Chapter Sixteen:

Tricks and Talks

------

"Harriet?" Leopold whispered, his voice hardly loud enough to reach her ears. He quickly grabbed a hold of her head, taking off her helmet and letting her red shoulder length hair spill out around her. He froze as he looked her in the eye, and Harriet swallowed drily. The spell was completely gone as she had willing told him her name. If she understood it correctly, that meant that everyone would see her for the female she was, and by the looks of it, Leopold could definitely see that.

For a moment, Harriet could swear he had become stone, and then she realized that he hadn't. Looking into his blue eyes, she could see them glistening and not from sweat or blood.

"Leopold..." Harriet said, trailing off. She didn't know what to say. So far he hadn't reacted the way that she had thought he would. She had expected him to shout and rage at her but he hadn't; at least not yet.

"I-" Leopold stopped talking to clear his throat, never taking his eyes off of Harriet's. "We will speak more about this later, but right now, it's not safe. You know the penalty of disobeying the law, Harriet. Quickly, get your helmet back on." His hands were trembling as he guided her helmet back over her head.

"Why? Why aren't you throwing me to the dogs?" Harriet said, bringing her hands up to his wrists where they rested on either side of her helmet.

"I would never throw you to the dogs; not even if I was upset with you. Which, I assure you, I am. But now is neither the time nor the place to talk about that. You're safe, that's what matters; not somewhere wandering the country or captured by the enemy. Right now, we just need to make sure you stay safe. Can you pretend to be Harry Greenfellow for a little longer?" Harriet nodded, letting her hands drop from his wrists, allowing him to pull his hands away. "Good. How hurt are you? Is there a way you could be treated by the medics without them figuring out you're a woman?"

Harriet paused before shaking her head, her face alight with a blush as she watched his eyes sweep over her armor-encased form. Leopold's facial expression turned pensive and he looked away, allowing Harriet to have a moment without being under his scrutinizing gaze. In all of the nightmares she'd had over the past month about how Leopold would react when he found out, this had not been among them.

Leopold glanced back over to her, and Harriet could see the gears in his head working. She had forgotten that this man was a tactical genius, and it seemed that she had also forgotten his determination to keep people he was close to safe. This was the assassin incident all over; nine years later and he was still trying to protect her from her own rash decisions; even though as far as rash decisions go, the one that lead to her fighting in the war had been pondered over for a rather long amount of time.

"Harriet, you need to keep quiet, alright? I'll do the talking. Now that whatever spell you were clearly under is gone, your voice is no longer disguised." Harriet turned her head to see the medics approaching, and for a moment she felt a large hand cover one of her own, but by the time the medics were within shouting distance to them, the hand was gone.

"Your highness! Are you alright? Mr. Greenfellow, are you hurt?" One of the medics said, but Leopold held up a hand signaling for him to stop.

"We do both need medical attention, but currently, Mr. Greenfellow's chest is very bruised, so he won't be able to talk or take off his armor."

"How do you know, sir?" The medic dared to ask.

"He mimed it out to me once he helped me walk away from the battlefield," Leopold replied. The medics seemed to accept that as an answer, quickly getting to work helping Leopold onto a stretcher and Harriet to her feet.

Harriet grit her teeth to keep from crying out as one of them jostled her shoulder, and she could feel Leopold's concerned gaze on her, but neither of them said a word. If they made a mistake, she would be in a lot more trouble than she was currently in.

The way back to the camp had been a long uncomfortable walk filled with Leopold answering questions from the medics and Harriet attempting to mime information to them. By some miracle, she was able to relay that Garreth was alive and out there when they went down a list to see if she had seen any men in the last minutes of the battle. Another medic was dispatched shortly to go and find him.

By the time they had returned to the camp, the adrenaline had left her completely and she was left only with terrible fatigue and pain from her shoulder and bruised ribs. Multiple times she caught Leopold looking at her, but every time she looked back at him, he never looked away. It was like he was trying to silently ask her if she could hold out just a little longer.

Soon they were at Leopold's tent, as he had insisted that she come as well when the medics had suggested she return to her own. Harriet had watched as they had tended to Leopold's injuries, averting her eyes and trying to keep her focus on one of the maps in the tent when they had to undress him in order to tend to his leg. As soon as they were done and Leopold was under the covers of his cot, Leopold ordered them from the tent, saying he needed to speak with "Mr. Greenfellow," and in moments they were alone.

