Jax never looked back at Thomas. His undivided attention was focused on the large bird of prey that perched on his forearm. "And what do we know of this Lord Corinthos?"

Thomas sighed and continued to stare at his drawing. "My sources tell me he is nothing but a greedy knave who in truth has an eye on Barrett’s lands for himself."

Jax stroked the hawk’s breast with his forefinger. His blue eyes locked with the bird’s and they stared at each other silently for a few seconds. "Anything else?"

Thomas suddenly looked up and narrowed an eye. "Word among the locals is that Lord Corinthos is a hateful scoundrel who would have seized Barrett’s holdings were they not stripped from him by William."

The hawk let out a piercing shriek but its master did not flinch. Instead, Jax pursed his lips and whistled softly to the bird. He still did not look at his friend and advisor. "And?"

"And he has cloven hoofs, a forked tail, and devours young maidens for breakfast."

Jax still seemed not to hear Thomas. But then, he lifted his arm and sent the hawk flying to a perch in a nearby tree with a loud sigh. "I’m sorry, Thomas." He stretched his trim, lanky frame and then rubbed his face with his hands briskly. "It’s just that I am battle-weary and anxious to lay my head on something soft at night instead of our good mother, the earth."

Thomas looked sympathetically at the blond warrior. Then he smiled. "I somehow cannot envision you as the lord of a keep, Jax. You and yon feathered friend share a common soul." Jax glanced towards the hawk, which was preening on a low branch of a nearby tree. "You love to fly free. No one will ever tie your heart to one spot, no matter how much land William grants you as the victor’s spoils."

Jax pondered Thomas' comments. Things had been different in Normandy, however. He held land on the Baie de la Seine granted him by the Duc of Cherbourg, but the land wasn't his. He already held land in England through the Duc as well. Why tie yourself to land that could be reclaimed at any moment? The Barrett holding would be different. It would be his demesne. Perhaps his heart could cleave to a single place that was his and his alone.

The hint of a smile teased at the corners of Jax’s mouth. "Perhaps you are right, Thomas." He came over and clapped his hand amiably on Thomas’s shoulder. "Now – let us go inside the tent. Perhaps this time some of your words will sink into this thick skull of mine."

Thomas had no sooner risen from his seat on the ground when a young squire came charging into the clearing. The tall, black-haired youth managed to stop himself before careening into his lord. "Your pardon, milord," he panted to Jax, "but your brother and Lord Stefan return!"

"Excellent, Nicholas!" Jax rose an eyebrow at Thomas. "Perhaps they can share with us what they have learned about Barrett keep…"

"They have more than hearsay to share, milord!" Nicholas gasped. "They bring…"

Nicholas never got a chance to finish his statement as loud shouts rang out from the edge of Jax’s camp. As they became more ribald and the volume intensified, Jax frowned at Thomas and Nicholas. "From the sounds of it, Jerald has brought King Harold himself to our camp! Back from the dead!"

Jax and Thomas shared a soft laugh but Nicholas pointed in the direction of the noise. "With all due respect, milord – you should come see for yourself…"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hold still, I say!" Jerald shouted to the wriggling bundle he had thrown over his shoulder. Thrice since taking the Barrett women captive he had nearly had the smaller one slip off his horse for her struggling. He and Stefan had not had much chance for conversation as they made their way back to camp. As Jerald toiled to keep Brenda from falling off the horse and being trampled beneath its huge hooves, Stefan had to contend with flailing fits of weeping when his captive roused from her faint. When they arrived back at The Hawk’s encampment, both men had abandoned their horses and decided to carry their booty the rest of the way to present it to Jax on foot.

Inside the burlap sack that had become her prison, Brenda had remained quiet at first, trying to listen for a clue as to her captors’ identities. She froze when she heard the one carrying her mention having the key to seizing Barrett keep. Then, when she heard more muffled laughter and her abductor mentioned "The Hawk," her blood ran cold.

