Sherwood (14 page)

Enders nodded. "You describe her so
harshly."

Harlow shrugged. "She's a harsh
woman."

Silence fell on the two of them as
they ate their berries and listened to the world around
them.

Harlow chuckled to herself before
looking down at her hands in her lap. "Remember when I told you
about the details missing from Little John and The
Cook?"

Enders immediately placed his eyes on
Harlow. "Aye."

"There's another missing piece of the
story." Harlow popped a few more berries into her mouth. "I know I
told you this before, but there's one key detail I neglected to
mention."

Enders shifted to a more comfortable,
upright position, his eyes on her the entire time. His arched an
eyebrow at her. “Why didn't you mention it?”

Harlow chuckled, a sad smile on her
lips as she looked at the berries in her palm. “It's not something
I'm exactly proud of. I was worried that you'd see me in a
different light.”

Enders nodded, sitting quietly. He was
at a loss for words. “I wouldn't see you differently.” It was all
he could manage to get out of his mouth as his heart began to
flutter.

Harlow nodded. “Do you want to hear
the real story from the beginning?”

Enders nodded, his eyebrows arched in
curiosity and concern. “Aye.”

“
I've never told anyone
this part of the story. My father doesn't enjoy this part being
circulated, so this needs to be kept between you and I.”

“
Aye.” Enders agreed
instantly, waiting to hear the missing pieces.

“
The Cook was picked up by
King Wesley and taken in. He'd spent most of his young years
serving as the cook for the sheriff.” Harlow started, “So, Little
John comes into the story and winds up getting into a fight with
him. The stories that people always tell says that The Cook agreed
to come with Little John and set up the sheriff. The truth is that
The Cook was actually reluctant to leave. He had refused the offer,
but within a week had ran off in pursuit of Little John and the
outlaws.”

“
Why did he want to stay?”
Enders asked, propping one arm up onto his kneecap.

“
He was in love.” Harlow
said, receiving an odd look from Enders. “The Cook lived in the
castle and made food for the nobles. He was often in contact with
the Princess of England,” Harlow sighed, “and the two fell in
love.”

Harlow looked up at the sky. “It was
forbidden for the two of them to be together. So, when the Princess
became pregnant, it was a problem for them.”

Enders let his jaw drop at the taboo
nature of the details.

That's when he'd started to put two
and two together. He'd heard this story before, and he knew
Harrison McBride was the cook.

“
The Princess was executed
by King Wesley, her father, after the birth of the child. The Cook
came back to the castle and rescued the infant, running off with
the baby into the night.”

Enders felt himself stiffen and felt
his jaw drop as it completely dawned on him what she was going to
say.

She sighed and lifted to eyes to meet
his. “My mother was the Princess of England and the daughter of
King Wesley.”

She saw the shock on Enders face as
his jaw hung open and he leaned forward as he looked at her. “That
makes you...”

“
King Wesley's
granddaughter, and the only living heir to the throne.”

Chapter
Twelve

Enders immediately sat more upright,
staring at her. “Your mother is the Princess?”

Harlow nodded. “Aye,
she
was
the
Princess.
” She sighed, taking a few berries
and throwing them into her mouth.

“
And your father fell in
love with the Princess?” Enders asked again, his jaw hung
slightly.

Harlow raised an eyebrow. “Were you
listening at all?”

Enders wanted to laugh at the comment,
but found that the chuckle caught in his throat and wheezed out of
his mouth. He felt almost sickened. “You're a...” He trailed off,
watching her intently.

“
A member of the royal
bloodline? Aye.” Harlow finished, popping a few more berries into
her mouth. Harlow took one more look at him before laying back down
on the grass. “It's been a long time since I've said
that.”

“
Why didn't you tell
anybody?” Enders asked, his shock wearing off and slight irritation
taking it's place.

“
Am I supposed to run
around broadcasting my lineage to the world? That would have me
killed in no time.” Harlow chuckled at the comment, trying to make
things less serious.

“
You could have been our
secret weapon. We could have formulated some kind of plan to use
you in aiding against King Wesley.” Enders said, anger rising from
the pit of his stomach. “Instead, you decide that exacting revenge
on your grandfather would be your best option?”

Harlow recoiled slightly, sitting
right back up and looking at him, squarely. “You think I came here
because I want revenge?” Harlow raised an eyebrow, feeling herself
become angry and frustrated. “The king has wronged many people, and
that's a horrid thing, but I did not come here on the basis of
revenge. My mother is long gone by his hand and I would have been
as well if it hadn't been for my father. My father is why I am
here, not the king, and not revenge.” Harlow said, sternly, anger
raising in her veins as she stood up, wiping her hands on her
pants. “I never wanted this, but I did what needed to be
done.”

Harlow turned her back and walked to
the other, far side of the lake. The lake area was calming and
relaxing. She wished could take a step in, but that would
compromise her disguise. Instead, she curled up into a ball and
laid her forehead on her knees, wondering why this burden had
fallen to her: to take care of her father at all costs, because an
entire village depended on him.

“
Do not cry,” She told
herself, as selfish thoughts ran through her mind. She sobbed
silently, disobeying her own command and wishing things had been
different.

Enders sat quietly on a low branch,
watching her as she temporarily let herself fall apart.

*~*~*

Harlow and Enders had
awoken early, although she could tell Enders was exhausted. Harlow
slept well, only because her tired, heavy eyelids closed over her
irises and let her drift to sleep. Oddly enough, Enders' presence
made her feel easier sleeping in the dangerous forest.

