The Guardian turned with lightning speed and brought his face within an inch of Ethyn's nose. "Are you trying to make a fool of me, child?" Silver hissed. Although the child could not see his face, he could feel the man's hot, angry breath. It was frightening.
Ethyn gasped and scrambled to his feet. "No! I came looking for you after the picnic and saw the group. You were so focused that I guess you did not see me. So I decided it was a good time to try to master your walk. I want to be just like you." The boy's eyes threatened to fill with tears.
Silver stood slowly. Everyone stopped laughing and froze. No one dared speak. Rapidly, the guardian reached for the boy, and Ethyn flinched. Hoisting the boy by the collar, Silver shoved him towards the soldier, Aiden, "Would you train the boy too? He will be the death of us all otherwise."
Exhaling their collective breaths, the crowd relaxed, and many of the villagers exchanged smiles. It was nice to see the man that they were following was not spiteful. It took a moment for Ethyn to comprehend what had been said.
All at once, the boy's face lit up, "Really? You will train me?"
Aiden and Silver exchanged understanding nods. "Really," they said together. It would make sense to give him usable skills as well. You never knew when having someone small on your side would come in handy.
Suddenly, Silver caught a glimpse of movement in the trees a little way off. His heart sank a little, but he did not outwardly show his concern. "Run along home, Ethyn. Be quick about it. I will be there in a while to make sure you have done your chores," he said gently.
Ethyn nodded, "Yes sir! I will have the place spotless when you get back." He saluted and ran off out of sight.
Silver motioned to Conall to come close. Conall raised his brows as he neared. "Something wrong?"
In a low voice he asked, "Were you expecting anyone else? Specifically anyone on horseback?"
Conall screwed up his face in thought before shaking his head. "I do not think so," he answered gravely.
Silver nodded his head slightly toward the trees in the distance. "Then we have got unwelcome company."
Conall did not move his head but cut his eyes in the direction Silver indicated. "What do you want to do? We could melt into the forest. They cannot follow us all at once."
Weighing the options, the Guardian declined. "We are not even sure what they want. I count three of them. They seem to be soldiers by the look of their horses and the way they ride. Let them come close. It is probably trouble, but I will handle it."
"You mean we will handle it?" Conall corrected him with a wink.
Pressing his lips together, the Guardian shook his head. "Let me talk. I'm the more commanding figure of the two of us." Silver continued in the same hushed tone.
"That may be true, but I'm surely the more handsome." Conall joked.
Silver rolled his eyes, but thankfully Conall could not see. The trainees around them began to notice the riders coming near. Some of them edged away from the group quietly while others stared boldly, beckoning confrontation. Silver made a mental note of who did what before holding up his hand. "Stop," he commanded quietly but firmly, "Do not act suspicious. Look at them just enough to seem interested but not so much to seem guilty. Consider this part of your training."
Most of those present nodded and relaxed a little. One man started to object, "What if they attack?"
Silver regarded him. "They won't"
The man opened his mouth for another question, but was elbowed by his neighbor. There was a moment of silence when the soldiers finally entered the group.
Two of the men wore typical uniforms of purple and gold: troops of Birle. 'Grunts,' Silver thought casually, 'not a real threat.' The third soldier was obviously in charge. He bore a captain's emblem on his sleeve and wore a helmet that obscured the top portion of his face.
The captain smirked, his lips curling into a wicked bow. "What do we have here?" he asked with a hint of amusement.
Silver's blood ran cold as he froze. 'I know that voice. It can't be.' His heart quickened and he instinctively reached below his cape for the dagger at his side. Conall noticed the movement and cleared his throat. It was just enough to wake Silver from the blinding rage that had taken over his body.
Despite his conversation with the Guardian, Conall stepped forward to address the soldiers. He knew when finesse was needed over force. "It is just a little gambling, Captain. It is perhaps a little on the less legal side, but nothing serious. I am, uh, Conall, mayor of the town." Conall bowed his head reverently. "Perhaps you might care to join us?" The mayor raised one eyebrow.
