Chapter Thirteen:

Conversations

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Harriet felt more than a little sick as she watched Leopold and Frederick talk, both of them with small smiles on their faces. No one else in the line seemed to notice her anguish, except for Garreth anyway.

"Do you know him?" Garreth asked, his voice quiet in her ear. She nodded in response.

"You could say that," Harriet said, earning herself a perplexed look from the man beside her.

"You know the king of Ecrivenia?" Harriet nodded hesitantly. It was funny how he hadn't made the connection between Clara, the Queen of Ecrivenia, and the name of Harriet, her sister. Harriet shook that thought away. If he didn't know, she certainly wasn't going to tell him.

"You are one odd duck, little soldier." Garreth turned away from Harriet, but Harriet continued to watch as Leopold and Frederick got closer. She felt sick to her stomach, but then that sickness turned to sharp pain as Frederick's eyes merely went past her, not even noticing she was there. But then again, she definitely didn't look like herself, at least not if Gardenia's spells were working.

"Mr. Greenfellow," Leopold said, causing Frederick's eyes to snap to hers. "I would like you to come give a detailed report of what you witnessed yesterday as soon as you have everything settled. We will be in the King's tent." Harriet nodded, watching as Frederick's mouth tugged down into a frown before he began to walk away with Leopold, no doubt going to his tent.

Harriet felt both relieved and nervous all at once. She doubted that Frederick would've looked at her like that if something wasn't wrong, but it's not like she could ask him straight out. For all he knew, she was a complete stranger.

Trailing behind the other soldiers, Harriet followed Garreth to one of the tents provided, throwing her pack onto one of the bedrolls. She carefully grabbed hold of Clark, placing him on top of her pack, even though he chattered at her as she put him down.

She didn't really want to leave him alone in a new place, but she didn't want to risk anything. Sure, if Gardenia's spell worked Frederick would never even think she was like herself, but bringing a mouse named Clark with her seemed like a bad idea all around.

She let out a sigh through her nose, more than a little stressed over the thought of meeting with her brother-in-law. On the upside, she might be able to get some information out of him about how Clara was doing. Harriet's mouth creased into a frown. What if she'd already had the baby? Harriet felt a sinking feeling. If her sister had the baby and she wasn't there Clara would never forgive her.

Harriet bit her lip for a moment, fighting against the flipping of her stomach, before walking out of the tent with her head held high. That was something she had learned within the army. If you looked and acted confident, everyone thought that you actually were.

She walked purposefully towards the tent, unsure of what to do. Should she just go right in or should she wait? However, as the sounds of voices drifted through the crack in the tent entrance, Harriet found herself rooted to the spot.

"What do you mean Harriet's missing?" Leopold snapped, his voice loud and filled with obvious worry. Harriet's eyes widened as her heart stuttered to a stop. Had they found out? Was Mark okay? She felt her insides clench as she worried about what might've befallen her friend due to her actions.

"She's been gone for ages and we have no idea where she is. Her friend, you know Marcus Greenfellow?"

"Yes, of course, I've been training his younger brother."

"I know, I've heard, but Harriet was supposed to be staying with Mark and his family, but not only was Harriet not there, she hasn't been seen in over a month. Clara is worried sick, and both Mrs. Landon and Gardenia can't do anything to calm her, we're worried that the added stress might hurt the baby." Face paling, Harriet brought a hand to her mouth to keep her from crying out. It was as if her worst fears were confirmed. Not only did they know about her disappearance, it was hurting her sister and, by proxy, her unborn niece or nephew.

"Have you asked her friend if he knows her whereabouts?" Leopold asked, his words coming out in a rush. Harriet could almost imagine his stance. Sitting in a chair, back rigid, hands steepled in front of him.

"Yes, repeatedly, but it seems that he had no idea either. At least, that's what he's telling us, and you know that I won't very well do anything to him to make him tell us. Not after everything that's happened."

Leopold let out a bitter chuckle at that. "That would be highly ironic, wouldn't it? All those years ago I warned her to be careful to keep her safe from falling to the same fate that you refuse to use on her best friend." Leopold paused. Harriet gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she realized what they were talking about. They were talking about torture. "And you actually considered it didn't you?" A loud slam echoed out to Harriet's ears, and Harriet peeked through the crack to see Frederick standing behind his desk with a hand on the top and the other running over his face.

