Another day and we went back to fishing. It seemed to take forever for a fish to take a bite. Rebecca saw some other people at the fishing hole. It wasn't well out of town, but it was exclusive enough she thought she might be safe. Though the lad that was there with her seemed young and uninterested in the strange woman who was fishing - if he even knew she was a woman.
Meanwhile, William was fishing very far from most people. He was trying to catch some rare fish, which always went for a better price at the market. He was enjoying his moment alone, to think and reflect on his actions. He had to wonder why he really saved Rebecca but maybe it was best to not think too hard on that point.
The day passed and it was not a very fruitful one for Rebecca. She could only hope that William had a better one, less they would not be eating again tonight. Her stomach growled, reminding her of a time when she had eaten more than just berries and fish too small to be even a cat's meal. As the night was falling, she figured it would be safe enough to meet William at their agreed upon spot.
William had already arrived and found a strange man, seemingly waiting for him. He was eating from a basket he had clearly packet. The smell of the food made his stomach cramp in the worst way. The only thing he had to eat all day was a small apple. It had been mushy and brown and not very good at all.
"Sit my lad, sit!" The man called and William hesitated. "I've been waiting for you. I won't bite, come now, let us have a meal together!"
"Who are you?" William asked him. He knew that the man was one of the elves who lived in town. Their kind had moved in recently. They weren't like the elves of legend. They didn't seem to live much longer than humans. They just seemed to be strangely colored. Not that they weren't beautiful and exotic, but sometimes fairy tales were just too good to be true, William supposed.
"Does it matter?" The man countered. William shrugged and the two began to eat in silence. "I know who you are, William Silverthorn. Where is your companion, the woman? Rebecca Du Casse?"
William began to choke and at once wished he had a way to contact Rebecca and tell her to hide in the forests once more. Whoever this man was, he was surely going to turn him in. He would be living in the dungeon for the rest of his life.
"Calm down, I'm a friend" The man assured him. "Your older brother hired me. He and the rest of your family fled Dragon Valley after what you did to keep the King and Queen from lashing out at them. They wanted me to find you and tell you that they're safe." He stopped a moment, as if trying to make sure no one else was around.
"What? Is there more?"
"Well, they want you to flee with them. They want you to meet them-"
"What? Your family is sending for you."
He thought of Rebecca's dream and the fire in her eyes. "Tell them I'm sorry, but I can't."
As if on cue, Rebecca walked up. She hesitated, just as he had. The man smiled as if he had realized something important.
"Of course. Nice talking to you, good sir. Please, enjoy the food" And just like that he got up. William motioned for Rebecca to sit down. She grabbed a plate and did just that. The strange man walked off without another word.
"Who was that?" Rebecca asked.
"No one I know" William was able to ask honestly.
One thing was for sure, food had never tasted so good to either of them. They gorged themselves on it, not knowing when or where their next meal would be. They ate until they were fit to burst and when they were done, they figured they might as well stay on the beach. They had nowhere else to go anyway.
They had been able to get a tent recently so they quickly set that up on the beach and both crawled inside. The tent was cramped and they both felt slightly uncomfortable so close to one another with so little clothes on but it had been another hard day and it wasn't hard to fall asleep. Rebecca had no dreams that night, but she knew that her day was coming. It was only a matter of time before she had enough money to begin her comeback.
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