By the time I get back to camp I can already tell that I ran too fast. The camp appears to be too calm for an apparent attack. I see a knight on a horse galloping towards the camp. The second he enters camp he rides right up to general's tent.

For some time they are in the tent. I wait outside waiting to be called in. I still have my orders to report to the general so I stay. One of the soldiers that I have trained with brings me some supper. As we eat he talks to me, I do not talk back but everyone knows how I communicate.

"I heard that you saved Mistress Belle's life. I heard the story of how you slayed an Ogre before but I thought that it was over exaggerated. I have seen you train and I know that you had potential. I have not been in battle yet but the stories I have heard make the Ogres sound ruthless. Is it true?"

I nod my head yes.

"I believe you. But I have to ask, how did you know how to survive?"

I point to my head.

"I guess that you are pretty smart. I suppose your lack of speech has allowed you to observe more. You are not distracted by the talk. I hope that I can have you by my side in battle even though you are so young. I have a feeling that you have a great strength for one so young."

"Master Sam. The general has requested your presence."

One of the lieutenants approaches me to bring me into the tent with him. I shake hands with the soldier I was talking with and follow the lieutenant into the tent.

Inside the tent I see the general with some of his lieutenants sitting around the table. On the table is a map with groups of soldiers. Next to the general is the knight that was on the horse. I recognize the knight as being one of the personal guards of my father. He does not show any evidence of recognizing me.

"Master Sam, I am pleased to meet you. If the circumstances have not changed than this would have been a night of honor. You have been given the status of Knight."

I am shocked at the words the general tells me. I am possibly the youngest knight in my father's army and to boot the first girl knight.

"I know that you cannot speak but I am sure that you still can understand me."

I nod my head yes.

"You are to be a part of the escort for Sir Maurice's envoy. They are to go to the neighboring village."

I should have known they would have to move them to Gaston's village. It would be easier to focus both forces on protecting the families.

"You will be sent for in the early morning before the sun has risen. You are to follow the orders of Sir Maurice and the guards accompany him. I heard of your disobedience earlier but I am willing to overlook it. You are the best man suited for this job right now. I have to send the rest of the soldiers to another camp. It is no longer safe here. Do you understand my request?"

I nod my head again.

"Good, next time the punishment will be wrought if you disobey an order again. Go to your tent and rest."

I bow my head to each of the men and turn to leave. When I get back to my tent I lay my head to and sleep. The sleep does not last long as a few hours later I am awoken by a soldier. It is the same one that I was sitting with outside the tent earlier.

"Master Sam. It is time for you to be fitted with some armor. I have come to lead you to the blacksmith."

I follow him to the blacksmith tent. I am afraid that I could be discovered as a girl when I enter the tent. I hope that the blacksmith has some small armor that I could wear so that he does not have to forge anything new.

"Blacksmith you are ordered to outfit this young boy with some armor. He needs to fully equipped within the hour."

The blacksmith is faced away from us wearing a cloak so I cannot see his face. But he waves his gloved hand and appears to nod his head. The other soldier leaves and I am left alone in the tent with the blacksmith.

He turns around.

"Well, well who do we have here?"

I see Rumpelstiltskin.

"Rumpelstiltskin what are you doing here?"

"You should keep you voice low dearie. I can hear you perfectly fine but I don't think others have heard your voice yet. I agreed to arm you and I am not the kind of man to break any deals."

He snaps his fingers and I feel a little weight on my clothes. I look down to see myself in simple armor. It is not heavy but it will protect me more than my clothes did before. I am still wearing my cloak though but the blood that was on it before is cleaned off.

"Why are you doing this? What is the price for you?"

"I want nothing in return Sam. I am simply curious of your ability to fight. Besides I would not have as much fun in my life if you died. You future is a curious sight."

I knew that he was trying to hint of something that was about to happen. I had a feeling that he loved to give cryptic messages. He probably helped me yesterday because he knew something about my future depended on me slaying the Ogre and saving Belle.

"Master Sam I am sorry to rush you but the time has changed. We are to report to the castle now."

The soldier runs into the tent and is surprised to see me fully equipped. I have the bow and arrow that the guard gave me hanging on my back. In my belt I have a new sword and my old dagger. I still feel Belle's book in my cloak pocket.

"Follow me Master Sam. We are to report to the castle within the hour."

I nod my head yes. I follow him as we run to the castle.

He and I arrive at the front gate to find that we are the last to come. I see all of the guards I know of in my father's castle. I see some carriages that I assume carry some of the nobles including my father and Belle.

I see Maurice exit the castle.

"Master Sam, I am pleased to see you with new status. I hope that you will follow my orders more clearly this time."

I nod my head yes.

