As they rode hard through the night, Wilson began to question his decision to flee. Now that he had left without telling the Princess, he had lost hope of getting her assistance. And what if she sent a messenger to her father to tell him the opposite of what they discussed. What if she was convinced that because he fled the Baron's men, he was really guilty?

Why had he run instead of facing up to the problem?

The night passed in a blur. After a couple hours of hard riding, they stopped to rest. Laying down on their bedrolls, Wilson looked over at Aella. "Do you think it was the wrong decision to run?"

"I think the 1st lieutenant was looking for any reason to move against us. The Baron's men were the reason he needed. Being outnumbered 24 to 2 isn't my idea of wisdom. So, to answer your question, no, I think we did the right thing." She rolled over. And then over her shoulder she muttered, "We're still alive, aren't we?"

Wilson had to agree. For some reason, Lieutenant Badren hadn't wanted them in the Princess' camp. What Aella said was true, if they had stayed, they could have easily found themselves in manacles. Even had the Princess objected, in a military camp, the commanding officer's word was law.

He still tossed and turned through the night. Something wasn't right about that camp. The tension was too high for a simple escort this deep in friendly territory. It was if they were in the middle of the war zone. After so much time not sleeping, he finally stood up in frustration.

"Not sleeping?" asked Aella.

"How could you guess?" snapped Wilson.

Aella chuckled. "No need to get snippy. I wasn't sleeping either."

"Why?"

"Mostly because you've been rolling around on the ground like some airsick Roc for the past two hours."

"Bah," said Wilson.

He stepped closer to the small fire pit and added some twigs to the embers. Then he blew on them to get the fire going again.

"And because something wasn't right," said Aella.

Wilson spun around. "I thought so too. There was something off about that Lieutenant."

"You just hate officers," said Aella.

"Well, that too. But you have to admit, something was strange about the whole camp. You felt it, didn't you?"

Aella sat up. She nodded. "I did. And yes, something was off. But Wilson, it isn't our problem. We just need to get to the King, get your dad his pardon and then get back to camp. Another day or two and the Major is going to start worrying about us."

"He won't worry about us one bit. As far as he's concerned, the longer we are away, the better."

"You know that isn't true. Without us, this war would have been lost already. Plus, he's been good to us, unlike the other commanders."

Wilson sunk down and crouched by the fire. He stretched out his hands to warm them by the small fire. "That's true. You're right."

Aella stood up and walked over to the fire. She stood opposite him. Small, strong and fierce, she stared at him. "I'm always right."

Wilson laughed.

"And that is why we need to get back to the Princess. Right now."

"You think so?" asked Wilson.

"I know so. Let's go."

"What about the Baron's men."

"Bah, they are nothing. Let's ride."

They jumped astride their horses and began to gallop back towards the Princess. Racing against precious minutes their hearts told them might not be enough.

The Black Oak Sword

Chapter 1: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Chapter 2: Part 1 , Part 2
Chapter 3: Part 1 , Part 2,Part 3
Chapter 4:Part 1,Part 2
Chapter 5: Part 1
Chapter 6: Part 1, Part 2
Chapter 7: Part 1, Part 2
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14:Part 1
Chapter 14:Part 2
Chapter 15:Part 1
Chapter 15:Part 2
Chapter 16:Part 1
Chapter 16:Part 2
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19:Part 1
Chapter 19:Part 2
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22:Part 1
Chapter 22:Part 2
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29

© 2017, Stone Golem Publishing, All rights reserved--no part of this may be used without express written consent.

**All pictures used are labeled for reuse. They come from Pixabay

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