Discovery

CHAPTER TWELVE

Hannah woke to frost coating the grass in the meadow. The knight still slept, and she decided to water and ready the horses and wake him later. He needed the sleep. She had the saddles cinched tight, and her blanket rolled when she heard a whisper float from the forest, just the slightest sound of a hushed voice. She couldn’t make out the words, but it was human speech.

Hannah rushed to where he slept and placed her hand over the Knight’s mouth. His eyes instantly opened. She held up two fingers and pointed in the direction from where the voices emanated. He climbed to his feet like a cat spotting an errant bird. A few quick steps took him into the dim light under the canopy of evergreens, now spotted with more and more hardwoods.

She moved to the horses took them into the shadows and removed the hobbles, readying them to run. A faint blue mist seeped from between the trees and Sir James returned, motioning for her to mount. He followed suit and they crossed the stream and headed west, the sun warm on their backs.

“That blue mist?” she asked.

“One of the grapes your sorceress provided. It burst, and they inhaled the spell while I held my breath. One of them turned to the other and asked for his name. I mentioned they should travel home, but neither seemed to know where that might be. When I left them, they were sitting on the ground together near the path, their minds befuddled. In another time I might have laughed.”

“At them?” she asked.

“No, at how effective a weapon confusion can be. I’ll have to think long and hard about Evelyn’s method. Killing is not always the best solution.”

After encountering a total of six criminals, bounty hunters, or highwaymen, in a single night, Hannah realized there must be hundreds searching for her. The roads were not safe. The backways were little better. Any young girl traveling was suspect, and there were accurate descriptions of her provided by the Young Mage who had watched her cross the courtyard at the castle.

“They’re going to find us, you know,” she said.

“I’m working on it.”

“How many days until we reach the King’s Palace?”

“Two days. One more night, if we’re lucky.”

“We still have the ‘no see’ powder. Good for both of us for one day, and it will help only a little, the second, she said. What if we use half of it, but only on me? Then it will last for more than two days if we reapply it.”

He didn’t answer right away. Hannah turned and looked at him. His eyes were lost in thought as he considered what to do. Finally, he said, “Good idea, but if you’re in that saddle, they will wonder why I have two horses, which will draw attention and they will wonder iIf I am the one they seek. They maybe even see you through the spell because it does not make sense.”

“Then what good is it?”

“What if you ride in the back of a wagon? The magic dust would prevent them from looking at you, especially if we cover you with a little straw. The spell just needs a little help from us to be effective.”

“Well, we don’t have a wagon.”

He chuckled again, “How often does that sharp tongue of yours get you into trouble?”

“Who says it does?”

He laughed even more. Then he said, “We’re almost out of the mountains. Farms lay ahead in the valleys. Farms have wagons.”

“And they have farmers who don’t wish to sell their wagons for a promise of future gold.”

“I think I have that covered, too.” He touched his heels to the sides of his horse, forcing her to do the same since she was still in the lead.

The prediction that the hills would end soon turned out to be accurate. They reached the top of a rolling hill and ahead spread a wide, green valley. A small river flowed down the center, and along the right side of the river wound the road. Farms lined both sides of the road but crossing the river a necessity to reach the ones on the far side. Rail fences divided most farms, keeping animals in or out, as the case might be. Some farms grew crops; others grass for animals.

Sir James moved beside her and looked out over the valley. “We need to locate a small farm. Preferably one without children or even a wife.”

“Can I ask why?”

“I expect, and wish you always to question everything I do so you will understand. I’m looking for one that a single man farms because I don’t wish to use our ‘confusion’ spell for a whole family or several farm workers. Dealing with one person will be far easier.”

Hannah also looked at the patchwork of farms spreading out before them. “If I was one of the men hunting for me, I’d be watching that road. It’s the natural place for us to travel.”

“That’s why we’re going to keep to the tree line at the edge of the hills. When we find the right farm, we’ll move in.”

“You talk like the King’s army.”

He gave her a look that she was already learning to hate. It conveyed a message such as: Think about what you just said. She thought about it and understood. He was a Knight. His job put him in charge of armies, so her comment was silly. She wanted to tell him, “I get it,” but decided to turn her head and ignore him for the moment. But his turn to face her wrath would come. She knew a few looks of her own to use on him.

“How will we know which farm?” she asked.

“We’re going to eliminate the ones that we know about, or that have extra people. Large farms are out, of course, because they have many workers, if not large families. When we see two or three field hands working, we remove that one from our list. So, the closest two are not our target.”

“Not the third, either.”

He looked and shrugged, “Why not?”