"Father, I am ready to go."

I see Belle run out of the castle towards us. She is wearing her traveling cloak carrying a bag. She stops on the side of her father.

"That is well my dear. We shall start our journey. Master Sam you are to be the bodyguard of my daughter on this journey. Do you understand?"

I nod my head yes.

Belle and her father walk to separate carriages. I follow Belle to her carriage and help her into it.

"Thank you, Angel. I am glad to see you again."

She whispers to me as I am helping her into the carriage.

"Master Sam. I was requested to give you this mare."

I turn and see the guard that was with Belle leading a horse.

"I have to warn you though, she can be a little cautious towards strangers. But she is one of the best of the castle. Her name is Esmeralda."

I reach out my hand to let her sniff me. I know that she would not shy away from me but I could not let the guard be suspicious of me. She was Belle and mine's horse.

"She seems to like you. You must have a way with horses. I am sure that you know how to ride then."

I nod my head yes and he passes me the reigns. I mount her and guide her to the side of the carriage Belle is in. I see Belle peek out of the window and she flashes me a smile.

I return it and wait for the signal to move. The soldier I came with walked up to the side of me.

"You seem like you belong on that horse. You were born to be a soldier."

I nod my head yes. We start to move. We travel throughout the day and stop to rest at night.

I see Belle reading books through the window in her carriage. Occasionally she glances out the window and smiles at me. When we stop for a break she was the one to bring me some water. I just want to talk with her but I know that if I did then I could easily expose myself. I know that at least one of the guards will overhear me and recognize my voice.

We are cautious so our pace is somewhat slow but we do not want to be ambushed easily. Everyone tries to focus on protecting the caravan. Gaston approaches me when we stop for the night.

"Master Sam I presume."

I nod my head yes.

"I understand that you are the one who saved Belle's life. I know that you are young but I want you to know something. Belle and I are intended to be wed in the future."

I want to laugh out loud. Gaston thinks that I have a thing for Belle that is the reason why I was protecting her.

I point to my sword trying to tell him that I was only doing my duty.

"Is there a problem here?"

The soldier I was with in camp walked up to us.

"I was just letting Master Sam here now that Belle is my intended. He was making advances on her."

I hear a laugh from the soldier.

"You must be mistaken. I have known Sam for quite some time and I have never seen one so focused on his duty. He is young besides I think that you need to get some rest Sir Gaston."

Gaston looks a little mad at the soldier but he knows that he cannot win the argument. He walks off and I am left alone with the soldier.

"I am sorry about that Sam. I have heard that his head is full of hot air. But I don't think you know my name yet, I am Cliff."

I shake his hand. He older than me but I can tell that he is still pretty young. He must have recently become a soldier.

"I must be going I have to help set up the perimeter."

He leaves and I start to lead Esmeralda off to relax.

"Master Sam, wait for me."

I turn and see Belle walking toward me. I let her catch up with me and we walk towards a nearby stream. Belle looks around to make sure that no one is watching us. She gives me a hug.

"Angel, what did Gaston say to you?"

"He wanted to let me know that you were his. I think that he thought that I was in love with you."

She laughs and I join her.

"I do love you Angel, but you are my sister. That is the love that I have for you."

"I…"

I start to talk but I hear a twig snap nearby. I turn to see who it was. I can't see anyone but I signal Belle to be quiet.

I use my magic to make myself invisible and carefully walk to the direction of the noise. I do not see anyone until he comes out from the trees. He takes a few steps towards Belle.

"I am sorry Mistress Belle. I was just looking for Master Sam. Have you seen him?"

Cliff is standing a few feet away from me. He can't see me because of my magic but I suspect that he knew I was nearby.

"No, I haven't but I will let you know if I see him."

"You are lying Mistress Belle. I know that he would not leave you alone he would never let any harm come to you. Where is she?"

I knew that he heard Belle and me talking and he knew that I was a girl. I made myself visible and he nearly jumped out of his armor.

"What are you going to do now Cliff? I know that you know you are no match for me. I may be young but I can do magic."

"Angel do not do anything to hurt him."

I hear Belle's voice but I want to see what Cliff does. If he tries to run away I can easily overcome him. Instead he walks over to Esmeralda and starts to stroke her.

"So you are the missing sister of Belle. I wondered what became of you. You were announced dead but here you are now. I knew that there was something different about you Sam. Or shall I call you Angel?"

"Please call me Sam. The girl named Angel died the day she left her father's castle on the eve of her 10th birthday."

"I promise you that I will not tell anyone else but I am curious of how you can do magic."

"I was born with the ability. You can ask Belle and she will tell you the same thing. I have been able to magic for as long as I can remember. Belle cannot do magic nor can my father."

