Joe’s smile faded and he sighed. “Yes, I suppose you could see it that way, but there is more than one side to a story, Your Majesty.”
“So I keep being told,” Ana muttered. She shook her head in disbelief. So not only were these people aware of Maddoc’s behavior and attacks on Allandis, they condoned it and were encouraging their children to aspire to it. The heavy disappointment dampened Ana’s mood.
Joe touched her arm, seeming to sense the change. “Please come back and spend time with us,” he said quietly. “The more you visit, the more you’ll learn.”
Ana gave him a warm smile and said she would, but she knew she’d already learned all she needed to know about this place.
After thanking the camp again for their hospitality, Ana strolled through the village, seeing it in a new light. There were plenty of smiles here, relaxed people who had been cast out of Allandis society, or those who chose to leave, conducting their business as part of a community, and she had to appreciate that. The tight tension of hate toward Maddoc that had kept her hard inside, unraveled slowly the more she watched the happiness around her, but a deep sadness for these people replaced it. Maddoc was manipulating them. He was using them to grow his future warriors and murderers out of the sight and reach of Allandis Law. It was despicable. And every time she thought of little wide-eyed Trea, so eager to became a warrior, so eager to kill, she knew it was wrong.
As the sky grew dusky, a man approached her dressed in layers of clothes similar to Maddoc’s. "Your Majesty," he greeted. "Please follow me to return to your hut."
Ana frowned. "How did you find me? Did Maddoc send you to get me?"
He shook his head. "He will be arriving back to base soon, and he would prefer it if you were in his pavilion when he does."
Ana's eyes widened. "Does he know I'm out here, in the camp?"
"He knew you would probably explore.”
“And you were sent to find me?"
"No, I have been watching all day. But now is the time to return back to the pavilion."
So Maddoc ordered him to watch her all day. Unbelievable. “How did I not see you?"
At that, the guard did not respond and Ana pursed her lips in understanding. She hadn't seen him because he hadn’t wanted to be seen. He had most likely been following the moment she left the tent.
"Please, Your Majesty," he urged. "The skies are darkening rapidly and we need to return. I very much doubt you know the way."
Ana lifted a hand gesturing for him to lead the way, and she followed him back to Maddoc's pavilion.
When she was back inside, exhaustion hit her hard. How far had she walked today? The base was bigger than it looked no matter how far she walked. Out of curiosity, she peeked outside the pavilion to see if the huts here were arranged the same way as the family camps. But there weren’t as many structures for her to discern. She exited the pavilion and walked around the whole structure, but the nearest clearing with a campfire was a little way away, with very few people nearby.
“Good evening, Princess."
She turned to see a man standing a few feet away in the semidarkness, and she stiffened. He wore a cloak.
"Welcome to our guild."
Ana did not return his smile. "I am not willingly visiting."
"I'm sure that you will be happy to stay once you give us a chance," the man said.
Ana peered at him. His voice seemed friendly enough and he wasn’t carrying any weapons. “Is that what you did? Give this place a chance.”
“Sort of. I haven't been here long," he admitted. "I'm still learning how everything works."
"You’re part of the guild?" Ana asked tentatively.
The man nodded.
"So you are a new… highcloak?”
The man hesitated, then gestured to the campfire. They began to stroll toward it. “I am new, yes. I’m still in training.”
“Why did you join?"
The man shrugged. “I thought it might be a good way to get back at the royals.” A grit entered his tone. "I know the guild works against the royal assembly, I wanted to be part of that."
A strange unease worked in Ana. This was the first person she’d met, apart from Maddoc, who had real hostility toward the assembly. Although she assumed that was the point of the guild, and the reason why Maddoc created this base, she suddenly realized that she hadn't experienced any hatred or hostility from anyone in the camp, whether it was toward the assembly, her, or each other. Maybe it was just the highcloaks that held the hostility.
They reached the campfire and settled down on a bench nearby.
"Why do you want to get back at them?" she asked, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.
When the man looked to her, his eyes held a hardness that didn’t reflect the easy-going nature of his tone. "They are evil, greedy tyrants. I know you probably don't see it," he said, shooting her a dark look, "but the rest of us have to suffer because of them. I want to be able to fight back and make an actual difference."
"But what if someone gets hurt?"
"I hope they do! They have hurt me and my family; it is only right they get what they are due."
Ana kept her eyes on the campfire as it flickered, unsure if she wanted to ask how his family was hurt. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared to hear the supposed cruelty of the royal assembly without any evidence that it was true. There was plenty of evidence of Maddoc’s men and what they did; she’d seen the files and studied them. She wasn’t sure it was worth arguing with a man who was intent on harm, especially when she was a princess.
When she didn't respond, the man sighed. "I suppose this is not a great introduction to the base," he said sheepishly. "Sometimes my manners can get misplaced. I’m sorry if I seem rude to you, Your Majesty. It is very hard to be unemotional about some of this. I will say the base are excited you are here. You have been the talk of every camp."
The hardness had melted from the man’s eyes, and Ana chose to give him a small smile.
"Another day gone," he said on a sigh. "Another day to question our existence here in the middle of this forest. Has it been strange for you?"
Ana shrugged. "A little. But it’s felt more like a village. Everyone is very friendly."
The man nodded. "Almost everyone," he said pointedly gesturing to Maddoc’s pavilion.
Ana laughed, nodding.
A familiar whipping sound flashed across the air, and the man jolted, yelling out. Gasps and muffled murmurs filled the air, and everyone stilled.
Ana leaned toward the man but suddenly saw an arrow stuck out of his thigh, blood creeping along his pants from the wound, eating up the circumference around the arrow.
A violent blend of horror and fear crashed into Ana immediately and she screamed, her body frozen. Heart pounding, Ana’s mind swarmed with memories of the wedding. Squeezing her hands into fists and digging her nails into her hand hard, she forced herself to remember she was not there. The man blinked rapidly, his head straight ahead and his eyes filled with fear. Taking a breath, she followed the man’s line of sight.
Maddoc stormed toward them, a bow in his hand, his face solemn and his eyes dark.
Ana could make no sounds. What was she supposed to do? Maddoc looked furious once again, and this time she didn’t know why. But before she could do or decide anything, Maddoc reached them.