The Men in Blue and Red

The Soldiers

The next morning, Damon and I were the first to wake. It was early morning, the sun barley peeking above the eastern mountains. The birds were chirping and the forest awoke.

We waited for awhile for Boston to wake, but it soon became obvious that he wasn't getting up anytime soon. He slept with his back to Damon and me all night, not once turning to face us. Honestly though, I really didn't care. If the boy wanted to throw a tantrum, he can go ahead and do so.

Soon the sun lit up the room, signaling that morning was here. Boston groaned and threw a arm over his eyes before quickly falling back to sleep. This guy was ridiculous!

"Hey, Willow, want to go and get some breakfast while he's sleeping?" Damon whispered.

Nodding, we both stood and quietly walked out, trying not to wake Boston. If Damon wasn't here, I probably would've yelled at Boston for being so lazy. And I'm the one that's not fit for traveling! He probably wouldn't even hear a platoon coming upon him if he were sleeping!

Once outside, Damon immediately stopped and turned to me, his face serious.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" I ask.

"Willow, I need your knife. I understand that you don't know me very well and don't really trust me, but if you want good food, you'll give me your knife."

"Ha! You really think your going to get my knife? You must've eaten a bad mushroom."

Staring at me intently, he slowly reached behind me, taking to knife the clung to my side. Glaring at him, I reach to snatch my knife back, but was to slow as he quickly put it up higher, away from my reach.

"Give me my knife back!" I order, jumping up, trying to catch the knife. Darn him and his tallness! Laughing, he puts the knife behind his back and smirks.

"Is that an order Princess?"

I slightly snarl at the stupid nickname he so nicely gave me. "I said, GIVE. ME. MY. KNIFE."

Chuckling he steps back and raises his eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Says who, you?"

Frowning, I take a step forward, only for him to take a step back.

"Damon, I'm not joking. Give me back my knife, or else."

Now he didn't even try to hide his amusement at my statement, bellowing in laughter. "Who's going to make me, you? If that's your plan, I suggest you give up now before you embarrass yourself."

Hoping to catch him by surprise, I suddenly jump at him, propelling myself off the ground. He turned trying to evade my grasp, only causing me to wrap my arms around his shoulders and hang on his back. Quickly wrapping my legs around his waist, I get a better hold of him, one arm wrapped around his neck, the other reaching for my knife.

"Willow! Get off of me!" Damon shouted.

I grinned knowing I was going to win this time. Embarrass myself? More like embarrass him! After a few moments of grappling for the knife, I slipped it out of his hand, jumping down laughing in victory. Swinging it in front of his face tauntingly, I quickly take off into the woods. We chased each other, one having the knife one moment, then the other having it the next. We laughed as we ran, climbed trees, and hide from each other. I don't remember having this much fun since before the incident.

After a few hours, we both end up siting together by a small creek, catching our breaths while we listened to the soothing sound of the running water. I ended up with the knife, which made me very smug and happy, while Damon sat next to me trying to act all grumpy, but failing extremely as a huge smile broke across his face.

"Think Boston's up yet?" Damon asked after I had finished laughing at him.

Snorting I shook my head. "Yeah right! He's probably still sleeping, getting his precious beauty sleep."

Chuckling, he shakes his head in agreement.

We both quickly fall back into silence, staring at the water as it tumbled and tripped over its own feet, racing to the end of the creek. It was nice, sitting there and just relaxing, not having to worry about anything for once. The leaves rustled with the wind, and storm clouds slowly started to roll in. Only when it started to sprinkle slightly, did we decide to head back home with the rabbit Damon had killed during our game.

As we quietly made our way back, we started to notice signs of life. Twigs were snapped, leaves pushed as if something had run over them, and finally a very faint foot print. The foot print was what brought us both to a stop. Someone had been here, someone who obviously didn't know how to cover their tracks.

"We should hurry back. I don't want us to run into whoever left those tracks" Damon said, racking the ground with his eyes, searching for any other signs.

"Aren't you curious of who it is? Maybe it's somebody who needs our help?" I said, staring at the boot print.

"Better to not take the risk."

I was about to argue when we heard two faint voices taking in the distance. Glancing at each other, we head to a nearby tree, hoping it'll keep us hidden from whoever was slowly making there ways towards us. Rushing up into the tree, we listen as the voices slowly came closer.

The voices were deep, indicating that both were male, and there footsteps loud and heavy. Soon we caught the conversation as they neared. "-knew him! I'm telling you the boy was extremely skilled. I wouldn't be surprised if we never found him."

The other man scoffed before saying "We're not even looking for him at the moment. You know that! We're looking for that girl, the one the king needs to see."

Sighing man #1 muttered an agreement before shutting up. The footsteps started to get even closer before both men stepped into view. Both were the kings soldiers, carrying rifles with them.

"You think we'll find the girl?" Man #1 asked.

"Of course! She's only a teenage girl, she's bound to slip up soon." Man #2 answered.

"You guys find anything yet!!!" A voice shouted from afar.

"No, nothing yet!" Man #2 yelled in response.

Both men started to scour the area, looking for something. I held my breath as one came across a footprint I had stupidly left behind in my rush to get up the tree. Squatting down, the man examined my foot print before calling over his buddy.

"Think we should alert the others?" Man #1 asked.

After staring at the track for a few moments, nodded and shouted out to the other men. The two men were quickly joined by 5 other men.

"What'd you find private?" One of them asked. I could tell that the man that spoke was the one in charge. His voice held authority, his posture showed pride, and the medals on his uniform signified his ranking was high.

"A footprint sir. It's size is small and petite leading me to believe that the owner of the track is a young girl. The depression of the print is not deep, clueing in that she also is very small and malnourished." Man #2 answered.

"Good work private." He said to the man before turning around to address the rest of them. "Men, this means we're close! The young girl is close by. We'll start north and slowly work our way south! We're bound to find her soon. Head out!"

The men quickly jogged north, away from Damon and me. We waited quietly till the sounds of the men disappeared, climbing down the tree and running back to the house. By this time, the sprinkling rain turned into a full down pour, soaking Damon and me to the bone.

The whole time we ran, the only thought in my mind was, who were they looking for? Why?