Children of the Fence (The forgotten Children)

2. Mischief, Theft and War

We stopped in a clearing that was overgrown with ferns and mushrooms.
"No one within the town must hear us. You don't know how scared the people of Avendor are. If they find out who you are, they won't keep quiet about it for long."
I nodded.
"Whatever you do, Fenn, don't go down into the valley, that's where they'll look for you first."
"Who are they?" I asked again.
"Our whole bloody problem in a nutshell."
"And the long version?"
She sighed. "I'll tell you everything later. Right now, you should eat something." She looked me up and down. "And wash up."
I had no idea how long it had been since my last shower. Judging by the looks of it, a couple of centuries, but my stomach was pushing itself forward.
"Do you have more?" I asked.
She rummaged in her skirt again and pulled out another small apple. "This is the last one, but I have more elsewhere." She handed me the apple. "Wait here."

After a while, she came back with a basket. It seemed heavy and was filled to the brim with apples and other fruit.
"Here, I found this on the way too." She placed a large loaf of bread in my lap.
I stared at her in surprise. Her mischievous grin told me everything I needed to know.
"You'll have to take me to that place where you can just find something like this on the way."

The bread was fresh and still warm. I offered Layla half, but she shook her head. "Eat your fill, you probably haven't had proper food in months."
It felt strange not to share anything with her, so I insisted and eventually she yielded. "Hmm, stolen food really does taste better," she realised between bites. I had already finished my share, so she pushed the basket towards me.
The apples were still fresh too. I gave her a meaningful look, but complaining was the last thing on my mind.
"Apples only grow in small quantities up here in the forest," she shrugged.

When I had eaten my fill, I finally felt better. My full stomach thanked me with silence.
I started waving a branch I had found on the ground. It resembled a wooden sword.

"You like swords?" Layla also took a stick. I prepared to attack.
She parried my blow and the next moment the branch flew out of my hand.
"Hey!" I shouted. I had been sitting on the ground. Now I stood up to get the branch back.
I took it back in my hand. It actually looked like a sword, with a pommel and a blade. "Now it's gonna get serious," I threatened, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. I assumed a battle-ready stance.
She grinned. "Fine by me."
This time she attacked first and I barely had enough time to fend off her attack.
I resisted her pressure with difficulty.
"You're way out of practice," she remarked.
"I'd be astonished if I'd ever been able to do that," I groaned.
"Oh, you would be surprised."
And again, my stick flew out of my hand and got stuck in the soft forest floor.
I sighed.
"Don't hang your head," Layla said, "Try again."
She pulled the stick out of the ground and pressed it into my hand.
Then she attacked me again. I wasn't prepared, but to my own surprise, I fended off her blow.
My body seemed to remember. I took a deep breath and tried to rely completely on the memory of my muscles.
Her blow came again, this time from below. I parried the attack and somehow managed to fling the stick out of her hand.
She watched in surprise as the stick flew through the air and caught in the branches of an old oak tree.
"Hmm, not bad." Layla gave me an appreciative look.
"Not bad? I won!" I exclaimed triumphantly.
"We'll see about that." She grinned and picked up another branch.
"This time I won't make it as easy for you as I did at the beginning," I joked.

We fought for a while. I lost for the most part, of course, but it was still fun.
Then I tripped over a slippery branch. It rolled out from under me and I landed in the moss.
Layla pointed the tip at my chest.
"Unfair," I mumbled, rubbing my aching bum.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I know."
Then she tossed the branch aside and offered me a hand.
I hesitated.
Grinning, I grabbed her hand and gave it a firm tug.
"Hey!" Layla lost her balance and landed next to me on the mossy ground.
She fell onto her hands and gave me a devastating look.
I tried to suppress my grin.
Eventually she gave up and burst out laughing with me.
She dropped into the moss next to me.