Scepter

The next morning, Aidan awoke to the smell of bacon. The fragrant meat immediately caused his mouth to water. Rolling out of bed and pulling on his pants and shirt, he opened the bedroom door and shuffled into the kitchen. Daniel stood at the stove cooking breakfast. He glanced over his shoulder at his younger brother before turning back to flip a slice of sizzling bacon.

  “Morning,” Daniel remarked.

  “Where’d you get the bacon?” Aidan asked. He pulled a chair over from the table and sat at the end of the kitchen counter. Daniel flipped another slice and pulled back with a hiss when the bacon popped and splattered hot grease on his hand.

  “I went out this morning when the sun came up,” Daniel answered, rubbing the back of his hand. “I found a wild boar and traded it to a farmer for some supplies. I figured we could use some food in this place if we’re going to stay here for a few days.”

  “Sure smells good,” Aidan commented before letting loose a tremendous yawn.

  Daniel smirked and pulled a few pieces out of the pan and put them on a plate. He slid it down the counter toward his brother.

  Aidan caught it at the end. “Thanks!” He hooked his hair with his pinkies and pulled it back behind his ears before picking up a slice, blowing on it, and shoving it in his mouth. It tasted as good as it had smelled. Aidan grabbed the other two pieces and sent the plate back down the counter to Daniel.

  “Listen,” Daniel murmured, dropping his eyes to the stove in front of him and busying himself with cooking more bacon. “About our fight, I’m sorry I hit you.”

  Aidan swallowed his mouthful of bacon. “It’s alright. I probably deserved it.” Aidan pressed slightly on the bridge of his still swollen nose. “Besides, I think I look pretty good with a nose pushed a little to the left.”

  Daniel looked over at his younger brother. “Sorry, I just lost it. If it’ll make up for it, you can get a few shots in on me. I won’t even fight back.” Daniel put the fork he was using down on the counter and stood, arms out to his sides, palms up in a defenseless gesture.

  “Oh, cook the bacon,” Aidan huffed. “I’m not going to hit you. I’m already in trouble with the girls for the things I said back there. What do you think they’ll do if they come out and I’m hitting you and you’re not fighting back? I’ll tell you what they’ll do. First they’ll beat the heck out of me. Then Lilly will go find a pack of werewolves to bring back here. This time they’ll lock me outside. Heck, Olivia might even shoot at me while I’m trying to get away. No, sir. I’m going to sit here and eat bacon if that’s all right with you. I’m sorry for what I said. You’re sorry for hitting me. Let’s just move on.”

  Daniel nodded. “Okay. Here’re a couple more pieces. When you’re done, why don’t you run out and refill the water buckets. I’ll cook up the eggs and put out the fruit. We can have breakfast when you get back. Wake up the girls on your way out.”

  “Wait a second. First bacon, and now eggs and fruit? Where did you find all this stuff?”

  “I told you,” Daniel answered. “I got up early and found the pig in the forest. There’s a blackberry patch not too far north of here that I missed last night in the dark. The eggs are from the same farmer as the bacon. It’s a ways off, but an easy enough run for me.”

  Aidan looked at him disapprovingly. “You’d better rest that ankle for a couple of days. You need it to heal, and it’s not going to if you keep running around on it.”

  “I know, I know. I’ll try and stay off of it today, now go get the water. And don’t forget to wake Olivia and Lilly on your way out.”

  Aidan got up and slipped his moccasins on, then walked to the closed bedroom door. Pressing his ear to the door, he knocked lightly. “Time to get up,” he called. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

  A muffled and sleepy voice called back. “Ugh, it’s morning already?” There was the brief sound of creaking bedsprings before things again went silent. He knocked again. “Okay, we’ll be right there.” Aidan could hear the creak of one of the beds as someone’s weight shifted. He heard Olivia mumble to her sister to get up.

