Chapter 3 #3
She nodded blankly. Not all knights got along, it seemed, even if they were in the same order.
Riftan helped her into the carriage before heading back to put the finishing touches on his tent. Maxi sat at the door of the carriage, holding out a lantern for him while he worked. When he was done, he tossed a bedroll into the tent and settled on a bulging tree root to polish his sword.
Soon, two knights returned from patrol with three large black-feathered birds in their hands.
Grabbing the birds by the wings, the knights twisted and ripped, tearing the appendages off at the joints before discarding them on the ground.
Then, with a swift motion, the birds’ skin was pulled clean off.
Maxi froze, unsettled by the gory scene.
Next, the knights sliced off the legs with their daggers before casually tossing them onto a growing pile of feathers.
As her stomach churned, Maxi hastily withdrew to the interior of the carriage.
Riftan soon appeared with roasted golden-brown meat and urged Maxi out of the carriage. Together, they sat near the campfire.
He insisted that Maxi eat, but she flatly refused, unable to bring herself to try a single bite. Instead, she chose to have the stale bread again, which she gulped down with the help of a few morsels of cheese.
Riftan frowned at her dinner choice, as he gnawed on meat that dripped with sizzling fat. “It’ll take another day to get out of this place. You should eat more.”
“I’m…I’m eating m-my f-fill.”
It was true. She was continually cramming food into her mouth whenever it was offered, knowing there would be no end to Riftan’s nagging if she did otherwise.
He raised an eyebrow as if he had something to add, but shrugged instead and directed his attention to the food in his hands. Maxi finished her meal and returned to the carriage, trying her best to ignore the mound of feathers next to the campfire.
The chilly air thickened as the night wore on.
One by one, the knights entered their tents.
Maxi spread her bedroll on the seat of the carriage and lay down, but the cold seeped through her skin and into her very bones.
Out in the night, the occasional howl of wild animals and the rustling of leaves punctuated the quiet.
Unable to sleep, Maxi quietly opened the door and looked down at Riftan’s tent.
For a reason she could not explain, the sight of his long legs jutting out from the tent put her mind at ease.
She closed the door and lay back down, but sleep still would not come.
She was haunted by the cries of birds that sounded like mournful calls to their lost brethren.
After pulling the blanket over her head, she plugged her fingers into her ears.
—
Maxi did not manage to fall asleep until just before dawn, and she was soon awoken by a flurry of activity.
The knights were redonning their armor in the gray early morning.
She hurriedly splashed some water over her face and combed her fingers through her hair.
They all ate a rushed breakfast of bread and water before the knights signaled for departure.
Maxi climbed into the carriage, which quickly pulled away from the campsite.
Despite the rattling, Maxi dozed off. The journey so far had been smooth and easy.
The knights even seemed disappointed by the lack of monsters, grumbling aloud that they hadn’t seen so much as a common forest goblin.
Maxi, however, would be content to never see another monster.
They rode for half a day without taking a break, and after a short stop for lunch by a small spring, the journey swiftly resumed. Maxi’s arms and shoulders began to ache from bracing against the juddering carriage as she bounced around inside.
Yet even when her head began to throb, she could not work up the courage to ask for a moment’s rest. She endured until nightfall, and only then was there respite.
She ate the food Riftan handed her, though she had no appetite, and fell asleep the moment she lay down on the blanket inside the carriage.
A good night’s sleep made the following day much more tolerable. They departed at dawn, and by midday, Eudychal Forest was behind them. The carriage no longer shook as violently, and Maxi let out a sigh of relief.
Unlike the rugged terrain of the forest, the roads on the plains of Anatolium were even and well paved.
She opened the window and took in the lush grassland, a wide expanse of green speckled with the cream white of wildflowers.
After days of having her vision obstructed by dense forest, the plains were a refreshing sight.
“Anatol lies just beyond those mountains.” Riftan, who had been leading the knights, approached the carriage window on horseback. Maxi stuck her head out of the window and looked up ahead. Snow-white peaks lined the horizon of the open plains.
“Endure just a little longer,” Riftan said. “We might be able to reach Anatol as early as tomorrow evening.”
Maxi almost cried out in relief at the thought of sleeping in a proper bed.
