The Rogue Lady

Chapter Twenty Six

     I have a question for all of you. Wattpad as added new statistics for writers to view per story and there is one I don't understand; complete reads per part. Does that mean you everyone reads a chapter to the end? What do you think?

     Oh, and what do you think of the story so far? There is still lots to come but in my mind, Brightburn, or maybe Starryfield, was kind of the middle of the story. So let's hear it!!

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     “Why don’t we set up camp in the middle of the city while we’re at it?” Alex said sarcastically.

     “Because my wanted poster is plastered all over the place,” I told him with an ‘are you stupid’ look, intentionally ignoring the sarcasm.

     Bram snickered behind Alex, which earned him a slap on the back of the head but I couldn’t blame the blond archer for asking; we were setting up camp barely a mile away from Starryfield, which most of them thought was too close but I thought it was perfect. We were hidden behind rocks and trees, making it impossible to see our campfire at night, we were hidden from the road and yet we could very easily keep an eye on who came in and out of the city.

     “She has a point,” Eric agreed as he and Darrick reappeared, the two of them carrying enough wood to make a bonfire. “And our posters might be up there as well.”

     “No,” I replied thoughtfully, “I don’t think I have ever come across your faces during those first two months. Although, now that I think about it, Darrick did seem familiar when I first saw him.”

     “Really?” the blond perked up. “If you ever see one with my face on it, take it for me will you.”

     “Why? What could you possibly want with your own wanted poster?” I asked him incredulous.

     “Well, you carried yours around, didn’t you?”

     “That’s because I was dumbfounded when I found out she actually put my face on them. I would have figured she would want to keep my escape under wraps. Come to think of it, I’m willing to bet my blades that there aren’t any in Silverley.”

     Of course, there would not be any; the Queen wasn’t completely stupid. If Silverley knew I was outside the city, possibly even with the rebels, they would try something against her. No, she would never let them know I escaped, if only to keep a tight grip on the population of the capital. I shook my head thinking that it could have been good for them to know. Anything that annoyed the Queen was a good thing. She needed to lose her focus. She needed to make a big mistake that would give us the advantage. Or she needed to tell us something of interest at this ball. Speaking of which…

     “Have you given it some thoughts amongst yourselves who will be coming with me to the ball? It’s not like I can show up alone there.” They all exchanged glances rather uncomfortably, making me want to laugh. I had seen that look before, but years ago. A look that meant they didn’t want to, that they would rather do anything else. Too bad for them, really, that they didn’t have a choice. “Come on, guys. It’s a ball, not a death sentence.”

     None of them answered me and they all went back to what they had been doing as if I had never said a word. It was kind of funny but at the same time it made me worry. If I was going to have to take one of them to the ball in two days and we were going to pretend to be someone that we weren’t, we needed to be able to play the part. Maybe it was best to figure out who I would be going with now, that way I might still have time to teach them some things. So when the tents were standing, a fire was burning and we had all had our small dinner, I reckoned that it might be the right time to start. I stood up and put my hands on my hips, an evil smile spreading on my lips. One after another they all looked up and me and seemed to almost pale when they saw my expression.