{‘Tis all your fault, Brenda! Now father will suffer the loss not only of his precious Nathaniel, but also of his only two daughters! You *knew* that The Hawk was rumored to be nearby, and yet you strayed from the abbey and wandered off into the woods. And were that not enough, you unwittingly lured Julia to follow you! *Her* blood will be on your hands, too!}

Brenda strove to maintain her composure. She knew her father would want her to die bravely, not cowering in fear before some Norman slug with wizened hands and beady eyes. She was fairly certain that she could face her Maker without begging pitiably, but her faith faltered when it came to her older sister. As the horse she was thrown across bounced towards her fate, Brenda prayed more fervently than ever before in her life that God would give Julia the strength to die like a true Barrett.

With the lower halves of their bodies outside the burlap sacks, it became fairly obvious to everyone in camp what Stefan and Jerald carried as soon as they came into view. Ribald shouts and threats of what the Hawk would do to young, tender flesh sent the chill of fear down to Brenda’s soul. When she felt herself being hoisted off the horse and onto her captor’s shoulder again, she struggled even more mightily. She was not about to let these Norman vermin think that a Saxon died whimpering and pleading for mercy.

Jax and Thomas followed Nicholas until they neared the center of the encampment. When Jax saw the wriggling burden that his brother carried, he halted in place and put his hands on his hips. "Ho, brother!" Then he narrowed one eye as he determined that the burden had a distinctly feminine shape to it.

"Lord Hawk!" Brenda cringed inside the sack at the sound of Julia’s captor’s voice. "We bring you a prize beyond your wildest dreams!" Stefan gloated.

As they came to stand before Jax, Jerald still fought to maintain control of his writhing booty. He heaved Brenda’s body forward and set her on her feet, something she was not expecting as her knees immediately buckled beneath her. "Brother!" Jerald panted, out of breath from carrying his captive. "Our search met with unexpected good fortune…"

Brenda gained her footing and struggled to stand up straight while Jerald fiercely gripped her upper arms through the sack. "Good fortune?" Jax laughed. "You call this scrawny prey good fortune?" There were more loud taunts and jeers as Brenda tried to keep tears of terror from spilling out on her cheeks. "My peregrines bring back better fodder from barren lands than *this*!" Jax gestured dismissively to the petite bundle.

Although Brenda wished more than anything to be freed of her burlap confinement, she also dreaded seeing the face of the man that she had ridiculed only hours earlier. The deep, husky sound of his voice certainly led her to believe that he was no spindly, aged fop. She tried desperately to filter out the noise of the crude Normans to gain a clue as to Julia’s fate. What Brenda did not know was that Julia was shakily standing only yards from her, similarly bound in a sack. Occasional sobs racked her body, which only made the Normans cheer all the louder.

Her breath caught in her chest when Brenda felt the ties that bound the sack around her hips being loosened. "Ahhh, brother," Jerald crooned as he regained his breath. "But let me *show* you my prize…"

Sudden freedom from her confinement caught Brenda by surprise. As Jerald snatched the sack from her upper body, the youngest Barrett daughter came out swinging. She flailed her arms wildly in the air, her hands clenched into fists, anxious to connect with any vital Norman body part that was nearby. Her eyes screwed shut with the magnitude of her anger, Brenda whirled like a dervish away from Jerald and towards a stunned Hawk.

"What the…" Jax barely had time to step back before a wayward fist crashed into his upper left arm. Thomas immediately tried to move forward to defend his friend and lord, his hand on the massive war axe that hung at his waist.

"Norman b*stards!" Brenda screamed. She continued to spin and lash out at her captors blindly. "We’ll not be any man’s willing prey!"

Jerald recovered his wits and lunged towards Brenda. When he managed to wrap his arms around her waist from behind and lift her vertically off the ground, she let out another anguished scream. "I’ve got her, Jax!" he shouted gleefully.

