A Partisan's Fight - COMPLETED!

Chapter Two

"Why did you not get called away too, Aldrik?" Mina watched her friend. Aldrik Baumann was tall, his dark hair unusually jet black, and his eyes piercing blue. Most girls swooned over him, but she'd never seen him like that. Sure, she couldn't doubt that he was handsome, but he was the closest thing to a brother that she had. In fact, he'd been best friend's with her brother before his untimely passing. A soul taken away far sooner than he should have been.

"I was far too handsome for war." He winked at her, a perfect smile meeting her gaze.

"Really?" Mina's eyes were wide, uncertain that that was even possible. She knew she'd be chided for talking with him. They were in different social classes. Not really meant to associate with each other, but nobody would tell her differently. With nearly everyone meaningful to her gone, he was the one constant outside of her mother.

Aldrik's laugh was intoxicating, but it left Mina dumbfounded. He lifted a bale of hay, setting it on a pile that he was stacking. "My time will come, Mina. The only reason I am still here is because of my farming expertise."

"I do not understand." She didn't shift her faded blue eyes from him, waiting for some form of truth to what he was saying.

Grabbing another hay bale, Aldrik tried to explain. "Well, our country has an army. An army has a lot of men fighting within it. Those men need to eat. Eating requires having food. I know how to grow food. It is that simple."

"I am not dumb." Mina rolled her eyes. "You could have just said that they held you back because you are a farmer that helps feed them. Trottel!" Her snippy remark lit up her eyes.

"I could have." He smiled, stacking another bale. "But I did not." His voice grew starker, almost serious. "Be cautious who you call a jerk, Mina. You know the laws for women are getting stricter. I do not want something happening to you because you ran your mouth."

"Duly noted." There was a casualness to her voice. His words held meaning to her, but she couldn't let him know that they worried her a bit. She jumped off the already stacked bales that she'd been sitting on. "Why do you not have a woman, Aldrik?"

He glanced back at her, but continued busying himself. "Why do you ask, Mina? In the market for a new man after Roland got scooped up?"

She punched his shoulder, quickly checking to make sure nobody had seen her act of rebellion. "Why would you ask that? I love Rolly. I would never fall for a different man."

He gave her a warning look for her physical act, but shrugged it off. "What makes you think that I do not have a woman?"

Mina watched him carefully, analyzing his expression and trying to read into his eyes. "Do you? You would not hide something like that from me. Aldrik Baumann!"

A smile worked its way into his face. Slowly and deliberately. A secret that had been in the dark was now coming to the light.

"Do I know her? Who is she?" Mina inched closer to him, waiting for the answers to her question.

Aldrik gave her a look, but kept working some more.

"Really, you are going to ignore me. This is a big deal! How long have you been seeing this mystery woman? Does anyone else know?" Mina walked around him to stand in his way. She wanted her answers.

"I have to work, Mina." He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. He waited for her to move out of his way.

"Ugh, please tell me it is not Idette. She is so annoying." Mina rolled her eyes. She knew she was being overly bothersome, and probably a bit dramatic, but this kept her mind from the obvious. She didn't want to think of what her papa and fiancee were dealing with right now. It was distasteful. A pungent thought that kept giving her nightmares.