Decoy Danger

Shila held her father for a long time after they had returned to the safe zone, her words hardly audible between choking sobs. William was as big and strong as ever, if not bigger and stronger from working in the mines. However his face was pale, and the way he was shoveling the food that Shila gave him down his throat suggested he had been starved. Eventually he had to pry Shila off, brushing the hair that was stuck to the sweat and tears on her face out of her eyes. He had the same hazel eyes, which were probably the only gentle part of his appearance. He gave her a smile as she hiccuped.

“You brave little thing,” he said. “You didn’t come all the way out here for me, did you?”

“I would have if I c-could,” she said between hiccups and sobs. “Mylo f-found out where you w-were and he was coming so I followed h-him but I didn’t know that-“

“Okay, okay,” William said with a chuckle. “I hear you. Please tell me you’re alright.”

“I’m alright,” she promised him.

“You… didn’t get any of my letters?” he asked.

Shila frowned. “No. No letters. Even if they were sent, they wouldn’t have given them to me.”

“They?” he questioned. “I heard his horrible rumor that you sold yourself to the Emorys so I wouldn’t be hanged. That’s not true, is it?”

Shila’s silence answered his question and he sighed again.

“You should never have done that for me,” he said.

“You’re all I had left,” she said as she finally pulled herself together and tried to be brave. “I couldn’t fight, so I had to do something.”

“When I get my hands on that Lord Emory…”

“You may not have to,” she admitted. “We’ve been, um, busy.”

“You and Mylo?”

“And some others,” she said. “They went ahead to take the Emorys back to Oakhurst while we came to get you.”

“But how did you know to find Mylo if you never received my letters?” he asked.

“I didn’t,” she said. “He kind of found me. What do you mean by ‘find’ him?”

“I knew my fate and I knew you had to be taken care of,” he said. “That’s why I sent him away.”

Shila paused for a few moments, then looked over her shoulder and found Mylo sitting a little further away and holding his side.

“Never mind that for now,” William said. “He’s hurt, but he’s trying to hide it. You should go check on him.”

Shila still wasn’t sure to make of what her father said, but nodded and took some bandages and disinfectant from her back before going over to where Mylo sat. He didn’t look at her as she knelt down next to him.

“I need to see it,” she told him. “I won’t say anything about it and you can keep pretending it’s not there, but I still need to see it.”

He glanced at her briefly, then reluctantly removed his shirt so she could see the wound. She winced softly at the sight of it. It could be stitched up, but it wouldn’t feel good.

“Okay,” she said. “Try to hold still. This will sting.”

She heard him take some strained breaths as she patted the wound with the disinfecting solution, then took to stitching it up for him. Neither one of them said anything at first.

“How is he?” Mylo finally asked.

“He’ll be fine,” she said. “He just needs some rest. You know how he is, I guess.”

She automatically regretted what she said when Mylo looked away from her again. She wasn’t bitter, but it was still a lot to process. As she finished the stitches and began to bandage the wound, he spoke up again.

“I walked you home from the bookstore once,” he said, the smallest of smiles creeping on his face. “It was late, but you insisted on going. Your father sent me to make sure you got home okay when it started to take too long. I found you sitting outside the store with your nose buried in the book, already halfway done with it.”

Shila’s movements slowed. She remembered that. Mylo had been a lot smaller, but it was no wonder she thought she recognized him when they first met. His eyes were still kind.

“I didn’t talk to you or look at you,” he continued. “You chattered on and on, but I never said a word. That’s probably why you don’t remember me. We never interacted after that. But I walked you home once.”

Shila finished bandaging the wound, but still wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted to throw herself at him, but he had made it clear that he wasn’t interested in talking about it right now.

They managed to hitch a ride on a cart from a merchant leaving the capital, so it cut some days off their journey home. Shila explained everything to her father, though she left out some of the more personal parts of what she and Mylo were doing. The whole time, William seemed like he was floating in a dream. It all must have seemed impossible to him.

When they got back to Oakhurst, William and Shila were able to reclaim their old home. It had been used as a rebellion headquarter, though their rooms were left untouched. After three years, Shila didn’t consider herself the same person she was when she left. The dolls and bows sitting around her room felt childish. She was a real part of the rebellion now.

The Emorys had been thrown in prison and the rebellion was already moving towards getting the other corrupt nobles, though they focused on restructuring the farmlands and money based on the statement they had signed. This gave William some time to recover before the rebellion dragged him back into the battlefield.

While he was napping one evening, Shila decided to stop by the old cottage where Mylo and the rest of the gang were staying. Lola opened the door, and as soon as she did Trina threw herself at Shila with a squeal.

“I’m so happy to see you!” she said. “I thought you were done with us now that you’re a rebel princess again.”

“I’m hardly a princess,” Shila laughed. “How could I be done with any of you?”

“Are you looking for Mylo?” Lola asked.

“Yes,” Shila said, turning a bit red. “Is he here?”

“Mylo left yesterday,” Bret piped up from the kitchen. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Left?” Shila’s breath hitched. “No, he didn’t. Where did he go?”

“I think he’s at the inn,” Bret said. “Packed all his stuff last night, said he was going to find an arrangement to get out of town.”

Shila felt her heart drop to her stomach. She forced a smile and thanked Bret, but the felt like she had a pit in her throat the entire walk home. She holed up in her room right away, burying her face in her pillow to muffle her crying. The door opened a few minutes later and William walked in.

“I know I’ve been gone, but I’ve still got rules about closed doors in this house,” William said. “No doors closed unless they’re closing on someone’s fingers. Hey, look at me.”

Shila ignored him, so he sat on the edge of the bed with a grunt and patted her back.

“Hey,” he repeated. “Sit up and talk to me. You know I’m no good with the tears.”

She sniffed and sat up, hugging the pillow to her chest. Her father seemed concerned for her and his brow furrowed.

“Mylo left,” she said miserably. “I just thought we would… I don’t know. Maybe it was silly.”

“Are you two…”

“I guess not,” she said. “I thought we were. I mean, we did some things-“

“I don’t want to know about the things,” William said quickly. “As long as it was done responsibly.”

“Daddy, not those things,” Shila said, flushing bright red.

“And he just left you here?”

“I think I scared him away,” she admitted. “I wanted to much from him.”

William was silent for a moment, then sighed.

“I’ll be honest,” he said. “I knew this day would come from the moment I met the kid. I know my daughter, and I know you would’ve fallen head over heels the instant he opened his mouth.”

“It wasn’t instant,” she said. “He tried to be mean and scare me away at first. But I stuck my ground.”

“That’s my girl,” William said with a grin. “Listen, kid. All of this would be much easier if you had gotten my letters, but clearly they got misplaced somewhere. So I’m just going to summarize the important bits.”

“Okay.”

“Then I’m going to find Mylo.”

“You’re not going to hurt him, are you?” she frowned. “Please don’t.”

“I’m going to talk to him,” he said, not quite answering her question. “But first, I need to talk to you. You want Mrs. Snugglug?”

He took Shila’s favorite childhood ragdoll off the shelf and offered it to her. At first she was going to shake her head no, then silently took the doll and hugged her to her chest. Whatever her father was going to tell her, she was sure she needed the support.