The Hawk was a legend among Normans and Saxons alike. His valor and agility were whispered about around campfires. He was said never to have made a tactical mistake. Never – until he met Lady Brenda of Barrett. Thinking that Jerald had contained his still-struggling captive, Jax stepped towards them. He never anticipated that Brenda would use her legs just as effectively as her fists as weapons.

Jerald had lifted Brenda full off the ground in an attempt to quiet her. Her natural reaction was to begin kicking her feet for all she was worth as she tried to pry Jerald’s arms from around her body. Jax’s entire camp went silent when one of her feet, clad in convent-style heavy leather shoes, caught Jax squarely in the groin.

The sudden quiet made Brenda stop her thrashing. Jax’s yelp of pain caused Jerry to abruptly turn loose of Brenda, dropping her unceremoniously on the ground at his feet. Her first thought was for her injured posterior where she had landed, but when she opened her eyes and looked towards the man they had called Hawk, he was doubled over at the waist. All she could see was his curly blond hair. By the size of him, she no longer held any misgivings that he was some puny midget hiding behind an overblown reputation.

She was about to jump to her feet to inflict further blows when her head was suddenly jerked backwards. Brenda felt like her hair was being pulled out at the roots as a brawny hand buried itself among her raven tresses so that her bare throat would be exposed. A high-pitched scream was Brenda’s first clue that Julia had survived the trip to Hawk’s camp and was nearby. Then, tears sprang to Brenda’s eyes when a war axe with a handle the size of a young tree came crashing towards her neck.

"HOLD!!!!!" Brenda had closed her eyes and was making her peace with God when she heard the Hawk’s shout echo off the trees. When she didn’t feel the sharp sting of the axe’s blade, she dared to open one eye. Her breath caught at the sight of it, suspended in space just inches away from her quivering flesh. The tears spilled out onto her cheeks when she saw the flushed face of the furious Moor wielding the axe.

"THOMAS, HALT!!" Jax called again. Several of his men had rushed forward and were helping him regain a somewhat upright posture. He was breathing hard and still clutching his groin as he glowered at his diminutive attacker. When one of his men tried to keep hold of Jax’s elbow to assist him, the Hawk rudely shoved him away and staggered towards Brenda and Thomas.

The closer Jax came, the farther Brenda shrank towards the ground. His blue eyes shot white-hot flames of anger and pain. His broad chest heaved, both with the efforts of fighting the indignity of being unmanned in front of his soldiers and mercenaries and the agony of being attacked in such a vulnerable spot. When he reached the spot where Thomas was prepared to execute her, Jax took a deep, shuddering breath. "Perhaps you would care to tell me again, DEAR BROTHER" he growled at Jerald, "why this captive from H*LL is a prize beyond my wildest dreams!"

Jerald drew himself up proudly, oblivious to Jax’s ire. "These are not just any captives, Jax!" he crowed. "These are Barrett’s DAUGHTERS!!"

It was Thomas who first broke the stunned silence that settled over the gathering. "Lord HARLAN Barrett’s daughters?" His grip on the handle of the war axe relaxed somewhat and as Brenda closed her eyes, tears ran down her cheeks. If the Hawk had just thought them to be innocent women, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time by Jerald and Stefan, Brenda held hope that she and Julia would die quickly. However, once he knew that they were Harlan’s daughters and possibly held information he could use in capturing the keep, hours of torture and relentless questioning were more in keeping with the Hawk’s reputation.

"One and the same," Jerald replied proudly. "Stefan and I heard them speaking of him just before we snatched them in the woods near the abbey."

Jax rose one eyebrow in skepticism as he looked from one woman to the other. "I’ve heard tell that Barrett has two daughters…" He walked slowly to where Brenda was still cowering beneath the shadow of Thomas’s axe. Lifting the axe with one hand, Jax grasped Brenda’s upper arm and forced her to a standing position again. She lifted her chin defiantly as his eyes traveled up and down her form.

