Anne's POV

Anne studied Andrew's face. It was handsome, even with the scars. Sometimes, they made him look dangerous. 

"I mostly heard that all of Duke Ben's children, you're the most rebellious one, and that you joined the Engeler Knights against his wishes, but since you're not an Engeler Knight, I guess that's not true."

"It's kind of true." His expression was sad, not his usual expression of joy and playfulness. "I am the rebellious son, and I did fight with the Engeler Knights with the intention of becoming one of them, but I changed my mind."

"What happened?" 

"I disregarded my father's words and went to fight with the Engeler Knights against my father's allies. I was angry at my brother David. But I really decided not to join them after I saw how their leader killed innocent people because of his own ambition. And then, when I was asked to fight against my brother and risk killing him, I realized I'd rather die than kill David."

She remembered how he'd stepped in front of The Beast to protect her. If he could care that much about her, a stranger, then he surely loved his brother very much. But then again, she also knew there were people in this world who loved the praise of men, people like Arthur, who would do something generous or sacrificial for other people in order to look like a good person, but would then turn around an treat their family horribly.

Was Andrew like Arthur. She didn't have a knife in her hand, and they were alone together. In the woods. He could easily grab her and harm her if he wanted to.

Andrew looked around every couple of seconds. Was he looking for danger, or was he making sure there was no one else around?

But instead of looking suspicious, Andrew had a kind and gentle expression on his face. He wasn't looking at her in that disgusting, aggressive way Arthur had. 

He continued talking. "Thankfully, I didn't hurt my brother, at least not that much."'

"Is that where you got your scars? Did your brother do that?"

"Only this one." He pointed to the scar above his eye. "We were playing around. Injuries happen."

"What about the scar on your cheek?"

"I got that one when I was fighting with the Engeler Knights. I was fighting against another soldier and he cut my cheek with his sword.  At the last moment, I was able to move away so I didn't lose my eye."

"That's very lucky."

"Now you know more about me, but I won't ask any questions about you until I know you trust me."

"Why do you want me to trust you so much?"

"I don't think you trust anyone, do you?"

"Not many people. Maybe I'm not the most trusting person."

"You could say that."

"But I have my own reasons. It's safer."

Andrew frowned. After a few seconds, he said, "Are you sure about that? I think it's safer if you do trust people, as long as it's the right person."

"How do you know who is the right person to trust and who isn't?"

"I suppose that's the problem."

Their eyes met. It was if he really understood her. She wasn't sure if there was anyone who understood her, not even her mother. For the first time in her life, she wanted someone to know her. And she wanted it to be this man. Her heart fluttered and she looked away. She was being ridiculous. 

"Some people are not trustworthy," he said.

He understood. Her heart beat faster against her chest. What would it feel like to wrap her arms around him and feel his arms wrapped around her?

"Can we go?" She turned away from him and started walking again, ending the conversation.

Andrew continued walking next to her. He said nothing as they continued up the path. This was the place where the second beast ran away. There weren't that many trees here, almost like they had been moved away. She moved towards the rocks with Andrew right behind her.

Looking around the side of one of the larger rocks, she heard a sound like metal scraping against metal. She froze, listening, but the sound stopped. She continued towards the rocks.

Just then, a hole appeared in the ground. She stopped so she didn't fall in.

It looked like someone or something went in and out of this hole multiple times.

Anne heard a man's voice not too far away/ She looked around, but didn't see anyone. 

Anne looked back at the hole. It was too narrow for both of them to squeeze in at the same time, so Anne bent down and lowered herself down into the opening.

She felt a ladder and took a step down it, down into the darkness.

Andrew's POV

 Andrew watched as Anne lowered herself into the ground. He should tell her to stop, but his voice might alert the guard.

As soon as Anne was in, he went after her. 

The hole was almost completely dark, but he could make out the ladder at the side. 

They finally reached the bottom. He caught up with Anne and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. This time she didn't flinch away from him.

A sound drifted to his ears, a banging sound. 

