Lost & Found

9: Guide

It had been a delightful diversion, being able to fully drink in the sight of him as he pulled off the tattered silk to replace it with the warmer wool. For a moment she could almost see the appeal of having a man for more than the purpose of procreation, almost. She couldn't be sure if it was because of the broad expanse of muscle across his chest, and rippling over his arms that made her consider the idea or the way he'd looked at her when she'd uncovered the marks that had saved his life from the patrol of warriors that they came across.

                Gwendolyn had been amused by the self-imposed mission she'd taken on to get him out of the wilds safely. She'd even offered to have her unit escort him back to the borders, hastily withdrawing the offer after learning he was foreign royalty. Instead, Gwen agreed to give them enough supplies to see them out of the woods, so that she wouldn't have to spare anymore time hunting and could expedite their process.

                If he continued to improve his pace they'd reach the plains in a few days. She'd been hoping to avoid any of the patrolling tribes, but Gwen had promised that none of her warriors would gossip about her traipsing through the wilds with a strange man. The information would do none of them any favors. Now that they'd crossed paths with a patrol, they were unlikely to come across another.

                Knowing that she could understand him and speak, it was hard to get him to keep his mouth shut. Another reason to be thankful for Gwen and her unit, his voice carried and would alert any ears human or beast for miles. Several times she'd had to put her finger to her lips to shush him just so she could listen to the woods.

                Even if he scared off all the possible prey, and they were unlikely to run into another patrol, there were still things out here that would see them as an easy meal and his constant questions and yammering would be like a beacon to them. It was only because she'd heard the twang of a bow string that she'd been able to yank him out of the way before the arrow killed him. She shook the dark thoughts from her mind, and picked up her pace.

                As long as they didn't run into anymore bad weather, she planned to keep him moving until twilight. Even then it was only so they'd have enough light to build a fire for the night. As soon as there was enough sunlight in the morning, she'd make him get up so they could use the better part of the days walking.

                As soon as the sun started to dip behind the mountains, she scouted for a decent place to sleep for the night. Any space large enough to safely hold a flame would do. She smiled to herself when he started gathering fallen branches for their fire as soon as she walked away from the stream.

                She didn't know what kind of training someone of royal blood got outside her kingdom, but it'd been clear that he did not enjoy any of the times she'd had to take care of everything for him. It made her wonder if it was because she was a woman or because he thought himself to be more capable. Part of the reason her kingdom had refrained from interacting with other kingdoms was to keep their traditions secret from the world. Women here were not the frail and docile creatures that seemed to populate the rest of the world.

                After building the fire, he tried to offer her the bedroll. An act of chivalry on his part she supposed, but she preferred to sleep with her back to a tree. Not only did it keep her from sleeping too deeply, but it was easier to defend yourself if you were at least partial upright to begin with. Growing frustrated with her, he strapped the roll back to his pack and settled down on the ground for the night.

                The patrol had gone above her expectations, filling the pack with more than just foraged rations. The jerky didn't have the same quality as her own, but it would do for a few days. He let her dole out the portions for each of them and ate what she handed him without complaint. She thought that it would be nice to save the dried fruit for their breakfast, something sweet to start the day, especially since she didn't plan to let him sleep in any more.

                As soon as his belly was full, he sprawled out beside the fire, and wrapped his cloak around him tightly. In a few breaths, his eyes fell shut and his chest rose and fell at a steady rhythm. He was gaining his strength back, but a day of walking left him exhausted. Maybe they wouldn't increase their pace much, but extra time walking would still shorten their journey and she'd soon be free of him.

                Laying her head back against the tree, she let her own lids fall closed. Her sleep was uneasy. Dreams of yanking him just out of the edge of danger over and over plagued her. It wasn't enough that she'd had to save him at least once a day, now her mind was coming up with new ways to put her on edge and make him seem even more helpless and frail. When the sun stared to lighten the sky, she had to force her eyes open.

                He wasn't much easier to rouse, but he perked up when she handed him the small bag of dried fruits, taking out a handful for herself. Some of the pieces were crunchy, while others were like chewy jerky, but all of them had a nice fruity taste and left her mouth feeling sweet. He seemed to enjoy the new flavors as well, and was smiling when she started to cover the embers with dirt and a little water.

                They slung their packs over their shoulders and made their way back down to the water to refill their skins for the morning. He whistled little tunes at the chirping birds as they began the days travel. Even in the best circumstances, she'd never been that cheerful in the morning, but as long as he wasn't talking and kept moving forward, she didn't care.

                Around midday, they stopped to refill their skins and take a short rest. The water moved faster here, reminding her that there would be a steep cliff coming up soon. She'd have no problems scaling down, but doubted he'd manage without falling and breaking a limb. It wasn't a tall cliff, but it would still be dangerous to take him over the ledge.

                They could skirt around it, adding at least a day to their trek and it'd leave them with just the water they could carry until they circled back to the stream. Or they could chance the climb. It would have been an easier decision if she'd had any rope with her, but she had not planned on playing nursemaid to a stranger when she'd packed her bag. For now she'd just follow the stream and gauge his reaction to the drop when they got to it and make a decision then.

                They arrived at the cliff a few hours later. The drop looked more menacing than it was dangerous, at least for her. He looked over the edge and let out a slow breath before looking at her with furrowed brows. She gestured at the stream below and then pointed off to the side and shrugged.

                He frowned, "Are you asking me if I'd rather climb down or find another way?" She gave him a curt nod.

                "You would just hop on down there if you were alone wouldn't you," he'd sounded like he was teasing her, but choked on his words when she gave him another nod. "Do you have some kind of death wish? No one would find you if you fell onto those rocks," he pointed to a rocky patch where the water pooled before continuing to flow through the trees. She let out a snort and rolled her eyes, annoyed with his concern for her safety when he didn't value his own.

                "Finding a safer way would add what, a few hours, a day, a few days?"

                She gave him a shrug, it really depended on him and how well he fared once they were out of water again. She was starting to think that was the only way to proceed, now that she'd seen how unsettled climbing made him.

                "It'd be easier if we had some rope," he mused looking over the edge again. She'd had the same thought, but it didn't make rope materialize out of thin air for them. He sighed heavily, "I hope you know what you're doing."