“Look at the clothing hanging on the clothesline beside the house. Women’s clothing, and it looks like too much there for one man.”

“Good call. How about the next?” Sir James said, his voice sounding a little strained that she’d caught something he hadn’t.

“Maybe,” she mused. “Tools besides the back door, a path to the barn, but no clothesline, and nobody in sight. No smoke from the chimney, either, so nobody inside cooking.”

“Does that make a difference?” he asked, his tone softening.

“The first three farms and the two after it all have smoke coming from them. Someone inside cooking the noon meal, I’ll bet. Only that one farmhouse has no smoke. I can’t tell much else about the two in the distance, but the smoke is a dead giveaway.”

“Humph, I think you’re right.”

“Well, you don’t have to make that rude noise just because I was right,” she snapped.

“Nope, I don’t, but somehow I believe I’ll be making it several times daily from now on.”

She caught the glint of humor and the twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Do you have any children, Sir James?”

“No, the Lord never blessed me with any until you came along. But we are going to have to do something about you calling me Sir James.” He sat tall in his saddle, waiting for her reply if his stance indicated the reason.

She said, “I don’t believe ‘father’ is correct. The Old Mage reserves that name in my mind. For me, Sir James is too official, but James is not respectful for one my age.”

“I believe you’re right on all accounts. Besides, it would be confusing in court to refer to me as your father, and might cause unpleasantness as a few there will believe that I’m raising you to help my status, even that I might wish to become your Regent. How about we settle on Uncle?”

Hannah nodded at once. “I don’t know what a Regent is, but I know what Uncles are.”

“It’s settled, then. I am your Uncle James. That makes you my niece. How would you like to visit that farm down there and introduce ourselves?”

“Not yet, I think. If the farmer is not in his fields that we see, he may be in his barn or outbuilding, and we’ll walk right up to him. He may not be happy about us crossing his farm without permission.”

Sir James said, “In another time you would be correct. This time, we’ll ride in as if expected.”

“If he has friends or wants to fight?” She drew in a deep breath and sighed. “Okay, I guess I see what you mean. He and his helpers are farmers, and you are the King’s Knight. Hopefully, he will not wish to fight.”

He chuckled again, after casting another of the semi-confused looks in her direction. He said, “Are you sure you’re only eleven?”

“No,” she answered simply. “Almost twelve.”

His chuckle turned into laughter as he took the lead. They stayed behind the cover of the trees but kept the farms in sight as they skirted the valley. Both of their heads turned to watch the farms they passed, especially the fourth one in the series.

As they drew abreast of it, Sir Paul said, “I see nothing yet to change my mind. Are you ready to go down there?”

“Dogs. Does he have dogs?”

“I haven’t seen any sign of one, but most farms will have them.”

“I thought all farms have dogs,” she said firmly.

Sir James said, “If there is a dog, what do you think we should do?”

“The dogs at the castle were friendly, for the most part, but they all bark at people they don’t know.”

“I would expect the same here. That’s the dog’s job. Mine will be to get close enough to break one of the blue grapes on the ground where the farmer will inhale it. You might have to help me lure him close to us. But be sure to hold your breath.”

“I’m not a child.”

“You are too,” he said with a chuckle. “Come on. Let me do our talking.”

Her horse followed the lighter colored horse he rode, nose to tail. They didn’t hurry but rode in just the opposite fashion. To an observer, they were riding leisurely and without fear, as if expected. Long before they crossed the farthest field from the small house, a spotted dog sniffed, barked, and raced in their direction. Another, a brown dog that appeared much older scampered along behind, barking until it sat and rested, waiting for them to walk to it. The younger spotted dog raced to them, then ran in circles around the horses. It chased behind the two horses, barking and leaping in excitement as it tried to herd them.

Hannah was watching the dog and talking to it so intently that she didn’t notice a man emerge from the barn and stand in the shade of the overhanging roof. She looked up and found him there; arms crossed over his chest, a long gray beard hanging down to his chest. His fist was wrapped around the handle of a pitchfork. In all, he didn’t appear pleased to see them.

Sir James seemed in no hurry to initiate conversation. He rode directly to the man, although slowly, and his head moved from side to side as he evaluated the farm, the man, and who else might be present.

“You can stop right there,” the farmer snarled.

The Knight didn’t make a move to slow his horse, but he said, “We have a proposition you may be interested in.”

“You got nothing I want. Since you didn’t stop when I told you, just keep on moving.”

Sir James turned to Hannah, “I’m sorry. I guess you’ll have to go hungry for a while longer.”

