Take Me Home

9. Visitors

There were British soldiers, about four or five of them, riding toward the house. Freya's heart pounded within her chest as she turned around and walked, almost ran, back to the barn. Opening the doors, she went straight to the ladder, pulling herself up and looking at Axel, who was laying down with his arm over his face. He moved his arm and seeing her he shot up, eyes wide as he saw the fear and concern on her face.

Freya whispered, "There are soldiers. Here. Hide. In the hay." She didn't want to risk anything. Axel blinked gently, his green orbs trying to comprehend what she was saying.

Desperate, she pointed at his soldiers coat, letting his eyes follow her finger as she proceeded to point outside. "Hide in the hay! They could find you..." She stepped past him, bending down and moving the hay and motioning to it. His face was a mix of utter confusion and nervousness as he slowly pulled himself into the hay, allowing Freya to throw some on top of him. She covered him up, making sure he wasn't visible, and then remembered his clothes. She grabbed those too and slid them under the hay, then stepped back.

Nothing could be seen. Just an oddly large pile of hay.

She climbed down the ladder, brushing off her dress and straightening her bun before walking calmly out of the barn, her heart pounding within her as she headed toward the house. Her blue eyes picked out the horses and then she saw a few riders on them, two of the horses's riders were not on them though. She reached the house, the soldiers attention turned to her and one of them said a polite 'hello'. She smiled shyly back, replying with a soft hello as she opened the doors and went inside.

She was met with a British soldier on his way out and he stopped to move aside to let her through. She walked past, calmly and carefully so she wouldn't give  her fear away. She saw her grandparents on their chairs in the main room and a high ranking soldier sitting in a chair across from them. Carefully, she walked into the room while the soldier was speaking, slipping silently into the room and sitting in a chair as his gaze flickered to her for a small moment before returning to her Grandpa's. Freya tuned into the conversation, listening to what the soldier was saying...

"We don't know how long it had been there, but the passerby stated clearly that it was a body. We just ant to double check that you haven't seen anything...out of the ordinary..." The soldiers voice was deep and hard, eyes narrowed as he spoke. Freya's heartbeat increased as she heard what he had said.

Was she not the only one who had see Axel on the beach? Maybe they were talking about something else. Hopefully.

Grandpa chuckled, "No, we haven't seen anything. My granddaughter here was actually on the beach around that time, she didn't see anything." He smiled at her, and Freya forced a smile back. Grandma was looking at her, then focused her gaze back on the soldier.

The soldier turned to Freya, his old eyes fixing on her. "You didn't see anything at all?"

Freya swallowed and then replied, "N-no, I almost walked the whole beach. No...body. Why?" Her curiosity increased at what the soldiers knew. "Did someone see a body?"

The soldier nodded, bringing his hand up to his coat to flick off some lint that had been under his rank, then responded, "Yes, ma'am. A passerby on their way home from the town had seen a shape lying just out of reach of the tide before the sun had come up, around 1745 and reported it. Must've been before you had arrived, but for all i know the person could be making it up. Or the tide had sucked it back in." He paused, and at that very moment, a soldier opened the door and walked in, his young face almost excited.

"P-permission to speak, sir?" He asked, removing his hat and standing awkwardly in the middle of the room as he waited.

Freya froze. Had they found Axel? Her face paled, lips opening slightly in fear as she waited.