"I suspected that you learned from him."

I know that Cliff must be referring to Rumpelstiltskin but Belle knows that I learned to use magic on my own. At least in beginning I did before I met him and he started to train me.

"I refuse to do dark magic."

"I believe your words, but I can assure you that I will not use this in my favor. I was just curious of your relationship with Belle but know that I know the truth I want to laugh at Gaston's accusation even more. I could never have guessed that you would be a girl let alone the sister of Belle."

"Please, Cliff. I need to keep my disguise as the mute boy named Sam."

"If I did not overhear the two of you talking just now I would have still thought of you as that boy. Do not worry your secret is safe with me."

He bows to both Belle and I.

"Thank you Master Cliff. I hope that you understand that even though she is my sister, you must treat her like the boy you thought she was. She could not live with my father any longer so she started her own life, unfortunately she has to stay as Sam."

Cliff listens to Belle's words as she tries to reinforce the idea to keep my true identity a secret.

"You do not have to fear anything Mistress Belle. I swear my honor to you two that I will not tell another soul unless you request it of me."

"Thank you Cliff. I know that your words are true but we must be escorting Belle back. It is getting late and I do not want cause any panic."

We start to walk back to the camp. For the next few days we travel we continuing on our journey. We encounter no dangers but we try to stay as prepared as we can. During the day Cliff walks along the side of me while I ride along with Belle's carriage.

When we stop for the night I take Esmeralda to graze accompanied by Belle and Cliff. Belle always reads stories out loud to us while we sit around and relax. I occasionally practice my magic.

One night we were sitting listening to Belle read the story that I gave her. I was using my magic to grow one of her flowers when I heard a noise. I stopped growing the flower and reached for my weapons.

"Belle, where are you my dear?"

I relax a little when I see Gaston walk out of the woods.

"I was just reading some stories to Sam and Cliff. You are welcome to join us."

I see a flash of jealousy on his face. Cliff and I share a look and we both smile.

I yawn excessively making sure to be noticed.

"I agree with you Sam, it has been a long day. If you are tired Mistress Belle and Sir Gaston I believe that it would be best if we head back to camp. We need to be well rested for the journey tomorrow. I believe we are nearing your kingdom Sir Gaston."

We head back to the camp. I make sure to throw the half grown flower into the stream before I leave though. I do not want to leave any signs of my magic.

The next day we encounter a messenger. A page boy that was no older than me warned us of a nearby sighting of Ogres. Our progress slowed as we wanted to be as cautious as possible.

We were ambushed only a few hours after we met the page. There a pack of ten Ogres but they were the weakest ones. Although they had brute strength we were easily able to overcome them.

Cliff and I were the ones who knew their weaknesses. I had let him read the book I got from Rumpelstiltskin so he knew how to fight them. Although I could not speak he took charge and told them where to attack on the Ogres. A lot of the other soldiers listened to him even though he was young. They believed that he learned to fight the Ogres from me and though I could not talk still was able to train him.

The beginning of the battle was chaotic but as Cliff and I started to slay some of them they caught on. Cliff's orders were followed as though he was a general.

One of the Ogres managed to push his way to Belle's carriage. I am near the front of the line with most of the soldiers. Belle's carriage is towards the middle of the caravan. No one was really focused on protecting the middle of the caravan they were focusing their attention on the front where most of the Ogres were but one. I just pulled my sword out of one of the Ogres when I saw the one heading for Belle's carriage.

I hoped that no one was paying attention to me and I used my magic to speed over to the Ogre. I used my sword to knock down the Ogre before he could take another step. As soon as he fell I went to Belle's carriage.

I open the door to make sure that she is okay. I start to open my mouth to speak when I remember that I am supposed to be mute. I quickly shut my mouth. Belle sees my hesitation for a moment and quickly signals me to remain silent.

"Belle are you alright?"

I turn and see Gaston being supported by Cliff. He must have been injured in the attack his carriage was near the front of the line.

"What are you doing here boy? If you had not abandoned your post then I would not have been injured."

The battle is over but everyone is still trying to shift through the debris to find any survivors.

"Sir Gaston I believe that Master Sam was at his post. Sir Maurice ordered him to be a bodyguard to Belle. Is that correct Belle?"

"Yes it is Master Cliff. Gaston do not worry, Master Sam has been doing his duty."

She points towards the Ogre that was going to attack her carriage.

Gaston still has a look of hate on his face directed towards me. If only he knew the truth he would have made a fool of himself. Even before I ran away Gaston resented me a little for capturing Belle's attention. She was my sister but Gaston tried to keep her focus on him.