Brenda's black habit did little to reveal her figure. Her thick rich brown tresses tumbled in wild disarray, having been freed from the wimple and tousled by her stay in the sack. She must be the bookish one, Jax thought to himself. He gestured to the still hidden other daughter, assuming her to be the one rumored to be overly fond of food. Neither of Barrett's daughters was considered a matrimonial prize worth catching beyond the sizable dowry vested with them.

Jax's confused gaze darted back and forth between the sisters once Julia was released from her sack-prison and both stood before him. Julia's form was likewise unappealing in her habit yet she was obviously not the sister fond of eating. How could this be, Jax pondered. He had thoroughly reconnoitered his opponent. And one of the pertinent facts was that one daughter was bookish and shy while the other was rather well padded. Neither woman fit those descriptions.

Brenda was stung by Jax's repeated gaze. He must have found her as unappealing as did every other man. Why couldn't she be as attractive as her sister, she silently bemoaned. She began to wish for a mirror, to judge her repulsiveness for herself. Were they ever returned to the abbey, Brenda would demand a sliver of a looking glass of the abbess.

"But they CAN’T be Barrett’s daughters!" Sir Roy argued as he came forward from the midst of the throng. "These women are nuns!!"

"Nuns?" Jerald looked from Brenda to Julia, who was still hiccuping loudly in Stefan’s loose embrace. He chuckled softly and gestured towards Brenda. "No nuns I know can kick a man like that!!"

Loud laughter followed Jerald’s observation but Jax remained dispassionate. His eyes narrowed and his grip tightened on Brenda’s arm as she tried in vain to wrench it away. "They *must* be nuns," Roy exclaimed again. He pointed towards Brenda’s chest. "This one wears the Roman cross…" Then towards Julia’s hair. "...and that one’s wimple still dangles from her hair!"

"’Tis true!" Brenda’s loud shout caused all the men to look toward her in shock. "We ARE nuns," she stated firmly as a new plan formed in her mind. She continued to wriggle, trying to escape Jax’s hold. "And you must turn us loose *immediately* or be damned to h*ll for all eternity!"

Thirty seconds of silence greeted Brenda’s demand. Then, to her fierce consternation, a new roar of laughter from Jax’s men shook the woods. Jax joined in the laughter this time. "Demoiselle," he smirked, "I earned THAT particular eternal reward when I was but a boy!" He pulled her flush against his body, bringing her face up to within inches of his own. "And if YOU do not speak the truth, you will join me there, will you not?"

Topaz flame met azure fire as their eyes locked in fierce battle. "I AM a nun, my lord," Brenda snarled dismissively through gritted teeth. "As is my companion…" She took a quick breath, praying that her confident bluster would be sufficient to confuse the Hawk. "…Sister Julianna Beatrice Marie."

No one dared take a breath in the heated silence that ensued. Suddenly, Jax let go of Brenda, shoving her into Thomas’s waiting arms. "Hold her," he murmured. Before Brenda could let out a shriek of indignation, Thomas had snared her from behind. He wrapped one arm around her waist and held the war axe at an uncomfortably close angle to her throat with the other.

Jax, meanwhile, ambled slowly towards the spot where Stefan was holding Julia. As she saw him approach, Julia cringed and appeared as though she wished she could evaporate into thin air. Brenda took a breath to call out encouragement to her sister, but as soon as he felt her body move a centimeter, Thomas again lifted his axe ever so slightly towards her throat as a warning.

"So…" Jax suppressed the grin that teased at his lips as he saw Julia’s eyes flicker apprehensively over his powerful frame. Even with a casual posture, he exuded ruthless authority combined with a savage, catlike grace. "…Sister Julianna, is it?" He folded his arms across his robust chest. Brenda could see the terror in Julia’s eyes and knew it was only a matter of time before Jax discovered her charade. "How is it that you two good sisters were out in the woods so close to dark?" He raised one eyebrow but feigned innocence. "My knowledge of catechism is not what it once was, but I thought there were certain prayers required to be recited at sunset in an abbey."

