Her own way

Chapter 25

Peering through the trees, Captain Samuel watched the villagers pass by as he waited for his moment to step into view. It had taken his scouting party longer than expected to reach the Citadel, the principal city of Rynemona, the weather had taken an ugly turn forcing them to halt for several days before they could continue on their route but even then the urge to stop and assist villagers who were struggling after the storms was strong enough to put them off course for another week.

Hurry up! Sam huffed his frustration as yet more people came in to view preventing him from making a move. A hand on his shoulder had him spinning around holding his hands up in a defensive manner. Jackson stepped back out of range, understanding his Captain's annoyance and not wanting to be on the receiving end should he lash out.

"What?" Samuel whispered harshly to Jackson,

"Cool it Sam. We knew this could happen, so lets just change location." Jackson kept his voice calm as he attempted to reason with Sam.

"Do you know how much time we lost Jackson? Two weeks. Two whole weeks! It took us that long to get here and I am not stopping right now until we get past those villagers without being noticed and we find that girl!"

"I never said we should halt Captain," Jackson held his hands up to show he meant no harm with his words. "I only suggest we make our way around the eastern edges of the village where there may be less people to pass."

Trying not to show his annoyance and frustration at the situation, Sam turned and made his way past Jackson huffing as he went. "Just because I'm moving does not mean we stop trying." Jackson had to stifle a laugh, he knew fine well that Sam was not angry at him, he probably wouldn't even remember that he had been like this within a few hours.

Returning to the small group of men on this scouting mission, Sam let his frustration rule his words as he barked out commands to divide into pairs to search for more suitable entry points to the citadel that were not full of "stupid, ignorant people with nothing better to do than wander the streets" to put it politely. The men could only blink in surprise before automatically doing as ordered and the men split into three pairings, with Sam, Jackson and Paul each leading a pair. Jackson and his partner took off to the western side of the citadel while Sam and his partner made their way east. Paul felt slightly relieved to out of the line of fire from the Captain and lucky that he was to remain in the original location and resume attempts to infiltrate the citadel here.

As they went their separate ways, Sam's temper cooled enough for him to realise the truth in Jackson's words and mentally cursed himself for taking his frustrations out on his friend. He knew he would have to apologise as soon as they were inside the citadel walls. The outlying villages were proving to be a bigger task to overcome than originally thought. They surrounded the walls like moths to a flame. It was interesting to witness the positioning of villages which so far were so different to those in Eardheorte, it was easy to remember that they were in fact trespassing in a hostile kingdom and if they were discovered the rift between the two kingdoms would never begin to heal, although if the possibility that Princess Katrina had been kidnapped and  in Rynemona held any truth then there would be no way that King Thomas would reach out to mend the bond.

It was not long before Sam raised his fist to signal to his partner that he was stopping and that they needed to be silent. Steadily making his way to the edge of the tree line, Sam peered out into the open. A great feeling of disappointment crashed through him as he looked out onto yet more houses and wandering villagers. The presence of armed soldiers compounded the situation. Keeping a wary eye on them, Sam made his way back out of sight and hearing range.

"Make your way back to Paul. See if he or Jackson have had any success," Sam instructed. "I will catch up to you within the hour - it seems too much of a coincidence that we are here and there are soldiers around. Now go." Turning away as his partner melted back into the woodland, Sam crept forward and tried to hear what was being said without being caught.

"A young girl? Nae sir, there be no strange folk here." Sam's ears pricked up at the sound of an overly loud voice. Scanning the villages closest to the forest Sam spotted a slightly older man with white hair and a walking stick with one of the soldiers. The tone of his voice told Sam that this man viewed any new faces to the village as "strange", even if they were just from the next village.

"No, not a child. A young woman." A slightly exasperated voice stated firmly. From the sounds of it, this was one of the soldiers and he was beginning to get fed up with this task.

"Aye I knew what you were meaning. But I tell you, there's been no one around that we haven't known before."

"Well if you do see her, report to the Guard immediately. There's a reward in it for anyone that knows her whereabouts."

"A reward eh? What did you say she looked like?" Sam could almost see the greed in the old man's eyes. He was disgusted that the old man would openly show such selfishness.

"Tall and slender with long dark hair and vivid blue eyes."

"Bah that is not much to go on. That could describe any lass in this land! What is special about this one?" The old man spat at the guard, disappointment lacing his tone that this would not be as easy as he first believed. There was a pause before the soldier answered, as if he was weighing up what he should say.

"Scars. Look for the scars on her wrists. She escaped captivity and now she must be punished."

Stunned, Sam sank back on his heels. Could it be that they were all searching for the same girl, the very girl who could well be the lost Princess of his homeland? Quickly and quietly, he climbed through the foliage until he was could turn and hurry back to his men. With any luck one of the men would hav found a way into the citadel. Mulling the conversation over in his mind, Sam was almost convinced that the soldiers were indeed looking for this girl even though her name was not used. The description given was much like Princess Sarah in her youth, and it was close to the description her brother Peter had provided them with before they set out on this mission.

Upon reaching the group, Sam failed to notice that Jackson had not returned until Paul piped up that Jackson had in fact found them a safe entry point. Giving the men a nod to get them moving in that direction, Sam continued to ponder the situation. The biggest question was how did they know who to look for? It puzzled him that the soldiers would be out on King Raphael's orders to bring in a girl that no one seems to have any knowledge about.

"Captain?" Jackson's voice jerked Sam back into reality, he had not even noticed the distance they had covered in the time he was wrapped up in his thoughts.

"I thought I told you not to call me that." Sam grumbled. Jackson just grinned, feeling pleased that his friend was now acting more like himself. "Well? Is this it?"

"Yes, there's few living on this side of the village and those that are in the houses don't seem to be leaving any time soon."

Indicating for Jackson to take the lead, Sam ordered the men to stay silent and to move quickly. The sooner they were inside the citadel walls the better. With any luck they would locate the girl quicker than Raphael's men.

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A/N: A bit of a filler chapter here, although quite a few seem to be fillers even when they are relevant to the main storyline! :-)