Sybil Deceived Page 5

  He looked me over carefully and then a huge smile split his face. “Why would I be mad? It’s incredible that your skill is being a warrior!”

  Relief flooded me and I released the corner of my dress which I had still been holding. “Oh, good.”

  “I’m off on a mission,” Uncle Giles said. “Captain, you’re in charge until I return.”

  “Yes, sir,” Gerard said.

  We all watched Uncle Giles leave and then the males bombarded me with questions at once. “Hold on, I can’t tell what anyone is saying when you’re all shouting.”

  “Let’s go up to the dining hall,” Gerard suggested.

  We headed up the hill and Gerard disappeared into the crowd of males as we went. I turned to Hugh. “Would you still be willing to teach me archery?”

  He smiled. “Yes, Princess.” I gave him the look. “Sybil.” He corrected himself.

  We walked into the dining hall and I grabbed a plate, getting more food due to my increased hunger from fighting Gerard. It’d been a long time since I’d fought someone as strong and talented as him, and the last someone had been my Uncle. The males sat down and I realized that Gerard was gone. Part of me was worried that he had lied and he was upset, but I pushed it aside and ate my food.

  As soon as I was finished with my last bite, ten of the males called out questions. “One at a time,” I said with a laugh.

  “How many years has the commander been training you?” Adam asked.

  “Since I was five and beat up one of my male friends.”

  “Was it the fiddler?” Hugh asked and everyone laughed.

  I blushed and looked down. “Yeah.”

  The males laughed again and then the door opened and Gerard walked in carrying a long item wrapped in black cotton. “Warriors, I think you know what this is,” he said.

  The males all stood up and formed a circle around me. I swallowed nervously, not sure what to expect. “What’s going on?”

  Gerard stopped in front of me and looked at me with his serious captain’s face. “You have proven your worth as a warrior and although you could not be among our ranks due to your gender, we hereby present you with a warrior’s sword.” He unwrapped the item and held out a gleaming sword exactly like the one they all carried.

  I took the sword and held it gingerly in my hands, afraid this was all a dream. “You’re serious?” I asked softly.

  “We do not joke about such serious matters, Sybil,” Gerard answered. “Welcome to the warriors.”

  The males cheered and then I was hugging every single one of them and trying not to cry in joy. Gerard strapped the sword around my waist and then stepped back. “Hm, that’s not right.”

  I took the belt off and then strapped it over my shoulder. “This is how Uncle had me hold it.”

  The males looked at me strangely for a long moment and then Hugh smiled. “That’s a good look on you.”

  I laughed and everyone joined me, at least until we heard Charles yelling my name outside. I walked past everyone and out the dining hall to the archway where he was standing. “What do you want, Charles?” I asked.

  “Can I talk to you a moment?”

  I exhaled and nodded my head. “Sure.” I turned to Gerard and Hugh who had followed me out. “I’ll be right back.”

  Gerard wanted to argue, I could see it in his face, but Hugh lightly touched his arm and nodded his head at me. I followed Charles to Grandpa and leaned against him. “What’s up?”

  “Where have you been? I’ve been at your house and the palace and you’re never there.”

  “I’ve been here, training,” I answered.

  “Is that a sword?” he asked with wide eyes and what sounded a little like fear.

  I reached up and touched the hilt of my new sword and a wide smile split my face. “Yes.”

  “So, you’re part of the warriors now?” I nodded my head. “So, you’ve made your decisions then. You’re choosing Gerard over me.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m not choosing anyone over anyone else.”

  He spun around and looked at me with the craziest look I’d ever seen. “Don’t trust him. He isn’t one of us, Sybil. He was planted here as a child to be a spy.”

  “You’re crazy,” I said as I laughed. “He’s not a spy.”

  “I’ve heard rumors that a war is approaching, keep a close eye on him, Sybil. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt. I’ve missed you,” he said as he stepped closer to me and his gaze softened.

  “You need to leave,” I said angrily. I couldn’t believe he had accused Gerard of being a spy.

  “Sybil,” he whispered. “Don’t shut me out.”

  “You can’t just go around saying someone’s a spy. The only reason you don’t like him is because he loves me and you’re afraid I’m going to choose him as my guard.”

  “He loves you? Sybil you don’t even know him! And does he honestly think you could like it out here? He doesn’t know the true you.”

  “Neither do you!” I yelled. “Get out of my sight, Charles, before one of us says something we’ll regret later.”

  He ground his jaw together and flew up into the dark night sky. Where had the time gone? When had it gotten dark? I sat down against Grandpa and cradled my head in my hands. When had boys become so difficult? It was only a week ago that I’d been able to play with Audrey and Charles and act like children. Was this what it was like to become a true princess?

  “Are you alright?” Gerard asked as he sat next to me.

  I wiped my eyes and nodded my head. “Yes.”

  “It’s not safe for you to be alone,” he whispered as he wiped a tear from my cheek.

  “What was your old Troupe like?” I asked.

  “What?” he asked caught off guard by my question.

  “Do you remember your old Troupe? The one you were born into?”

