This was not the first time the Prince had displayed humility, yet it still caught the witnesses off guard. He should be c.o.c.ksure and ent.i.tled, their minds kept telling them. But even if he were merely putting on this play for a specific end, they still would not be able to keep from being impressed: that would indicate he had a stomach of steel for not becoming visibly sickened by his own "goody goody" act, if indeed this wasn"t true to his nature.Having known him for a bit longer than the rest, only Hilde was half-convinced of Leal"s sincerity. The other half was busy puzzling out why he was so d.a.m.n accommodating now when he"d made it his business to grate on her nerves before.
"I couldn"t help feel," the Lord General began, breaking the stunned silence that had lasted a few seconds, "that that is something a certain other person might say to justify recent actions."
It was easy to guess who he meant.
Hilde said crisply, "If that person would worry at all, I highly doubt she"d see it as a "luxury.""
The reason she had responded was because she was still mad about what her sister had done to them all, but too late, she realized that it could also be interpreted as her defending the Prince.
Before she could think of a non-rude way to banish that misunderstanding – which she saw had found a target in at least Captain Judda – Inge arrived with three other soldiers. After they saluted and Inge went to sit down a little ways away, a rigid-faced and slightly pale Hilde nodded for Lord Alfwin to handle the rest.
As though none of this had anything to do with her, she watched in silence as the three senior females – the eldest appearing to be around forty – received their new orders. The tallest and most wide-set among them barked out a short laugh, which the third silenced with an almost automatic hit on the nearer shoulder.
She supposed they couldn"t be blamed for a.s.suming that this was a joke. When it dawned on the eldest that this was no time for anyone to be playing tricks, her back immediately straightened and stiffened even more. Sensing the change in their senior"s demeanor, the other two a.s.sumed a formal, stoic air as well.
Finding a more receptive audience, the Lord General repeated and expanded on his instructions.
Overhead, the sun that had blazed down so fiercely hours before began to set. Glancing up at the eastern half of the sky that was now taking on the colors of dusk, the thought that the dark could offer another layer of protection flitted through Hilde"s mind.
Perhaps having a similar idea, the Lord General said in closing, "Be ready to depart in another half hour." When the soldiers were about to salute, he spoke again. "Are you their leader?" he asked the eldest, who didn"t respond at once.
The burly one volunteered, "General, Odilia"s our officer in everything but name."
He nodded. "Odilia, was it? You"ll be taking field command – no formal officer will be coming with you."
"Never did have one of those," the third soldier muttered under her breath while her leader was acknowledging the order. Having heard her, Hilde surrept.i.tiously looked at the woman, who appeared to be the light and swift-footed type of fighter. She quickly sensed Hilde"s gaze and slid her eyes her way, then it was time for them to return to their comrades and prepare so she broke eye contact just as easily and showed the Princess her back.
Leal also excused himself. "I must relay the plan to my countrymen." He waited for Hilde"s permission to leave, which she gave distractedly. His expression closed off, he bowed and left.
The Lord General s.h.i.+fted his stance and looked off into the direction of the hill path.
"Whatever the Queen"s aides are doing down there, it seems to be working," he said.
"I took a look earlier," Captain Judda informed them. "They"re putting out fires, for the most part – addressing raised concerns, clarifying points."
"A press conference, then?" Hilde thought with some amus.e.m.e.nt, ignoring how the Captain had glanced her way as he spoke, as if wis.h.i.+ng to clarify points with her as well.
"After the Lyseans are out, what do WE do?" asked Sieglind.
"We give them a good head start," Hilde replied. "When it"s full dark, we proceed with the return procession, and we"ll light as few torches as possible. Captain Judda, you and some of your men will be around me. Whoever will bear a torch near us… have them take extreme care not to illuminate my face. I"ll need someone to help re-style my hair – the way the Queen did hers."
"Princess…" The Captain was exuding protest once again. "You don"t mean to…?"
"You still wish to protect your sister?" asked the Lord General in a soft, calm voice that somehow sounded… dangerous. Hilde gulped. This was another hard evidence that he too was only duping the Queen, though she didn"t need it at this point to be convinced. "She left you in command here fully expecting you to fail in some way. It"s not for any tender notions like having faith in your capabilities, I can promise you that."
Smiling tightly, she thought, "Ah, Uncle, there"s really no need to tell me."
Aloud, she said, "The people would eventually hear of the Queen"s flight this day, but we can"t have them finding it out right now or we"d really have a full-blown riot on our hands."
"Besides," she added silently, "just like you, I still need her to think that I"m under her control, that I"m not liking it one bit, and that I can"t do anything about it. Thing is, only one of those things is true."
Hilde met the older man"s considering gaze head-on. "Do YOU have faith in me?"
As the sun continued to sink, his expression cleared. He answered, "Why wouldn"t I?"
She settled for a pleasant smile even though she wanted to let out a full-throated laugh. Why wouldn"t he indeed? His might very well have been the hands that had primarily helped shape who Hilde was. If for nothing else, it was through his son that she"d learned how to be persistent in the face of pain and frustration. That was part of the reason her young spirit never completely broke, even in the face of true mistreatment.
There were probably other things he did, so much else she was yet to become aware of and probably never will. On some level, his motivations didn"t matter. Whether or not she"d been "guided" down this path, she had come to "own it" all. She still believed she was naturally predisposed to be the way she was, but even if that weren"t true, she liked having the skills and desires that she did; it was now her choice to be where she stood. For all of that, she was grateful to him.
She"ll worry about the rest later.
"Then I"ll ask you, Lord, stand back and allow me to act and then bear the consequences for now. It might appear otherwise, but I can promise you, I am no martyr."
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