"That is why I did that. I am here to save your armies once again."
"My armies do not need you to save them. Last time you led us away from victory, remember? That is when I found out you were a spy and threw you in prison." He said with such venom she did not know if even the fact that the men were still enchanted would spare her life this time.
"As soon as I was out of that prison, I was contacted. Some of my peers thought that I had misunderstood the instructions I had been given that day. Some of them thought that I was just showing the fact I was a stupid female and should not have been entrusted with that mission or any other. But my employers were not so misled. They knew that I took you away from the fighting on purpose and are after blood."
"Wait a minute. You are going to have to explain yourself in a little more detail." His voice had a margin of curiosity in it now, and just a shade less animosity.
"You were walking into a trap that would have wiped out your entire army and you would have been the last and slowest to die. I had been tracking and spying on you for months and had set it up. That night I was to prove you were not as honorable as everyone thinks and then you would lead the men into the trap that would kill them. You would be sent back to your people broken, barely alive, and doubted. The rumors would start that you knew it was a trap and tried to abandon your men. It would eventually drive you to your death, but first it would kill your spirit and military success." She could tell by the look on his face that he was starting to believe her and that he was getting angrier. She dropped her gaze to her hands for fear her eyes would give her heart away, "I could not carry out that mission, so I led your men to believe that I was a girlfriend you had left behind when you went to war who could not take it anymore and must see you. Told them it would be most unkind to interrupt us and went into the tent. When I didn’t come out until the next morning, they were free to draw their own conclusions."
"You let the men believe that I slept with you that night while you led me to think you were sent from a village in distress and cried for hours?!"
"It was the only thing I could think of that would get you and your army out of there in time. If they thought for a second the mission was not going as planned, they would have marched on your camp in the night when you thought they were still leagues away and you were unprepared." Is that a note of pleading? Why is she telling me this now? How can I believe this is true? I trusted her before and it lead to ... Was that the disaster I had thought it to be?
"And you expect me to just believe you now that your intentions are honorable and let you have the run of the camp?"
"No. I expect you to follow me into battle." She looked straight into his eyes when she said it and he nearly fell off the desk he was leaning against. How could anyone be that audacious?
"How do I know you are not using your charms to convince me that you are not deceiving me yet again?" he countered.
"There is no way to show you without a doubt, but if I could do anything to gain your trust it would be this" and she pulled a glowing blue dagger from its hidden sheath and handed it to him. He immediately knew it to be Veritás, Retribution’s enchanted blade. She then put her hand over his and placed her other on the blade. As quickly as lightning, she had sliced her hand and said, "I bind myself to you for the duration of this contract. I will give my life to save yours and to avenge it if I cannot prevent your demise."
"That is the first part of the binding of an apprentice to the master. I have not agreed to let you live, let alone train you in anything!"
"That is also an Oath of Truth."
"What significance is that supposed to have?"
"The blade was a gift to me, enchanted by the same wizard who enhanced my voice. If I break my Oath, it will pierce my heart."
"And if I refuse to take you on?"
"Then I am bound to follow and do all I can from the shadows." She said, but her voice was not as strong as it had been until now and she hoped he did not call her bluff. If he refused at this point, they all might be dead by morning.
"And what is this ‘contract’ you spoke of?"
"Let me stay on as your new apprentice and I will lead you to victory against your enemy without ever letting on that you are being guided to their weaknesses."
"What’s in it for you?"
"I told you my life is in danger. They know I am out of prison and think that I am trying to return to fulfill my contract to spare myself from the fate they have in store. They don’t know what I have learned in that place or that I can look the part of a soldier. To be the apprentice you took on last week when they saw me as myself after that would be a perfect cover. As long as you are alive, my life will also be safe. But we must move quickly. We need to move camp this night, before day break."
"You told my men that I took on an apprentice and you want me to move the whole camp by morning?!" He barely believed he had heard correctly.
"You will find that your men are already moving and yes, I did let them believe you had taken an apprentice. There is one other thing. You need not tell anyone who I really am."
"Like I would. They would think I have lost my mind and start to question my leadership, but why do you say that?"
"There are many other spies among your men and I don’t know them all. If I told you the ones I do know, they would know what I’m doing immediately and they would change their strategy. Right now they think they are toying with me by letting me believe I can win back their favor until they can catch me."
"I will go along with your plan for now, but if you show the slightest sign that this is fraudulent, I will put that dagger through your heart myself. Release my men before you morph into a man and meet me outside for practice in one hour."
As she rose to leave, she looked back at the man who's world she had rocked with the news she had delivered and felt saddened by the sight of such a strong person brought to a position like this. "You might find comfort in the knowledge that Ian is more faithful to you than to his wife." He looked up sharply. She was still looking at him and said softly, "I know. We tried."
