Free [Books of Bayern 1] The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale Page A

the nearest horse and ride away. Do not stop until you get to the king and safety."
    Ani felt goose bumps rise on her arm. "Safety? What do you think they would do?"
    "Nothing. I am just being cautious." Talone stood and approached Ungolad's group. The frivolity died down, and soon the party broke up. Talone assigned the watches that night to his most trusted men, but Ani hardly slept. She clutched the handkerchief at her breast.

    The next morning dawned a bright, stinging sun. The company rode in a long line up next to the trees, hoping for a forest breeze or the occasional branch of shade. By the time they stopped to camp two hours from sundown, everyone was sick from the heat and headachy from squinting in the sun. The evening was warm and stale under the heavy-limbed canopies, and the air was sticky with the odor of pine, seemingly too thick to breathe.
    There was a small clearing just off the road where the company set up camp. Ani, prodded by Falada's grumbling of thirst, tossed off her pack and walked Falada through a thicket of trees toward the sounds of a stream. She dismounted, threw off her sweat-soaked sun hat, and bent over to fill her gold cup. As she dipped the cup under, the cold water against her heated skin shocked her, and she dropped it. The gold winked green through the water before the current pulled it down and away. She thought, One less thing to separate me from everyone else, and lay down on her stomach, scooping the water with her hands to her lips. Her sleeves to her elbows soaked through, and she felt the cold water on her neck and on her chest. She shivered and drank.
    Princess, you lost something in the river, said Falada at her side.
    Yes, my cup, she said.
    Princess, said Falada again.
    But a shout came from the camp, and Ani stood and turned away.
    Something is happening, she said.
    She could still hear the echo of Falada's last word to her— Princess. But she walked away, toward the camp and the commotion. Embarrassed that the breast of her dress was soaked through, Ani decided to slip behind a copse of trees that separated her from the party and avoid being seen. Through a break in the leaves, she spied on the camp. Yulan was shouting. He had removed his shirt in the heat. Talone stood by. His hand rested on his side just above his sword hilt.
    Trouble. Ani glanced back to Falada, who was still drinking at the river, and felt uneasy at being so far separated from him. But she reasoned there could not be any real danger or she would have a warning. She touched her chest where she kept the handkerchief and, prodded by curiosity, crept through the trees to get close enough to hear but still stay cautiously out of sight.
    "While there are ladies in this camp, Yulan, you will stay dressed like a gentleman,"
    Talone said.
    "Selia does not mind, do you, lady?" said a guard by Yulan's side, and there was laughter.
    "Let them be, Captain," Ani heard Selia say, though she could not see her.
    "I amend my statement, then." He spoke through a clenched jaw. "While there is one lady in this camp, you will dress, and behave, like gentlemen. We are the royal guard of the princess, and we will act as such."
    "Royal guard of the princess," said Terne, laughing. "She is not a princess, not here.
    Kildenree doesn't claim her, and we haven't reached Bayern yet."
    Talone ignored Terne. "As captain of the guard, Yulan, those are my orders, and to disobey them is treason."

    The pocket of men backing up Yulan shifted uneasily. Yulan looked at Ungolad, who was sitting on a log a few paces away.
    "Nice and easy, lads." Ungolad stood. "This was not the way to do things, but I think at last the time has come to tell the truth."
    "Not now," said Selia.
    Ungolad winked at her. "Don't worry, my lady." He looked at Talone and squinted, though Ani was not sure if it was for effect or just habit from the blazing day. "We don't want a light, but some things are going to change."
    "Yes, all hail Princess Selia," said