"Of course I considered it. She is my little sister and she's gone missing. And we both know where she probably is."

"Right at the center of the action," Leopold answered. "It wouldn't surprise me if she tried to disguise herself as a soldier, or something of the like." Harriet choked on air, muffling her gasp with her hand again. They knew her way better than she thought they did.

"Yes, but how likely is it that we missed it? One young woman among hundreds of men? We would've known. She wouldn't have been able to stay hidden for so long. She'd have to change and bathe and sleep in front of the other recruits. There is no way. I mean, she is capable enough, and we both know how talented she is, but it would've come out by now."

Both of the men were quiet and Harriet did her best to stay that way as well. Her head was throbbing from both her own agitated thoughts as well as her new found stress. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

"So where do you think she is then?" Leopold asked, his voice softer than usual.

"I don't know. All I can hope for is that she is somewhere far away from this conflict, but knowing Harriet, that's too much to ask for."

"I wish we could start looking for her now," Leopold stated, sounding frustrated.

"I know, but we have to wait. After this is over would you help me try and find her? Clara will kill me if she has the baby and Harriet and I aren't there."

"Of course, and I'll bring my best men, too. Harold Greenfellow, Marcus's younger brother would be an asset to the team, granted this all goes to plan."

"Really?" Frederick asked, sounding surprised. Harriet shuffled from foot to foot for a moment, before deciding it was more than time for her to go in. She had eavesdropped enough, and if the acidic taste in her mouth was any indication, she was already paying for it. She decided not to dwell on the fact that Leopold wanted to take her to go find her. Oh the irony.

Harriet cleared her throat loudly and then walked into the tent, earning the full attention of both men immediately.

"My apologies for being late, your highnesses, I was getting my things situated," Harriet explained, her hands clasped behind her back in the mirror likeness of how Leopold was now standing. Frederick waved a hand at her dismissively.

"That's quite alright. It gave us time to get situated as well. Now, tell me of what you saw," Frederick requested, sitting back in his chair and folding his hands together over the top part of his chest.

"When Garreth McIntosh and I were on the mission that the King had set for us, we came across the enemy encampment roughly five miles to the North from where our camp was situated," Harriet quickly explained, her words tumbling out at top speed due to her nervousness. She didn't think it would be so hard to talk to him, but it clearly was. However, she did her best to hide her true feelings, keeping an impassive expression on her face. "There were over ten-thousand men, easily, as the camp was stretched over a large area. They were all wearing enemy colors and it seemed that any prisoners were taken directly to their king."

Frederick cocked his head to the side, obviously a little confused. "How would you know about what they do with prisoners?"

"We saw some of the Carigian soldiers hauling away two of our men. We overheard them saying that they would take them to the king." Both men nodded, Leopold giving her a sympathetic look as she fidgeted with her hands when she told of her friend's fate. "That was all we saw. After that, they saw us and they chased us through the woods until we were able to lose them and return to the camp."

"Did you get a good look at any of their weaponry or armor?" Frederick questioned. Harriet paused before answering.

"We saw some of the armor that they were wearing when they captured the other two men. They were wearing the bare minimums of armor with a helmet, chainmail, gauntlets, and a few of them had shields. However, it wouldn't surprise me if that is different from the armor they wear to war. It didn't cover any of the other vital spots, like their necks or wrists, so I assumed it was just temporary armor."

All three of them were quiet as they all thought about different aspects of the information Harriet provided. Harriet couldn't help but glance at Leopold, something in her stomach fluttering when her eyes met his intense stare before darting away. For a moment, she desperately wished she looked like herself, so that way she could show to both of them that she was alive, but then everything would be for nothing.

She banished that thought from her head, instead looking at Frederick. He seemed pensive, and in the quiet of the tent, Harriet was glad to be able to take in his appearance relatively unhindered but she could only do so for a few moments, as she was well aware of Leopold's gaze on her.

Frederick looked more than tired, he looked exhausted. His eyes had dark circles under them, and the lines that virtually disappeared when he smiled before the war started, were now present even when he smiled. Everything about him looked bone weary, and Harriet had to wonder what he was doing there in the first place. Surely, Clara needed him by her side for the end of her pregnancy? However, it seemed that Harriet wouldn't be able to guess the answer to that question just by looking at him.