"Ian would sooner castrate himself than step out on his wife. How did you test that?"
She smiled. "I promised him I would never give away the details," she replied and stepped silently out of the room.
Chapter 2 VictorIn exactly an hour, the captain was on the field talking to some of the men who had gathered around to see the sparring match when a young man wearing studded leather armor walked up, saluted him, and said, "Victor Sill Young reporting as ordered, Sir." The other soldiers walked off the field instantly assuming that Victor was the apprentice the captain had taken and whispering to each other that this young boy must have exceptional skill for the captain to take him after ten years of not taking an apprentice at all.The captain looked closely at this boy. Close enough that their noses were almost touching then asked in a low voice, "Sylvia?" The soldier only gave a sligh
The captain jumped. "I was wondering when you would be back," he said as he turned to face her, " Where are they now?" One glance and he turned back to his maps. She was definitely Sylvia right now and that outfit didn’t hide her curves.She walked over behind him and leaned over his shoulder to point to the map. "Here. They are setting up camp for the night. We have bought enough time to come up with a strategy and put it into action but only if we move quickly. They will not be fooled for long."Before he could ask what they would least expect from this position, they heard Ian say hello to the guard outside the tent. The captain looked up at Ian and glanced over his shoulder to find himself alone with Ian, his second in command.How the devil does she do that?"What is it Ian?"
The three-day march to the city of Bohen was long and tiring. They rose before the sun each morning and did not set up their tents at night. They rolled out their blankets on the ground itself without the light of fires. The last thing they wanted was to draw attention to themselves.When they finally reached the city, they camped in the forest nearby. They sent a couple wagons into the city for supplies with the men again dressed in civilian’s clothes. If they were inquired of, they were to say they were headed towards the mountains to mine for gold. The mountains were at least three weeks away to the east. The camp itself was well hidden and well guarded. The army had nothing to do but wait for their enemies to approach. In the mean time, the captain and Victor held more training sessions and poured over the corrected maps.That evening, everythin
Chapter 3 SwimmingAfter an hour or so, the captain announced that they needed to do some hunting. Victor picked up a bow and quiver and asked if they were going alone."Hunting is normally done in parties of four," came the reply, "but I could see how two could play into the apprenticeship." They left and told Ian on the way out of camp that the captain was taking Victor out hunting.They had barely gotten out of camp when Victor whispered to the captain, "You are making too much noise. Stay still for five minutes." It was then that the captain realized he could not hear Victor’s footsteps. Before he could say not to, the boy had vanished. The captain sat down an
The rest of that day was without consequence. A scout reported sighting of the opposing army a day and a half away, so the men set in to relax for the evening. They knew that for some this would be the last chance and no one could know if they would be included in that some. Since the day was hot, they requested permission to go swimming in the river. The captain granted their request."Hey Victor, come with us!" one of the soldiers shouted as they headed for the river. Victor paled, but his back was to the soldier who had said it so only the captain could see."Victor has been set to guard duty to learn discipline," replied the captain calmly. He gave a slight smile to Victor when he saw him mouth "Thank you".The same man approached Victor later and said, "Tough gig. I’m glad I
Chapter 4 The MountainsThe next morning the camp was buzzing with the excitement of the impending battle. Victor had gone scouting and returned to say that there was an enemy encampment not far away and that if they were quick, they could take the enemy by surprise. They were quick.The battle was fast with few casualties. The enemy soldiers, when they saw Mikail’s men bearing down on them, decided to flee. "I saw how well you fought today, Victor," said the captain after the battle, "if you did not have my trust before, you have it now." He put his hand on Victor’s shoulder.
"I was not hurt in the battle and am not wounded now." There was a certainty in her voice the captain recognized, but the fact that she was speaking through gritted teeth made him doubt her words. Then he realized that she was using her own voice, not that of Victor. Now he knew something was wrong."Then sit down and tell me why you are moving like your insides are trying to come out!" concern would have been evident in his voice if she had not been too distracted by pain to listen."Have you forgotten that I am female under this disguise?" she asked him as she sat down like he ordered."I wish I could, but that is hardly the point right now."&nbs
"With one leg on either side of my horse, just like you. Remember that I have to be Victor and will be allowed to be preoccupied with my assignment." He smiled slyly. After dinner he said, "I must congratulate you, by the way. It seems that while I was in prison, you saved the city of Tshen from an oncoming attack.""Tshen?" asked the captain, "I thought they were going to invade the small village west of Tshen and could not understand why. That makes better sense to me now. You got that out of that journal?""Yes. And some other stuff. I am not finished with it, but it looks like you have been a real pain." Sylvia smiled at him, though he could see the pain etched in every line of her face."I did find two other journals among some of the lower ranking soldiers