"For the sake of eavesdroppers, please secure the tent flap Mr. Greenfellow," Leopold said, motioning with a hand to the opening of the tent. Harriet moved as quickly as she could to follow his orders. Once that was done, she slowly turned to face him.

From where he sat propped up against pillows, he was frowning at her, his eyebrows furrowed. He was looking at her as if she was an especially difficult puzzle, and Harriet shifted from foot to foot where she stood.

"Please remove your helmet, Harriet, and take a shirt from there." Leopold pointed to a chest by his desk. Harriet felt her cheeks began to heat up. "You can change out of your armor behind that divider."

"Sir-"

"Leopold, Harriet."

"Leopold," Harriet stressed. "My shoulder is a bit worse for wear..." she trailed off. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to erm- get the armor off without assistance." Leopold stared at her for a moment, before beckoning her over.

"Take a seat on the side of the cot." Harriet did so awkwardly more than a little aware of Leopold's leg less than two inches away. Leopold reached up and began to undo the shoulder straps of the armor, his hands working fast to try and spare them both of the obvious tension and embarrassment they were subjecting themselves to. "There, all done," Leopold said, dropping his hands, and Harriet moved away from the cot at top speed, darting behind the divider after muttering a quiet "thank you".

Even with the removal of the obstacle of the shoulder straps, Harriet had to clench her teeth together to keep from crying out as she removed her armor. She tried to do it quickly, but with every movement, her shoulder hurt and her bruised ribs throbbed. Finally, she was able to change into the shirt. Summoning her courage, Harriet stepped out from behind the divider, moving over to the cot when Leopold beckoned her back over.

Seating herself on the side of the cot and facing Leopold, she was surprised when he directed her to turn around and even more so when she felt gentle hands touch her shoulder. She tried to hold back a hiss, but failed miserably, and she felt the hands become even more careful in their touch.

Leopold began to tend to her shoulder, and Harriet tried not to slouch and relax under his care. She berated herself when she nearly leant backwards. Yes, she was tired, but she needed to be on her guard, even if Leopold seemed to be truly helping her.

"I'm sure you are wondering what I am going to do about this," Leopold said, and Harriet nodded. "At the moment nothing, but I need to talk and you need to listen to what I'm saying, is that clear? You can have your turn once I'm done."

Harriet turned back around before nodding again as she faced him. His jaw was set in a determined line, yet he was looking at her like he couldn't believe she existed. As if he was afraid that if he took his eyes off of her for one moment she would disappear.

"I have never felt so betrayed, conflicted, and relieved in my entire life." Harriet stiffened, meeting his cool blue eyes as he spoke. "I have done so much to protect you over time. I even taught you how to handle a bow and arrow when you were ten. Did you think Frederick and I didn't want you to follow your dreams? Did you think for one second that maybe we would've been willing to let you help in some other way?" Leopold fired off, his arms crossed over his chest as he spoke firmly.

"Because we would've. The second the war officially started your brother-in-law was already brainstorming ideas that would make it so you could be both safe and happy. If you had just waited a week at most, you would've found yourself helping the war effort. Albeit, not on the front lines but helping with training or perhaps battle tactics. Did you even think before you threw yourself into the midst of the conflict?"

Harriet's eyes flashed as he said those words. She could admit that he wasn't wrong about the fact that she knew they probably would've helped if she has waited, but to say she didn't think about it...

"Of course I thought about it," Harriet said, cutting Leopold off with a small glare. "I'll have you know that I took your advice to me when I was ten very seriously. Right now, I can tell you that I do not regret it. I regret that my selfish actions have caused my sister pain and you and Frederick to worry, but those are the consequences that I had to accept." Leopold made no move to interrupt, merely letting her speak.

"You said that bravery was knowing the consequences, accepting them for what they are, and making the same decision anyway. I did that. I know you're probably angry that I did that, but I did. I will not deny it or make excuses. I made a choice, and if there's anything this has taught me, it's that when you make a decision or a promise, you stand by it," Harriet finished. She expected Leopold to say something in return, but he just met her eyes, staying quiet the whole time.

She watched as he eyed her with a pensive expression on his face, and then did her best not to pull away or blush when he moved his hands to cup her face.

