Chapter 22 Bonded Paths #3
“Then there’s your answer. If there is a reason behind it all, which I believe in my heart there is, we will find it. Together.” He placed his palm above her knee. His touch was the reassurance she needed, though it conflicted with the comforting yet difficult truth of his words.
A faint, distant scream interrupted them. “Waaaaaait!”
Looking back over their shoulders in synchrony, they saw her.
The woman stumbled and staggered as she ran toward the carriage.
Her movements were disjointed and erratic as if she had never learned how to walk, let alone run.
Her curly hair, set in a tousled bun, came undone with every step she took.
The sweat dripping down her forehead and the exaggerated waving of her right arm made her look like a lunatic.
A leather satchel slowly slid down her shoulder while she held onto a box for dear life in her left hand. She panted.
Her breathing was rapid when she finally reached the carriage. The woman put one hand over her knee, bending forward to catch her breath while the other still gripped the small metal box.
“Do you still have room for one more?” Desi asked, her voice in a whisper as she recovered from her sprint. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and stared at them in expectation.
Freyah’s eyes lit up, and she leaped in celebration, overjoyed that she could continue her potion-making lessons with Desi. Alissa nodded with a smile, sharing in the excitement. Eldric, however, only sighed, still not entirely convinced that this had been a good idea.
“Do you have another one of those?” Desi asked, her fingers pointed at the Guardians of Faith uniform. She also needed a disguise.
Although her reasons for wanting one of the uniforms were unknown to Eldric, he quickly opened one of the crates where he had left two spare garments and handed one of them to Desi. Hopping onto the carriage, she put on the uniform over her usual all-white healing clothes and sat beside Freyah.
“We look like twins,” Freyah said with a wide smile, her arms on the healer’s shoulder, who tried to mask her discomfort with the physical touch.
Eldric’s grumpy snort and the beating of hooves striking the ground marked the beginning of the rest of their journey as they resumed their ride to the capital.
The ride out of Nyfrel offered Alissa her first real glimpse of the city that had been her home for the past ten days. As she glanced around, her eyes sparkled with fascination, taking in the charming details of the town she had come to appreciate.
A large field meant for cultivating all sorts of greenery lay farther down the horizon, while closer to them, a few children played on a sparkling, small river, their laughter echoing across the water.
Cobblestone streets wound their way through the center, combined with cozy, colorful little cottages.
The city’s markets lined the town square, where a bronze statue stood in the center.
A small flower shop on their right spread the scent of lilies and roses through the wind.
A small fair displayed the largest variety of fruits they had ever seen. Elderly people quietly sat on stone benches that surrounded the square, either reading a book or peacefully watching the days go by, enjoying the breeze and the quietness of a long, tough life.
Alissa understood these people didn’t live a life so free of worries, despite how it seemed when they read and laughed on the city square.
Not when she knew the kingdom hadn’t been good or merciful to its denizens for so long.
But the more she watched them, the more she absorbed the idea that these people appeared to be the kind who had to pick themselves up, again and again, when life continuously shattered before their eyes.
Their thin arms and sunken cheeks told the stories of people who have starved and worked beyond what the human body could normally bear in order to survive.
Their heavy wrinkles and tired appearance told the stories of people who lived through all sorts of hardship yet chose to fight every single day.
They chose to grow old to see their grandchildren laugh and another day rise, until one day they could become part of the same soil they now stood on.
When the group finally crossed the gates of Nyfrel, Alissa noticed Desi suddenly stiffen in her seat.
Her dark eyes were wide with shock, and her face had gone ashen, more pale than Alissa had ever seen.
Alissa wondered if Desi had regretted joining their journey, struggling to understand what could have caused such a look of petrification.
Until she followed her gaze and saw the stranger standing there.
The gentleman, who appeared to be in his late thirties, stood in front of the carriage blocking their path.
He was the tallest man Alissa had ever seen; his dark, spiky hair was perfectly neat, and a stubble beard accentuated his features, but it was his eyes and the way he watched Desi sitting in the carriage that caught Alissa’s attention.
A sword similar to the one Eldric held was sheathed on his waist.
“Why are you on the outside of the gate, Desi?” His voice was deep and demanding.
Desi blinked, finding it almost surreal that Ronin would appear just as they had crossed the city’s exit.
“Ronin, I…” Desi trailed off, her voice barely audible.
“I just…” she stuttered, struggling to come up with an excuse and assure him she had no intention of abandoning her duties.
“I was simply showing the way out of town to these esteemed guardians and their protector. I was about to return on foot.” She finally managed to say, her hands gesturing toward the group in the carriage.