Julia’s lips trembled. "Vvv…" She swallowed hard. "Vespers, my lord," she replied in a shaky voice. "My sister…" Despite her attempt to glimpse Brenda’s face for encouragement, Stefan held Julia firmly and Jax’s body barred a clear line of sight between them. "…Sister Brenda, that is, and I," she continued, nodding with renewed bravery, "went for a walk and were about to return to the abbey for Vespers when we were accosted."

"Hmmm…" Jax stroked his chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He looked up towards the sky and gave a loud, piercing whistle. Julia twisted her body to see what had drawn Jax’s attention, but then sobbed aloud and turned back to bury her face in Stefan’s chest. The fluttering of wings lasted only a few seconds before a large hawk swooped down into the clearing. When Julia looked up again, the hawk had landed on Jax’s forearm and was staring fiercely at her.

"Hawks are beautiful creatures, are they not, Sister Julianna?" Jax asked pleasantly. He stroked the hawk’s breast feathers gently with his finger. "A living contradiction, it seems…" The man’s eyes mirrored the hawk’s as they pierced Julia’s defenses. "A merciless hunter disguised in softness." The hawk shrieked again and Julia’s knees buckled beneath her, but Stefan prevented her from sinking to the ground in a faint. Jax smiled smugly as he sensed *his* prey was ready for the kill. "’Tis said that the bite of a hawk’s claws enables it to slay an enemy far more powerful than itself," he added. "Dids't thou know that, Sister Julianna?"

"I…I…" Tears flowed freely down Julia’s cheeks. Brenda took another breath to call out to her sister but when Thomas’s hand clamped over her mouth, she was reduced to muffled garbling.

"Yes, Sister Julianna?" Brenda was ready to claw Jax’s eyes out, hawk or no hawk. As she lunged towards him again, Thomas tightened his hold and raised his axe to rest against the small of her throat. Jax merely smiled his superiority at Brenda and turned back to Julia. "Is there something you need to tell me?" He leaned towards her. "You above *all* should know that confession is good for the soul."

"I…I…" Julia’s eyes widened as Jax came even closer to her and the hawk on his arm spread its wings and flapped them several times. "We are NOT nuns!" Her desperate confession caused Brenda to cease her struggles. "My name in truth is Julia, and that is my younger sister, Brenda," she added, covering her face with her hands.

Jax put his knuckle to Julia’s chin so that she was forced to look him in the eye. "And ARE you Lord Harlan Barrett’s daughters?"

Brenda held her breath. When Jax stepped aside so that Julia could finally see her sister, the blade of the giant war axe only a hair’s breadth from her tender flesh, the tears flowed anew. "We are!" Julia sobbed. Murmurs ran through the crowd. "Our father was visiting us at the abbey on his way back to the keep just this very day."

"He didn’t ask you that, Julia!" Brenda’s anguished shout caused Jax to spin towards her. "Hold your tongue and die bravely!"

"Thank you, Lady Julia." Jax bowed slightly at the waist as he chuckled at the disparity between the sisters. Just as their features were as opposite as day and night, their temperaments ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other. He lifted his arm and sent the hawk flying back towards the heavens, and then turned to Jerald.

"I apologize for my rash judgment earlier, brother," Jax said. Brenda wanted nothing more than to slap the self-satisfied smile from his face. "Take what men you need and set up a tent near mine for the women," he ordered Jerald. "Thomas – I entrust the ladies’ safe keeping to you." He sighed and for the first time, Brenda thought she saw some small glimmer of fatigue in the Hawk’s countenance. "Make sure none of the men are tempted to question these two before I have had my chance."

