Page 22 of Arrows and Gems
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The sun was barely above the horizon when Cap and Jean-haut left camp on foot the next morning. Due to several narrow ledges and one place where they had to climb, horses weren’t an option. They could ride if they went around, but the long way took twice as long and exposed them to too many travelers.
Stifling a yawn with one hand, Jean-haut peered blearily at the passing trees. “I’m just as eager to see her as you are, Cap, but couldn’t we have waited another hour? We won’t get there till tomorrow either way.”
The crunch of their boots on the layer of dry leaves was loud in the morning stillness. If they had been hunting or hunted, they would have taken more care with their footsteps. But today, speed was more important than stealth.
“Your information worries me,” Cap admitted, slipping a hand into his pocket to check for the letter. “One of the General’s aides, connected to this plot...I don’t like it.”
“Do you believe me now that General Valentin is behind all of this?” Jean-haut asked. His voice lacked its usual edge of frustration on this topic, but since it was as heavy with sleep as a cat in a sunbeam, Cap didn’t think his friend’s attitude had changed. “The General arranged Daphne’s trip to Castellia; the aide must have been working under his orders. That meanseverything she went through was his fault.”
Cap stayed silent. He didn’t want to believe it, but...it was getting harder to convince himself of General Valentin’s innocence.
“That’s why we’re making this trip.” Climbing over a fallen log, he continued, “Your surveillance is limited to what you pick up wandering the streets or talking to castle servants that you know are trustworthy. By nature, a lot of it is hearsay.” He focused ahead as they kept hiking. “I’m hoping she’ll have more reliable information.”
“That, and you want her to mail that letter for you.” Cap could hear the grin in his friend’s voice. “Is it for Daphne? Or are you threatening Raoul?”
Cap shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
After walking for several hours, they reached a large treeless stretch. Cap fought the urge to look around nervously. Few people had a reason to be in this area, but their narrow escape a month ago had rattled him more than he cared to admit. He’d been more wary of every piece of information since. If the General could plant the fake intelligence that led Cap and Jean-haut into a trap, and if he might be responsible for the king’s murder...who was to say he didn’t know about this trail and the likelihood of Cap using it?
A brisk wind swirled around them, teasing the hoods of their cloaks and whisking away the light sweat on Cap’s forehead. It was noticeably colder than when they started their trek. The light dimmed as a heavy cloud drifted in front of the sun. Cap looked up quickly, but though the cloud was thick, it was small. A few minutes later, the sun shone brightly again.
“I know you’re eager for news,” Jean-haut murmured, “and you know that I want to see her. But if we don’t want to be caught out on the mountainside or stranded at her house, we’d be wise to increase our pace.” He glanced up at the sky again. “And not linger while we’re there.”
CHAPTER 10
Helena
Another week or two, and she would be gone.
Helena flexed her arm, then carefully rolled her shoulder. It was feeling much better. She could probably even use a bow now, but the shot would be weak and might re-injure her shoulder.
But according to Marielle’s physician, she would be fine in another week or two. She had a pouch of money that her cousin had foolishly given her, the use of a horse that she might feel guilty about stealing, and the bow she planned to “borrow” from her aunt and uncle picked out. All she needed was full health.
“It looks like a storm is coming in,” Marielle mused. She was leaning against a window in the sitting room, peering out at the dark sky. “I wonder if it will simply rain, or if we’re in for a snowstorm? We get them in November sometimes; they’re usually bad when we do.”
Helena picked up the book she’d been pretending to read and gave her cousin a non-committal hum. She’d exhausted the manor’s supply of history books containing the adventures of ages past, and now she was reading about Old Amitian. She liked the subject, but her forced inactivity was making her restless.
She pulled the book closer. Marielle couldn’t know how desperate she was for a little adventure of her own; her cousinmight start watching her more closely, and that would complicate her escape to Castellia.
“I think I’ll take a walk before the weather hits,” Marielle said casually. Pushing off the windowsill, she strolled toward the door. “I’ll see you at supper, all right?”
The dissertation on Old Amitian hit the settee with a soft thump. “I’ll join you,” Helena said, trying to hide her eagerness. “I just need to grab my cloak. Meet you at the front door?”
“Oh…” Her cousin’s eyebrows pulled together as she looked back. “Um…are you sure? With your shoulder—”
“Walking won’t hurt me,” Helena replied, rolling her eyes. Striding past, she tossed out, “Talk like that, and you’ll make me think you don’t want me to come.”
If Marielle answered, Helena didn’t hear it. She rushed down the hall to her room, grabbed her cloak from its hook near the door, and spared only a moment to verify that her leather gloves were in the pockets. A walk in the chilly autumn air would calm her restlessness.
Only another week or two. But this time, she would choose a more sensible way to reinvent herself than joining an outlaw.
After a few minutes of waiting at the front door, Helena set off on her own. The grounds of Marielle’s country home differed from those Helena was used to. Due to the rocky terrain and high altitude, it lacked the traditional gardens from her home. Instead, gravel paths led between dirt beds with short, bare bushes and patches that held beautiful wildflowers during the warmer months. The occasional tree provided shade when its branches were full of leaves, adding variation to the garden’s height since it lacked the hedge mazes she seemed to find everywhere else.
She wandered for a while, gradually drawing closer to the thicker trees beyond the cleared area. The wilder land drew herin, promising adventure if she would only explore its unknown depths.
Never one to resist potential excitement, she left the tamed gardens and ventured into the woods. How different could they be from the ones she’d grown up with at Reineggburg?
