“Don’t you give me that. Come!” Phile said, throwing an arm over Rakel’s shoulders.
The nonchalant gesture almost made Rakel stumble and fall. Besides Gerta and Kai, no one touched her, so the unexpected contact felt strange, but very warm—much like Phile herself.
“What are you doing?” Rakel asked as Phile dragged her away.
“Taking you away so we can discuss our business. Thank you, children, for finding her!”
Recalling Phile’s usual definition of “business,” Rakel pressed her lips together in disdain. “We cannot possibly have anything to discuss.”
“Of course we do.”
“I think I’ll come with you,” Oskar said, falling in line.
“We are, too,” Gerta decided.
Kai launched himself at Oskar’s back. “Yeah!”
Oskar coughed and veered unsteadily until Kai clambered into a more secure position on his back. “So a friendly outing, is it? Where are we going?” Oskar asked.
“To the barracks,” Phile said. “There’s a soldier who has agorgeous?—”
“There are children present,” Rakel hissed.
“Naughty princess! I was going to say dagger. I wanted to compare it to my own lovely,” Phile said, her hideous dagger appearing in her hand, which happened to be uncomfortably close to Rakel’s throat.
Oskar eyed the unusual dagger. “Exactly where did you purchase…”
“Foedus,” Rakel said.
“Yes, Foedus,” Oskar finished.
“Foedus was given to me by an old man who told me—with his dying breath—to avenge his daughter’s death at the hands of a pirate,” Phile said in a hushed tone.
“You told us your father brought it over the Chronos Mountains in a camel caravan for you when you were little,” Kai said.
“Right. Back to the dagger!” Phile said, ignoring the implied accusation. “If I can squirm the maker out of him, I’m confident I can steal one for myself.”
“Couldn’t you just buy it?” Rakel asked.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“Stealing is wrong,” Gerta announced, “as is lying.”
“Right you are, youngster,” Oskar said.
“I particularly want you to see the dagger, Rakel. I think you’d look flashy with a similar weapon,” Phile said, dragging Rakel towards a temporary pole building. “It could be a sign of our friendship.”
Rakel saw her chance to place some distance between her neck and Foedus when she spotted Captain Halvor making his daily rounds. “Captain!”
The captain reviewed the unusual group, his eyebrow raising. “Princess. Animals.”
“It’s better than swine, I suppose,” Oskar said.
Rakel shrugged Phile’s arm off her and once again stood with humble poise. “Don’t you think it is time we discuss our next move? Since occupying this encampment, we have recovered two additional villages. What village is next?”
Captain Halvor again studied Rakel’s company.
Please.Pleasejoin us.In spite of her propensity to ogle the captain, Phile seemed to hold him in great respect and would curb her mischievous tongue and—more importantly—refrain from carelessly swinging Foedus around in his company.
