The Fox and Her Bow

-13-

Looking around the house, I can see that they care for making the house look good. But at the same time, they use the house in their own way. There were minimal things cluttering the house, just your necessities.

Torsten looks back at me. "Will you be staying the night?"

I stammer, "I don't think so. Maybe," I look back at Mary. "I don't know."

Torsten smiles. "Well, if you have to, there's a bedroom upstairs," He gestures to a rickety staircase in the far corner of the room. "With all the things you might need. Why don't we go up there now?"

I nod, not able to speak. They're so inviting! How do I resist sleeping in a real house now? I follow Torsten up the stairs and at the top, I step onto a landing covered with a carpet. Small windows line the walls, letting in rays of light onto the polished dark floor.

Torsten walks up to a door in the corner. "This can be your room when you need it." He opens the door further for me. He ushers me in. "Make yourself at home here. You're our guest. If you need anything, just come downstairs and let us know." He closes the door behind him, leaving me to look around.

A bed lies in the corner, covered with thick wool blankets and a large pillow. A bedside table sits beside it. A few books are stacked up on top and a candle flickers, melted wax dripping down into the holder. On the other side of the room is a large wardrobe, its door slightly open, revealing a few sets of armor. I walk up to it and finger through the outfits. At last, I find one that looks my size. I take it off the hook and lay it on my body. The perfect fit. I put the armor on the bed while I look around some more.

The window by the bed lets in beams of sunlight, falling on the floor in front of me. I walk over to it and look out. Suddenly, I pull back. The village! It looks right over the village! I reach up and hank the curtains closed. No one could see me in here. I would be hunted down, not to mention Mary and Torsten would probably share the same fate as I would. I couldn't let that happen.

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The smell of chicken fills the house, all the way up to my little corner of the home.

"Dinner's ready!" I hear Mary's voice call from the kitchen.

I drop the book I was reading and scurry downstairs. Torsten is setting the table when I jump to the ground. Mary is cleaning the dishes she used and putting them away.

I look at the food on the table and frown. Torsten notices and says, "What's wrong?"

"I don't eat meat." I say before I can stop myself. I put my hand to my chin. "Sorry."

Torsten waves his hand. "Oh, don't worry, I haven't forgotten that. Mom made some salad and eggs. You're good."

I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank goodness there wasn't going to be any meat on my menu today!

We all sit down at the table and dig in.

"So. Did you make yourself at home up there?" Torsten nods to the stairs before taking a bite of his food.

I nod. "Though I do have one question."

Both Mary and Torsten look up at me, waiting to serve. "Yes?" Torsten asks.

"There's armor up there in the wardrobe. One of the outfits fits me. Can I . . .?"

Torsten nods enthusiastically. "Defiantly! In fact, I was thinking about this earlier. How would you like it if I trained you?" He holds up his hands. "Now, I know you're the best archer we have, so you might as well train me. But what I was thinking is that I train you in sword fighting. What do you think?"

I nod, excited. I had never been too good with a sword, so this is going to help so much! "I'd love that!"

Torsten smiles. "When do you want to start?"

"Maybe to-"

Mary interrupts me. "Wait, how are you going to do that if she can't be seen in the village? It's not like she can just walk all about the place. How are you going to do that?"

Torsten looks taken aback. He looks down and his face contorts into a thinking face. "I'll - I'll think about that." He looks up at me. "I'll get back to you later. In the meantime, you can try on the armor and see how it fits. Then we can plan the training."

I nod and we continue our dinner.

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The sun sets through my curtains and I long to throw them open. But I know I can't, not if there are villagers milling around.

The armor Torsten gave me is still laying in the bed. I'm excited about the training, but I do have to agree with Mary. How am I going to stay hidden when I have to train?

In a way, I'm ready for a challenge, I haven't had one that really made me work. I think this is going to give it to me.

Downstairs, I hear Mary saying good-bye to Torsten. Why is he leaving? Where is he going? I run down the hall and down the stairs and peek around the corner. Torsten is in more professional clothes. He looks up at me. "Where are you going?" My voice comes out more needy then I intended.

"To the Chief. We have some business to attend to." Torsten says with a stone face.

"Hopefully not regarding me." I say, just to make sure. I come out fully from behind the wall. "You don't want to lose me, right?"

Torsten looks me square in the eyes. "You are the most valuable asset we have to winning the war. We can't afford to lose you." He turns to his mother and says, "I'll be back soon." Then he turns, walks out the door and closes it behind him.

"What are they going to talk about?" I ask Mary once I'm sure Torsten is out of earshot.

Mary sighs. "The counsel is having meetings every other day now. With the war coming soon, the Chief doesn't want to take any chances."

"Take any chances?" I burst. "If he didn't want to take any chances, he'd have me on the front lines. I'm his best archer, and he knows it. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's trying to make us lose this war."

Mary's eyes widen. "You wouldn't dare! He's the Chief! He can't do that!"

I cross my arms. "Oh yeah? Well, what did he do in the last meeting?"

Mary scowls. "He ordered us to make all the weapons while he created a battle plan."

I look down at the ground. That wasn't that mean. The only thing mean about that was the fact that all the villagers had to work, day and night! But the war's coming. We'd all be working day and night even if he wasn't the chief. "Fine." I turn around and walk back to the staircase.

I flop onto the bed and stare at the ceiling, thinking about what I had said to Mary. I didn't actually know if the Chief wasn't in the fight to win, but now that I thought about it, I feel, somehow, that's true. What if this war is just a distraction? A way for him to get his way?

The sun casts rays of golden light on the floor beside the bed. I get up and look through the curtains. Only a few people were walking around. Looking out into the streets, I want to run. Away from all this. Away from the village.

I turn around and reach for my bow and quiver I had hung on a hook beside the door when I got here. I sling both around my shoulder and walk out the bedroom door. Slowly and quietly, I walk down the stairs. Mary is nowhere to be seen. I walk around the corner and across the floor. As swiftly as I can, I open the door, walk out, and close it.