Chapter 6
From Toreas
Slowly he opened his eyes. He had learned a long time ago that even fast movements with your eyes could catch the attention of some predators. So he looked around carefully. If something didn't see you, it was unlikely to attack you. Startled animals, depending on their size might just get angry enough to decide it's time you die. He had no plans to die today or anytime soon.
Zara was laying almost exactly the same way in his arm as she had gone to sleep the night before. If she had moved it couldn't have been much. Her head rested on his chest and one hand had found its way on to his stomach.
He smiled. It was a good feeling, having her warm body this close to his. Now she was no princess. She was just another woman in his arm. But still, she was special, she had that look in her eyes that stirred something in him. He did not care about her being royalty. As long as she wanted something from him as herself, the woman with those beautiful eyes, he would probably not deny her. If she commanded as princess he would think very carefully about agreeing and by default be inclined to deny the request first and ask questions later.
He sighed. She was a princess, he a nobody. She probably would never be this close to him again, ever. But he could just as well enjoy the moment he had now and not worry so much about the future.
Gently he moved his fingers over her left arm. Her skin felt so soft and warm under his fingertips. Ignoring an impulse to stroke her hair, he just kept on gently feeling her skin and closed his eyes again. They could wait a bit longer before moving again. The rest was very welcome for both.
Some of the strain from yesterdays assault finally was gone. There were new problems, but the previous one was at least dealt with. Eric spent a long time tracking those mercenaries and he felt good that he brought them to justice for their crimes. Including the ones concerning the woman still tightly pressed against his side.
The princess stirred in his arm. He stopped stroking her skin instantly. A short stab of regret went through his mind, but then he could not expect her to enjoy this as much as he did. She would probably be furious if she knew what he was doing. Collecting more problems was not a good strategy at the moment.
She moved some more and tiredly lifted her head. For a few moments she was confused to where she was. It dawned on her and she pulled away fast from Eric, sitting up and putting a small distance between them.
"Did you sleep well?", he asked trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Just moments before she had been drooling on his shirt.
"Better than in a long time", was all she could before she had to yawn.
Stretching she found her body hurt all over but she was rested and not as cold anymore. It felt good to stretch for a change. While she had been a captive, there was seldom the opportunity to do so.
The rain had stopped sometime during the night. Everything was wet all around them.
In the sky he could see some clouds, mixed with the red haze of predawn and even some slivers of blue in between them. They would be spared more rain if the clouds were breaking up like this already.
"We have to go. I want to get close the the village today so we can reach it tomorrow."
She nodded and stood up. Stretching her arms and legs, she watched him as he shook the blanket, rolled it up and tied it to his pack again.
Last night she had been sleeping pressed closely against this mans body. So he was the first man she had lain with in some regard. It was not what she had pictured in her mind. It had always been some nice prince that would be the man to have that honor and of course there was more involved than just laying. It never had been some rough guy from the woods. Still, it gave her an odd warm feeling looking at him and thinking of laying again close to him. It was something she would like to feel again. Also the stroking he did on her arm felt very nice. But she wouldn't tell him that she enjoyed him taking those liberties with her. Especially because she had enjoyed it so much.
He snapped his fingers close to her face and she flinched back.
"Wake up and stop dreaming, we need to go."
As they walked Eric collected some berries, most of which he gave her. There were a lot of different ones and most of them had a slightly sour taste but there were a few sweet ones in between as well. She decided to collect a few herself but he stopped her as he saw what berries she had in her hand.
"Eat them if you want, but a couple of these and you will get very bad stomach pains."
Disappointed she dropped them and gave up on collecting. He clearly knew what he was doing and she so clearly didn't. She knew where berries came from but she did not know how they were all called or which ones were good and which ones weren't. In the end they ended up washed, in a dish for her to eat at the table or her chambers. She really had to learn more about those things.
Eric was not starting any conversations and even though Zara tried a couple of times, she gave up after their second rest. He was monosyllabic with her and concentrated on the forest, ground and the surroundings so intently as if he expected a bear to spring out of the ground at any moment. So they walked on in silence through the afternoon until the light faded.
He gave her the blanket to sleep on the ground. Meanwhile he climbed the tree they rested next to for the night and found himself a perch high up. The place he settled in was about two stories above ground and a bit away from where Zara laid down. She looked up and hoped he had done this before. Even if he did fall, he wouldn't be falling on her which was a small relieve, but still he would probably not survive the fall.
Exhaustion claimed her fast.
When she woke, Eric was sitting a couple paces away from her, studying her. She immediately got up and was checking if she was decent. Well, decent enough, she decided. They did not exchange words but simply set out again.
As they walked they had the last dried meat. Neither had much to say and lots to think about and so they kept walking in silence.
To Zara, everything was new and unknown. She had never been in this part of the land. It was similar to pretty much most of Lionor's domain though. But walking through it on foot, the forests, the meadows, the fields and avoiding a pursuit gave her a new perspective. She had lived a sheltered life. There was never a day where she had not slept in a bed. Always there had been plenty of food and she was constantly surrounded by people she trusted. Also there were people that protected her around at all times. Out here she was alone with this young man named Eric. But then again, she trusted him. He had freed her, he fed her, he seemed concerned about her and although he was rude and disrespectful, he had done nothing dishonorable towards her. She decided that she really liked him.
It also was nice to be treated differently than at court. Even with nobility from other kingdoms it was always court etiquette and scheming behind it all. The most relaxed conversations she had with some of her maids and even those always called her your highness.
