Microsoft Word - BETROTHED.docx by Noah

important of all, allow me to introduce you to Scarlet," Caitlin said. "We are her family now," Caitlin added, liking the sound of those words even as she said it.
    Scarlet stepped forward and reached out a hand, polite, adult-like.
    "A pleasure to meet you," Scarlet said in her best adult voice.
    Sam smiled and reached out and formally shook her hand back.
    Polly, though, knelt down and picked Scarlet up in a big hug.

    “Oh my god, aren't you a dear?" Polly said. "And so beautiful. Look at that hair, those eyes. I think you just might be the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen," Polly said.
    Scarlet beamed back.
    Ruth suddenly barked, and Polly’s eyes opened wide in surprise. She knelt down and gave her a hug, too. "Oh Lord! Look at you. My how you've grown!”
    Ruth licked her face, as Polly petted her.
    "Oh my God," Polly said, standing, facing Caitlin. "We've been searching for you everywhere . I can't believe we found you. We just left the most hideous bearbaiting ring. Oh my God, it was awful.
    The worst place I've ever seen. And we were walking along the river, trying to figure out where on earth to go next. For a second there, I didn't know if we find you at all and—”
    "Suffice it to say that we are so happy to see you," Sam said, cutting her off.
    Polly looked at Sam, annoyed.
    Caitlin looked back and forth between the two of them, and for a moment wondered if they were in a relationship. But she saw how irritated they looked by each other. The idea amused Caitlin.
    "We were there, too,” Caitlin said, “at the bearbaiting ring. But just briefly. We never actually went inside.”
    “That explains it," Sam said. "I thought I sensed you there. But I wasn't sure.”
    “What were you doing in such an awful place?" Polly asked.
    “Well,” Caitlin began, "we were just following clues. Or, so we thought. We found ourselves in Westminster Abbey. There were people there, our kind, and they helped us. They led us to a golden scepter, which led to this ring."
    Caitlin held out her hand, displaying the ring she now wore. Sam reached out, fascinated, just as he had always been by all things relating to their father. He slowly read the inscription aloud.

    Across the Bridge, Beyond the Bear,
    With the Winds or the sun, we bypass London.

    He furrowed his brow in silence, puzzled.
    "We crossed the London Bridge,” Caitlin continued, “thinking maybe that's what the bridge was.
    And then it mentioned the bear. And we heard about bearbaiting, so we came here, hoping. But there is nothing. I think we misread the clues. I thought we were heading in the right direction. But now, I’m not so sure.”
    “Across the bridge, beyond the bear," Sam repeated, as if willing himself to figure it out, "across the bridge, beyond the bear…” Finally, he exhaled. "I have no idea," he said.
    "I don't either," Polly said.
    Silence came over them, as the four of them stood there, stumped.
    "If you read it faster it might make sense," Scarlet said.
    Caitlin spun, as did the others, and stared down at Scarlet. She was beaming back, a playful smile on her lips.
    "What did you say?" Caitlin asked.
    "Your riddle makes sense to me.”
    Caitlin stared at her intently, suddenly realizing that she might have figured out something they didn’t.
    "How?" Caitlin asked, eager, “how does it make sense?”
    “Well," Scarlet said slowly, enjoying the attention, "he read it so slowly. That's your problem. Try reading it faster. He skipped the most important part.”
    Caleb furrowed his brow. “What do you mean?"
    “The winds or the sun," Scarlet said. "That's the important part. Read it faster.” She hesitated, then continued, “It's not the ‘winds or the sun’. You need to connect the words.
    Not ‘winds or’ but ‘windsor.’ It’s Winsdor. You know, Windsor Castle. Across the bridge is Windsor, and beyond the bear is the forest you have to cross. The Bear forest," she said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the