"Then I will not argue with you over that point. You are more than old enough and smart enough to make your own decisions. I will, however say this," Leopold paused for a moment, looking at her in earnest. "Did you ever think that maybe it was more important to m-." He cleared his throat. "To everyone that you stay safe. You have people who love you who would be devastated if you had died, who would hurt if they knew you had gotten hurt."

Harriet didn't respond for a moment, focusing instead on the misty eyes of the man in front of her. She knew what she had to say, but she really didn't want to say it.

"Somehow, I think that could apply to every single person within this army. I don't think my life is more important than all of those that Garreth and I saved by letting the dragon go, and I'm sure they would all agree. Everyone is important to someone, and in the face of death and war we are all equal. I'm worth no more than they are, and I am relatively certain that if they had to choose between me being here and saving them, and not being here and them dying, they would choose me being here every time."

Harriet pulled away from Leopold's grasp, and Leopold leaned away from her. They were both quiet for a moment before Leopold let out a small chuckle. Harriet looked up at him in confusion.

"It's funny. For a month I have been trying to figure out why you seemed so familiar to me, why I felt so comfortable around you. I had written it off as the fact that you reminded me of well, you," Leopold said, letting out another quiet chuckle. "Imagine my surprise when I find out that Harold Greenfellow, the man who reminded me of you, was actually you. As far as your pranks and tricks go, this certainly takes the cake."

Harriet let a small bitter smile cross her face.

"While I am glad you are safe, there will have to be consequences for your actions. You have caused your family a lot of pain."

"I know," Harriet responded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"You will have to stay under guard during the celebrations and then we will both be heading straight to Ecrivenia to return you to your family. Is there anyone else within the army that knows you are a woman?"

"Garreth." Leopold nodded.

"Then I will have him keep watch over you to make sure that you don't risk yourself any more and that no one finds out who you are." Harriet opened her mouth to protest, but Leopold just gave her a look and she closed it. She couldn't deny that if he hadn't placed someone to guard her, she probably would've tried to do something. Like for instance rescue Oliver. Harriet tried to hide a smile. Apparently, Leopold wasn't aware of how much of a friend Garreth was. However, she knew she should probably wait until everything blew over. She only hoped that Oliver would be alive that long.

"Here, get me that medical wrap," Leopold suddenly said, pulling Harriet from her thoughts. Harriet followed his orders, handing it to him. A moment later he was unraveling it. "Come here. Since you can't wear your helmet for the rest of your time here, we need a more believable excuse. Many people saw you working against the witch. We can just say that either she or the dragon burned you."

With that, Leopold began to wrap it around her head, leaving only her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth free. She felt oddly like a mummy by the time he was done, but she knew it would work well enough.

"You will stay in the tent Frederick left behind, but for the time being you will stay here until we know how your friend is doing." Harriet nodded, and shortly, Leopold asked her to open the tent flap back up and direct a medic into the tent.

She sat down in one of the chairs as she watched Leopold begin to conduct the business of being a king, but she couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive as she realized something. The traitors had never fought against them, there had been no big reveal.

It seemed that the battle was over, but Harriet still had work to do. At least, if she could find a way to help.

------

Did Leopold react the way you thought he would? Do you think Harriet will find a way to help while still following Leopold's orders to stay under guard? Let me know what you think in the comments.

The next update may not be for a while as I have midterms and several other big assignments due, but I will try to update within the next ten days. In that wait, I don't really have a treat, but more of a thing of interest for you all. A while back (months ago) when I was still writing Glass Slippers, a few of you expressed interest in seeing the first ever attempt at a retelling I had ever written. I have actually posted that attempt, which I wrote when I was thirteen, on wattpad under Past and Future Stories.

It's only four chapters long and not all that well written, but there are lots of similarities between The Castle of Briars (the name of the attempted Sleeping Beauty Retelling) and the current fairytale world that I created with Glass Slippers.There are lots more weird coincidences (especially in the chapter called Elliot's story) so it should give you all something to sort of chuckle about or just think is really strange. For example: My main character Elliot in Elliot's story had a best friend named Maria who had an Aunt and Uncle named... wait for it... Harriet and Marc. Boom. Talk about strange.

Anyway, have a great day and with any luck, I'll see you all within the next week!

(P.S. It has been brought to my attention that Leopold and Harriet need a ship name. What do you think it should be? Let me know in the comments.)