One thing was certain. If the Huntsman ever attacked her the same way that he attacked her before, he was definitely going to have a broken instep, probably would have the most painful goolies in the history of the Kingdom and might even be choking on a broken windpipe, for those were the three moves that Siegfried had taught her to master today. They were shockingly simple. It had never occurred to her that simply smashing her foot down on his instep would break every bone in it — but he proved it by showing her how the same blow would break a thick bit of board, and foot bones were ever so much more delicate.
"If you're wearing a shoe or a boot with a heel to it, all the better," he'd added. "Like a riding boot. Concentrates all the force on a smaller place. And you might not think it, but I can tell you, there's only one pain that's worse than a broken foot,"
Then he showed her how, when instinct and pain made the man bend over, to smash the back of her head into his nose. Even if she didn't break it, she'd give him more pain at the cost of very little of her own.
And then, while his hands were coming up to cover his face, how to pivot and bring up the knee, or smash the point of her elbow into the windpipe.
Then run.
"And shout while you're doing it," he told her, over and over. "Shouting keeps you from getting frozen with fear. Besides, you never know who might be about. This is a big place with a lot of people in it. You never know who might be taking a shortcut, or who might be where he's not supposed to be. If anyone hears you, even if they don't come to help you themselves, say it's a little lad or a scullion-girl, they'll probably run off to get help. And even if there are two to grab you, and you get carried off, people will know right away, and pursuit will be on your attacker's heels instead of an hour behind. Now, let's try this again, and shout this time."
Lily watched from the sidelines with a face thoughtful and approving. Rosa was rather amused at that. It looked as if Lily had decided that Siegfried was going to be worth cultivating after all.
When they ran out of every bit of time that Rosa could spare for the lesson, she was sure of one thing; she wanted another. In fact, she wanted a lot more than that. She wanted a lot of lessons.
"Think you can spare me more of your time again, Princess?" the Northlander said as she pinned her hair back up again and tidied herself. "We've only just begun what I'd like you to know." He eyed her Guardsmen again. "No disrespect to your men, Princess, but they're trained for war, not for fighting the sort of lawless scum I've been trained against, the kind that'd rather take you from behind. And that's the kind you've got to be wary of."
"I'll make time," she vowed. "And I'd like you to train my Guardsmen every day that you can."
Siegfried grinned. "It'll be a pleasure, and a change from play fighting your other suitors." He waggled his eyebrows at the four Guardsmen, one of whom groaned, for Siegfried had not been at all gentle with them. Then he turned to Lily. "I'd like you to put a stiff leather or metal lining in a high collar in the Princess's gowns, if you haven't already," he said gravely. "Someone trying to strangle her will get a rude surprise, and a bit of surprise will give her a chance to squirm away, do a bit of harm and run."
"We will," Lily replied, and smiled slowly. "So far, of all the presents that have been given to Rosamund, I think that I like this one the best."
Chapter 16
The forest was cool, deep in shadow and fragrant with the scents of leaf and herb. The only sounds were those of birds and the occasional rustle of something scurrying through the underbrush. It was, above all, peaceful. Exactly what Siegfried craved at this point.
"What exactly are we doing?" Leopold asked Siegfried, as the latter sent his sturdy old horse ambling down another random path in the forest. The leaf-litter sent up the aroma of dead leaf and moss as the horses kicked it up, their hooves making dull sounds as they walked along.
"I'm not sure," the Northerner replied, taking a deep breath of the forest air and feeling a great deal of tension flow out of him. "I just couldn't stand being in the Palace or the city anymore. You can go back to the King's Arms if you want." He still wasn't sure why Leopold had insisted on coming along.
"And leave you to get eaten by bears?" Leopold snorted. Siegfried wondered if he was woods-wise in any way at all, or if the only thing that a forest meant to him was something to be gotten through as quickly as possible. "Or worse — run into your fire-circle maiden?"
Siegfried laughed and shook his head. "The bears are more likely to get eaten by me. I killed one when I was no taller than your waist. You forget I practically grew up in woods like these. This forest is more comfortable to me than any room in any building could ever be. As for the maiden, I think the Godmother might — " He paused, as a sound caught his attention. "Wait, I hear something." He held up his hand to keep Leopold from talking, and listened as carefully as he could. Yes, there it was again, a kind of scrabbling sound and a whimper. "Something's in trouble."
"Fine, if it's asomething it can stay in — " Leopold began, his tone wary. But Siegfried left Leopold talking to the empty air as he slipped out of the saddle and followed his ears. The sounds led him off the path and into the deeper forest, where he had to pick a way among the bushes and undergrowth. The sounds persisted and he followed them, until he found himself very near a long bar of sunlight streaming down from above on a tangle of vegetation.
The canopy wasn't as thick here; an absolutely enormous tree had come down, probably in that big storm everyone was still talking about, clearing out a swath of lesser trees and bushes as it fell. Around the trunk, things were a mess, broken branches and debris surrounding it. Siegfried heard the scrabbling again, from up ahead, along the trunk. It sounded like whatever creature was making the noise was desperate.
When the tree had come down, it had made a tangle of the whole area; rather than fight his way through the mess along the trunk, Siegfried decided to see if he could find an easier path, moving back into the forest and paralleling the trunk. Still following his ears, with Leopold trailing cautiously behind him, he got as close as he could to the sounds before getting his axe off his belt and hacking the rest of the way in. In the quiet of the forest, he made a terrible racket; startled birds exploded through the branches above him, and a hare bolted away from practically under his feet. The sounds stopped then, but he knew where he was going, and at any rate the noise of his chopping was probably terrifying whatever poor beast was making them.
He emerged at the trunk, made a little cleared space, and as he looked around, it was obvious what the problem was.
Dug under the fallen trunk was a den. Four woeful little fox kits stared out at him from behind a screen of debris and branches. Claw marks showed where frantic digging had failed to free them. It looked to Siegfried as if a she-fox had made herself a den here after the storm, and then at some point today half a tree that had been left hanging above it had decided to come down, trapping the kits. The scrabbling and whimpering he'd heard must have been her, trying to get to them. Of course she was nowhere to be seen now.
"Well, if you want a present for Rosamund, there's some fur," Leopold said, pointing to the kits. The little ones couldn't understand him the way they could understand Siegfried, but he was looking at them, and they probably thought he was going to eat them.