Uncle Jake

I didn’t understand it at first. I was stunned. The fact that everything had backfired and I was caught and my parents would be and probably already were furious had temporarily shut my brain down. Now, it woke with a jumpstart. I still had my bow and my hands free, even though my feet were no longer visible. It was quick sand into which I was sinking and I knew it was possible to go under quick sand if a cave is there. I doubted the trip wire would have been put there otherwise.

I grabbed my knife and sliced off as much of my dress as I could without taking it all off and keeping a bit of my pride. I cut it into strips and tied them together. I grabbed the ribbons from my hair and tied them onto an arrow, then laced them through my top strip. My waist was just going under.

Aiming at a tree branch, just a little ways away, I fired. It was an awkward shot because of my position, but it landed with a thunk in the tree anyways. I slowly pulled myself out of the sand. It took a while and my arms hurt, but finally, I lay on solid grass, breathing deeply.

“Ha,” a voice from the shadows said.

I jumped up, knowing how exposed I looked, how unladylike it was. My dress was cut to way over my knees. There were no arms. My hair was flying around my shoulders in a tangled mess. Still, I would fight. I lifted my bow, cocked an arrow and ordered, “Come out of there.”

Out of the woods came a man. He was taller than me, closer to 6’, while I was about 5’ 6”. He had honey brown hair and soft brown eyes. He seemed to be laughing.

“Who are you?” I demanded.

“Jake is my name.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Same as you,” he answered with a shrug.

“What? You don’t seem to be hunting.”

“I am. Except, it isn’t animals I’m hunting,” he said with a Cheshire cat grin. He leaped and evaded my arrow. Before I had time to let another fly, his knife was at my neck.

“Look, I caught a prize one,” he joked with me. “Now, I’m going to ask the questions. Who are you?”

“Why should I tell you?” I snarled.

“Well, I have the knife,” he started sarcastically. With one hand, he grabbed my dress rope. Pulling out another knife, he cut off a few pieces of it. Tying it around my hands and feet, he set me down and put away one of the knives. “You know, you look familiar. Now talk.”

I took a deep breath and started. “My name’s Alexandra Kline.”

“Kline?” he asked surprised. “You mean the daughter of famous, evil Fason Kline?” he asked cheerfully

“The one and only,” I said, using the same bored tone Fason had used with me earlier.

“So, I have someone actually worth something,” he whistled with happiness.

“So, you’re a kidnapper?” I asked with venom.

“Nope, I’m with the Kahule. You know who they are, don’t you?” he asked with mock sincerity. Like anybody from Sanjua didn’t.

“If you don’t let me go, the entire house of Gorday will come down on you and so help me-” I started.

“Gorday. I thought you just said you’re name was Kline,” Jake said, reeling.

“It’s our real name. Fason’s military name is Kline, which his family took. But his ancestors are all Gordays. Why?” I asked suspiciously.

“You just made yourself even more important. Let’s go,” he said, motioning for me to stand up.

“Maybe if you untie my feet, dipstick,” I retorted, happy to be able to use my smart aleck-ness finally.

He looked at me affectionately.

“You are your mother,” he said, smiling.

“I believe I’m me and I am not at all like her,” I responded, shocked at his comment.

“I know you’re you. You don’t look that close to your mother to be mistaken for her up close. And, she could always make you feel like an idiot,” he answered.

“Three things here. One, my mom has blonde hair and blue eyes. Exact opposite from me. Two. My mother could make you feel like an idiot by belittling you, not sarcasm. If she even knows what it is, I’ll be surprised. And third. It isn’t that hard to make you look like an idiot,” I said.

“Three things to you missy. One, you’re not as smart as you think. Two, you really sound like an idiot here. And third. I’m not talking about Penelope Kline. I’m talking about your real mother.”

It took me a second for me to fully comprehend that one. And, by the time I did, Jake had undone my feet and tied that strip to my hands, using it like a leash. I stood up and walked in silence, adjusting my course at Jake’s demand. I just couldn’t figure it out.

Yes, my mother and father looked nothing like me. There skin was way lighter than mine. They were boring. They didn’t care extremely about me. They never had let me meet my only grandmother left. It made sense, but it meant that my entire life was a lie. And, if Jake knew about them, then they were rebels! Slowly, I got out of my trance.

“We sort of skipped the ‘Take me to your leader part, you know,” I said.

“It’s more of a hostage situation. I take you no matter what you want, doll face,” he answered with a grin.

“So, my parents. How do I know you’re not lying about them?” I asked.

“Well, let’s see. I was there when you were born. My best friend was your dad. That’s how I knew your mother’s face so well. Carmen was beautiful just like you,” Jake said.

“What am I supposed to call you then? Uncle Jake?” I asked snidely.

“Jake’s fine, doll,” he answered.

“You never proved that I really am related to you rebels and that Carmen was my mother or whatever you called her,” I retorted.

“Fine. The baby that Carmen had had a small dark birthmark on her stomach,” he said. I look thoughtfully at my belly, where I had a small dark birthmark. “There,” he said with a touch of amusement. I scrunched my nose up, thinking about it.

Dawn had finally appeared by the time we made it to his camp. It looked more permanent than my camp. It seemed cozier. It was mostly longhouses and small cabins set up inside a courtyard. It was only near half the size of my camp, but it seemed to have almost the same amount of people. It amazed me.

People were stepping out of their cabins or stopping in the middle of an early morning chore such as washing clothes, making food, etc. to stare at me. I felt like I was heading to an executioners block, not the leader’s cabin. I expected there to be a trial on my treason and either have me imprisoned or killed like at my camp. But, there was no trial.