Chapter 86 - A Search at the Estate

Together, on a worn out bench, Jake and Ella took in an evening snack of bread and dried meat as the cool breeze whispered through the trees. Their bodies ached from the day's hard training at the camp, and the sky overhead was painted with hues of deep orange and purple as the sun began its descent, creating long shadows across the ground. “This bread is stale as hell” Jake complained as he looked at the bread, “It's better than what I used to get at the estate” Ella said and he shifted his gaze to her. “One day woman, I'm going to steal some freshly baked bread from the kitchen for you, you'll see” he said and gently pinched her cheeks. She smiled at him and they continued their little snacks, Ella let out a sigh and gave herself a peaceful moment as she contemplated now far she had come. From the young woman who had worked as a maid at the Brannon estate, she had gone a long way. She was now a soldier, wearing a uniform and facing new challenges and risks. But Jake seemed ag