Chapter Twenty-One
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"Wake up, Lady Fendway," I heard outside my tent. It was Sam, the bandit with the curly blond hair.

"Very well," I said. "Wait a few moments!" I felt sore all over as I stood up.

"Fine, " he said, "but we're going to be leaving soon, so you'd better hurry."

I tightened the laces on my dress, and, finding Jax's dagger among my things, used it to cut off the excess fabric of the sleeves that reached the ground. I noticed a jagged cut on my arm, a fresh wound from my fall. I supposed there were more where that came from. A ridiculous thought of my appearance entered my mind, but I shrugged it off. Why should I start caring now what I looked like? Who was there to impress?

But, despite those thoughts, I found myself attempting to fix my hair back with a strip of the fabric into a thick braid. I smoothed my dress and walked out the tent, in a way that I hoped looked dignified.

The men served breakfast in a line to the fire, above which a pot of porridge was cooking. I stood in line.

Liam walked over holding a bowl. "Here," he said.

I didn't accept it. "Just because I'm a lady does not mean I will accept speacial treatment," I said, loud enough for the bandits to overhear. "I can wait in line."

Liam didn't respond, but I could see a look of approval in his eyes. I'd said the right thing.

We walked to the bandit camp. My leg felt heavy as lead, but I didn't complain. I could wasn't going to give Liam the satisfaction of my weakness.

After a few hours, we arrived at the camp. I was surprised at its organization, with seven building made from logs and one made from stone. Banners displaying the bandits' sign was everywhere, as if it were bursting with equality. I was also surprised at how many people there were. At least two hundred! And Sam told me hundreds more supported the cause, but did not attend the illegal activities.

But nothing surprised me more than when I recognized someone in the crowds.

Headmistress.

Sam saw my expression. "Yes, many are surprised at how many women are involved. That's Lady Idena. She's been part of our organization for years. She an exemplar spy."

My jaw dropped. That explained why Headmistress had been spying on the meeting! She had no son. She might not even be a Headmistress! I felt a little dizzy. How many people had lied to me?

A lute started up, and the bandits cheered; a little bit of music altered the mood drastically. Some men grabbed the few young women their were and pulled them into a dance. It was a dance in which each man would dance with the girl, lift her in the air, and she would go to the next partner.

Sam offered me his hand.

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought people didn't like dancing with witches."

He blushed. "You heard that?"

"How could I not? You bandits were louder than anything."

"Come on, join the dance," he said. "There's not enough girls."

"No."

"Well, if you're not my partner, you'll be dragged into the dance by someone else." He tipped his head towards a man nearby who was scratching himself in the wrong places. "Or you could go with me. You're the only girl left."

I glared at him. "Fine."

Sam smiled and pulled me into the dance.

The wild tune and steps made me dizzy.

I had fun, though and let out a couple squeals of delights after being lifted in the air. I hadn't had so much fun in ages.

I saw Liam over Sam's shoulder as he lifted me in the air. Liam was solemn-faced as he watched. I could practically see the weight of responsibility on his shoulders.

"Join us!" I said, laughing.

Liam shook his head ever so slightly.

I decided to hurt his ego enough for him to join the circle. "Aw, you are such a boring person," I said. "You never have any fun."

Surprisingly, it did not work.

The song ended, and the leaders of the bandits left to the meeting. That included both Sam and Liam.  But Headmistress stuck around. I walked over to her.

She barely lifted an eyebrow after seeing me. "I heard you went missing," she said.

I nodded.

"You're brother thought you were dead. He found your trunk in the middle of the Western Sea." Even now, she scolded me.

I bit my lip guiltily. "He did?"

"He probably still does. Unless . . . word of your criminality reaches him."

"Criminality?"

She held up a piece of parchment with my name on it.  A Wanted Poster. "King Davi does not believe you are dead. These haven't been sent out to the public yet, but I can get my hands on whatever I want."

I gasped and took the parchment from her, crumpling it into a ball. "Don't show that around here. These bandits won't hesitate to earn that reward."

"Most are trustworthy." She paused and tapped her chin. "But how do you know I won't just turn you in myself?"

I frowned at her. Headmistress wouldn't do that would she? But I'd learned. She was not merely Headmistress. "Because I can turn you in as a spy if you take me back to the castle. And," I peered into her eyes, "I don't think you'd do something so cruel to me."

