Free The Forgotten Sisters by Shannon Hale Page B

would not leave Greater Alva till after breakfast, and their journey would take half the day. But the girls were too anxious for hunting or other chores. They waited in the woods near the mouth of the road for word from Felissa.
    The sun was angled toward afternoon when Felissa came running.
    â€œThere are more,” said Felissa, out of breath. “There are a dozen more than last time.”
    â€œOur plan won’t work,” said Sus.
    â€œThat’s it,” said Astrid. “We’ve got to get out of here.”
    â€œWait,” said Sus. “If we had a bigger distraction, like in the Battle of Holgoth … Miri, you said that in Aslandian culture, men are supposed to behave a certain way around ladies. If Miri gets dressed all ladylike in one of her fancy dresses, she can be our distraction. All right, Astrid?”
    Astrid frowned, but she nodded.
    â€œYou three carry on as you would,” said Miri. “Remember, if you get caught, proclaim your name loudly. They’ll kill some bandit quick but they’ll hesitate to slay the king’s cousin.”
    â€œStrike swiftly,” said Felissa, repeating advice Miri had heard them give one another often while hunting.
    â€œAim true,” said Sus.
    Astrid said, “Let’s go hunting.”
    Miri ran back to the house and dressed in Britta’s finest silk gown. She put her hair up and stuck a feather in it. It was a heron feather, not a fancy dyed ostrich feather, but she gambled that the traders were not well versed in fashion. She washed her face and scraped dirtfrom under her fingernails. She hitched up her skirt to keep it out of the mud as she trudged up toward the woods, moving as slowly as she dared so that she would not sweat noticeably on the silk.
    Miri was just a few minutes into the woods when she heard hooves on the narrow road. She did rush now. She had to get to the designated spot before the traders did.
    She spotted Gunnar first, backed by the usual troop of traders, but he was also joined by armed men. There was no palace insignia on their armor, so they were not royal guards. The traders must have hired warriors for added protection on the road, which meant the roads had become more dangerous lately. That would certainly lend more credence to the girls’ banditry charade. Then again, it could also earn them a sword point.
    Miri stopped. She’d made a terrible mistake.
    Those swords at their sides were sharp. The arrows in their quivers were tipped with steel. This was not a philosophical exercise Master Filippus was posing to students in the safety of the Queen’s Castle. This was not a story in a book of tales. Miri was asking the girls to face real men with real muskets who could do real damage.
    â€œUh … ,” she said cleverly.
    Her mind was whirling, and there did not seem to be enough air to think. How could she warn the girls to stop without the traders catching on to what they had planned?
    Astrid would not back off, not now, no matter what Miri did. Miri took a deep breath.
Don’t hesitate
, she told herself.
Just swing
.
    â€œGood day!” she said brightly. Her palms were sweating. She did not dare wipe them on the silk dress.
    Gunnar groaned. “Come to accost us again before we’ve even arrived?”
    â€œIf that’s what it takes to get what’s rightfully mine.”
    â€œI told you, all the mail goes to Jeffers. You’ll have to deal with him.”
    â€œJeffers is stealing my mail,” said Miri. “If it has my name on it, give it straight to me.”
    â€œAnd how am I supposed to know your name, eh? You could be any old swamp rat.”
    â€œSir!” said one of the guards. “Don’t speak so to a lady.”
    Guards coming to her defense. That was good.
    â€œMay I just look at the letters so I know if there is one for me?” asked Miri. “Then I’ll wait for Jeffers to give it to me