  Satisfied that they were getting out of bed, Aidan grabbed the buckets and started another trek down to the creek. When he returned, Daniel was serving up plates while Olivia and Lilly set the table. Aidan took the pails into the kitchen and grabbed some pitchers. After transferring the water to them, he took the pitchers to the dining table and set them down. Olivia and Lilly grabbed their plates, and Daniel grabbed the other two. He handed one to Aidan and sat down.

  As the other three ate, Daniel picked at his food. “What’s on your mind?” Aidan asked through a mouthful of eggs.

  “Just trying to figure out how we’re going to fight Argyle’s men.” Daniel replied. He dropped his fork with a clank and looked up from his plate while wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

  “I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” Aidan answered back, reaching over and grabbing some of Daniel’s bacon, before shoving it into his mouth. “Lilly can probably find them. If not, I’ll try to get a feel from the animals where they are. Once we find them, we’ll fight.”

  “It won’t be that easy,” Lilly retorted. “Now that Argyle has lost one group of men, the next ones he sends out will be harder to fight. They’ll probably be bigger and have more weapons. You took the first group by surprise. I don’t think they’re used to anyone fighting back. At least not anyone with your special gifts.” Aidan’s chest swelled while Daniel seemed to shrink in his chair. Olivia noticed the differing reactions, but Lilly didn’t and so continued. “The next groups will be ready. They’ll know something happened to the others, and they’ll be extra careful.”

  Daniel nodded his agreement. “I think we need to put together several plans of attack, based on the different areas where we might find them. What if we don’t have a good place to hide Olivia and Lilly? If we don’t have cover for them, they’ll be easy targets. What if there aren’t many animals around? Your gift to turn into whatever you want will come in handy, Aidan, but we’ll need more support to keep the men busy with diversions other than you and me.”

  Aidan looked like he’d been slapped. “I hadn’t thought of that, any of that,” he conceded. He pushed his plate away and sat back slowly in his chair, a frown creasing his brow.

  “That’s why we need to talk this out,” Daniel responded. “If we all talk it through, we should be able to come up with alternative scenarios for whatever happens.” Daniel finally started in on his breakfast while the others pondered what he’d said. Olivia and Aidan looked back and forth at one another across the small table while Lilly sat and quietly finished her breakfast. None of them seemed to have any answers to the problems Daniel had just posed.

  “Do you have any suggestions?” Olivia asked Daniel after a minute of silence.

  Daniel nodded his head and swallowed his mouthful of food. “I think we need to try and fight them on our turf. We can set traps for them.”

  “How are we going to do that?” Lilly inquired. “We’d have to know where they’re going and get there before them.”

  Daniel shook his head. “Not necessarily,” he answered. “We just have to get an idea of which direction they’re headed and set a trap near where they’re going. Aidan and I know a lot about the lay of the land all around here.” Daniel saw Olivia’s eyebrows rise up in confusion, and so explained, “Aidan’s done a lot of flying and running around as different animals, and I’ve done my own share of running around these forests and hills. We figure out a good place to attack and bait them in.”

  “Bait them in?” Olivia exclaimed. “And just how are we going to do that?”

  “I’ll do it,” Daniel replied. He could see the shock on the others’ faces and so pressed on. “We’ll find a location we can defend, with a place where Olivia and Lilly can hide and shoot, and where Aidan can bring in his friends to fight with us. Then I’ll go out and bring them back.” He could see the doubt in their eyes. “I’m the one with the speed. There’s no way they can catch
me. I’m not worried about them shooting at me either. They can’t hit me. I’ll run slowly enough that they can chase me, not catch me, and I’ll bring them back to you three. Hopefully that will give us the advantage we need.”

  “I don’t know if I like that idea,” Olivia responded.

  Daniel turned to face the older of the two sisters. “It’s the best we can do,” Daniel replied. “We can’t send you or Lilly out as bait. We could send Aidan. He’d only be safe, somewhat safe, in one of his animal forms, so he’d have to change. They’re not going to chase a mountain lion into the woods, but they will me.”

  Aidan nodded his agreement. “Daniel’s right. He’s the only one who can do it. And we’ll need to search out our own places to fight whenever we can. It’s our best chance of beating them.”