Suddenly they could hear voices. A large room opened up in front of them with torches in the wall. He and Anne pressed against the wall of the cave.

About six or seven children were facing the opposite wall. Andrew watched them, hardly believing what he was seeing. They were using picks as they dug something out of the wall.

There was a guard so close to where they were standing. If the man turned his head, he would see them.

Anne's eyes were wide and her jaw was clenched as she watched the children. Has she seen the guard yet?

Was this all of the children? This was only a small portion of the children that were missing. Were there more? A tunnel at the other end indicated that there was more to this mine.

He squeezed Anne's shoulder, getting her attention, and motioned towards the direction where they came from. 

They moved back in the direction. One of the children turned and looked at Andrew and Anne. His eyes widened, and Andrew put a finger to his lips, hoping the boy wouldn't betray their presence.

Andrew waited for Anne to walk down the tunnel, watching the guard, but he still didn't know about them. As they continued, Anne stepped on a stick, breaking the silence. 

She began to walk faster. A light started to follow them. The guard must've been coming after them with a torch.

They started to run. When they reached the ladder, they started climbing quickly. 

"Who's there?" A voice said behind them. 

Once, they reached the top, they broke out in a run towards the forest.

Andrew stayed just behind Anne in an effort to keep his body between her and any arrows that might come their way. 

They continued to run until they were at the bottom of the hill. They stopped to catch their breath.

Anne closed her eyes. "We found them."

"You found them. Your really are amazing, Anne."

She smiled and shook her head. "I want to go back there and shoot the guard so we can take all the children out."

"I don't think it will be that easy. There might be several more guards down there."

"You're right. Do you think we could leave for Dawnridge tonight?"

"We'll leave as soon as we saddle our horses."

"Then let's go."

They started walking down the path. 

"Wait," Anne said, walking off the path. She went to the tree that had the bandages. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out some papers, then stuffed them in the hole in the tree.

"Are those the papers you found in Arthur's office?"

"Yes. I don't think anyone will find them here."

They headed for the hole in the town wall. When they reached it, Andrew could see it was too high for Anne, but she quickly said, "You'll have to give me a boost. Don't touch anything besides my foot and lower leg."

She gave her a boost through the hole.

He was able to grasp the bottom of the opening and pull himself up.

Once, he got to the other side, they hurried down the alley.

Once they reached the street, they slowed down to a normal pace. 

Arthur's stable, where Andrew's horse was, was just behind the house. They went around the house and entered the stable.

Andrew grabbed his saddle while Anne started saddling another horse.

"What have we here?" Arthur's voice came from the entrance of the stable.

They both froze. There were four men surrounding Arthur. Andrew probably couldn't fight off so many, and he had Anne to protect. He thought quickly.

"Since the wolf we killed wasn't The Beast, we are going to see if we can track down the real beast."

"Together? I didn't know you guys were friends."

"We are not, but you know what a skilled hunter your stepdaughter is. I talked her into coming with me."

"I would rather you did not go looking for The Beast." Arthur's voice was cold. "I might not be able to explain to your father about you getting injured while in my town."

"Oh, my father wouldn't think much about it. I've been injured many times while in battle."

"Still, I want you to come back into the house with me. It's almost dinner time."

"We won't be gone that long. We need to take advantage of the sunlight."

"There is something I want you to help me with. It's more urgent than tracking down a wolf. Put the saddles away."

Was Arthur the one behind the children working in the mines? Judging from the change in his attitude, he was, and must also know that they were seen in the mine. 

Arthur led all seven of them into his office. Anne was pressing herself against the wall, shrinking away from one of Arthur's men. Her face was pale and her hand trembled. 

"Get away from her." Andrew said those words without thinking, stepping towards the guard. 

"Jeffery, Lord Andrew thinks you're crowding my stepdaughter," Arthur said.

The guard took a step away from her. Anne straightened her spine, and her cheeks were turning from pale to red, as if she was embarrassed of angry, or both.

"Now then," Arthur said. "If one of you has a piece of paper I keep in my desk, I would gladly appreciate you giving them back to me."