The Rebellion

"'Scuse me," Ivy said, touching the arm of a passerby. He turned towards her, a frown on his face.

"What d'you want?" he asked. He was a tall, fat man. Not very handsome, but Ivy smiled at him.

"Do you know where I can join a certain… group against the king?"

"Who wants to know?" he asked, voice lowering.

"Ivy Dawnsong, at your service," she said, using one of the fake surnames she liked to use.

"Parents?"

"Dead," she said. "They were farmers."

"Follow me," the fat man said. Ivy smiled to herself as she followed him through the streets. He led her to a tavern. "The person you're looking for is in there." She nodded at him.

"Thank you, kind sir," she said before entering the tavern. It was busy and loud inside, almost every table full of men drinking and laughing. There were a few women, most were waitresses, and even fewer were drinking. Ivy looked around and saw the man she was looking for, sitting on a stool at the bar counter.

She slipped into the seat next to him and ordered a cup of ale. "Morning," Ivy said to him, sipping her drink. He grunted. She lowered her voice. "I hear you're the leader of a certain rebellion. I want in." He turned to look at her.

"We don't usually let women join. Too many fights." he said, sipping his drink and slamming it down on the counter. "But tell you what. If you can beat Robby here in a drinking contest, you're in." He indicated a large man sitting next to him.

"Right then," Ivy said, waving for a drink. "Let's get started." The man looked surprised. It seemed he didn't expect her to agree. Robbie was obviously his best drinker. Robbie ordered his drink, and they started the contest. Ivy downed her first drink in two gulps, then ordered another. And another, and another, and another.

She didn't stop. She didn't waver. Empty cups began to stack up in front of her. The tavern had gone silent, watching the contest. Ivy glanced over at Robbie. He had finished eight drinks, but he was beginning to waver. Ivy continued drinking.

On her fifteenth drink, Ivy set her cup down. "Oh would you look at that," she said. "My fingers are tingling. I think it's starting to affect me." She picked up her cup, ready to finish it, but Robbie fell over with a crash. He had fainted.

The tavern erupted into cheers. Ivy leaped up onto the counter. "Thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed, taking an elaborate bow. She grinned, sitting back down in her seat.

"Well I'll be," the man said. "What's your name?"

"Ivy. Ivy Dawnsong."

"Welcome to the rebellion, Ivy Dawnsong!" He said, clapping her shoulder. She grinned again. "Meet me four blocks down the street. I'll take you to base."

..........

Fifteen minutes later, Ivy stood outside an old broken down flat, waiting for the man. He arrived soon after. "Follow me," he said, opening the door and leading her inside. The one-room flat was deserted. This was the so-called rebellion's base? They must not be as powerful as Thorne thought.

She jumped in surprise as the man opened a hidden trapdoor in the floor. "What-" she said, startled.

"This way," he said, jumping down. Ivy followed him warily. Was he leading her into some sort of trap?

They were in a narrow dirt tunnel that extended forward into darkness. They walked side by side into the black. "What's your name?" Ivy asked him, curious.

"You don't need to know."

"I told you my name."

"True." They walked in silence for a while. "Nick," he suddenly said.

"What?" Ivy asked.

"My name is Nick."

"That's a nice name," she said, running her fingers along the dirt wall.

"Ivy is nice, too." Ivy smiled. He was warming up to her.

"So," she said. "How did you end up as leader of this rebellion, anyways?" 'Maybe I can get him to open up…' she thought.

"It's really simple," he said, eyes forward. "I got tired of the way Thorne rules. He's an evil man and a tyrant. So I gathered some people and formed a rebellion. More people joined after that. Turns out Thorne isn't the most loved person." Ivy fumed on the inside. How dare he insult Thorne to her face? She took a deep breath. 'I need to stay calm,' she told herself. "What about you?" He asked. "What brings you here?" 'Blast!' Ivy thought. 'I should've come up with some sort of backstory!'

"I… don't want to talk about it," she said. She could work with this. Ivy hung her head, hugging herself. 'Look like you're about to cry…'

"You can tell me," Nick said.

"We literally met less than an hour ago," she said, purposefully making her voice shaky. Wait, no. He needed to think she was strong, not weak. She dropped the depression.

"Right." They continued walking in silence. Before long, a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Nick led her to it. "Welcome," he said, spreading his arms. "To the rebellion!" Ivy gawked in astonishment.

Before her lay a huge cavern. On the right wall were racks of weapons, spears and swords and shields. In the center was a large bonfire, the smoke emptying through a small skylight far up above. To her left were hundreds of bedrolls and hammocks, some people were napping on them. On the far wall were shelves and shelves of food and waterskins. "Woah…" She whispered.

"Pretty cool, right?" Nick asked. "During the day we sit around the bonfire. We have a few cooks. They cook stew and bread, they keep the men's spirits up. At night we sleep over there. Each person has an assigned bedroll. You can have that one on the end, by the wall." He pointed out an empty bedroll for her.

"This is… amazing!" She exclaimed. How had they done all this without her father noticing? She'd have to find one of his spies and have him report back. The men turned, finally noticing her.

"Oi, Nick!" One shouted, walking forward and stopping in front of Ivy. He was tall and muscular, a similar build to Nick. "What's with the little girl?" He reached forward to finger her hair, greed in his eyes. Ivy snarled, then swept his legs out from under him. He fell, startled, crashing to the stone floor.

"Barty, did you just get beat by a girl?" Another man asked.

"No way!" He said, standing. "That was unexpected, that's all." He charged at her, eyes blazing. Ivy side stepped, then tripped him, causing him to crash to the floor again.

"Still think I'm a little girl?" She asked, bending over and smiling at him. Barty snarled, but stood up.

"Why'd you let her join, anyways?"

"Beat Robbie in a drinking contest an hour ago," Nick replied.

"She beat Robbie?" a man asked.

"Yep. I bet she could beat all of you, too." The group burst into laughter, but Ivy ignored them. She was watching the crowd for one of her father's spies… there. A man near the back of the crowd.

He held up his hand, first and middle finger pointing up. That was the signal, proving that they were on the same side. She nodded to him. Nick glanced at the skylight. The sky was beginning to darken. "Dinner time!" He shouted. "Get your miserable butts over to get your food."

Ivy giggled. "Miserable butts?" she asked, eyes shining.

"Gotta act like a leader," Nick replied. "Come on, let's get some food. You can sit with me."

'Perfect,' Ivy thought. 'I'm getting close to him already.'

"Sounds good," she said aloud. "What's for dinner?"

"Stew. And bread." That actually sounded good. A nice change to the lavish banquets she had back at the fortress. The cook looked startled for a moment before handing her food. He obviously wasn't paying attention to the commotion a few minutes ago.

Ivy took the hot bowl of stew and the piece of bread, sniffing. It smelled amazing. She sat down on the floor near the fire, and the people around her scooted away. Oh, well. She could get closer to the fire now. It was chilly in the cavern. She scooted up, smiling as the warmth from the fire bathed her.

Nick sat down next to her. "Sorry about the way they're acting," he said, dipping his bread in his stew and taking a bite. "There haven't been any women down here before. It's quite sexist, actually."

"It's fine," she said. She was used to it, anyways. Most servants didn't come near her unless they had to. Ivy copied Nick, dipping her bread and eating it. Her mouth immediately melted. "So good!" She exclaimed.

"Yep. Our cooks are the best," Nick said. They ate in silence. Ivy ate her dinner as fast as she could, smiling the entire time. Nick chuckled, eating more slowly. Once Ivy was finished, she sat still, staring into the fire as Nick finished his food.