy in my position would do.

I smiled satisfactorily as I watched him wheeze, cursing furiously under his breath. I cringed at the profane language he was using, for some men have been severely punished for using profanity in front of a lady in public. But I had to remember I wasn't exactly a lady anymore. Not to them, anyway.

All the while, he stared at me with a malicious glare. "Why you little-"

"Break it up, you two!" I heard the prince yell. Someone grabbed me by the back of my shirt and the blonde boy's friend held him back.

I angrily returned the boy's glare.

"You alright?" asked a gently voice from behind me, which belonged to the one holding me back. My eyes widened as I recognized the familiarity of the voice. I whipped around, only to come face to face- well, more like face to chest- with the one person I went through all this trouble for. Shane.

I gasped, staring at him with wide eyes. "You alright?" he repeated, with a look pity in his eyes.

I was speechless. My plan worked! My own brother didn't even recognize me through my disguise! I cleared my throat and said angrily in my fake voice, "I'm FINE!" I aggressively pulled away from his firm grasp on the back of my shirt. It took all my strength to keep from embracing him. Being a boy was a tough job.

"Sheesh, calm down, kid," said the blonde boy's bushy eyebrowed friend with rotting teeth, who was still holding him back. "Don't take ol' Cameron here too seriously." He seemed slightly amused, yet spoke in a much kinder tone than the blonde, who's name I just found out was Cameron.

"Shut the hell up, Kale," Cameron said angrily, pulling away from his grasp. Kale slowly backed off.

I cringed again. I was going to have to get used to this cursing.

The prince, Derek, scowled. "I will not tolerate any fights within our group. You two are on the same side!"

"Sorry. . ." I murmured.

"EVERYONE GET IN THEIR ROWS!" bellowed the voice of one of the generals.

The men and boys all scurried around, struggling to get to their place.

I stood where I was, not sure where I was suppose to go.

"Come on! Move it, boy!"

I looked around, confused.

"Over here!" I heard Derek call.

I looked over and quickly ran next to where he was standing.

"You better get used to this," he said.

I faced forward, peering through the corners of my eyes for Shane.

I felt a finger jab into the side of my stomach. I squealed, jumping in surprise.

There was a snicker. "Look who it is," said Cameron, he and Kale trying to muffle their laughter. Both of them quickly shut up when a tall uniformed man walked in front of us.

"Do we have a problem here?"

A/N: Please review!