  “And what if they find us somewhere else, somewhere that we don’t expect, where we haven’t set a trap?” Olivia asked. “What then?”

  “Then we run,” Daniel answered. “We get out. I don’t want to try and fight them when they have the advantage. Maybe Aidan and I can keep them busy while you two get out, or we can carry the two of you away. But I don’t want to get into a fight unless we’re the ones to initiate it. This is going to be hard enough, dangerous enough. We need to be as careful as we can. If that means we pass on a couple of fights, so be it.”

  Aidan opened his mouth as if to say something but then shut it.

  “What?” Daniel asked.

  “Nothing, forget it.” Daniel stared at him. “Really, it’s nothing.”

  Lilly spoke up. “Let’s not try to figure it all out right now. Why don’t we finish our breakfast and take the rest of the day to have fun and stock up our supplies? We can do all our planning tomorrow and the next day if we need it. Let’s just enjoy ourselves.”

  Olivia coughed and cleared her throat. “She’s right. No point in making things more serious than they need to be. I think we’ll be stuck with serious soon enough.”

  Daniel and Aidan quickly agreed to Lilly’s suggestion and finished off the last of their meals. They all helped clear the table, and Aidan once again volunteered for dish duty. None of the others felt compelled to argue. Instead, they each started in on various tasks around the cabin, cleaning, organizing, and looking through the trunks in the bedrooms. Lilly came out of the girls’ room with a couple of books, and Daniel had discovered a few more games in his and Aidan’s shared room. Lilly grabbed them and put them and the books in the cabinet with the Mancala game. Once the inside of the cabin was in order, they split tasks for the gathering of foods.

  Daniel told the girls where the blackberry patch was that he’d found, and they headed off with Aidan and a bucket to collect them. Daniel went out searching for wild animals. He’d given up years ago on getting Aidan to use his gift for hunting. And so Daniel left the cabin carrying his quiver and bow in search of dinner.

  Roughly an hour later, all had returned to the cabin and Olivia started in on preparing the meats Daniel had brought back with him. Combined with the remainder of the pig from the morning, they would have enough to keep them busy for a while. Aidan built a crude meat dryer out in front of the cabin to help with the process. Using some of the supplies left behind by the previous tenants, Lilly helped Olivia salt the meat while Daniel and Aidan took the prepared strips outside and hung them. When they finally finished, all four collapsed into their chairs at the table. Thankfully, the presence of the two werewolf carcasses not too far off seemed to keep the other wildlife away from the fresh meat outside, so only occasional checkups were necessary.

  “I need a nap,” Aidan finally murmured, pushing himself up and shuffling to the back bedroom.

  “I could use one too,” Olivia announced as she, too, left for the comfort of her bed.

  Lilly turned toward Daniel, her right eyebrow raised.

  “Go ahead,” he prompted her. “I’m going to stay up and keep an eye on the meat. I might even go take out one of those books you found earlier.”

  “Thanks,” Lilly sighed and got up. “Holler if you need anything.”

  Daniel got up from his chair and wandered over to the cabinet. Taking down whatever was on top, he pulled his chair up to the table and sat down. Setting the book out in front of him, Daniel flipped to the first page and began reading, growing drowsier with each page.

  Startled, Daniel sprung from his chair when he heard a door creak behind him. Aidan, rubbing his eyes, stepped through the bedroom doorway. “What?” Aidan asked, puzzled by the reaction.

  “Sorry, I just...did you nap?”

  “Yeah,” Aidan replied. “It was a good one too. How’s the meat?”

  “Uh, I haven’t checked on it. I guess I got wrapped up in the story I was reading. Doesn’t seem like you were in there for very long.”

  Aidan crossed the room to the front door and opened it. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll check on it. Go back to reading if you want.” Not wanting to make too much noise and wake the girls, Aidan left the door open. Daniel sat back down and kept reading. When Aidan returned, he poured himself and his brother some water. Sitting down next to him at the table, he placed one of the glasses in front of Daniel. “What are you reading?”