We are ordered to move the caravan to an area a little distance away. The area has already been scouted out by some soldiers after the battle. Although the Ogres were slayed there were still some casualties. I accompany Belle's carriage again but this time she does not pay attention to me. With her are Gaston and my father. Gaston's carriage was destroyed during the fight and my father gave up his carriage to help transport the wounded.

When we arrive to the clearing everyone sets up camp for the night. At the center is a campfire where a meeting is requested. As Cliff and I are the only ones not of the castle's guard we are both invited. The rest of the guard is surrounding the perimeter.

"I understand that even though we won the battle we may not be able to handle another. We are but a day's trip away from the village. Gaston do you know any shorter route?"

My father is trying to plan the best road to take.

"I apologize Sir Maurice. But I do not know any of the other routes much. Besides they have been known much for their Ogres sightings."

I knew that Gaston would be ignorant he never was one for reading.

"Then it will be even longer before we get to your village. Master Cliff you are the representative are my army. Do you have any idea of how we should keep going? I do not think that we will survive long at the pace we have to move now."

I tug on Cliff's sleeve to grab his attention. He looks at me and I motion for writing.

"I do not have a plan but Master Sam does. Could we get some parchment with ink?"

Maurice signals for some. A box is placed on the ground next to me with a quill, ink and parchment. I start to write.

If we leave the carriages behind then we can have the nobles ride the horses. The carriages will only slow us down further. There are enough of the horses for the nobles to ride.

I hand the note to Cliff and he reads it aloud.

Immediately after he is finished reading there is an outburst of voices. The nobles in attendance are outraged at the idea of it. Some of the guards agree with idea though.

"SILENCE! If you believe that this is the best plan then I believe we must follow it. Spread the word, only take want is essential to survival. Leave behind frivolous possessions."

After we are dismissed Cliff and I head to our tent. Waiting outside is Belle stroking Esmeralda.

"Mistress Belle is something the matter?"

"No Cliff I was just visiting my horse. How are you faring?"

"I am well just as Master Sam is. Would you like to join us in our tent for a quick bite?"

"That sounds wonderful. I hope that you have enough to spare."

We have learned to communicate cryptically. Belle knows that we have something to tell her and she is letting us know that she is being carefully watched. If she mentioned going on a walk then we would have easily been free to bring Esmeralda out to graze without the risk of being caught. If we told her that we were about to turn in for the night then she would have known that we had no news.

We enter the tent and I go to sit by my pack Belle sits down next to me. Cliff adjusts the mirror so that he can see outside easily. He makes sure that no one is within hearing distance before we begin.

"I heard that there were plans of abandoning the carriages to lighten the weight of travel."

"There are it would make the trip quicker. I was the one who suggested it. Your father agreed to it."

"Angel, he is still your father. Do not forget that."

"According to him Belle I am dead. Besides he never treated me like his daughter before I ran away. I am now the mute boy named Sam."

"I did not tell you this but I want you to know now. He would not talk to anyone for a fortnight after you ran away. Even after you were announced dead he wandered the castle in a daze. I would pass by his room to hear him crying in his sleep. He would call out your name along with 0ur mother. He never stopped loving you even now in his sleep I hear him mumble your name."

I feel tears well up in my eyes Belle sees them and reaches over and wipes them with the handkerchief. Cliff tries to appear interested in a loose thread on his side of the tent. I steal a glance at the mirror and realize that Gaston is on his way over.

"Belle read me the story."

She starts to read the book she brought. I curl up and pretend to be asleep.

"Belle I have been looking for you. Your father wants to speak with you. What have you been doing in here?"

"I was just reading some stories to Sam and Cliff. Sam was more tired than I thought he just fell asleep a little while before you arrived."

I hear Belle get up and leave the tent. I hear Gaston shuffling and Belle walking away. I wait for a few moments more when I open one eye.

Cliff nods his head at me and I sit up.

"You should have seen the look on Gaston's face. I have a feeling that if Belle was not between the two of you he would have ripped you apart. I think without magic you could still take him on."

I hear Cliff start to laugh and a smile spreads on my face. I don't know why but I have some kind of warmth from his presence.

"Cliff you have to make sure that tomorrow Belle gets Esmeralda. She is the best mare from the castle."

"I promise you Sam that I will do what I can. I think that it is time for us to get some sleep."

"Could you tell me a story about your past? You know so much of mine but I know next to nothing of you."

He flashes me a smile and he tells me of his past. He was born to a family of traveling gypsies. He was known for his strength as well as his ability to charm a crowd. Because of his large family he had to use his abilities to earn a name for himself. He enlisted in the military only a few months before I joined his camp. I fell asleep as he told me about his time at camp before we were enlisted to accompany Maurice's convoy.