16 Into the Forest

  A few days later, David had her practicing again how to use a knife in an attack. When he wasn’t the target, David had her do the routines that would teach her body how to defend herself from a knife attack. Sara found David very agile, as big as he was.

  Finally, Sara complained, “This isn’t fair.”

  David responded differently from what Sara expected. She thought David would point out that the battle was never fair or that most fighters would be bigger than her, but he didn’t. Instead, David asked, “So how could you equalize the fight?”

  Sara took a step away from the giant and looked around. She saw the staff she had practiced with and had an idea. “If I could put this on a staff, it might work.” Then Sara thought of the right word, “A spear?”

  David smiled, “Yes, a spear is a great equalizer. It’s not as easy to store as a knife or a sword, but usually it is better in battle, especially if your opponent has greater reach.” David pointed at the staff, “Go get it and pretend it is a spear.”

  Sara went over and grabbed the staff, then, looking at it, said. “A woman walking around with a spear is going to stand out.”

  “Yes, but for now, show me if it helps.”

  Sara came over, and David took the staff and showed how to make some simple moves, then he handed it back and said, “Okay, I will take it easy on you, show me that you have learned something.”

  Sara started out as before, just blocking David, but then she saw an opening when he took a step back and raised his arm. Sara lowered her staff and shoved it forward, hitting the giant a blow on his ribs.

  “Oh,” David took a step back and raised his hands. “Good move, it seems I will need to start taking your attacks seriously. Until I get some protection for when we are sparing.”

  It was then that there was a grumble from the cave. Draco had returned. To Sara's surprise, even if it was Sixth Day, Draco hadn’t complained when David continued his training rather than attend him.

  David looked over at Sara and shook his head, “I am going to check on Mr. Sunshine; you practice the forms I showed you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Sara nodded at him with a smile.

  David took a couple of steps and then stopped and looked back. “Do not go fast, take them slow and make sure you do them correctly.”

  Sara nodded. She had planned to see how fast she could do them as her small victory had excited her. Remembering how he was training her, she thought about the moves and did them exactly as he had shown her, even if she didn’t go as fast as she might.

  To Sara, David was taking a long time, so she continued to practice. She was getting tired as it had been a long day, but David had made it clear that if she was going to learn from him, she couldn’t quit. She at times thought she heard at least two voices from the cave as well as the dragons’ growls, but she couldn’t be sure. She decided that she would slowly move in that direction as she did her forms. By the time she got close enough to begin making out a few words, the argument stopped, and David came stomping out of the cave.

  David looked at where Sara stood and then at the place they had started their practice. David shook his head, and Sara knew she had been caught, but to her amazement, David didn’t say anything.

  “Come on,” David said as he began walking towards her house. “Keep up.”

  Keeping up with David meant that Sara had to jog, but she was determined to keep up with him.

  As they walked, David looked as much at Sara as he did at where he was walking, “In about ten minutes, Draco and I will be leaving for a week. In that time, you need to get anything you think you might need and head for the other side of the valley.”

  “Why?” Sara asked now, nearly running to keep up as David moved faster.

  Before David could answer, they were standing in front of her home. They both stopped. David frowned at her and then pointed at the house.

  “You now have just over nine minutes, go or I will quit training you.”

  Sara didn’t understand but ran into the house. She felt stronger and more prepared than she ever had in her life. She also didn’t want David to quit training her. What started as a way to prepare for escape had turned into something more. She still planned on trying to escape sometime, but she needed to be able to survive. She figured she needed to be a bit stronger and better able to defend herself from people and nature.

  In the house, Sara looked around quickly. She didn’t waste any time but thought about where she was going to be and what she might need. She grabbed a bag and began throwing things in when she heard the giant.

  “Only take essentials, because you will have to carry them, but also realize you cannot,” David pointed his finger at her through the door and said emphatically, “you cannot come to this side of the valley until I come get you.”

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  Sara paused for only a moment and made a quick change, grabbing a backpack along with the small bag. She thought she had everything she might need, but as David informed her, she only had a minute left. She began to walk out when she looked around one last time

  “Knife, pan, water skins, bed roll,” Sara said, looking at the place where those things were. Her eyes went across the mantel, and she gasped, “Fire.” Sara shook her head as she raced over and grabbed the small box that held her flint and steel.

  That was the first thing you learned. How were you going to survive without that? Sara asked herself. Sara stuffed it into her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. As she moved toward the front door when she saw her hatchet and staff by the door. She grabbed them both but was more relieved she hadn’t forgotten the hatchet than the staff. She was wrong about which was more important, but she didn’t know that at the time. Finally, she walked out the door moments before David said that her time was up.

  When Sara was off the porch and standing in front of him, David frowned and shook his head, then pointed his finger across the valley, “Go now, I will come and get you when it is safe.”

  Sara didn’t know why it wasn’t going to be safe, but she began running. It had been a long day, but whatever caused concern in the giant to want her away was all the motivation she needed.