From somewhere in the crowd, a pair of dice clattered against each other as they rolled forward. Conall had to give whoever had done it credit for their quick thinking. The mayor picked them up and offered them for the captain's inspection. The soldier looked down judgmentally on the crowd and grunted. His two cronies glared at the crowd with their hands on the sword at their sides.
"Gambling, eh?" The captain mocked. "That would be why you have that criminal, Aiden, with you, then?"
Unlike the rest of the crowd which had been staring warily at the soldiers. Aiden was watching Silver closely. He, too, had seen Silver nearly lunge to attack, and was relieved when Conall intervened. At the mention of his name, Aiden's head snapped toward the captain.
"The only person to call me a criminal was the one who blamed me for his crime. Everyone else knows I was innocent." The former soldier looked at the captain with steely eyes. It was the captain who broke contact first.
The man in the helmet waved his hand casually. "I did not come for you anyway. There are rumors that Silver is back in this part of the country. I have come to arrest him."
"What makes you think he is here?" Conall asked with more than a hint of defiance.
The captain removed his helmet, revealing a white blonde head of hair and a sharp, severe nose. His smile grew, but never reached his menacing brown eyes. "Because, Mayor Conall, Silver is standing beside you."
"Borit! You scoundrel," Conall yelled before he recovered his calm. Silver, who had been watching the scene unfold in silence, grabbed Conall's arm. The mayor shrugged the hand away, but kept his eyes glued on the sharp-nosed man.
The soldier's face hardened. "You may address me as Captain Borit. I am part of the King's personal guard now. When I am not tracking down legendary bandits or handling threats along the border, I protect His Majesty and his Little Miss. You will treat me with respect." From his horse, Borit kicked Conall squarely in the chest. Conall went sprawling to the ground, his rotund backside breaking his fall.
With clenched fists Silver took a deep breath, "You have come to arrest me? On what charge?"
Borit scoffed, "Ah! The hooded stranger speaks. How are you Silver? And where is that little brat of yours? Did you finally lose her?"
'Careful, charlatan. You are a hair's breadth from death.' The Guardian nearly breathed these words aloud. "I repeat. What crime have I committed? You have a lot of bluster for someone who has yet to saddle me with an arrestable offense. So what is the charge you bring against me?"
The soldiers behind Borit shifted in their saddles uncomfortably. Silver smiled beneath his hood. 'They have nothing.' He decided to play the odds a little further.
"It is only right you should levy the charge in front of these good townspeople so they can decide if they want to be a witness to my character. You wouldn't deprive us of the process of justice. Not an upstanding soldier like yourself, Captain." Silver added the last word with a slight bow of the head. Borit could feel the Guardian's gaze mocking him.
The Captain narrowed his gaze. "These people have a short memory. Surely after last time, they know that they should not harbor a fugitive and a fraud? No town is safe with you around."
Swallowing the anger that Borit was trying to stoke, the Guardian refused to give in. "Do not threaten them. They have done nothing wrong. And as for your claim that I am a fugitive, you have tried to arrest me before for a crime that I clearly did not commit. I know you would not make that mistake again. Now, levy the new charge." Silver's voice was firm. All eyes shifted to the captain.
Borit's face turned pale. He was losing control of the situation. "Arrest him," he ordered the soldiers. The men in purple and gold stared at one another, weighing their options. If they dismounted and took Silver into custody falsely, their own necks could be on the line. But conversely they knew the difficulty Borit could cause for a man that would not fall in line.
Their indecision infuriated Borit. "I said arrest him!" he shouted with all the fury he could muster. Again his subordinates failed to move. Borit pulled his horse beside the man to his left and struck him across the face. He turned to the crowd, his face purple with rage and embarrassment. "You've all committed treason, and I will prove it. I'll be back with a warrant. You'll see!" Borit tugged at the reins and took off through the wood. The other soldiers, startled by his sudden departure, rode after him with a click of their heels.
When the men were out of sight, a grand exhale made its way out of everyone present. Conall cleared his throat once more. "I think I speak for all of us when I say we are glad you are back, but now that Borit knows you are here he is not going to give up until he's caught you. Perhaps you were better off staying gone."
Silver shrugged, "I'm done running."