Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
T he one horse between the pair of them wasn’t ideal. Even more so when she realized just how stubborn the pair of them truly were. As his healer, she had been insistent that he ride on the horse while she walked, and he claimed that he couldn’t call himself any sort of man if she didn’t ride while he walked. So, they were wedged up on her horse together, making very slow progress on the overladen beast.
“We’re going tae need a second horse,” Nathan said as the sun started to come up over the rolling emerald hills. It was a stunning sight of pinks and oranges as the sunlight filtered in through the clouds. The reins were second nature in his hands as Freya leaned back into his chest. She was half asleep in his arms and he was enjoying the feeling of her in his arms. Freya’s eyes were heavy as she hummed her assent. “Is there another village nearby?”
“Mm,” she said softly, forcing her eyes open.
He hated to disturb her, but they were going to have to stop for a rest. The horse would need a break and water, and they would also need to rest.
“Where’s the next village?”
Freya roused herself, glancing at the horizon and orienting herself. She turned in his arms, and pointed toward the east, where he easily guided their horse. It was another few hours before they spotted a large farm with a few houses located on the land. He imagined that her village was likely the largest on the island, and that they were unlikely to find many others aside from the sparse farms scattered over the land.
They approached slowly, as the farming family was just starting to work on their morning chores. The night’s long ride had left the pair of them sore, but Nathan was still sorry to have her leave his company. Once again he noted how he rather liked the warmth of her back cradled against his chest in that way. There were certainly plenty of horses in the barn, and they only needed but one.
He helped Freya off the horse as best as he could, easing her onto her weary feet before she turned and rustled through one of the saddle bags to produce coin. “I have a reputation here; I’ll be right back.” She assured him.
It felt foreign to have matters handled for him, though he couldn’t claim to remember how he had dealt with such things before. He didn’t want her to have to be the one to do everything. She had done enough and he didn’t want her to waste her coin but he had none of his own he could use to barter with.
He walked with her as they approached the farmer, nonetheless. Freya started to explain that they were in need of another steed as their other one had developed lameness along their journey. She spoke quickly and sweetly, but the farmer didn’t seem to care much.
Nathan took it upon himself to venture further into the stable, examining the horses one at a time until he found one that was suitable to carry him comfortably. A fine beast, to be sure. White and dappled with gray, a stark contrast to the sturdy brown of Freya’s horse.
“This one, how old is he?” Nathan asked the farmer, who quickly shifted his focus in Nathan’s direction.
“Ah, that one’s nae fer sale,” the farmer said with a hint of pride in his voice as he joined him to admire the stallion.
“I can tell by yer look that this one’s a point of pride fer ye?” Nathan said.
“Aye, he is. First one me son ever broke himself.”
“Impressive feat given how large of a beast he is.”
Only then did the farmer turn and truly give Nathan a good looking over. He had to crane his neck upward to see him properly. “I suppose ye have tae have quite a large beast yerself then.”
“Aye. That is why I would like this one,” Nathan nodded toward the horse.
If he happened to flex a little to get his point across, then so be it. “It would be quite a loss tae me farm, ye ken.”
Nathan motioned for the bag of coin that Freya had produced. “Well, I’ll pay ye fer him. And I’ll fix that mill stone fer ye. What say ye?”
Freya huffed, no doubt worrying about him overexerting himself, but he knew he could do it. He didn’t know how he knew, but there it was.
The farmer deliberated for a moment, knowing he was getting the far better end of the deal, and finally nodded.
They were off quicker than he had expected. It felt good to be useful, to do something with his hands.
Certainly, it would have been easier to have Freya in his arms again, but he was also keen to try testing his limits now that he had regained his strength. He felt good, better than good.
He got the work he had promised done quickly. He had been slightly worried he wouldn’t manage it, but it seemed his body was a good deal more prepared to shake off the cobwebs than his mind was giving himself credit for.
However, Freya was anything but pleased. That much was abundantly obvious as she mounted her horse all on her own, leaving him to do the same.