The man examined her with suspicion. “Why are you wearing a G.O.F uniform?”
“I borrowed one because my own had been stained with blood when I tended to a patient’s injury earlier.”
“Right…” Ronin narrowed his eyes, skeptical, as he walked around the carriage with slow, long strides, assessing the vehicle and its passengers. He examined Alissa, Eldric, and Freyah at last. His eyes landed on the scar on her face.
Ronin had seen that scar before; he struggled to recall why her face seemed so familiar. As he contemplated, his hand slowly moved to the hilt of his sword. A sudden spark of recognition lit up his eyes.
He was too slow. Eldric had already positioned himself in front of Ronin when their blades clashed, the sound of steel ringing through the air.
Eldric pressed forward, trying to overpower Ronin’s wrists in an effort to disarm him.
However, Ronin, taller and more experienced, used his strength to his advantage.
He advanced steadily toward the carriage, his attacks driving Eldric to retreat.
Despite Eldric’s evasions of every blow, he remained unaware of Ronin’s strategy.
When his back hit against the carriage wood, he saw himself trapped.
Ronin kicked Eldric’s hand, causing his grip on the sword to falter and sending the weapon clattering beneath the vehicle.
Eldric had only a split second to react before Ronin’s blade struck the carriage wood where his face had been moments before.
Taking advantage of the slippery, muddy ground, Eldric slid beneath Ronin’s legs to position himself behind him.
In the next instant, he grasped Alissa’s dagger as she tossed it to him and drew her arrow taut from her seat.
Although Ronin still held his weapon, Eldric was now behind him with a dagger pressed firmly against his nape, and Alissa looked down from the carriage with an arrow aimed at his forehead.
He surrendered with a grunt, his sword buried under the inches-tall mud and the puddles of dirt outside of Nyfrel.
“You can have me. Just let Desi go, please!” Ronin pleaded, and a muscle in his jaw twitched as he failed to contain his rage.
Eldric burst into laughter, moving to tie him up. “You think we’re keeping her hostage?”
Ronin looked up at him, his brows furrowed in confusion. He couldn’t fathom why Desi would be willingly involved with criminals.
Eldric patted his shoulder with a sigh. “You think so poorly of us, my friend,” he said, tightening the rope around his wrists and ankles. “She’s our guest, not our hostage.”
The man’s hurtful, disappointed gaze traveled to where Desi sat in the carriage. Her sorrowful stance spoke more than words ever could.
“What do we do with him now?” Alissa asked, wondering how this could impact the continuation of their journey.
“Are you going to kill him?” the healer asked, her lips trembling.
“Kill him?” Freyah repeated in disbelief. “We are no monsters, Desi!”
“You killed a dozen men in Porjea where you were last seen,” Ronin interrupted, still resentful for being defeated and tied up to the back of a carriage like a wild animal. Desi’s eyes grew wider at hearing his confession—it explained why her travel companions were now fugitives.
“They attacked us, sir!” Alissa snapped. “Look, you should avoid accusing us before I change my mind and accept Desi’s suggestion of killing you.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Desi said, shaking her head exasperated.
“Was it an order then?” Alissa asked, her arrow still aiming at the man’s forehead, teasing him. By the way this man looked at her, Alissa had assumed Desi would intervene, fearing the man’s death. Instead, she sat still, watching it all unfold.
That’s odd. Perhaps Desi was too stunned to react at the moment, or maybe she knew Alissa well enough by now to recognize when she was joking.
Freyah gently removed the bow and arrow from Alissa’s hands. “Don’t worry, sir, she was messing with you. You are safe with us. My friend has a weird sense of humor, but you’ll see, with time, that we are good people.”
“You say you are good people, but you have me tied up to this carriage like an animal.” Ronin’s nostrils flared as he spoke.
“If we hadn’t acted, it would be you killing us instead, wouldn’t it?” Eldric asked in provocation.
Ronin sat silently, shrugging in acknowledgment, fully aware that the statement was true.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“I don’t know yet, maybe leave him unconscious in some hidden spot with enough supplies to survive a few days before we get to our destination… Let’s keep him with us on the road for now.” A silent agreement fell between them as they got back on track.
“How did it feel?” Alissa asked, whispering in Eldric’s ear.
He frowned. “What?”
“Being the one to tie the rope instead of being tied up?” she teased, her smile widening as she referenced the time they had kept Eldric restrained when they headed to the canyons.
Eldric cursed softly, giving her shoulder a gentle push. A half-smile tugged at his lips. If anyone could make him smile in the most inconvenient of moments, it was her.