Claire wasted no more time dwelling on how close she had come to making a fatal mistake. Instead she made her way through the trees, listening for the others and hoping they had not changed direction. It took several minutes to find a safe vantage point to keep a lookout without risk of any surprise attacks. Ten minutes later she heard the faint sounds of something large moving through the forest. She shook her head at the carelessness.
It didn’t take long before a shaggy brown head peered down at her from behind the large rock. She smiled at the disbelief on his face when he stared at the point of her blade. She assured he was settled nicely against the boulder before she moved on. The largest of the group would be her next challenge and she had something special planned for him.
She moved through the trees snapping small twigs and crushing blades of grass as she went, making sure each hint she left behind was as unsuspicious as possible. Occasionally she turned to survey her work until she was satisfied. She left signs of her passing, but spaced them out in such a way to leave the brute guessing if the path were real or staged. He’d follow it. He couldn’t take the risk of losing her.
She quickly made her way to a dry creek bed tucked away in the green woodlands. She surveyed it knowing she wouldn’t have much time before she had company. The creek ran through a collection of large boulders and trailed down through the forest.
During the spring, water filled the strip with cool waves of glistening aquatic stars. They flowed from the hills and caressed the stones on their way to blend with the sleek pools of Majestic Lake.
Claire had watched the stream slowly bring the forest back to life. Bright flowers had bloomed along the banks and thick green vegetation had tickled her toes on more than one occasion. Now, however, the water had emptied its last drop into the hungry lagoon and the stones were long dried by the hot summer’s sun. She disturbed several of the stones so their damp undersides stood out against the muted colors of the dry bed around them, then made her way to the largest boulder.
While out hunting months before she had accidentally discovered the large rock’s special secret. Keith had come looking for her, knowing she came to the stream often. When she had heard him moving through the foliage she had quickly jumped behind the boulder. Her hopes of startling her brother ended when she sank under the water. She’d resurfaced sputtering for air and pulled herself from the hole.
He teased her for the misstep and getting soaked by what appeared to be such shallow water all the way back to the cabin. It was worth the teasing to keep her newly found hidey hole a secret for times such as this. Claire crawled into the protection of the small cavern and listened.
Before long the sound of rocks crunching beneath large feet filled the gorge, causing her heart to pound. She took a deep breath. I can do this! He may large, but she had just defeated four of his comrades with ease. Although he would test her skills more than the others, she felt confident her plan would work and if it did there would be no reason to engage in combat.
A stone rolled from the other side of the boulder. She waited several seconds before she dared breathe. She carefully peered over the lip of stone to watch him follow her trail. His eyes roved along the tree line. She wondered if he expected her to attack him from the trees while he stood unprotected. He paused to inspect the rock she had turned. This is it!
He studied the surrounding rocks, but when he stood he began retracing his footsteps. She suspected he wouldn’t fall for it and lowered herself back in her hole. He continued to draw closer and when she heard him pause on the other side of the boulder she knew the time had come.
She pulled herself from the hole and quickly climbed up the boulder with practiced, silent movements. Moments before he found her secret cavern she tapped his shoulder with her blade. He looked up and glowered.
“You have been caught brother,” she announced, then let out a loud whistle to signal the end of the drill.
“Why you little she-devil. How in the blasted he…heck did you manage to get up there?”
“That is for me to know and for you to sink in shame and envy and still never find out. Oh, Mark, you should have seen the look on your face,” she chuckled, sheathing the blade. He reached out a hand to help her down. “You need to get up a whole lot earlier and bring a larger army if you think you’ll catch me unawares. You really should have picked better men! Clem, Riley, Minick, and Brich? Really?” She laughed when he childishly stuck his tongue at her, a gesture she used frequently and both her brothers copied from time to time. After a short staring contest, he finally sighed and threw his arm around her shoulder.
“Let’s go get some breakfast. I’m half starved.” They made their way towards home. “I was thinking about my stomach and let my guard down. That’s why you got the better of me. I didn’t get breakfast you know.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure it had nothing to do with my superior skills at kicking your butt…..again!”
“You scare me sometimes. I am just glad you’re on our side.” He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze and led her back to the cottage. When they stepped through the trees Claire smiled at the small group of laughing men gathered outside the cabin, each eating fresh scones. “Hey, guys, she’s a girl, what the heck is your problem? It should be easy for you to keep her off my butt.”
“She got you, too, didn’t she?” Minick yelled back. The rest of them erupted in boisterous laughter.
“I think it’s time to eat.” Claire concealed her smile at Mark’s quick change of subject, but she couldn’t help the small snigger.
Aksara