After using some rope to secure yourself, the carcass, and your bag to the tree, you shut your eyes and tried to ignore the terrible pain that still plagued your leg. Eventually, you fell asleep, forgetting the world around you for a short while. The next time you opened your eyes, it was a bright morning with the sun shining in your face. You saw that your leg had finally stopped bleeding, but the cloth that you had used to slow down the bleeding was now a dark red. You untied yourself and your belongings from the tree and dropped them on the ground. You then started your descent by starting to climb down. The pain in your leg overwhelmed you as you felt the bite marks open again and you lost your footing on the tree branch. You felt the air around you rushing past you and then you fell straight on your back, feeling the wind being knocked out of you. After gaping like a fish for a minute, you slowly started to regain your breath and sat up, now feeling pain in your back too. At least you got on the ground quicker! You then realized that your mentality would have to toughen up, so you took a big breath, grabbed your bag and wolf corpse, and stood up, wincing, trying not to put too much weight on your bad leg. You had a strong suspicion that you leg may have been broken. Damn wolf.

After limping pathetically for ten minutes, you managed to find a nice branch that could be used as a walking stick. Sighing, you gripped onto the branch tightly as you attempted to stand straighter. Once you confirmed that it could manage your weight, you sat down and tied the part of your rope to the wolf corpse, and then the other part to your body so you wouldn't have to carry it anymore. After taking a sharp breath, you started your trek back to Burgess. You knew it would be a long walk and probably wouldn't be back until nightfall, but you knew you couldn't stop. You just hoped that you could avoid any further problems the way back home.

"Oh mother, tell me, what did I do to deserve this? Are you trying to teach me a lesson? Please, just let me get out of this alive," you said up to the heavens. You would often talk to your mother about your problems, usually in your head though. Even though you knew she would never respond, it was comforting to still think of her presence. You liked to think that she still watched over you, even from up above. You continued your walk for several hours without stopping. When you looked up from the group you were surprised to see the outline of Burgess. It was just reaching twilight, so you were surprised that you reached the town before it was completely dark outside. Seeing your town made you accelerate your pace, new inspiration striking you with the prospect of going home.

It was seven in the evening when you finally reached the marketplace. You found the man who would buy animals that would be sent to England. Dragging yourself up to his store, you entered it and cleared your throat. You hadn't practiced your male voice in quite a while so you were hesitant of speaking. When the owner, Timothy, came out the back, he greeted you and asked you to follow him to the back. You just nodded your head so you wouldn't have to speak. Unfortunately, Timothy asked you questions that required more than a "yes" or "no".

"So, (boy's name), came back with quite some game! I'm willing to pay you $2.80 [1] for that wolf you got there," he said cheerily.

"Yeah, Tim, I've got more game in pack," you stated with a successful male's tenor. You mentally pat yourself on your back before you continued. "Listen, I can't walk very well. That wolf, it bit my leg and it won't support my weight anymore. Do you think you could put a splint on it? Take it out the sale price if you have to."

"(Boy's name), don't fret about it. Let's get you on a bed for starters. We can't have you damaging the leg even more. Can't tell you how many times I was injured when I was your age. Come on, let's set these things down," Tim said. He lived in the shop, his home being in the back of the one-story shop. The wooden floor was somewhat of a slipping hazard for you, but you managed to get to Tim's room without much injury. He rolled up the leggings that were covering your calf, much to your discomfort, and you heard him gasp. You hadn't been looking at your leg when he did this, but when you looked down, you almost fainted. Your leg had the puncture wounds, but it was also purple and extremely swollen. No wonder your shoe was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Tim told you to not worry, as he rushed to get a wet cloth so he could clean your wounds. It hurt, but it was soothing at the same time.

"Lad, I think your leg is broken," he told you solemnly. "I won't charge you for the splint, but make sure you rest up after you leave this place." He then covered your calf again and made a split for your lower leg. What hurt the most was setting the bone back in place. In order to prevent yourself from screaming, you bit down on your lower lip, drawing out quite a bit of blood. Tim told you it wasn't a bad break, but that you wouldn't be able to walk for 8 weeks. Regardless, you thanked him for his hospitality and continued with selling all of the animals you had killed. You ended up making $12.13 [2] much to you happiness. You thought that it was well worth the broken leg if it meant saving Olivia. Right now, you just felt like sleeping and forgetting your present troubles. It took you a while to haul yourself back to your house, and it took even longer to get up the stairs, but once you made it to your bed, you didn't even bother to change out of your clothes. You faintly remembered that your lip was still bleeding from when you bit it earlier that night. That was the last thought you had before drifting into a dreamless sleep.

When you woke up, you heard a pounding on your front door. You sat straight up in bed and quickly remembered that your leg was broken. You looked out the window and saw that it looked to be around noon. The pounding still continued down below. As quickly as you could, without tumbling down the stairs, you hurried down and opened your front door, leaning on your walking stick, only to see Jackson. He looked angry, but his expression quickly changed when he saw your physical state.