  “Just something Lilly found in her room,” Daniel replied. He closed the book and pushed it toward Aidan. “Pretty good story about dragons and knights and stuff.”

  Aidan picked it up and gave the cover a quick once-over before tossing it back on the table.

  “Any good strategies in there we can use?”

  “Not unless we need to fight a dragon,” Daniel replied. “And even then, I don’t think a story book is a good resource for battle plans.”

  “Fair enough,” Aidan chuckled. “But seriously, you have any ideas for our attacks on Argyle’s men?”

  “I’ve put a few together,” Daniel admitted. “Certainly not as many as I’d like. It should cover the basic places I think I’d like to catch them though. Besides, they probably won’t wind up being exactly the way I imagine them. We just need to put together plans for whatever we can think of and make up the rest when we get there.”

  “Fine with me,” Aidan replied. “I just can’t wait to find those guys so we can have some more fun.”

  Daniel slammed his fist down on the table hard enough that Aidan jumped at the sound. “We’re not doing this for fun, Aidan. That’s not what convinced me to come here. I’m doing this to keep the three of you as safe as I can. I’m doing this to stop other people from being hurt. It’s time Argyle and his men answer for their actions. It’s time someone puts a stop to his kidnappings. We might not be able to stop all of them, but we can certainly make their lives a bit harder.”

  “Whatever you want,” Aidan sneered. “I just want to do some more fighting.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes. “Just stay focused okay? It’s not just your life that’s in danger when we’re out there. You need to think about Olivia and Lilly as well.”

  As if on cue, the two sisters emerged from their bedroom. Olivia paused and stretched her hands over her head and bent from side to side, stretching her back. With a satisfied groan, she plopped herself down at the table across from Aidan.

  “So…?”

  “Just discussing our goals,” Daniel answered. “You two ready to go over plans?”

  “Not yet,” Lilly called from the kitchen. “Give me a chance to wake up first.” She grabbed a kettle and placed it on the stove. “Let me light this and warm up some water for coffee.”

  “I’ll get it,” Aidan offered, getting up from his seat.

  “Sit down,” Lilly answered. “I know where it is. I can get it.” Disappearing out the front door, Lilly returned with some firewood. She quickly lit the stove and sat down with the others to wait for the water to boil.

  The four sat and chatted about nothing in particular, Aidan making jokes and the girls laughing at his wit. After a bit, Lilly returned to the kitchen and poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “Anyone e
lse want one while I’m in here?” she called to the others.

  “I’ll take one,” Daniel replied.

  Lilly poured one more and handed it to Daniel on the way back to her seat, moving slowly and shuffling her feet as she maneuvered about the room.

  “Aidan and I were just discussing the basic plan of attack. I have some ideas regarding different locations we could engage Argyle’s men, but as I was telling Aidan, we’ll need to be able to think on our feet. Nothing is going to go exactly according to plan, so let’s just throw out different scenarios and talk them out. The more we discuss the different things that can go wrong, the better we’ll be able to react.”

  The others nodded their agreement.

  “Good, let’s get started then.”

  The four sat around for the next few hours going over various strategies. Lilly showed a remarkable insight into the details of fighting. She played devil’s advocate in most scenarios, asking questions about placement, maneuvers, and retreat lines that sometimes resulted in the others deciding that the original plan had to be completely reworked. They finally decided to break it up when their hunger started getting in the way of clear thinking.

  “Let’s pause for dinner. I can’t do this anymore right now,” Olivia groaned. “I’ll start up some stew.” With that, she stood up and marched over to the kitchen, grabbed a large pot, and placed it on the stove. Aidan joined her and began fishing various roots and vegetables out of the bucket the girls had collected earlier. As he washed and cut them, Olivia put some water in the pot and began her search for any spices that might be lingering around, assuming they were still good.

  While Aidan and Olivia made dinner, Lilly and Daniel grabbed the Mancala game and set it out on the dining table for a quick game. Daniel beat her three times in a row before she called it quits.

  “I can see why Aidan got tired of playing with you,” Lilly grumbled.