Thanking the farmer and his wife, they started off into the direction of a place Freya called Kinloch. She was a fast rider and she was nearly outpacing him on his larger horse as they rode.
Somewhere in the early afternoon, the pair of them ventured slightly off course to give the horses food and water. They were well enough off the road that if anybody were to happen across them, they wouldn’t be easily spotted. He tethered his mount to the nearest tree after giving him water.
“I dinnae ken what I should name him.” Nathan sighed. “Feels a touch foolish that I cannae even seem to recall names in order to give the horse one!”
Freya grinned. “I’m sure something will come tae ye. It doesnae have tae be a horse name, ye ken? It could be anything.” She lifted up the herbs in her hands to show him. “Bitter apple, fer example?”
“Apple is the most uninteresting horse name I could ever fathom.” Nathan said. “How dae ye tell all those plants apart? They all look like weeds tae me.”
“Well, these are fer me supply. But these?” She pointed at something else that looked almost identical as far as he was concerned. “I’m going to add some of those into yer dinner later, and it will help with yer muscle recovery.”
Nathan shook his head and lowered himself onto the grass beside her. “I couldnae dae it. Now, if ye needed something tracked? That I could dae. Pitch and animal prints, I can tell those from a mile away. But plants?” He shook his head.
Freya paused, gaping at him. “Did ye just remember something?”
It took him longer than it should have to understand what she meant. The moment it clicked, his eyes widened. “I suppose so…”
“Dae ye remember ever being on a hunt? Anything?”
“Nay, nothing like that.” Nathan’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Let us talk about something else. Tell me about yer weeds.”
Freya huffed, her bottom lip starting to protrude as she pouted. “They’re nae weeds. They all have a purpose! I didnae see ye calling them that when they were keeping ye from dyin’!
Nathan smiled. “Aye, ye have a point there I suppose.”
“Me faither passed away when I was eight,” Freya offered, and whatever other sarcasm he might have needled her with died right on his tongue. “Me maither brought us here tae the isle of Rùm, and she joined the convent right after. I suppose she didnae think there would be any other options fer her tae provide fer the pair of us with Faither out of the picture.”
Nathan tried to picture it, to picture anything—his own family even, and all he got inside of his mind was swirling bits of gray nothingness.
“As ye can imagine, growing up in a convent leaves a girl with an abundance of time. They didnae want me idle little hands getting intae trouble or being constantly underfoot all the time so they put me to work with the other healers there. They shared a great wealth of information with me. I just had tae be fast enough tae learn it.”
Nathan nodded. He could understand that sort of strange duality between escaping constant boredom and the need to make oneself useful.
“Sick people from all over would come to the convent fer one reason or another. Usually with things far more dire than anything I would have otherwise encountered back in the village. People who needed a miracle of faith for them tae be healed.”
“When did ye leave the convent?”
“When I turned twenty. They had all been urging me tae marry, saying that a girl me age had nay reason tae be cooped up there if I wasnae going tae dedicate meself tae serving the Lord as well.” She shrugged, her attention dropping down to her lap where she picked at the plants in her hands. “Besides, I was too old by then tae take me vows, and I had nay interest in being a nun.”
Nathan chuckled. “I cannae exactly see ye in a habit either.”
She crinkled her nose cutely and shook her head. “Nay, and have all of this tucked away?” She gestured to her pretty hair, loose and wild around her face. “Besides, I wanted tae see the world. I couldnae dae that at the convent. So, I left… but as ye can see, I didnae make it very far.”
She looked so sad. His chest tightened as he scooted just a touch closer to her. “It’s nae too late.”
“I fear if ye hadnae come around, I would have just stayed there rotting in that village forever.” Freya admitted. He couldn’t stand seeing her being so damned hard on herself.
“Well, perhaps when I’ve recovered me strength and memories, we can travel a might together?” Nathan offered, placing his hand on her shoulder. He was shocked when she leaned into his side without any further prompting.
“I think I’d like that.”