A whisper of a smile reached her face. "Glad to see you are using your head, Evelin. If you ever need some training in a spy's work, come to me."

I was a little busy, saving the world and all, but I didn't say so. "Thank you." We shook hands, and the respect was mutual.

She walked away to attend the meeting. I wandered around, until I heard loud voices from inside the meeting room. I leaned my head against the wall to hear.

"The uprising must start soon," I heard a rumbling voice say--the kind of voice that fit a war-torn, large, rough man.

More voices followed.

"We'll attack in a week's time. We've shied away from our cause long enough. Did you not hear the happenings of the South? The king proclaimed that the Southerners' tax money would be used for the North this year. And our spy among the court says the king has been using the money for himself!"

"I 'eard 'e made up the entire shadowy thing!" That one was ridiculous.

As they voiced more problems, I grew intrigued. I'd never known how corrupt King Davi was. But after him declaring me a criminal, I agreed with them.

But a tiny part of me said, "You could go back to the king. If you trade the information of the bandits' attack with your freedom, then you could go back to your life before all this mess . . . "

I knew I couldn't do that. Then, all the creatures would die. And all the humans might die, as well.

"The prince, though. He wouldn't be a bad leader." That sentence jolted me out of my thoughts.

I agreed. So why would the bandits want him gone?

"I believe, once we have a new leadership, the prince could be put on the council."

"What if our council becomes more corrupt than the monarchy already is?" someone brought up.

"Yes," said another, "we should just get rid of the king and institute some advisors to the new king."

I listened as their battle wore on. Should they risk it all for liberty, or take a safer route? Both ways sounded dangerous to me. I leaned my head against the sun-warmed stone, growing anxious. The races were depending on me, and what was I doing? Eavesdropping on a war meeting. If only I had someone to help me with my daunting task . . .

"Caught you hiding again, didn't I, Lady Fendway?" I groaned inwardly. How was it that Liam always was the one to catch me? "I could have you hanged for that, you know," he said.

My eyes grew wide, but my throat had grown too dry to say anything. He wouldn't, would he?

He noticed my worried look and began to frown. "Really, Lady Fendway, would you really believe I'd do such a thing? What more must I do? I've already saved your life, given you a place to stay--"

"--held me captive," I interrupted sardonically, "betrayed my brother, lied, thieved. Yes. Why would I not be able to trust such a saint as you." I started to walk by him, but he grabbed my forearm.

"Lady Fendway," he started, "I--"

I felt his fingers twitch, and he flipped my arm over. My horrid cut had begun bleeding again, making it look worse than it really was. Liam gasped. "Milady! Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

I shrugged. "I jumped from Velia Mount. It should've been obvious."

"I thought your magic protected you. Come on, let's go get this bandaged. Do you have any other injuries?"

"I'm fine, really," I said, shrugging off his grasp.

He groaned. "Just cooperate. Let me see it."'

I held out my arm to him. He fingered it and strange tingles shot up my arm. I watched his eyes as he studied my cut. The concern in them seemed real. Did he truly care? Could I trust him?

He looked up, and caught my gaze. A famous awkward pause later, he cleared his throat. "Go find the medical tent and get this cleaned up. Your lucky it's not infected already." He walked away in a military-like manner.

After my wound was all bandaged up, I decided to go find Sam. His easy smile would be a comfort after an exhausting day.

"Sam," I called out to him, not knowing if there was a formal title to give to him. "Any more dances going about?"

He staggered back in mock surprise. "You want to dance? Have you hit your head, milady?"

I hit him on the arm. "You just lost yourself a dance."

He raced after me. "I was merely jesting, Miss Fendway. There'll be a song real soon, since the meeting's ended." He held out his hand, grinning.

I took it. "Very well."

The next song was even more lively than the last. I was enjoying myself more than I'd have liked to admit. The Evelin who had despised dances had been left in the Forbidden Lands. I was a little too desperate for human company.

I glanced over at Liam once during the dance and caught his gaze. I briefly wondered if he was concerned for me, but shrugged it off, scolding myself. Evelin, I thought. This is Girec's best friend, who was once like any older brother to you. You are a fool.

Besides, I didn't have time to worry about things like that. Something much worse was lurking. But not in the shadows. It was the shadows.

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So, for some reason, this chapter glitched and a lot of you couldn't access it. If that happens to anyone else, let me know. I think I fixed it, though . . .