The Rebels of Cordovia (6 page)

Then, curious, Daniel asked, “Why the mask?”

In a lowered voice, she said, “My anonymity is
important. It will save me some day when rewards are put out for my
capture.”

Daniel laughed. “It’s too late. I’ve seen a few
reward posters hung up on trees here and there and in the villages
today. You’ve made the king real mad. I guess Charlottesville is
real important to him.”

The crowd cheered as Miles walked out to the
center of the arena. He raised his arms in the air and said, “We
have Daniel representing the Freemen and Robin representing Robin’s
Rebels. Men, take your positions!”

Robin was still dazed. She could not believe
what she heard. Daniel was the leader of the Freemen. Why hadn’t he
told her? Then it dawned on her. For the same reason she hadn’t
told him. Anonymity.

With courage, she stepped up to the mark in
front of her and stood still, waiting for Miles to tell them who
would be first. Could she beat Daniel? Then a smile played at the
corners of her lips as she remembered what Daniel had said: “I hear
this Robin character isn’t much to look at. Kind of scrawny!” She
laughed inwardly. Well, she would show him what kind of leader she
really was.

Miles finally announced, “We will draw to see
who goes first. The longest straw will begin.”

He held out two straws in front of them. Daniel
nodded for her to pick first and she did. After Daniel picked his,
they measured them and his was the longest.

His smile vanished as he soberly stood behind
the line and took an arrow from his quiver. He raised his bow and
pulled the string back, taking careful aim at a large round piece
of wood placed on a stump. There were three black rings with a
solid black circle in the center. In the center of the circle was a
small red dot. Daniel carefully aimed at the spot. When he let go,
the arrow sped through the air and landed on the edge of the black
circle.

It was now Robin’s turn. She stepped up to
the line and slowly pulled the bow back and let go. The arrow flew
rapidly through the air toward the target and landed next to
Daniel’s.

Daniel pulled an arrow from his quiver and
aimed at the second target. After a moment, he let the arrow go and
it struck the inner edge of the round black circle.

Robin was next. She felt confident as she
stretched the string back and let the arrow fly with ease toward
the target. It, too, landed on the inside edge of the black mark,
just as Daniel’s had. So far they were both tied.

Daniel turned toward her and smiled, as if
he knew this one had to count. He pulled an arrow from his quiver
and placed it against his bow as he eyed the third target. He
narrowed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the center mark. Then
he held his breath and let the arrow go.

It flew faster than Robin had ever seen. Her
eyes widened as it struck the red dot. Everyone cheered. With an
expression of satisfaction, Daniel turned to her and grinned.

Robin was amazed. This was the man who
championed her when the soldier was forcing his intentions on her…
this was the man who made her heart pick up speed just at the sight
of him… and he was about to beat her. No, she needed to win. It was
important to prove her skills as a leader of her group. She bit her
lip nervously and rubbed her hand against her thigh several times.
Taking several deep breaths to relax herself. After this one, there
was one more target left.

As Daniel watched his opponent, his brow
slightly creased. When he saw Robin biting her lip and rubbing her
hand nervously against her thigh, he narrowed his eyes, looking at
her more closely. Daniel studied her dark eyes, watched her
delicate hands as they held the bow, and looked at the curves of
her lips. Recognition finally set in. He was stunned. Could it be?
Was this Marie? No! She was too feminine, a real lady. As she
nervously bit her lip once again and pulled an arrow from her
quiver, Daniel knew.

He watched her step up to the line, knowing
she had to put her arrow in the center mark if she were to win.

Robin glanced at Daniel and then took
careful aim. As she bit her lower lip, sh
e
stretched her bow back, eyeing the target carefully. Holding her
breath for a couple seconds, she finally let it fly. When the arrow
struck the very center, splitting Daniel’s in half, everyone
cheered.

Daniel was stunned. He blinked a couple
times and could not believe his eyes.
The
audience was alive with excitement as they applauded. They had one
more target to go.
That would determine the winner.
So far it was a tie
.

