The Rogue Lady

Chapter Eight

Please point out any mistakes. Map in the external link. Enjoy =)

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     My eyes remained focused on the others as they left, disappearing into the dark behind Eric, Mathias, and Christopher. Surprisingly, the moment they were out of view, the noise they made was gone as well, and the silence returned. Never would I have guessed so many men could be so silent. But it was a good thing, smoothening their approach on the castle.

     “Uh, Milady?” I heard a hesitant voice say behind me. I turned around and raised an eyebrow; did they seriously just call me ‘Milady’? That might even be worse that ‘my Lady’ because it was the title used in the Kingdoms surrounding ours; Driaven’s nobility was a little nationalist, and I was no exception. Though I hoped the night wouldn’t hide many more surprises; I wasn’t sure how much more of them I could take.

     “Who said that?” I tried not to let them hear the surprise, and contempt, but undoubtedly not all had been hidden. The four young men standing in front of me appeared to be somewhere between my age and Eric’s, if I were to guess. All had a bow in one hand and I could see their capes deforming where their three quivers were strapped to their backs. Tom took a hesitant step forward. “Let me get one thing straight; don’t call me that again. Being from Driaven, it is offensive, and being me, it is strange. My name is Svana and I liked to be called just that.” He nodded hastily and I grinned before adding almost teasingly. “And don’t be afraid of me.”

     “Svana, what exactly are we going to do?” Tom asked.

     “We are going to take down the archers on the walls. They are a nuisance to William and the others, and because we are still part of his army, isn’t it our duty to help him? When that is done, we will help Eric and the others at the castle. Any more questions?” They all shook their head, silently. “Good, because I haven’t thought this through entirely and probably wouldn’t have had any more answers to give you. What are your names?” I asked the other two archers.

     “I’m Harper and this is my brother Bram,” the taller one of the two said.

     I nodded; they all had easy names to remember, unlike some people I had met during my life. Also, there was enough differences in looks between them to tell the brothers apart. Harper was taller than his brother by at least a foot, but both still loomed over me. Their height was the main difference between them, because both wore their black hair short. Albeit, I could see Bram had dark blue eyes, or so it seemed in the little light I had to see, whereas Harper’s eyes appeared a cloudy gray but less intense than Eric’s. They also had the same lightly colored skin as the magician, making me think they probably came from the same part of the Kingdom.

     The only thing I couldn’t tell by looking at them was if they were good archers; I hoped they were, because I couldn’t afford any arrows missing and alerting the fighters. But they had to be - if William put them in this group, they had to be quick and precise. I told myself this and hoped to the Dragon’s Fire that I was right.

     “I want you all to be as silent as shadows. If soldiers appear and block our way, I’ll take care of it. If you see any of the soldiers doing this,” I showed them the sign for trust amongst the King’s men, “they are men of the King, and thus on our side; don’t shoot them!”

     They nodded silently, assuring me they understood. I threw my hood over my head and took off into the same dark street as earlier. They all followed my lead and were, like I asked them, silent as shadows. Unlike the first time I passed through these streets, we didn’t have a direct run in with any soldiers. We did hear a few pass close by, but they had passed us as quickly and didn’t discover us; they didn’t even bother to look around them.