Kicking, he had woken up from his insistent nightmare. He was back at the field fighting for him life. But the dream didn’t end with him being stabbed but Adalia. The dream always ended the same way, with him standing over Adalia’s withering body helpless. His heart was pounding as he shook and drowned in sweat. The dark terror of the dream writhed in his belly.
Archer felt a dull ache in his side, followed by a sharp pain. His body was still weak but at least he could feel something. He lifted his body up on his elbows and looked around the room. There was nothing inside that hut that he recognized. Nothing in there looked like a place he would frequent. It looked like a poor man’s home. His bed was made out of straw and the ground was of pure dirt. He could smell everything from there, the dirt the different scents of flowers and food. A low grumble from his stomach affirmed it, he could smell food.
He tried to sit up but the pain in his side was too much. Then he felt it. He felt the silver go through his flesh and bone, he could taste the dirt and the blood as it filled his mouth. He could feel Adalia’s arms around him and hear her desperate cries begging him not to leave her. He needed to get back home, back to Adalia.
“What are you trying to do?” A young girl sitting in a corner asked.
Archer had to admit his senses were off. He hadn’t seen her or even realized that there was someone watching him. She was sited in a dark corner of the hut, but his eyes weren’t used to this terrible lighting. He could tell it was a girl from the sound of her voice, but he couldn’t tell how old she was or if she was friend or foe.
“Who are you? Step out of the shadows,” Archer was careful not to sound too much like a prince. He wasn’t sure if the same people who had given him refuge and medical care were the same people trying to kill him.
“I’m Lola,” the little girl stepped out of the shadows and Archer realized youngest that she couldn’t be any older than his youngest sister. She looked about six or seven years old. Her hair was flaming red and her wide eyes brown and curious. She had dirt on her face and mound of mud between her palms.
“Hi Lola I’m Arch- I’m Arthur,” he couldn’t tell her his real name, not until he knew where he was and why he was there. “Can you go get your mommy or your daddy for me?”
“Daddy’s gone hunting and mommy is getting milk from the cow,” she moved closer to him and offered him her mound of mud.
“No thanks,” Archer could still smell the scent of greased bacon frying somewhere close by. He was sure that there was an adult somewhere around. He swung his legs off the bed and took quick short breaths as the pain began to tower up against his determination. He pushed himself off the bed and was able to stand up for a few seconds before he went crushing back down. “Take two,” he mumbled and pushed himself off the bed again. This time he was able to remain on his feet.
“Can you take me to whoever is outside?”
The little girl nodded her head and offered her hand up to Archer for support. He was sure leaning on her tiny hands wouldn’t get him anywhere, but he took it anyway. He let her lead him outside, but just before he stepped out of the hut, he realized he didn’t have his sword with him. He felt naked and not being able to protect himself from whatever waited for him outside didn’t sit well with him.
But he let himself believe that whatever was out there couldn’t that dangerous. If it was Lola’s parents wouldn’t have left her out here unprotected. The burst of sunlight warming his face was the first thing he met in his new surroundings. His eyes had a hard time adjusting to the bright light. Through squinted eyes he could see about two dozen children laughing and playing around a pool of water. The sight of their dirty little face smiling and giggling made him miss his own siblings.
A close distance away he could see a group of women around a fire with their pots and pans. He was sure that was where the sweet aroma of frying bacon was coming from. Further away he saw a group of young men with their spears and shield. They looked like they were keeping the colony safe, as if they were expecting someone to attack them. There was some kind of danger here, but it didn’t bother the children. Archer realized that the hunting that Lola said her father had gone to could as well mean scouting for danger.
But what danger?
Archer knew that the only people in the forests were the rebels. He didn’t understand why they hadn’t used him for ransom yet. Why they hadn’t strong armed his father into a deal in exchange for his life. But maybe they hadn’t realized who he really was. His guard was now up more than ever.
“Lola, where is this?” he wasn’t sure what kind of answers she could offer him but he needed something.
“Its home,” she chirped.
“Of course it is,” he mumbled. “What else did you expect her to say? That it is the rebel headquarters.”
At the corner of his eye he could see the same raven hair he always had in his thoughts and dreams. He stopped thinking, stopped breathing, and stopped time itself from intruding between one heart beat and the next. It was impossible. She was here; the love of his life was her. Without thinking he went for her, hobbling until he got to her. He grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. “Ada- I’m sorry.”