Orders given, Jax turned on the heel of his leather boot and stomped off in the direction of his tent. Brenda watched as he departed. His masculine form was as fine from the back as it was from the front. His chain mail hauberk accentuated his broad powerful shoulders, his wide belt hinted at a narrow waist and hips, while his braies covered muscular legs. As he distanced himself from the group, Brenda swore she noticed him slump with exhaustion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Brenda paced back and forth inside the small tent nervously. She finally paused, her head drooping forth onto her chest in exhausted frustration. Then, she took a deep breath, lifted her chin obstinately, and growled as she tugged at the stubborn leather thongs that held her hands behind her back.

It seemed as though time passed on fleet wings after Jax discovered her and Julia’s true identities. The huge Moor who had held her immobile while Julia broke down and confessed the truth had ushered Brenda towards a secluded area of the camp. Stefan followed with a weeping Julia in tow, while the man the Hawk addressed as "brother" sent men scurrying about setting up accommodations for the women as per Jax’s instructions. Brenda was allowed to hold Julia in her arms and comfort her, but far too soon the Hawk’s brother came and announced that the tent had been erected and was ready for its inhabitants.

Brenda actually found herself looking forward to some quiet privacy after the previous hours’ events. But she was sadly disappointed when Thomas stopped her just prior to entering the tent. He pulled her aside and after a few curt instructions to Jerald, the sisters Barrett found themselves with their hands bound loosely behind them. Jax had ordered that they be restrained, but some play was allowed in the binding. Instead of being crossed at the wrist and tethered at the center of her back, the length of leather allowed Brenda to bring her hands nearly to her sides.

Dark was quickly falling on the camp by the time that Brenda and Julia found themselves settled in the tent. The Moor, who introduced himself dourly as Thomas, brought them small trenchers of cold meat and cheese and temporarily loosed their hands. But as soon as the women were allowed a trip to the stream to refresh themselves and answer nature’s call before retiring, they found their hands once again bound behind them for the night.

Brenda managed to comfort Julia sufficiently that the elder sister soon drifted off into a troubled sleep. Her head swam with recriminations – if she hadn’t gone off to ponder her fate and grouse about the ill feelings her stepbrother had harbored towards her, she and Julia would be back at the abbey, safe and warm. If she had only been more docile and humble like Julia, her father would never have been forced to send her off to the convent in the first place. Brenda could have remained at the keep and even now would be helping to gird its defenses against the Normans.

The trials of the day soon caught up with Brenda and she joined Julia in the arms of Morpheus. But far too soon, Thomas awakened them by roughly jostling their arms. After trenchers of bread, cheese and fruit, and another trip to the stream, Julia and Brenda found themselves nervously awaiting the events of the day in their tent. Thomas arrived again and, to Brenda’s horror, announced that the Hawk wished to question the elder Barrett sister. Alone.

Brenda threw herself bodily at Thomas as he dragged a wailing Julia out of the tent. She had to content herself with shouting encouragement to her sister – to suffer torture bravely and silently like a true Saxon and Barrett. She had never anticipated that Jax would question them separately. Brenda had taken consolation in the fact that Julia would see her own stoic fearlessness during his interrogation and try to follow suit. But in her heart of hearts, Brenda knew that after one look at the gruesome instruments of torture the Hawk probably intended to use, Julia would crumble as easily as a mound of dried earth.

Minutes dragged by with leaden feet as Brenda paced and awaited Julia’s return. Once, she stopped dead in her tracks as the thought occurred to her that she might not return at all. The Hawk might become so exasperated with her fits of weeping and pleading that he might just kill her outright, realizing that she had no strategic information to impart. But then Brenda remembered the Norman’s cunning smile and alarmingly bewitching dimples, and she began to think that perhaps he would spare Julia’s life. Perhaps he would think that she was of *some* value – although the prospect of serving as a camp wh*re was no more appealing at that moment than suffering a lingering death.