As the audience settled down, Daniel set his
arrow against his bow and took careful aim. He pulled it back and
studied the mark carefully. Taking a deep breath, he finally let
go. It whizzed through the air and landed on the edge of the red
mark.

He watched Robin lick her
lips and rub her hand against her thigh. Then she set her arrow
against her bow, took careful aim, waited a couple seconds, and
finally let it go. It sped through the air with perfect precision
and slid into the center of the red mark, touching Daniel’s
arrow with the sound of a kiss.

Daniel stared at the arrows and then glanced
at her with disbelief. She was a great marksman. Everyone cheered.
Robin’s men ran to her, hugging her and congratulating her. Merek
lifted her in the air as he laughed.

As the crowd gradually left, Daniel took the
Freemen and Robin’s Rebels aside and announced, “Robin and I have
some business to discuss. Everyone may celebrate by eating the meal
we’ve provided.” Turning to Miles, he said, “You’re in charge.”

Then he took Robin by the arm and led her
into the woods for a long discussion. When they had enough privacy,
he stopped beside a log and invited her to sit down. She did as he
suggested and waited. Daniel didn’t know how to begin. The fact
was, Marie didn’t know how he really felt about her. She was an
enchanting young woman. She was beautiful with a determination that
made him stand up and take notice. And today’s competition sparked
an admiration in him that he never had for any woman before.

Taking a deep breath, Daniel began, “You’re
good. Very good. I’m impressed. Who taught you?”

“The best teacher around,” she said in a low
voice.

He nodded. “You couldn’t have had a better
teacher than your father. Andrew is the best swordsman I’ve ever
encountered. I didn’t expect him to beat our best man. He’s twice
the age of Jonas. I was surprised.”

Robin’s eyebrow creased with puzzlement.

When Daniel saw it, he said, “Don’t play
with me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what? I don’t understand.”

Daniel knew she wasn’t about to confess who
she was. He felt frustrated as he said, “I want you to know that my
beliefs are the same as yours. I don’t believe in bloodshed anymore
than you do. But I believe in fighting for our rights, for our
freedom, and defending our families. Isn’t that what you
believe?”

“Yes, that’s what I believe.”

“Then I think our groups should merge.” He
gave a curt nod. “Yes, I know you won this match. But aren’t we on
the same side? We both want the same thing, to win this battle
against King Rupert. We can’t do it without being united.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I think it’s
something to consider.”

“Consider?” Daniel said with disbelief. “The
king has his men out looking for you. There’s a price on your head.
He has men in every village patrolling it. We have no more time for
considering anything. We need to act and we need to act now. Are we
going to support one another and fight for the same cause?”

Robin stood and looked into his eyes. She
was waiting…waiting for that special feeling deep inside that never
failed her. It was an instinct whether this was right or wrong…sort
of like women’s intuition. As a warm glow filled her bosom, she
instantly knew her answer. Daniel was right. If she stalled any
longer, it might mean the difference between ending this battle or
prolonging it.

With resolve, she said firmly, “All right.
Let’s merge. We shouldn’t wait any longer.”

Daniel grinned from ear to ear. He was
elated. As he gazed into her dark brown eyes, she looked so
appealing to him hidden behind her mask. Her very presence seemed
to have an effect on him. Without another word, he took Robin by
her slender waist and pushed her against a tree.

He looked into her astonished eyes and
smiled. “What a woman!”

Daniel pulled her mask from her face and
dropped it to the ground. When he saw her surprised look, he
smiled. Then he leaned toward her and brushed his lips against
hers. He noticed that she didn’t push him away or turn her head, so
he did what his heart told him to do. He pressed his lips to hers,
giving her a tender lingering kiss. After a moment, he kissed her
again, but this time he kissed her like he had never kissed a woman
before. As his lips tenderly caressed hers, he felt her melt into
his arms with a sigh. How he adored this young woman and her
tenacity!

He gave her one delectable kiss after
another. He knew he had to let her go. This was not proper. He had
only seen her twice before. But each time they met, Daniel knew he
was captivated by her very charm.

