Rebel

chapter twenty two

***NOT EDITED***

***Caroline's Point of View***

I drop the note after reading it four times. Landon is seated on a chair staring at me as if he was in a trance. "He has left me in charge before, but it was only for a couple weeks at the most. It was never at a time where we are about to go into war." He exhaled deeply. "We can handle this. The other village leaders have agreed so obviously they are not worried." I encourage him just as much as myself. We nods at me once before taking the note and putting it in the chest with all the maps and plans. Inside the chest we find a lock that we have never used before and was always on the bottom but it was on the very top this time. "How did that get there?" he asked me. I shrugged confused, but then realized father wanted us to lock the plans up. I told Landon my suspicion and he nodded and proceeded to lock the chest. It was the kind that had a key to it. He swiftly took off the simple chain he wore around his neck and slid the key onto it. I waited for him to put it back on but he handed it to me. " Take it." He said dangling it in front of me. "You will be able to get it back way easier then I could if someone got it from you. I can fight sure, but you have your mind gift." He explained. After I put it on he hid it in my shirt and I blushed slightly. We have never done anything more than kiss and when he hid the key he pulled down my shirt a tad bit. Not enough to see anything though. If this ends well and we end up getting married I will probably blush every time we are intimate.

We are walking to William and Elizabeth's tent when a familiar yapping draws my attention. There are several children huddled in a group playing with scout. I laugh as they are trying to get him to roll over. Some of the younger ones are rolling on the floor showing him how to do it. They must have heard me because they all became quiet. "Hello there." I said happily. "I am sure glad you all have been taking care of him." I said as he hounded over to me happily clawing at my leg. I pick him up and rub his ears. "I promise you will be able to play with him another day, but he needs to go see someone now ok?" I ask kindly. They all nod and scurry away. I frown slightly not liking how they seemed terrified of me. "They are just amazed my love." Landon murmured in my ear causing a shiver to go down my back. I nod in understanding not trusting my voice enough to speak right now. We continue on our way and soon hear two sets of giggles coming from William's tent.

"That's not what happened!" William whined right as we walked in. The giggles stopped though when Allison saw me and Landon. Her eyes went down cast and I saw an old and battered bear in her arms. I put down scout and he hurriedly ran over to Allison. She leaned down slowly and helped him onto her cot. She handed the bear to Elizabeth and said a quiet thank you. "Can I speak to Allison alone please?" I asked everyone. No one said anything but William looked to Allison and she nodded so he grabbed Elizabeth's hand and pulled her along with him outside Landon following them. She sighed quietly as I sat down on her cot. "Thanks for bringing scout." She whispered. "I can't believe I was so blind." I told her tears pooling in my eyes. "I was so caught up with my problems I didn't even think about how you were handling it. I never even thought to see how you were doing." I sighed frustrated with myself. I felt her hand reach out and grab mine causing me to smile slightly. "I didn't ever tell anyone how I was feeling." She started. "I just held it all in. It's my fault really. I proved just how unable I was to help when I threw a temper tantrum and turned myself into a vampire. Now I'm weak and can't even stand up for long." Tears were streaming down her face and I used my thumb to wipe them away. "From now on Allison, we have to promise to tell each other how we are feeling." I ordered not willing to let her get this desperate again. She nodded vigorously only to sway slightly. I grimaced at the sight realizing that we had done that to her.

"William explained to me why you guys did what you did." She said sadly. "I don't blame anyone, but I don't want to see Daniel. He..he.." she couldn't finish so I pulled her into a hug and she sobbed into my chest. I rubbed her back soothingly and rocked gently back and forth. After a few minutes she had cried herself to sleep and I laughed quietly while laying her back and covering her with the blanket. Scout burrowed into her side and curled up. I smiled at them before walking outside to be greeted by a worried Elizabeth. "You need to come with me now." She said while pulling me behind her.