Page 69 of While Angels Slept
Hunt nodded. “It was big, like a big white wheel of cheesth.”
Arabel smiled at his lispy tongue. “Aye, it was,” she said. “When we left Rochester, the moon was on our left, to the east. Do you remember that too?” As Hunt nodded again, she continued. “If you go outside now, the moon should be in the same place. It is so bright that you will be able to see. If the moon was on our left when we headed away from Rochester, if you keep it on your right, you should be heading back towards Rochester. Do you understand?”
Hunt’s face scrunched up a bit as he thought on her words. Arabel could see he didn’t quite understand what she was saying so she rubbed her fingers in the dirt beneath them and proceeded to smear it across Hunt’s left arm.
“That is your left side,” she said. “You want the moon to be on the side that does not have dirt smears on it.”
Hunt lifted both arms, looking curiously at the dirt, until his face eventually washed with an expression of understanding. He grinned and slapped at his right arm.
“The moon thould be over here,” he said happily.
Arabel nodded. “Aye,” she was thrilled he was coming to understand. But her excitement was damped by the fact that a very young boy would be running off into the wilds in an attempt to save them all, out into the wilderness where any number of things could happen to him. Itwas a terrible gamble. “I am afraid for you all alone in the woods, Hunt, but I fear we have no other choice. I think you are very brave. I think you can save us all.”
Hunt wasn’t particularly thinking about the danger. He was a little too young to completely grasp the concept because in truth, he’d spent his entire life safely protected at Rochester. Wandering the countryside had never been an option for him. But he did like that Arabel had called him brave.
“Knights are brave,” he said.
Arabel grinned. “You are a very brave knight. Will you save us, Hunt?”
He nodded firmly. “I wish I had my sword.”
Arabel looked around their hut. There wasn’t anything she could see that remotely resembled a weapon.
“Perhaps a sword would only slow you down,” she suggested, trying to discourage him from making a weapon the focus of his mission. “If you do not have anything heavy to carry, you can run swiftly, like the wind. If you see trouble, then you will hide. A sword would make it difficult to hide.”
It made no sense, and it was somewhat a lie, but Hunt thought seriously on her statement. Arabel was growing increasingly anxious for him to be on his way, terrified with every moment that passed someone would appear and Hunt would be unable to slip away. Hunt didn’t seem to have the same sense of urgency that she did. She grasped the young man by the hand and squeezed.
“You must go now,” she insisted softly but firmly. “Leave this hut and run far away from this camp until you see the moon, then keep it on your right side. Keep running, Hunt, until you come to a town or a church. Ask the people there where Rochester Castle is and ask for their help. If you tell them my father will reward them for helping you, it should make asking for assistance a simple thing.”
Hunt pondered her instructions, finally nodding his head and jumping to his feet. He brushed off his dirty knees. As Arabel watchedwith anticipation, Hunt went to the hut door and put his hand on the crude wooden latch. In fact, the entire door was crude and not very well made, as if someone had pieced it together with scraps of wood and branches. Dried grass or moss plugged up the holes. Hunt pulled at the moss, tossing it to the floor, until there was a big enough hole to look through. The child peered out into the darkness.
“It isth very dark,” he turned to Arabel after a moment, his expression uncertain. “Where did my mother go?”
Arabel could see that he still didn’t completely grasp the situation and struggled not to become short with him. It was as if they kept backtracking on what she had explained to him but then she had to remind herself that the child was only five years old.
“I do not know,” she said with strained patience. “That is why you must run, Hunt. You must find help. I know you can do this. You are a very brave knight, are you not? Perhaps my father will reward you with a real sword for your courage.”
Hunt was intrigued with the thought. “Can I kill someone with it?”
“If you must.”
Hunt grinned. “Then we can have a grand funeral,” he threw up his arms happily. Then the arms came down and he cocked his head. “Are you sure he will give me a real sword?”
“I promise.”
Hunt believed her. He had no reason not to, mostly because Tevin had already given him a new sword so he knew the man was good for such a thing. Moreover, Arabel was sure he could be brave and save them all, and that meant a good deal to his little heart. He wanted to save them.
Scooting to the door, he peeked out of the hole he had made to see that the camp seemed to be very quiet for the most part. With a glance at Arabel, who nodded her head encouragingly, Hunt very carefully pulled open the door. It was dark outside, with trees and bushes of matted foliage around them, but there were no people at all. He could see bonfires in the distance as people moved about and cooked theirevening meals, but there was no one in close proximity of their hut. It appeared they had all headed off with his mother and Gillywiss. The vacancy of the immediate area fed his bravery.
“I’m going,” he hissed loudly at Arabel. “I will bring an army back.”
Arabel nodded eagerly. “Remember to keep the moon on the side of your body that does not have the dirt smears. Run until you find someone who can take you to Rochester!”
Hunt just waved her off and quit the hut, pulling the door shut behind him. Arabel lay there, listening to his soft footfalls fade off as the crunching of the earth and grass grew faint. Once the sounds had faded completely, Arabel felt rather hollow and desolate. She wondered what she was going to tell Lady Penden when the woman returned. She wondered what would happen if they never saw Hunt again. He was a very little boy, now out in a very big and dangerous world.
Closing her eyes, she wept and prayed.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