“
Ready?”
Enders asked from the other side of a dying fire as he fixed his
belt loop, his muscular arms showing through his tight
sleeves.

Harlow felt her lungs
freeze. She couldn't take in any more air and the stale oxygen that
sat in her lungs refused to leave. Her eyes lingered on his arms
and scrolled down to his torso. As soon as she realized what she
was doing, she snapped her eyes back up to his face and saw the
faintest smirk on his lips.

Harlow cleared her throat,
feeling the blush creep onto her cheeks, and started adjusting
things on her own belt.

“
Aye. Are you
ready?” She asked him, trying to sound as masculine as she
could.

He simply nodded, offering
one, “Aye.”

Harlow felt that maybe she
was hallucinating, but she thought she heard a smile on his lips,
although she couldn't see it because his head was tilted
downward.

The two set out on their
journey back to Sherwood City. They walked in silence for twenty
minutes before they started casual conversation. The casual
conversation was how they spent the rest of their
afternoon.

Harlow guessed they kept
themselves busy for six hours before she heard strange noises in
the distance.

“
The
villagers were exactly happy about that prank.” He said, finishing
off one of his stories.

Snap. Crunch.

"Wait," Harlow said,
slowing her step as she heard abnormal rustling several yards ahead
of her. She held out one hand in front him, slightly scared of his
unpredictability.

"That's probably an animal," Enders
said, eying her oddly and continuing forward.

Harlow grabbed his arm and stopped him
from moving. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she'd seen
the kings men twenty minutes back and had turned in the opposite
direction. "Stop," Harlow commanded, capturing his attention,
"Listen."

The abnormal sound immediately
quieted.

"An animal," Enders whispered, mocking
her. He took two steps forward.

That's when the muffled voices sounded
out throughout the forest.

Harlow narrowed her eyes gently at
Enders, who widened his eyes at her, as if he hadn't had any
idea.

Harlow gently tugged on his arm and
turned around, jogging in the opposite direction.

She glanced behind her after a few
minutes to ensure that Enders was following. As she did, she
noticed in the trees, a figure pointing as he looked downward
toward his left.

Sure enough, at the archers' left was
a man, almost silently chasing behind the two. Enders glanced
backward, catching a glimpse at the man, speeding up his pace and
sending himself forward.

Harlow turned her attention back
toward her front, and like a puppy left in a rainstorm, she
whimpered in fear.

Standing before her was the general of
the kings army; the man who'd driven her and Enders off the cliff
the previous day.

Harlow abruptly stopped running and
stared at the man before her.

"Ahh," The man said, looking down at a
blade in his hands. "I see we meet again."

Harlow let her mouth hang
agape as she stared.
How had she let this
happen?

"Where is the rest of your army?"
Enders asked, clear anger rushing in his voice, malice dripping
with each word.

The man shrugged, trying to act casual
as he did so. "I let them have a day off." He said, watching the
sword glint in the sunlight as he turned the blade back and forth.
"I wanted to deal with you myself."

Harlow felt the anger and fear flow
through her veins. "To bad you'll never get the chance."

The man made a tsk-tsk noise. "That's
why I brought two reinforcements." He nodded to two men behind
Harlow and Enders.

Harlow turned back to see the man
who'd chased them and the man from the tree. She contemplated
telling them she was a woman and begging for their lives, but she
was ultimately afraid of what they'd do to her. She'd also thought
to tell them that she was the Princess, and while they might
believe her, she'd have a warrant over her head and the others' of
Sherwood.

"I'll give you one last chance to
surrender," The man said, almost giggling with his blade in hand.
He'd been excited to use it and wanted nothing more than to draw
blood.

"Oh yeah?" Harlow asked, pulling a
renegade knife she'd used to cut branches, out of her
waistband.

The ma was just about to start
speaking again when Harlow spun backward hard and stabbed the man
behind her in the chest. Quickly, she removed the knife and watched
as Enders ran forward into the man, his sword out and ready to
attack at this point.

Harlow quickly turned her attention to
the loud shouting of the man next to her, who looked upon his
comrades' dead body at her feet. Wasting no time, she threw herself
into him, preventing him from taking out his sword, and stabbed him
hard in the jugular. The violence made her quake and hurt. The red
color made her want to vomit, but she held it in as she heard the
scuffling and troublesome efforts that Enders was
having.

She watched as if in slow motion,
moving slowly and trembling with every vibration as she stumbled
forward.

The General, a deep cut running along
the side of his face, forced Enders against a large oak tree,
Enders' sword out of reach of either outlaw. The General held his
sword in his hands, a twinkle in his eyes, as he recoiled the sword
and propelled it forward toward Enders.

Harlow got up, a new kind of energy
filling her and sending her in between the two men. She found her
face just inches from Enders nose before the pain came.

She couldn't move. She felt like she
couldn't breath.

As she looked downward, she saw the
sword protruding from her body and poking gently into Enders skin
before her. Tears welled up in her eyes immediately.

Enders' face twisted into shock, then
immediately to rage. Harlow read no pain in his expression and knew
he hadn't been hurt. She looked down the sword that had made it's
way through her body.

Her thoughts trailed slowly to her
father and how much she'd disappointed him in her life. She
regretted everything she'd done to upset him, but on the same
token, she wasn't regretful at all.

She looked back up as the sword was
ripped from her body and saw the panicked, angry eyes of Enders,
staring sadly into her own.