Brotherhood

Chapter 6

After meeting with Geric the night before, Amy found it harder and harder to pay attention to her duties for the day. She often found herself gazing out the window and willing the sun to descend so she could escape into the night. Just another couple of hours and she would be golden...

Amy pushed her food around on her plate, only half engaged in the conversation happening around her. Their guests talked animatedly about something that happened in town, but all she could think about was Geric.

"What are your thoughts on the issue, Amy?" Charles asked, gazing back at her with intrigue. "Surely a woman like you would have formed her own opinion on the matter."

Her heart beat fast as she looked around the table to see everyone staring at her. What was she supposed to say? She'd look like a fool no matter what she said.

Deciding to go with the truth, Amy said, "Please forgive me, I was not listening. I actually feel as if I have come down with something. Will you please excuse me?" She set her napkin down on the table and stood up, all the men at the table standing up with her.

"Of course, Dear," her father said with concern. "After yesterday, none of us would blame you for feeling ill. Let us know if we can do anything for you."

She nodded her head graciously toward her father before turning around and gracefully striding out of the room. But as soon as she was out of sight, she dropped airs and clambered up the stairs to her room, collecting her clothes together to get ready to sneak outside, but she quickly kicked them beneath her bed when she heard a knock sounding on the door. Her lady in waiting opened the door, carrying a tray of tea.

"My Lady, I thought you might like some chamomile tea? I was told you are feeling ill."

It took all of Amy's patience to sit down and take the offered tea, plopping a couple sugar cubes inside before stirring the golden liquid around in the porcelain cup. "Thank you, Shayna. I appreciate your kindness." She forced herself to drink slowly instead of gulp it all down just to get rid of Shayna.

"I heard about your nasty tumble the other day," Shayna whispered with wide eyes. "What happened? Did the horse lose its footing?"

"Something like that," Amy replied, not sure what made her want to protect this secret and keep it to herself. "I don't mean to be a bother, but I'm really tired."

Shayna nodded and bowed, backing up toward the door. "I can take a hint, Your Highness. I hope you recover from your ailments."

As soon as the door closed behind her lady in waiting, Amy held her breath as she waited several minutes, and then several more minutes just to be sure. It was already getting dark outside. The guards would have a hard time spotting her even if they tried.

Quickly, Amy threw on a pair of men's trousers and tucked in her shirt before pulling her hair back into a bun, but as she caught sight of herself in the mirror, she decided to forgo the bun. She thought she looked prettier with her hair framing her face anyways.

With stealthy movements, Amy snuffed out her candle and carefully climbed out the window and down the trail of ivy that led up to her window. Her heart hammered in her chest and it wasn't just because of the physical effort it took to climb down. She felt incredibly excited to see Geric again. A little scared, but also excited.

After climbing over the wall, Amy willed herself to be invisible as she made her way toward the cover of the forest. So far so good...

And finally, she let out the breath that she had been holding when she successfully made it to the forest without getting caught. She just hoped that all of this was actually worth it. Would Geric even come? Would he even show up?