Brenda was caught unawares when the flap of the tent was lifted and Julia shoved roughly back inside. "Julia!!" She rushed over to her older sister, who was huddled in a crouched position on the ground. There was nothing she wished more at that moment than to be able to take her sibling in her arms. "What did he do? Did that brute hurt you?"

Julia raised red-rimmed eyes to meet Brenda’s gaze. "Brenda," she whispered through a fresh spate of tears, "he…he…"

Brenda sank to her knees awkwardly on the ground next to her sister. "What did he do, Julia?" she murmured. "Did he…" She shuddered at the thought of how the Norman spawn of Satan may have robbed her sister of her virtue and her hopes for a future. "Did he touch you?"

Julia thought for a moment and then swallowed hard. "Only once." Brenda paled visibly. "After I fainted."

"You fainted?" Tears sprang to Brenda’s eyes. "From the fierceness of his interrogation, no doubt."

Julia started to reply, paused again, and then shook her head firmly. "No. The Hawk only asked me a few questions, and then I began to weep." She pursed her lips in embarrassment. "He didn’t like that very much." Brenda nodded for her to go on. "Then he asked me something again and I…I couldn’t help myself…"

"You told him about the keep’s defenses?" Brenda tried to keep the disappointment at her sister’s apparent quick surrender out of her voice.

"NO!" Julia’s cheeks stained with a faint blush. "I…I began weeping so ardently that I couldn’t breathe, and then an attack of the hiccups seized me…"

"AND?" Brenda was beginning to lose patience herself with her sister’s histrionics.

"And when I couldn’t breathe, I must have passed from consciousness." Julia sniffed and wiped her cheek awkwardly on her shoulder. "When I awoke, the Hawk’s brother was splashing some water on my face." Her eyes seemed to soften a little. "He really appeared to be quite concerned for my welfare, it seemed."

"*The Hawk* was concerned for your welfare?" Brenda snorted disdainfully. "Probably only because he thought he had lost his key to taking Barrett keep without a fight."

"No!" Julia shook her head firmly. "Jerald was…" A tinge of a blush crept into her cheeks. "That’s his brother, you see…he told me his name when he brought me back to our tent…" Brenda could not keep the exasperation from showing on her face. Julia bit her lip and shook her head to push her hair back off her face. "Jerald told the Hawk that I was too weak to answer any more questions. He insisted that I be allowed to return to the tent."

"And the Hawk listened to him?" Brenda was incredulous.

Julia shifted so that she could sit more comfortably on the ground next to Brenda. "I don’t think the Hawk was too pleased with me, Brenda. I kept trying to *tell* him that I had no knowledge of the keep’s fortifications or the lay of the land. I told him *you* were the one who always helped father with those things!"

"That’s…" Brenda fought the terror that clawed its way up her chest. While she wanted to keep her sister safe from harm, Julia’s confession now only put the blade of the Moor’s war axe squarely at Brenda’s throat. "That’s good," she finally managed to murmur. The trepidation on Julia’s face forced any fear for herself from Brenda’s consciousness. "You did well, Julia," she added, as Julia seemed to take heart from her praise.

The sisters cuddled together as best they could for a few minutes. Then, the flap of their tent was thrown back abruptly and Thomas appeared in the opening. "Noooooo…" Julia shrank back away from him as he strode towards the two. "Please don’t take me back to him…Please!!!"

Thomas hesitated for a moment, glaring fiercely at the both of them. Then, he reached down and grasped Brenda’s upper arm firmly and pulled her to her feet. "The Hawk wishes to see YOU."

Brenda struggled to keep her footing as Thomas dragged her out of the tent. "Be brave, Brenda! I will pray for you!!" Julia screamed.

She managed to dig in her heels as they reached the tent’s opening, forcing Thomas to stop. "Do not waste your time praying for me, Julia," Brenda announced bravely. She smiled back at her sister and then glared venomously at the Moor. "Pray instead for the Hawk!!"

To be continued…