  As the sun went down, she was deep enough in the forest that she couldn’t see the other side of the valley. She only hoped it was far enough because she was exhausted. She sat down and leaned up against a tree. As she got her breathing under control, she laid her head back. She was glad it was warm, and before she knew anything else, she was asleep.

  When Sara woke up, she found herself in a dark forest. Sara wasn’t sure what time it was, but looking around she didn’t see any sign that the sun was coming up.

  “At least it isn’t cool out, but then it’s still summer.” Then Sara realized again, she didn’t know exactly where she was in the world.

  “At least, it feels like we’re still in summer.” She corrected herself.

  Sara listened, but other than the sounds of small animals, she didn’t hear anything. Why am I out here? Sara asked herself not for the first time since running across the valley. Is Draco upset, or is David trying to teach me something? What he has been teaching seems less like preparing me to be a good servant and more like survival skills. Sara thought about the skills she now had that she didn’t have before: I can build my own fire, find and cook my own food, and at least have a chance in a fight, though I don’t know where I could get a spear.

  Sara thought about the one hit she made on David. She smiled. I might not have beaten a giant in battle, but that hit should count for something, she told herself.

  As Sara sat in the dark, she realized that if she had started a small fire before going to sleep, there would be some coals left that she could have blown on now to get a little light. Not able to see anything, Sara listened intently, and still not hearing anything that concerned her, decided to try and get some more sleep. Sleep didn’t come.

  Sara felt something she hadn’t felt since David saved her from Draco’s flame. She felt alone. For the first time in a long time, she tried to put her thoughts on this subject into words. “It’s okay, I haven’t really had any close friends since” Sara stopped, now she found she was not willing to say, since mom and dad died.

  Sara wondered again if it was her fault. She knew that she didn’t make her friends move away. Their parents were assigned to other positions in the kingdom due to the loss of leaders after the plague. She remembered Lord Lazzaro telling her that he would find her new playmates, but he never did, and the ones the other Lords brought around weren’t the same.

  Sara knew there were others. She hadn’t been kind to her servants. Now, in the darkness of the forest, she wondered if they could have been friends. She knew some of the servants couldn’t have been, but there were a few. Francesca and Elizabeth could have been, even if they were her maids. David demonstrated to her that being the master didn’t mean you couldn’t be friends. He was, she knew, a friend to her and in this valley, he was more like her master, or at least a powerful lord.

  Sara sat on the ground thinking again about all the things she had been forced to learn and what she might need to do when morning came. First thing she would need was water, then shelter, and finally food. She thought again about the times she had looked around this part of the valley both with and without the giant. The water at the hot springs was not a good option, according to David, and she had never seen any sign that animals ever drank from it.

  “The animals have to be getting water from somewhere,” Sara said just to hear something other than the night sounds. “I just have to find out where.”

  Sara reviewed the places she had spent her time in and those places she hadn’t. The one place she hadn’t spent any time in was the field of stones, at least that is what she was calling the area where all the stones were spread out on the ground. Sara moved her feet in the sandals she had just made and thought that they would protect her well enough. So now, she could examine that area.

  A plan was starting to come together. She would head over to the field of stone and look for water, but also see what, if anything, was there she had missed. There were some small openings on the cliff wall behind where Draco and David lived, but Sara didn’t think they were a place she could safely stay since David had told her to stay away from that side of the valley. If there were some on the cliff wall in the field of stone, then she wouldn’t have to worry about shelter, and if water was there also, then this week might be easy, especially since she didn’t have to do any chores for Draco. Now, all she had to do was to wait for daylight.

  Daylight, however, seemed to refuse to come, and after a while, Sara stood up and tried to look around. There was nothing to see, and Sara assumed that there must be clouds in the sky. After taking a step and nearly falling, Sara reached back, found the tree she had been leaning next to, and sat down.

  It was then that Sara heard something. The sound was like that of a deer moving through the grass, but Sara had the feeling this creature was larger. Sara at once thought of David or Draco, but she had seen no evidence that either of them could move quietly. Draco, especially, was so loud when he moved that Sara wondered how he could ever catch prey in the wilderness. As she thought of that, she remembered that with flight, the dragon could drop down on something from the sky, and remembering her one journey on the back of the dragon, she knew that Draco in the air could at least be quiet.

  She listened again and now thought she heard the sound of a gentle movement of air that sounded like breathing. She had heard it earlier, thinking it was just wind in the trees, but now she wasn’t sure. Fear started to creep in, but then she remembered hearing that same sound in the woods before she went to sleep.

  Whatever it is, she told herself, if it meant me harm, then it could have gotten me hours ago.

  Then another thought entered her mind: if this was a person or presence, maybe it was there to protect her. With that thought, she wondered what it could be, but only for a little while, as she found that she could at last close her eyes and start to relax. Without even knowing it, Sara fell asleep, and just before sunrise, someone left her side.