  “Sorry,” Daniel answered. “I’ve just played it a lot. You’ll get better the more you play.”

  “I guess.” Lilly grabbed the pieces and shoved them back in the box. “I’m gonna go check on the meat.” After stacking the game back in the cupboard, Lilly went outside.

  “Smells good,” Daniel commented.

  “It’s not much,” Olivia replied, “but we don’t have much to work with in here. It should be better than raw roots and dried meat though.”

  “If it tastes as good as it smells, it’ll be wonderful. Besides, I’m starving. How long until it’s ready.”

  “Shouldn’t be long now,” Olivia said, wiping her hands on a nearby towel. “Why don’t you get the table ready.”

  Daniel grabbed some spoons and glasses and set the table for dinner. When he finished, he plopped down into one of the chairs facing the room.

  Lilly came strolling back in from outside. “Meat feels good,” she announced. “It’ll probably be ready tomorrow.”

  “Good,” Aidan called from the back bedroom. “Then we can get out of here and start going after Argyle’s men.”

  Daniel frowned. Olivia looked at him quizzically.

  “Aidan’s been itching for a fight. I told him we’re not in this for the sport, but it seems he’s still as gung-ho as ever to go.”

  “I can understand why he’s upset,” Olivia replied, grabbing the large kettle and bringing it over to the table. “They came and took away your parents. They tried to take you too.” Olivia sat down next to Daniel and put her hand on his knee. “He just wants to try and make things right.”

  “I think he just likes to fight,” Daniel said, casting a glance to the back bedroom to make sure Aidan wasn’t in earshot.

  “Why don’t you give him the benefit of the doubt? He’s going to need your support out there. We all will. It won’t do us any good having you second-guessing him all the time.”

  Daniel let out a sigh, straightened up, and looked out the window.

  “Agreed?” Olivia asked. She squeezed his knee.

  “Agreed.”

  Lilly set a pitcher of water in the middle of the table and sat down. “Come and get it!” she hollered to Aidan. “Would you grab the stew on the way?”

  “Sure thing,” Aidan called back as he came out of the room while tucking in a new shirt. He’d gone to change after slopping stew on the one he’d been wearing while helping with dinner. Aidan grabbed the pot from the stove and brought it over to the table. After Aidan finished dishing out everyone’s meal, they all dug in.

  “This sure beats what we’ve been eating lately,” Aidan commented. “I’ve already gotten tired of berries and leftover meat strips. And the roots Daniel keeps bringing back make my stomach turn just by looking at them.” Olivia started, and Aidan realized his mistake. “They’re fantastic in the stew though, they just need some spice and to be softened up a bit.” Olivia seemed to relax a bit so Aidan scooped up a few more bites and let out an exaggerated moan. “Delicious.”

  Daniel smiled to himself and went about eating his dinner until Lilly set down her spoon.

  “Now that we’ve got some food in our stomachs, why don’t we go over the plans again. If we can work out the details tonight, we can pack up tomorrow and be on our way.”

  “Absolutely!” Aidan replied, wolfing down the rest of his dinner. “I’m ready.”

  “Well I’m not,” Olivia said. She lifted her spoon to her mouth and blew on the contents. “We can wait until after dinner, when we’re all ready to talk. Aidan, why don’t you go get yourself another bowl?”

  Aidan’s shoulders slumped but he got up from his seat and crossed over to the kitchen. “I don’t see why we can’t talk and eat at the same time,” he called as he scooped up a large ladleful of stew and poured it into his bowl. “Ouch,” he exclaimed. He stuck his finger in his mouth and licked the spot where the liquid had sloshed over the side onto his hand.

  “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full?” Olivia replied.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s why we can’t talk and eat at the same time.”

  Daniel snorted and started coughing. He choked down his mouthful of food and took a few sips of water.

  “Very funny,” Aidan replied sarcastically as he returned to the table, setting his dinner down gingerly in front of him. Light banter between the four continued throughout the rest of the meal. Daniel wound up having thirds, partially to fill up and help him heal, but mostly to drag out dinner and irritate Aidan. By the time he was finished, Aidan was practically bouncing in his seat.