  “I remember that they were a bloodthirsty Troupe always wanting war. That’s why I was so feisty when I first came here.”

  “Was your queen nice?” I asked as I leaned closer to him.

  “She died shortly after I joined the Troupe, so I don’t remember her.”

  “Did you know the king?”

  “Yes, I knew him. He was a greedy male and very angry after the queen died. He didn’t like me because he said I was the reason the queen was dead.”

  “How could you be the reason she died? All she did was open your bud,” I said in shock. “That’s a horrible thing to say to a child.”

  “He was a horrible male,” Gerard answered.

  “How did you end up here?” I asked curiously.

  He didn’t seem like he was going to answer, but after a long pause he started talking in a soft voice. “One night the King was especially mad because he lost a war and decided I was the best option for him to take his anger out. One of the females heard me scream and knocked him over the head and brought me here.”

  I could see the pain he was hiding and wanted to stop it. I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for telling me.”

  He smiled and stood, helping me up as well. “We should head to our houses. Are you going to stay at your Uncle’s?”

  “Yes,” I answered. “Since I won’t be staying up here much longer.”

  “I’m going to miss having you around,” he whispered.

  “I’m only a short glide away. You’re always welcome to visit me,” I said as we walked towards the housing area.

  “I’ll hold you to that invitation,” he said happily and linked hands with me.

  We walked in comfortable silence and I knew that Charles was wrong, there was no way that Gerard could be a spy. He stopped at my Uncle’s house and kissed the back of my hand softly. “Good night, Sybil.”

  I stood on tiptoe and kissed his lips quickly. “Good night, Gerard.”

  I had just turned when I heard movement above me. “Sybil!” Gerard yelled as he dove into me, sending us flying to the side.

  I tucked up into a ball inside his arms
as we fell onto the porch of my Uncle’s house and grunted from the impact. Gerard released me and spun around, drawing his sword and fighting someone in front of him. I stood up quickly and pulled my sword, preparing for whatever had attacked me. Two unfamiliar females were standing in front of Gerard. I started to step forward, but Gerard put his arm out, stopping me.

  “You’re trespassing. Leave,” he said angrily to the females.

  The females glared at me, not paying any attention to Gerard. They were both beautiful and had the same silver hair as Gerard. “Fight us,” the one on the right said to me.

  “Who are you? Why did you attack me?” I asked angrily.

  “Stop hiding behind him and fight us!” the one on the left yelled. “Or are you too afraid?”

  Her taunt angered me more than it should have and I charged by Gerard and started attacking her. She blocked most of my strikes, but I managed to cut her left arm and her scream of pain made me smile. It wasn’t like me. I wasn’t normally this much of a fighter, but they were trespassing on my land and had challenged me. I couldn’t back down.

  She tried to get me with a double handed, over head strike, but she wasn’t trained as well as I was. I blocked her strike with my sword and punched her in the stomach with my other hand. She gasped for breath and I disarmed her and then punched her in the face, knocking her out. The other female charged forward and I ducked her swipe and kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.

  Gerard charged forward and I actually feared for my safety from him for a moment. He raced past me though and I heard the sound of swords against swords behind me. Two males had come from behind me and he’d blocked them from attacking me. I chastised myself for even thinking for a second that he might have hurt me. The female I’d kicked stood up and walked back towards me.

  “You’re not going to win,” I told her adamantly. “You should just pick up your friend and leave now.”

  She attacked me without a word of response. I blocked her strikes and stayed on defense for a moment, letting her tire herself out. After her movements began to slow I switched to offensive and attacked her, parrying her attempted blows and cutting her arms in several places. I spun around her and hit her in the head with the hilt of my sword, knocking her out. She dropped to the ground next to the other female and I exhaled in relief. The lessons with Gerard and Adam had definitely helped in this situation.

  I turned around to find Gerard and one of the males in an intense battle. The second male was no where to be seen. I wasn’t sure what to do. I could try to help Gerard, but then I might just end up distracting him and causing him more harm than good. Gerard knocked out the male he had been fighting and flew over to me, raising his sword in front of my face and blocking the second male whom I hadn’t seen, and saved my life. I stepped back behind Gerard as he engaged the male and felt my heart pumping incredibly fast in fear. If not for Gerard, I would have been killed just now.

  Gerard fought with the male a little bit longer and then knocked him out with an upper cut while the male blocked his sword strike. Gerard rushed over to me and stared into my eyes. “Are you alright? Did they hurt you anywhere?”

  “You saved me,” I whispered and then jumped up, wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him.

  He kissed me back, but sadly pulled away after a moment. “I need to wake everyone up. Will you please go wake your Uncle?” I nodded my head, feeling foolish for my affection in this situation. He grabbed my chin gently and forced me to meet his eyes. “I’ll always be here when you need me. And I’ll never let anything happen to you.” He kissed my forehead and then ran to the first house.

  I ran up the steps of my Uncle’s house and yelled his name. He stumbled out of the house wiping sleepy eyes. “What’s going on?” He looked at the unconscious fairies and drew his sword. “What happened?”

