Adele heard the sound of a trumpet from across the camp. Confused and frightened, she squinted her eyes so that she could better see and understand why they would attack the Hungarian people–fellow Christians–within those walls. But all Adele could see atop of the great stone walls were clothes and arms.
“These barbarians have stripped Sir Walter’s men naked! They must be punished,” one man yelled.
“Peter wills it! God had told him to avenge our brethren,” another man shouted.
“God wills it! God wills it,” people all around her screamed. Those words, which at one time filled Adele with hope and anticipation for an exciting new adventure and a heavenly reward, now sent icy shivers up and down her spine. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest, it hurt.
Adele pushed her way through the throngs of people, calling out her sisters’ names. She glanced around feverishly, but she didn’t see them anywhere. Several pilgrims shot her wary looks, but she ignored them. Adele had to get out of here. Now. But first, she had to find her little sisters. They were all she had left and she couldn’t bear the thought of living life without them.
Finally, after what felt like several agonizing minutes of searching, Adele heard a tiny voice, above the frantic chatter, call out her name.
“Josie,” Adele screamed while running in the direction of the small child’s voice. She instantly caught sight of her young sister racing towards her. Her thick blond curls, normally always pleated, now flowed in an untidy fashion down her back and in front of her little face. Josie was followed by Elle and…Simon.
Josie jumped into Adele’s arms and burst into tears, making Adele forget momentarily about Simon.
“I am afraid, Adele,” she sobbed.
Tears pricked Adele’s own eyes. She was terrified herself; afraid of the sword, of hunger (not that she hadn’t suffered from that enough already) of illness and outlaws. But she was most afraid of Peter. He was not the great Christian man who had prayed over her dying mother; who gave everything he owned to the needy and promised protection and eternal salvation. Adele now saw that Peter was a heartless tyrant, bent on the destruction of anyone who supposedly jeopardized his journey to the Holy Land. The Hungarians had stripped several men naked. It was most certainly an awful, humiliating way to treat pilgrims. But that did not justify war. Adele refused to believe that God had sanctioned war against the Hungarians. To make matters worse, Adele realized that if anyone–especially Peter–knew her thoughts, they would denounce her as an infidel and perhaps even slay her. That very thought made her blood run cold.
Adele tightened her grip on Josie. “I am too. We must get out of here.”
Elle scrunched up her face. “Where will we go? We cannot return home. It is…”
“I know,” Adele said. She then turned to face Simon. As happy as she was to see him again, she didn’t understand why he had chose her over his own family. “Why are you not with your family?”
“Because,” he said, draping his arm over her shoulders. “I couldn’t leave you. I just couldn’t.”
He learned so close, Adele could feel his breath on her ears. It stank, but she didn’t care. Despite the fact she didn’t know Simon well, she really liked him.
“I love you, Adele. I have loved you the moment I laid eyes on you. And,” he lowered his voice. “I’m also not like them.”
Tears streamed down her face. The last person who spoke those words to her was her mother.
Simon tightened his grip on her shoulder. “We must leave before it is too late,” he whispered into her ear.