She placed both arms over her belly and moaned theatrically. It didn’t emerge as a painful moan to her ears; it sounded like a sick cow, and she almost laughed. Nobody would believe that moan. Her eyes went to the farmer, and she found she was wrong. He almost melted in sympathy.

“I guess I might have a few scraps the dogs haven’t eaten.”

Swinging his leg over the rump of the horse, Sir James said with a wide smile that would relieve any tension, “I cannot thank you enough, sir. I’ll make sure to reward you for your kindness.”

Hannah watched his hand slip into the front of his shirt as if reaching for a purse and the coins it held. Instead, he pulled a small blue object and let it ‘slip’ from his hand. As the farmer bent to retrieve it, Sir James stepped on the grape. Blue smoke boiled out.

Hannah held her breath and watched Sir James, her new ‘uncle’ do the same. The blue smoke quickly dissipated in the breeze, but neither of them let the air from their lungs. The farmer squinted, his eyes focusing on them, then slid off as if he didn’t understand why they were there. Sir James reached for the pitchfork and pried it from the farmer’s fingers. “You won’t be needing this. We’re your friends.”

He glanced at Hannah and the open barn door. She reached for the reins of the other horse and rode in, leading the other. Inside, smelled of old hay, damp dirt, and a hundred animals who had called the building home over the years. Hannah found she liked the combination of earthy smells. Tools hung on every wall, including harnesses, hammers, scythes, and buckets.

Sir James entered, his arm around the shoulder of the farmer to guide him. “Put the horses in the stalls and get their saddles and bridles off. They need a break from the saddles or they’ll get sores.”

She leaped to obey. Sir James placed the farmer on the floor that was covered with fresh straw. The dogs curled up next to him. The Knight opened a gate and motioned to a worn out wagon, gray with age, but the wheels looked solid, each rim circled with a rusted strip of iron testifying that the wagon had not traveled in some time.

In contrast to the fancy carriage the Old Mage rode in, Hannah saw the wagon as a box on wheels with a seat set higher for the driver to see over the mule. It had no springs and no paint on the bare wood. After the ride in the Old Mage’s magical white carriage, she was not impressed.

‘Uncle James’ said, “I saw a mule out in that nearest pasture. Want to go see if you can get it in here?”

The horses had become her friends over the last two days, and when she caught sight of the swaybacked mule and the angry look it gave her, she decided the horses would be better to pull the wagon. But her ‘uncle’ had told her what he wanted, and she needed to not only begin thinking of him as her uncle, but she needed to obey him. She approached the mule carefully, and the mule backed off a step. Hannah moved two careful steps forward, and the mule backed two.

She darted forward. The mule spun and kicked in her direction with both back feet, barely missing her, but all the more impressive considering its age. It ran away to the rear of the pasture. She chased it, almost reaching it before it trotted off to another corner, a hundred paces away, where it watched her like she was poison, ready to dart away again when she drew nearer.

Sir James walked out of the barn carrying a coiled rope and a wooden bucket. Hannah decided he’d strike the mule over the head with the bucket and then tie the animal so it couldn’t run. Instead, he held the bucket in front of him and talked softly to the mule. It eyed Hannah and made a wide circle, coming to a stop in front of the knight. It dipped its muzzle into the bucket and chewed a mouthful of grain as he gently slipped the rope over its head.

“It wouldn’t come to me,” she snapped. “You should have hit it with the bucket.”

“You just have to get its attention.” He said, not allowing the smile threatening to grow to get any wider. “Much like when dealing with little girls.”

Inside the barn, he did short work of putting the mule in the harness. The farmer barely watched them. He glanced at one thing for a while, then another as if he couldn’t make up his mind what he wanted to see. He didn’t speak.

Sir James said, “Wait here.”

When he didn’t return as quickly as expected, she worried. When he entered the barn again, he wore old, patched, clothing, and a hat made of straw. He carried a small blanket like a bag, the contents weighing down the middle. It went into the wagon bed.

“Stealing his clothing, food, and what else?”

“Inside on the table is a bill of sale for the two horses and saddles we’re leaving here. They’re worth much more than this old wagon and mule.”

“Except he didn’t want to sell them in the first place. Now the farmer will have to find a buyer and replace his wagon and mule.”

“I also left him my only coin, a large silver worth enough to buy most of this farm. I saved it for an emergency. And I left my apology.”

“Okay, I guess he’ll be fine. Now, how are we going to do this?”

Sir James pointed to the hay stored in the loft. “You’re going up there and pitch down a small load.”

“While I am up there doing all the work, what will you be doing?”

“Oh, my job will be to spread it around in the wagon.”