  “Two females attacked me and then two males attacked Gerard. I knocked out the females and he knocked out the males.” He started to move towards them and I grabbed his arm. “He saved me, Uncle.”

  Uncle Giles smiled and patted my hand. “Of course he did.”

  I sat down on the porch and watched as the males came out and tied the trespassers up and took them away to some unknown place. I decided I needed to learn more about the outside world and would have to go to Mother and have her teach me soon. I didn’t like not knowing who these fairies were or where they came from. It scared me.

  After the trespassers were taken away, Uncle Giles led me into the house and had me lie down. I didn’t think I could sleep, but as soon as I heard Gerard talking to Uncle, I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 4

  I expected the warriors to be nervous or in a state of chaos after the attack the night before, but they acted as if nothing had happened. Hugh stood beside me as I aimed down the arrow which was strung in my bow. “You have to relax and release while keeping your front hand still.”

  I took a deep breath and released the string. The arrow whizzed away and I smiled happily when I heard it thunk into the target. My smile widened when I saw it a few inches away from the red center of the target.

  “Good,” Hugh said happily. He gazed at the darkening sky. “Let’s head up for the day.”

  I set the bow and quiver of arrows on the rack and followed him up the hill. “Why do you think those fairies attacked me and Gerard?”

  Hugh shrugged. “I don’t know. Could have been just that you were the only ones out.”

  “Have there been attacks before?”

  “Yes, but they happen very rarely.”

  “What’s going to happen to them?”

  “I don’t know. That’s up to the commander and the queen.”

  I stopped and my jaw dropped. “The queen? My mother knows about this?”

  “Of course,” he said with a frown. “She is the queen.” She always seemed so happy. It didn’t seem like she could know that fairies were trying to invade and attacking us. We stepped into the dining hall and I instantly sought out Gerard, but he wasn’t there. Hugh noticed my sad look and said, “Don’t worry he’ll be back soon.”

  “Who?” I asked, and blinked innocently.

  He smiled and shook his head. “We can all see how you look at him. Besides, Gerard’s been declaring his intent to pursue you since he was eight.”

  I had hoped my feelings weren’t that obvious.

  I ate and then went to Uncle’s house. I didn’t feel like socializing that night with the warriors, so I lay down on the couch and closed my eyes. Why would the females from another troupe attack me? Did they somehow know I was princess? And if so, what would attacking me gain them? Mother was still in charge. My death wouldn’t gain them a place on the throne.

  I tried to sleep, but it evaded me. After rolling around for an hour, I headed out of the house and walked through the woods. Animals moved around me, but kept their distance.

  “You shouldn’t be out here,” Gerard said from the shadows.

  I tried to find him, but it was too dark and the moon was in its shadow phase. “I couldn’t sleep,” I replied as I continued walking.

  “More could come to attack you,” he replied somewhere to the left of me. “You should have asked someone to walk with you.”

  “I would have, but the one I wanted to ask seemed to have disappeared.”

  “And who is this warrior you would have asked to walk with you?” he asked from the right of me now.

  How could he move without making any sound? I was very aware of the fact that I sounded like a large beast trampling through the woods at the moment. “You know him. He’s a very good warrior. Very skilled.”

  “And he’s caught your fancy?” he asked from behind me.

  I spun around, but he wasn’t there. “Perhaps. Or perhaps he was simply the first to approach me.”

  “Are you insinuating that if another were to approach you that your interest may be changed?” he asked from in front of me.

  I peered into t
he darkness, but still couldn’t see him. “I said no such thing.”

  “You insinuated.”

  “I did no such thing.” I started walking again and asked, “Where were you today?”

  “On important business. How’re your archery lessons?”

  “Could you please come out where I can see you?” I asked.

  He dropped down to the ground from above me, scaring me. “Better?”

  I stepped forward and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  He touched a bruise on my cheek and asked, “How did this happen?”

  “Advanced fighting lesson with Adam. I let my guard down.”

  “I thought you were only going to learn archery?” he asked curiously.

  “I decided it would be better if I learned as much as possible. Plus, I’m not that skilled in hand-to-hand combat.”

  “Be more careful,” he said seriously as he gently ran his finger down my cheek. “I don’t like seeing you injured.”

  “Would you walk me back to Uncle’s house?” I asked him as I turned in that direction.

  He linked fingers with me and smiled. “I would love to.”

  We walked silently beside each other and I felt my nerves settle. I’d been worried about him all day, even though I wouldn’t admit that to him.

  The leaves blew in the soft breeze and I inhaled the sweet pine scent. “I love the night,” I whispered.

  “I do as well,” he said after drawing in a deep breath.

  I stopped and turned to him. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” he asked.

  “For protecting me yesterday.”

  “You don’t need to thank me. It’s my job.”

  “Still, I wanted to thank you.”

  “Do I get a prize?” he asked with a devilish grin.

  “Sure.”

  “May I choose?”

  That worried me, but I nodded my head. He pulled me against him and wrapped his arm protectively around my waist. “Promise me that you’ll not go out alone again?”