"Your information brings up a number of interesting dilemmas. While I agree that the armor you described doesn't sound particularly good at protection, we must remember that Carigan is an economically struggling country. They can't afford well-made armor for all of their soldiers, so that begs the question of what they have instead. No king goes to war with only defences armed with mediocre protective wear. He must have something else up his sleeve."

Frederick sat up in his chair with a sigh, eyeing Harriet. "On that note, Leopold and I have much to discuss, but before you go, I have a question or two to ask you and you can return the favor once I am done." Harriet nodded as best as she could as her heart rate sped up. She couldn't give anything away, she had to appear calm.

"My sister-in-law, I'm sure you know of her as your brother is her best friend, is missing. Do you know anything about that?" Harriet did her best to look shocked.

"She's missing? That's terrible! I thought she was supposed to be staying with my family in my absence?" Harriet responded, feeling more than a little sick to her stomach. "Have you sent a search party to look for her?" She watched as Frederick visibly deflated, and it was Leopold who answered her question.

"There have been search parties sent out to look for her, but none of them have found anything. Frederick will be leaving to return to his home tonight to help look for her. That's one of the reasons why I am here. We are merging the companies, and I will be in charge of them both. That being said, if Frederick doesn't find her, would you be willing to help us go look for her after this is over?"

"Of course. She's practically a part of my family with how close she is to my brother," Harriet said, her brows furrowing minutely when she saw Leopold's jaw clench and then unclench as he gave her a small and obviously forced smile. It didn't reach his eyes, and if anything he just looked slightly annoyed or maybe even agitated. Harriet couldn't for the life of her figure out why. Maybe he was just worried.

"Wonderful. I will make sure to come find you when the time comes for us to go looking for her," Leopold said, nodding to her stiffly.

"Is there anything you would like to know? Anything about your family back home?" Frederick asked, his voice even sounding tired. Harriet pondered his question for a moment, thinking of all the things she couldn't or shouldn't ask him before coming up with one that had been worrying her.

"My mother, how is she taking everything? How are my siblings?" Harriet inquired. One of the reasons why she had gone in Mark's place had been so he could be there for his mother, Rose.

"Your mother seems to be doing well. Mrs. Landon has been helping your siblings take care of her and she appears to be getting better. As for your siblings, your little brother and your sister seem to be fine, while your older brother is understandably worried about both you and his best friend." Harriet sighed, relieved that Mark and his family were well.

"Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome. Now, if you would excuse us, we have much to talk about. I advise you to go get some rest. You'll be needing your energy for the next few days." Harriet nodded before turning on her heel and walking out of the tent. She could've stayed behind and eavesdropped, but she chose not to.

Getting some rest didn't sound half bad, though she doubted she would be able to get any with the different worries that were now flying around inside of her head. She hurried over to the tent that she and Garreth as well as a few others had claimed as their own. She didn't even acknowledge the others as she walked in, lifted Clark to the side and then flopping down onto the bedroll.

"Stressful meeting?" Garreth asked, earning only a grunt in response before Harriet thought of something and brought her head up to look at him.

"You could say that. Why do you think you weren't asked to go as well?" Garreth shrugged at her, crossing his legs at the ankle as he leaned against his pack on his bed roll.

"I don't know. Though I would guess that King Leopold trusts you more and so prefers to hear you tell the events more than me. I don't think he's forgiven me for our little fight yet." Harriet snorted, remembering how angry Leopold had been at Garreth.

"That sounds pretty likely. I'm going to try and get some rest, can you wake me up if anything important happens?"

"Yep," Garreth responded, pulling a piece of paper and a quill out of his bag, but Harriet ignored him, instead putting her head down and turning onto her side to face Clark and try to sleep.

The little mouse got closer to her, resting up beside her arm, and within a few minutes, Harriet drifted off into an uneasy and troubled sleep. Her dreams matched her mood and were much darker than usual, containing more than a few nightmares about the coming conflict between the two sides of the war, but before she could cry out, she was shaken awake by Garreth. She blinked up at him, her eyes blurry as she tried to make sense of his words.

"C'mon. King Leopold has called for all of the men to go to the center of the camp." Harriet nodded, struggling to her feet. She picked up Clark and placed him on her shoulder before following Garreth to the middle of the camp.