She went up the ladder a step at a time, casting him more than one glare, but in truth, she wanted to see what might be up there. At the top, she found dried hay and little else. She went to the edge and found the wagon directly under it, the Knight standing ready to ‘spread it around.'

She hid her impulsive grin by ducking quickly and gathering up as large an armful as she could carry, then she tossed it over the edge, on top of where Sir James stood.

“You missed me,” he called, laughing like the funniest thing he’d ever seen just happened, and perhaps it did. He’d known she would try that, so he moved away. That made her smile, too. He was good natured and had a sense of humor. He’d need one to raise her, she decided. In only a couple of days, he’d figured out that she was not the usual little girl who unquestioningly did what she was told. The next several armloads fell into the wagon, and he used the pitchfork to spread it over the bed of the wagon.

“That should be plenty,” he called, and she scampered down the ladder.

She said, “You knew I’d throw that hay at you. How? Did I give myself away?”

“Nope,” he said smugly. “It’s because that’s what I would have done at your age.”

They both laughed. She looked at the farmer. “Will he be okay?”

“The dogs will look after him.”

“How is this going to work?” She asked again.

“Well, I’m not sure. The spell is supposed to make people look in other directions, not at you. I don’t know what it’ll do to me.”

She looked at the folded envelope in his hand. “You won’t be able to see me?”

“Not if it works, I guess. I never thought of that until now.”

She moved to his side. “Sprinkle half of it on me. Save the rest for tomorrow.”

He held it over her head allowed it to fall and spread over her as he observed intently. “I don’t think it’s working.”

“Maybe because you were watching? Look over there,” she pointed.

He turned, and she stepped back three steps and stood still. When he turned around, he looked to her left, right, and in front of her. His eyes searched the far corners of the barn, but each time they came near her they darted away as if scared. “Where are you?”

“Right here,” she said.

His eyes moved all around, but never once focused on her. “It’s working, but I never saw anything like it. Imagine an army sprinkled with that stuff.”

“Do you always think about war and stuff?”

“I do,” he said, reaching out his hand and touching her. “I’m a warrior. We’ll have to be careful of this. People can hear and touch you, so keep that in mind. Don’t sneeze or get into a position where they can touch you. Now, climb into the wagon bed and we can be on our way.”

She climbed in and spread the hay for a soft place to lay, then covered herself with a thin layer.

“You might want to cover yourself with some hay, just in case,” he said.

“That’s a good idea,” she giggled as he made a clucking sound with his tongue to entice the mule into leaving the barn. Being not seen might be more fun than she imagined. Soon they were on the road, the mule moving at a pace slower than she walked. A few farmers working their fields waved, but the road remained empty. They left the valley and entered another, larger one. As the trees thinned at the head of the valley, two men leaped from the cover of boulders at the side of the road, each holding a knife.

“Hold it right there,” one said, placing himself in front of the mule. The other stood beside the Knight without any idea of the danger he was in. Hannah knew the Knight could kill him before he knew the attack happened.

“What’s going on?” Sir James asked, his voice shaking as if scared.

“We’re looking for a girl about eleven or twelve. Straw-colored hair and a turned up nose. She might be with a big man such as yourself.” He glanced at the bed of the wagon, his face close enough for her to reach out and touch. Hannah held her breath so he wouldn’t hear her.

“I haven’t seen anyone on my farm for days.”

The one holding the mule asked, “Any gold or silver on you?”

The Knight said, “Sure thing. My farm has so much gold in the fields my plow can’t turn over the ground in spring. If I had any coins would I be in this old wagon? And that mule?”

“Let him go. It’s plain he’s poorer than us,” the other highwayman said. He reached into the purse at his hip and pulled a small copper coin free and tossed it to the Knight, who snatched it from the air as if he had no coins, which was true. Both of the highwaymen laughed at the gesture.

“He needs it more’n us.” They both laughed again, and the Knight joined in.

The wagon rumbled on down the road, and the two highwaymen slipped back into the trees to wait for their next victim. When they were out of earshot, Sir James said, “This is the King’s Road. He has not been doing a good job of protecting travelers from what I see.”

“Isn’t that part of your job?” she asked. “You’re the King’s hand, my father said. This seems like another job you’re not doing well. And my nose is not turned up, as he said.”

He paused, “I agree, it is my job now. The day we arrive at the palace there will be knights and squires dispatched to clear these roads of trash like them. I had no idea there were that many of them.”

“Put a bounty on them. Like they did on me.”

Sir James glanced over his shoulder. “Remind me never to cross you, my princess.”