The Burning Bridge- Character Reaction

13

"Halt, it's your turn to read." Crowley passed the book to Halt as they sat down, Will and Gilan both eyeing Halt's knife warily. The senior Ranger hid a smirk at the look, and began reading.

IF SHE HADN'T SPOKEN, THEY WOULD HAVE TAKEN HER FOR A boy. It was the soft voice that gave her away. She stood at the edge of the campsite, a slender figure with blond hair cut short—to a boy's length—dressed in a ragged tunic, breeches and soft leather boots, bound up to the knee. A stained and torn sheepskin vest seemed to be her only protection against the cold mountain nights, for she wore no cloak and carried no blankets. Just a small bandanna tied into a bundle, which, presumably, contained all her belongings.

Duncan sighed. "Apparently sending you to Celtica hadn't been the wisest of options." Cassandra shrugged.

"Where the devil did you spring from?" Gilan asked, turning to face her. He sheathed his saxe knife as he did so and allowed Carney to fall gratefully to his knees, exhausted. Will smirked.

The girl, who Will could now see was around his own age and, underneath a liberal coating of dirt, remarkably pretty, gestured vaguely.

"Oh..." She paused uncertainly, trying to gather her thoughts, and Will realized she was close to the point of exhaustion. "I've been hiding out in the hills for several weeks now," she said finally. Will had to admit she looked as if she had been.

Cassandra raised an eyebrow. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Will shrugged, a slight flush rising in his cheeks. "You looked exhausted," he finally said. The Princess eyed him a moment longer before shaking her head and grinning.

"Do you have a name?" asked Gilan, not unkindly. He too could see the girl was worn-out.

She hesitated. She appeared uncertain as to whether to give them her name or not.

"I wish you would have," Gilan said.

"Evanlyn Wheeler, from Greenfield Fief," she said. Greenfield was a small coastal fief in Araluen. "We were here visiting friends..." She stopped and looked away from Gilan. She seemed to be thinking for a second, before she amended the statement. "Rather, my mistress was visiting friends, when the Wargals attacked."

"I don't think you had us convinced," Horace said. Cassandra chuckled.

"That much was obvious. But I didn't know you, and I didn't know what else to do."

"Wargals!" Will said, the word jerked from him, and she turned a level pair of brilliant green eyes upon him. As he looked into them, he realized she was more than pretty. Much, much more. She was beautiful. The strawberry blond hair and green eyes were complemented by a small, straight nose and a full mouth that Will thought would look quite delightful if she were smiling. But right now, a smile was a long way from the girl's thoughts. She gave a sad little lift of her shoulders as she answered him.

Gilan shot Will a small grin as the younger Ranger flushed again. Alyss raised an eyebrow, hiding a smile as she nudged his shoulder.

"Where did you think all the people have gone?" she asked him. "Wargals have been attacking towns and villages throughout this part of Celtica for weeks now. The Celts couldn't stand against them. They were driven out of their homes. Most of them escaped to the Southwest Peninsula. But some were captured. I don't know what's happened to them."

"Maybe they've been taken to build a bridge," Will offered. Horace snorted.

Gilan and the two boys exchanged looks. Deep down, they'd all been expecting to hear something of the kind. Now it was out in the open.