"(Last Name)! W-what happened?" he asked, as if he were genuinely afraid for your wellbeing. If you weren't hurting so much, you would have laughed at his concern. You then remembered you didn't have an alibi. You mentally kicked yourself for being so stupid! Jackson cleared his throat, reminding you that he was still waiting for an answer. You sighed and told him, "You should come inside." At first, you were planning on telling him, but then decided against it. You then realized that you were still wearing men's clothing! (Name), why are you being so STUPID today? You asked yourself. You led him to the parlor of your house where you could stretch out your leg on a settee. Once you were comfortable you motioned for him to sit down.

"So, you want to know what happened?" you asked him, hoping to stall for as long as possible.

"Yeah! What kind of work do you do and why are you wearing breeches? Have some decency!" Jackson almost shouted at you. You noticed that his face was slightly red. You realized that he probably wasn't used to seeing a woman not dressed as one. You rolled your eyes at him and said, "It was what the physician gave me because my dress was ruined. It wouldn't be very easy to use a splint with a dress on, now would it?" He nodded at your explanation as if it made sense. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding when he accepted your reasons for wearing men's clothing.

"So, how did you get injured? You know you have blood on your chin, right?" he asked.

"What?!" you exclaimed, opening the scab on your lower lip. Muttering a curse to yourself, you put pressure on your lip to staunch the bleeding as quickly as possible. "Forget about my lip. Getting my bones set in place was torture. As for how I got injured, I fell off the cabriolet."

"That's a lie (Last Name) and you know it!" he immediately cut in. "You didn't take your cabriolet two days ago when you left!"

"How would you know?" you asked heatedly. At this, his face flushed a little as he broke eye contact.

"I, uh, sort of followed you home after we parted two days ago..?" he said sheepishly. At once, your mind was going around in circles, unable to comprehend all the possibilities.

"Overland, come here for a moment," you requested, as if you needed help with something. As soon as he got within arm's reach, you grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to your eye level. He was too shocked to even retaliate. You then hissed vehemently, "Who, exactly, did you see come out of this house two days ago?" At this, Jackson paled considerably. When he hesitated in answering you, you shouted, "WHO DID YOU SEE COME OUT OF THIS HOUSE?" This caused him to jump and break out of your hold.

"Listen, (Last Name), I saw a boy, who looked a lot like you, come out of the house. At first I was confused, and told myself it wasn't you, but then when I knocked on your door after that boy left, I never got any response," he started to explain. "I mean, it can't be that hard for you to be a guy. You have no chest at all!" He started snickering when you tried to slap him from the couch.

"Overland, you probably pieced the pieces together now. Yes, I was that boy. I wouldn't be able to do my job if I was a girl," you sighed.

"Tell me, what's your job then?" he asked.

"I hunt. My dad taught me how to two years ago, when we first moved here. I don't do it often, only when I have to," you said. You then told him your whole experience in the woods, and how you managed to make so much money at the cost of having your leg broken. At the end you threatened him with multiple things (eternal torment, castration, etc.) to make sure he wouldn't tell. He seemed shocked that you were capable of that much, but then proceeded to joke about you having some use. You hit him upside the head and then asked him about Olivia. Immediately, his demeanor darkened and a pained look came over his face. He told you how she had gotten worse over the past 48 hours. You immediately told him to take the money you earned and to buy the book from the apothecary's shop and any other herbs necessary. He nodded and left the house in a hurry while you proceeded to go to your room to change. You both agreed that you would meet at his house.

It took a while, but you finally managed to get changed into a dress. You took your walking stick and made it to the Overland household in 20 minute's time. You saw that Jackson was already there and you acknowledged him like you hadn't seen him until now. You also greeted Mrs. and Mr. Overland. They were shocked about your leg, but you told them to not worry and that it would heal in two months. They seemed doubtful, but you managed to change the subject when you inquired about Olivia. You got the same response Jackson had told you earlier. You only wished you hadn't been attacked by that wolf, and then you could have gotten home sooner. After a while, you helped Mrs. Overland prepare a catnip and peppermint leaf tea. It was supposed to help get rid of a fever without heating the patient's body. You only helped that it would work.

Two more days had passed and Olivia had started to recover. Although she still couldn't move around a lot, her fever had disappeared leaving her happier than ever. She was disappointed because you had broken your leg, which meant that you couldn't play with her. A part inside of you was glad that you couldn't play, because it meant that she wouldn't try to make you and Jackson friends for a while. Oh you couldn't forget about Jackson either! Ever since he found out about your secret, and ever since you saved his sister, you both were in each other's debt. This would cause a bond to form between you two, one that you didn't want at all.

[1] This is $37.74 in today's money.
[2] This is roughly $163.64 in today's money. These are in USD by the way. Wow! The reader sure hauled in some money! This is the site I used to calculate prices! Although this takes place a little before 1800, I figured it would be a close enough approximation. inflation/