As he caressed her shoulders and ran his
hand along her back, she sighed and then softly gasped. That gave
him the message that he needed to stop.

When he pulled away from her, he noticed
that her face was flushed and her eyes were softly gazing at him.
She was breathless, as if his kisses had affected her quite a bit.
He knew the effects she had had on him, as well, so it wasn’t hard
to guess.

Robin took a deep breath, licked her lips,
and finally broke the silence. “How did you know?”

Daniel smiled when he noticed her
breathlessness. He tenderly caressed her face with his fingers and
said, “It was the way you bit your lip and rubbed your hand against
your leg when you get nervous.”

Robin stared at him. “You noticed that?”

“Among other things.” He took her hand in
his and said, “I noticed what delicate hands you have.”

He gave it a squeeze. “And your mouth. No
one has heart-shaped lips like you, Marie. I guess I shouldn’t have
noticed, but it wasn’t hard to. I finally realized that you weren’t
who you said you were.”

“But I am,” she said firmly. “I’m Robin
Marie.”

“Robin Marie?” He smiled and raised his
brow. “So what shall I call you? I’m so used to thinking about you
every day as Marie. It might be hard to make the transition to
Robin.”

“You think about me?” Robin said with
astonishment. “Every day?”

Daniel cleared his throat and nodded. “Why
is that so hard to believe?”

She smiled and asked, “What shall we tell
the rebels?”

He replaced her hat upon her head and tucked
her mussed up hair inside. Then he handed her the mask and took her
hand, leading her toward the group of men and women.

“We tell them who you really are. They
should know who their leaders are. We have united and we’re now
one. But we will have equal say in the planning and strategy.”

She nodded. “You’re right. I need to let
your men know that I’m a woman.”

Daniel stood before the Freemen and Robin’s
Rebels and told them that they had joined forces. The Freemen
cheered. Everyone saw the respect Daniel had for Robin. His men
didn’t know she was a woman yet because she hadn’t taken her hat
off. Daniel knew it was time to tell them who she was. They were
all seated on the ground, eating and listening to his
announcement.

He turned to her and smiled as he said to the
group, “Robin is a great leader and archer. She won this tournament
but has agreed to unite with us. Andrew, her father, is a great
swordsman. We will all benefit from this unity.”

The men looked puzzled as they mumbled, “Did he
say ‘she’?”

“No, I don’t think so. You misunderstood.”

“I heard him say it. He said ‘she’.”

Daniel laughed as he took Robin’s hat off her
head, pulled her soft hair out of its bun, and let it fall upon her
shoulders.

The Freemen were shocked. Some gaped their
mouths open. A few swore softly as they said, “Who would have
guessed! Not me!” Others stared at her like they couldn’t believe
their eyes. They were speechless.

Finally, one man stood and said, “That woman
beat you at archery, Daniel. A woman! She beat you.”

Daniel laughed. “You bet she did. I want your
attention, men. Listen to me.”

Everyone quieted down.

“Yes, Robin is a woman. She is to be admired.
And we will treat her with respect at all times.”

The men understood what he was saying and
immediately cheered for their new leader. Robin’s Rebels looked
around and saw how the others had accepted her. This pleased
them.

When the cheering died down, Merek stood and
asked, “What are we going to call ourselves?”

Daniel looked at Robin and shrugged. It didn’t
matter to him. He had gotten what he wanted… in more ways than one.
Yes, he had kissed her and what a kiss it was!

Robin smiled at the men before her and said,
“We’re going to be known as the Freemen. That’s a good name and I
like what it represents… a free people.”

Daniel was surprised. He didn’t expect her
to change their name. This touched his heart. He wished he could
thank her properly once again, but one kiss for the day was all he
could handle.

The following morning Daniel sat down with Miles
and Simon on one side of the table, while Robin sat with Andrew and
Merek on the opposite side. They were discussing strategies to
retake the kingdom. After a long discussion, Daniel finally said,
“I don’t understand one thing. Why aren’t muskets allowed in
Cordovia?”