  They talked into the wee hours of the night, going over every possible detail they could think of, addressing things that might go wrong, and what they could do to prevent, or at least recover from them. Having exhausted every possible angle they imagined as well as exhausting themselves, the four retired for the evening with the intention of spending the next day getting everything ready for their travels. They planned on heading out the day after.

  Once again, Daniel made a scrumptious breakfast for the others. Dragging themselves out of bed to the smell and sound of popping bacon and coffee, they woke up quickly and filled themselves with hot, delicious food. When they were finished, the four scurried about the cabin getting their things in order.

  Daniel took charge of the food, allocating everything among the packs. Olivia and Lilly retrieved everyone’s belongings and, along with the food, began filling the packs, making sure the bags weren’t too heavy for their intended carriers. Aidan mended his shirt and pants before getting to work on cleaning the various weapons, taking special care of the rifle taken from Olivia’s home as it appeared to have been a long time since it had been cleaned properly.

  “How long do you think it would take you to run back to the girls’ house?” Aidan called over to Daniel.

  “By myself? A few hours I guess, why?”

  “The bore isn’t quite the same size as ours. They probably have a ball kit somewhere in the house. If you can get it, we can make balls the right size for th
is other rifle. Our rounds are too small for her to get any accuracy with them.”

  “It’s in a box on the fireplace,” Olivia said, looking up from her work. “You okay to run on that ankle yet?”

  Daniel rotated his foot around. “Feels good. Besides, we need it. Your gun isn’t going to do us any good if we don’t have any ammunition for it. I’ll take my bow and quiver with me just in case, but I don’t think I’ll run into anyone I can’t handle.” Daniel also grabbed a handful of meat on his way out the front door. “I’ll be back in a bit,” and he was gone.

  By the time Daniel returned, the three others were napping in their rooms, the chores for the day completed, bags packed, and weapons cleaned. Daniel dropped his weapons near his bag and went back outside to grab some wood for the fireplace. Aidan came out just as Daniel got the fire started.

  “You get the kit?” Aidan asked. Squatting in front of the fireplace, Daniel glanced over and tossed it to him. “Nice. I’ll go grab some utensils to melt down.” Aidan scavenged the kitchen while Daniel stoked the fire to get it as hot as possible. Aidan returned carrying a handful of forks and a bucket of water. “Is it ready yet?”

  “It’ll do,” Daniel replied, reaching for the tools.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Aidan said. He pulled his hand back from his brother’s reach. “You go get some rest, I can make the balls. Grab a bite to eat first though. You get crabby when you get hungry.”

  Daniel smiled and stood up. “There should be a bag of silver in my pack as well.” Daniel saw the confusion in Aidan’s face. “I grabbed some of our silver before we left, figuring we might need to make more silver bullets at some point. Melt some of it down to so we’ve got both types of balls for both rifles. No telling when we might need it.”

  “I’ll make as many of both as I can with what we’ve got,” Aidan said as he started putting together all the tools he’d need for the first part of the process.

  Daniel stood in the kitchen, grabbing handfuls of vegetables and fruits from the baskets that had been collected earlier. He munched on them as he watched Aidan work. Daniel could see the years of practice in Aidan’s technique. While Aidan hadn’t ever developed much of a desire, or need, to learn how to shoot, he’d been the one in the house who had always been in charge of making the balls for the rifle. His process was so much smoother than Daniel could imagine his own ever being. While a treat to watch Aidan’s graceful movements, Daniel retired to his room for a much needed nap.

  Olivia and Lilly awoke not long after Daniel had gone to bed and sat playing Mancala while Aidan continued his work. When he finished, he challenged the winner to a game. Lilly wound up being his opponent. Aidan beat her in a quick game.

  “You’re good,” Lilly said. She pushed away from the table and stood up.

  “I’ve had a lot of practice,” Aidan replied. “Not as much as Daniel, but I’ve played my fair share with him and with my father before he was taken.”