On Eric's' mind was constantly how they could get undetected to the village. He was listening intently for any horses while trying to find a path that had them shielded from view or at least gave them fast ways to hide. Once at the village he would spend some of his coin to get what they needed. But he would also have to hunt something later on. They could not survive on what they had with them or what he could buy safely without arousing suspicion, alone.
Noon had just passed when Eric spotted the village. They had left the forest in the late morning, but there were enough small groups of trees and brush to give them sufficient cover would they need it. Walking from one hiding place to the next they made it until the village came into a clearer view.
"You stay here, I will get the supplies."
Eric's tone clearly indicated there was no debate about this.
"Very well then. I hide here and hope you return safely?"
He thought about it.
"Yes. Wait till sun up if you have to. If I don't return by then assume I'm dead and continue alone."
Eric dropped the blanket from his pack as well as his bow and arrows. The pack itself he kept on him. After thinking it over he also dropped the sword, it might grab too much attention.
"Make sure you stay out of sight. If anyone sees you, move to another hiding place and return here by sun up."
"You don't plan on coming back?"
She was unsure about this.
He laughed, a short and not amused laugh.
"I want to come back, with supplies and everything, but I don't know what's down there in that village. If something happens, you have to go on without me and not come into the village. It's safer for you to stay hidden, that way nobody can make the connection between my visit to the village and you. I'll hurry."
With that he got up and started walking towards the small dirt road that led into the village.
Following the road, he came into the center of the small village. It was an open square surrounded by low buildings. He could see a smith and a carpenter and at a corner there also was a seamstress. An inn a bit further down the road, caught his attention. Many people who looked like they lived here were walking towards it, probably for lunch. It would also be the place where people would ask questions.
He quickly thought it over. Going in there he might spot the scouts but that would do him not much good, they would also spot him. Then again, they had no idea who he was. Still, he was out of place and the locals might point that out. Too risky, he decided and looked the building over a bit closer.
There was nothing fancy about the inn. It had two stories, an old sign outside that was no longer showing letters nor a picture on it and there was a small stable behind it. Those stables might tell him enough.
Unseen, he slipped in between the inn and a neighboring house, making his way to the stable. The stable gate was open a bit and nobody in sight. After a few moments, in the dark his eyes adjusted and he was able to see a some boxes for horses and a cow roped in the back. Three boxes were occupied, two of them with almost identical tack. On each one, near the rear of the saddle, there was the same symbol. It was smaller than his fist and in a place where it could easy be hidden but just as easy shown if needed. This was a mercenary insignia.
A small red dagger was visible to anyone bothering to look close enough. He had seen that before.
Eric remembered clearly how the armor of the Leader had that exact symbol on the center of his breast plate. Also small and not very prominent, but it was etched into his mind as it had come at him in what had almost been his last moment alive. So the Leader was part of the same mercenary band. The other soldiers with the Leader had none of these symbols, he would have noticed, so they either were not part of this or they were too low in ranks to warrant the symbol.
A rustle in the corner made Eric whirl around with dagger in hand, ready to pounce on the possible danger. It came from the corner where there seemed to be only a bunch of hay. A young boy was laying there, oblivious to the world. He seemed to be shaken by some bad dreams. The boy looked well enough fed, no bruises, but also not really good clothing, winter would be very cold for him. This was probably their keeper of the stable. Cheap labor was always welcome in villages like these.
Nobody had seen him, the boy was still sleeping, so he could just leave without a problem. There was nothing else of interest with the horses and he would not risk going inside the inn.
At the seamstress he bought the only cloak that was available on such short notice, colored a light sandy brown. He also gotten her to part with some old shoes of hers, that should be slightly too big for Zara but better than her bark shoes she was using now.
With all supplies wrapped in the cloak, he left. Once out of sight of the buildings, he went off the path and to the hiding place they had agreed upon.
He spotted her only when he was very close and because he knew what to look for. Someone else would have walked by without noticing anything. Those mercenaries knew how to look and what to look for though, he thought.
"Zara, here", he said not too loud.
She turned around. A slight fright was still in her eyes, he had surprised her, although not as bad as he thought it would be. She was very jumpy at everything. That in turn was no surprise.
He handed her the cloak.
"Thank you", was all she said.
Without another word, she wrapped the cloak around herself and slipped into the shoes. As he had thought, they were too large. She still looked at them as if they were the finest boots ever made in all of the world. To her it felt like that at least. She wondered how she could ever have thought any of her shoes at home were not fitting well.
Eric made a small bundle with some of the food and gave it to her to carry, while putting the rest away in his pack.
"The scouts are still here."
She looked up.
"Why? If they had heard about their friends passing through, they would ride back, wouldn't they?"
"There were two horses at the inn, both with the same insignia. I've seen the same symbol on the leader of the men who were guarding you at the barn. They are waiting for something. Maybe they don't even look for their men yet. Maybe they were sent there to get word about their arrival to their main force as soon as they turn up."
"So what do we do?"
"Keep on going until we find a patrol of the king or reach Lionor."
He tore a piece of bread off and stowed the rest in his pack. Giving her some of it, he nodded to the northeast.
"Let's keep moving."
They ate in silence, moving through some brush and over a meadow, until they came to a spot where they could still see the south exit of the village. Eric glanced back there then came to an abrupt halt, his eyes fixed on that spot. Zara turned and looked as well.
A horse departed the village. The rider looked like he was in a hurry.
"That's one of the scouts. We better move fast. There are a lot more where that one is going."