It was packed with people, but even Harriet's tired mind acknowledged the fact that even though the camp was packed and the two companies were now combined, they didn't even have half the numbers that Carigan did.

Garreth and Harriet made their way through the crowd, pushing towards the front until they could see Leopold and Frederick clearly from where they stood. All of them, though pushed together, were all eerily silent. It was like they all knew what the two kings would be saying.

Harriet met Leopold's eyes met over the tops of the front row of the crowd, his blue-eyed stare sending shivers down her spine as he cleared his throat and then looked away to sweep his gaze over the gathered men. She shuffled slightly in her spot. Maybe she was just a little cold.

"Thank you for gathering here so promptly," Leopold started, his voice carrying all the way to even the people at the back of the crowd. He looked at them all solemnly, but Harriet could see by the set of his jaw that however solemn he was, he was still determined. "I find that we have a lot to thank you for, both King Frederick and I. You left the safety of your homes and the arms of your families to come fight in a war that was neither started by you or about you. You have remained loyal and faithful to the cause despite the hardships we have and will have to face."

Harriet exchanged a look with Garreth as Leopold spoke the word "loyal" but neither did anything but meet each other's eyes. Not everyone was as loyal as Leopold thought they were, but they could do nothing to truly prove it.

"Tomorrow morning we will begin our journey to the end of this unwanted war, not as two separate companies, but as one. We will work together to do what is required of us. We have worked for weeks to become what both of our countries needed in this trying time, and now we will have the chance to use our skills to bring this time to an end."

Here Leopold paused, as if swallowing back a lump in his throat, and with how close she was to the front, Harriet could swear that his eyes were a little glassy. With a pang she remembered that the war had officially started two years ago with his parents' deaths. She felt her heart sink at the sudden thought of how he probably hadn't gotten a chance to truly grieve their passing. He would've been too busy with the preparations and tactics of the war.

Harriet made a silent promise to make sure that he made it through the war. He deserved the right to grieve, as well as the chance to live a life unlike the one he had lived for the past couple of years.

"Regardless of where you have come from, how well you feel you are prepared, know that you are prepared to the best of your current ability and that you have done and will do your country proud."

No one clapped or cheered or said a word. Harriet bit her lip as the dead silence continued.

"Now, I advise you all to get some sleep, as we have much to do in the morning," Leopold finished, and Harriet felt a feeling of uneasiness as the silence of the men kept going even as they all moved back to their tents to follow Leopold's orders.

However, it wasn't until she was back in her own tent and about to drift off to sleep that she realized why that was. They weren't excited in the sight of what they had to do. They were subdued. Her mind turned back to a night many years ago when she had attempted to catch an assassin at the age of ten and Leopold had apprehended her in order to keep her safe.

"Rational thinking is just as important as bravery, in fact, in a way, it is its own kind of bravery. It takes courage to make an action like the one you did tonight, but it takes true bravery to know the possible consequences and effects of your actions, accept them for what they are, and still make that same decision."

It had taken almost ten years, but Harriet now understood what Leopold had meant because she had done what he has spoke of more than once on many occasions over the past month.

She could die tomorrow, she might not ever see Clara and her family again, and even if they won she would still have problems and obstacles to face, not least convincing Frederick and Leopold that she had a right to fight for her country. Because that was just it. She knew the consequences, in fact she was already facing them as they included everything she was feeling currently, but regardless of that, she would still make the same choice. She would still make the same decision to come and fight in the war.

She could only hope that she would feel the same way tomorrow evening when everything was said and done.

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Lots to think about in this chapter. What did you think of what Harriet overheard? Thoughts on the "fluttering" feeling in her stomach? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Sorry for updating so late, I was busy with a bunch of "real life" stuff. I tried to make up for it by writing a long-ish chapter. Anyway, I won't make any promises about when the next chapter will be, but hopefully it will be up quicker than this one was.

Additionally, this chapter is dedicated to Han_Solo05 for making my day a couple of days ago, as well as for writing an amazing Science Fiction Mulan Retelling. You guys should definitely go check it out as it is phenomenal. It's called "Lost Star," and you can get to it by clicking on the external link or by clicking on her name above and going to it via her profile page.

The picture above is Harriet prior to her hair being cut.