Four times she spotted men on horseback patrolling the road. Twice more she found men hidden, watching the road and the people, no doubt searching for a blonde girl. She repeatedly used her thumb to smear soot along her hairline and imagined it dripping down with her sweat. She must look awful, but as long as she looked male and dark haired, she might not be noticed.
Instead of taking the road, as Hannah had when traveling it before, she skirted around the valley as Sir James had taught her. When she saw a flock of sheep and the dog that guarded them, she made a wider circle. The barking dog would alert anyone in the area. It took longer to go around, but she had little choice.
As the day wore on, she tired and wished for a nap, but didn’t slow. In the late afternoon, as the sun sank low enough to touch the tops of the trees, a rough voice stilled her as it said, “If you were a deer you’d have an arrow in you and I’d be taking home venison to make jerky.”
She turned slowly, trying to act calm despite her heart beating so hard the boy who had crept up behind her must hear it. She said, “What are you doing?”
The boy, a few years older than her was dressed in the homespun clothing of a farmer. He wore a straw hat that flopped down on one side as if it had been crushed and wouldn’t retake its original shape. His freckles formed a mustache across his nose, and the faint growth of a future beard darkened his cheeks. He held up his bow and said, “Isn’t it obvious?”
“You are hunting for deer?”
“Nope. Girls. Well, one of them, anyhow. Probably the same one as you.”
Hannah realized he had given her an excuse to be sneaking around in the forest. “The princess?”
“Ever hear of such a thing?” the boy asked, sitting on a convenient log and pulling off a boot. He shook it and watched the contents fall.
Hannah couldn’t help herself. “They say she’s pretty.”
“Pretty is what the gold is they’ll pay for her.”
“Gold? I heard it was silver.”
“That was a day or two ago. Gold now. What’s that black all over your face?”
“Soot from helping the blacksmith.”
“You apprenticing?”
She didn’t know what that was, but it sounded like she should. “No, just helping a friend.”
“Well, he should repay you with a bucket of water. Say, there’s a stream at the foot of this hill with a swimming hole. What say we go skinny dipping?”
Hannah shook her head. “Nope, if that girl is around here, I intend to find her and collect. But next time I’m around here it would be fun.”
“You’re right, I guess. We should keep searching so we can get rich. I live in the valley down there,” he pointed. “Whitewashed barn, mostly my work last year.”
“When I return, I’ll stop in and maybe we can take that swim.” She turned to leave.
“Hey, you never told me where you live.”
She pointed as she walked, “Over that way. In the tall trees.” To herself, she added, with a sorceress.
The words almost pulled her up short. With a sorceress. Hannah had made her mind up that the woman called Evelyn would take her in. She had been helpful to Sir James and Hannah, but there had been nothing to indicate she would. What if she didn’t?
The sorceress could still help, Hannah decided. She could teach Hannah a few spells, and after all, Evelyn had said she needed a few coins and Hannah had plenty coins to pay the sorceress. Hannah would pay for the information and knowledge of who might house and feed her. And perhaps Evelyn knew of other sorceresses who could find Hannah a place to live for a long while, where she could study magic.
Hannah glanced over her shoulder more than once, making sure the farmer boy was not stalking her, and others as well. She moved to the far end of the valley before nightfall. The day turned chilly, and black, ominous clouds threatened a storm.
Hannah wanted a snug place, warm fire, and the security to sleep all night without waking in fear. Drawing a deep breath, she decided she would have none of the three this night. The wind picked up, and she added a windbreak to his wish list and spotted a shelf of rock almost immediately. The wind came from the east, and if she huddled below the shelf of rock, the wind would pass over her. At least, that was the idea as she spread her blanket around herself and squatted down.
She reached into the bag and pulled out a few stale nuts, broken salted crackers, and the last carrot. Again, there would be no fire to act as a beacon for those she wanted to avoid. Odd that fire had started this adventure, and her smallest finger could ignite one, yet she had to avoid them. It was almost funny. Almost, but not really.
She looked up at the sky and wished for the stars to appear, but the heavy clouds prevented any light from penetrating. The night grew as dark as any she had experienced. The wind whipped around, and she tucked the bottom of the blanket under herself as she listened for any intruders or animals. Animals didn’t scare her, but men did. None should be on the move tonight unless they were up to no good.
Once she thought she heard talking over the wind, or perhaps carried by it. The expected rain didn’t fall, and she thanked six of the gods above for that relief. The trees over her bent in the stiff wind and Hannah remembered the fallen trees and those with tops broken off that she had seen throughout the forest. She could be crushed if one of them fell on her. The image built in her mind and expanded until she sat with her eyes looking up in near terror.
When she managed to close them, she slept a deep but restless sleep that didn’t provide much rest. The dawn provided light that filtered through dense clouds, but not much heat. She stood, wrapped the blanket around herself and started walking with her head hung low and eyes focused on the ground in front of her.
The road still ran parallel to her direction, but she felt the need to check after becoming lost the day before. Or was it two days? When she located the road across the vista of farmlands, she sat and watched. Riders prominently traveled the road from one end of the valley to the other, then back again. Show.
The word sprang into her mind. They were not there to capture her; they were there for show. For her to see. And when she saw them she would do one of a few things. She might hide and remain hidden until she ran out of food, or she might run away from them. If the riders were for display as she believed, they were there to herd her. They would funnel her into a trap they’d set.
Where and how? They closed the road to her, so she assumed they were patrolling all roads and doing much the same. For most people running, that would mean they would head back to the relative safety of the King’s Palace. If the riders prevented her from going farther from the palace, they could eventually close their net and force her to return or reveal herself.
The third possibility was that the patrols were to keep her off the road and moving in the forest. Which she was doing. She felt a chill colder than the morning air. Hannah tried to consider what her enemies thought. They would decide that if Hannah is not inside the Palace, and not on the road, someone is hiding her. Either that or she is wandering in the forest.