  “You have enough in you for one more game before supper?” Olivia inquired, sitting down in the seat Lilly had just vacated.

  “If you want,” Aidan remarked and began setting out his stones.

  “Don’t sound too excited,” Olivia grumbled with a frown.

  “Sorry,” Aidan replied. “It’s just been a long time since I’ve really enjoyed the game. Losing every time will have that effect.”

  “Well cheer up,” Lilly interjected. “You just beat me.”

  Aidan smiled. “Yeah.” Looking up at Olivia, he offered, “Ladies first?”

  Olivia picked up the stones from one of her cups and distributed them on the board. Aidan followed with a move of his own. Olivia watched him closely and could see the joy in his eyes as he placed his stones. While his game with Olivia lasted longer than Lilly’s, Aidan was victorious once again.

  “Guess this game isn’t so bad after all,” Aidan said as he collected the pieces and placed them back in the box.

  “You’ll play with us from now on,” Olivia announced. “You don’t need to play against Daniel if you don’t want, but I think you should play with me and Lilly.”

  “Um. Okay,” Aidan answered.

  “I can tell you like it,” Olivia continued. “You just don’t like losing to Daniel all the time. I can understand that. From now on you play us, and we’ll play and lose to Daniel. That way we all get to play.”

  Aidan shrugged. “Works for me.”

  “Good. Now let’s get started on supper. Let’s make it a good one since it’s our last night here. Why don’t you go wake up Daniel, since he knows where there’s a farm nearby. Maybe we can get some milk and bread from them.”

  Aidan nodded and went to go retrieve his brother. After a few minutes, both boys emerged from the bedroom.

  “You ready to take Aidan to that farm?”

  “Sure. You want anything else while we’re out?”

  “I don’t think we’ll need anything,” Olivia answered. “I’m going to make that stew we had. With some bread and milk, I think that’ll be a pretty nice dinner.” Lilly nodded her agreement.

  “All right then. We’ll be back in a bit.” Daniel grabbed his bow and quiver on the way out. “Just in case.”

  With the boys out of the house, the girls got to work peeling and cutting vegetables for the stew. Olivia retrieved another bucket of water from the creek and set the water to boil on the stove. By the time the boys returned home, the cabin was filled with warmth and the delicious scents of cooking venison and spices.

  “Wow,” Daniel exclaimed as he walked in the front door, “that smells incredible.”

  “Mmmmm-hmmmm,” Aidan agreed emphatically.

  Daniel set two pitchers of milk in the middle of the table and Aidan pulled two huge loaves of bread out of a pouch and placed them next to the milk.

  “How did you get all that?” Lilly exclaimed.

  “We told them what we wanted and asked if there was anything they needed. They told us they were running low on meat, so I went out and got them a deer. A big meaty doe. It was a bit larger than I think they were looking for, so they gave us extra,” Daniel answered. Aidan’s stomach grumbled audibly. “I don’t think we’ll have a problem with leftovers,” Daniel laughed as Aidan ran a hand over his abdomen.

  Olivia and Lilly served up the bowls and brought them to the table. Each of them tore a large hunk of bread off the loaf and then poured a glass of milk.

  “Here’s to the start of our journey,” Daniel said, raising his glass. “May it be swift, may it be safe, may it bring pain and discomfort to Argyle and his army.”

  “Here, here,” Aidan replied, raising his own cup to Daniel’s. The girls joined the toast and all drank. “Hopefully we can find one of his little parties soon,” Aidan added and shoved a stew-soaked chunk of bread into his mouth.

  Olivia saw Daniel roll his eyes and used her own bread to hide the smile on her lips.

  Their last meal at the cottage was a joyous and festive one. Jokes were shared, stories told, and all the food eaten. When dinner was gone, Daniel and Aidan pulled out a surprise. At the farm, they’d also managed to procure a blueberry pie. While not the dessert of kings, it was more than enough for the four youngsters getting ready to set out on a perilous journey.

  Chapter 15

  The Hunt is On