For the rest of the day’s journey, she pictured herself soaking in a warm bath and dining on soft, freshly baked bread and thick vegetable stew.
For dessert, she would have a pie stuffed with jam and a sweet-smelling fruit wine.
To top it all off, she would fall asleep in a soft, clean bed.
The carriage came to a stop just as the sun was starting to sink below the horizon.
The knights barely acknowledged her as she stepped out of the carriage.
Standing among them, she felt like a lost child.
Searching for Riftan, she cautiously passed through the knights as they set up camp.
She found Riftan watering the horses by a river and hurried toward him.
He turned to her, his brow lined with concern. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
Maxi could not bring herself to admit that she felt uneasy when he was not in her sight.
Instead, she bent over and pretended to wash her hands.
Riftan crouched down to join her, splashing water over his hands and sweat-slicked nape.
His long, muscular neck glistened in the sunset like heated copper.
She stole a furtive look at him as he ran a hand through his windswept hair.
Once again, his handsome features set butterflies churning in her stomach.
Riftan pointed at her feet. “Your skirt is getting wet.”
His words snapped her out of her reverie, and Maxi quickly stood.
Her skirt, dirt-streaked from days of travel, was now heavy with moisture where the hem had touched the water.
She clutched her dress and tried to rub away the mud.
For a while, Riftan watched her in silence. Then, he got down on one knee.
“Let me help.”
“It’s…I-It’s all right…!” Maxi was about to take a step back when he gave her a pointed frown. She hesitated, recalling his question from the other night. Was it really a habit of hers to always say she was all right?
While she wavered, Riftan took hold of her skirt and soaked the muddy fabric in the river before wringing the water out. Not knowing what to do, Maxi crouched next to him.
Knights valued honor more than their own lives, and a knight would never bow his head before anyone but his sworn lord.
Yet Riftan always stooped before her over the most trivial affairs.
Perhaps he considered himself beneath her because he was lowborn.
But wouldn’t the other knights belittle him for kneeling to a woman like her?
“Your skin is cold,” Riftan said as he washed his muddy hands. “Warm yourself by the campfire.”
Maxi began making her way up the hill, taking care not to soil the skirt that Riftan had just cleaned.
A cold westward wind cut through the field, and she pulled her hood tightly over her head to prevent the wind from tangling her hair.
She watched as Riftan finished watering the horses, his pant cuffs dampening in the river.
The sun sank behind the mountains, and an indigo darkness descended.
Riftan returned with the horses, and he looked up at the sky. “The rainy season is upon us.”
Maxi followed his gaze. Thousands upon thousands of brilliant stars twinkled in the clear night sky. Maxi cocked her head, confused. There was no sign of rain.
One of the knights, busy splitting dry twigs to feed the campfire, quietly agreed with Riftan. “It’s that time of year. We’re well into Etherias.”
Maxi pulled her cloak more tightly around her. Etherias, the season of wind, when the leaves changed colors and bitingly cold days were not far off.
“Just thinking about tramping through the mountains in the rain is depressing,” grumbled another knight as he warmed his hands by the fire. “Your armor gets heavier, your greaves sink into the mud…”
“We’ll arrive in Anatol before that,” said Riftan. “No need to worry.”
“Have you forgotten about the capital?” The grumbling knight furrowed his brow and glanced at Maxi. “We’ll be departing again in just a few days! We already lost time because of our detour. No good will come of keeping King Reuben waiting.”
Maxi stood next to Riftan, huddled against him like a duckling to its mother.
“It can’t be helped once the monsoon starts,” said Riftan as he bound the horses’ reins to a stake and plunked himself down by the fire. Maxi quickly settled in next to him.
Ricaydo, listening silently until now, replied to Riftan’s nonchalance in disbelief. “Will the hero who defeated the great dragon disobey the king’s summons over a rainstorm?”
“Who said anything about disobeying? I’m only suggesting a slight delay.”
“We’ve wasted enough time! If we keep the king waiting any longer—”
Ricaydo’s words stung Maxi like the tail end of a whip. Blood drained from her face, and she bunched her skirt in her fists. Riftan’s face hardened.
“Ursuline Ricaydo. Watch your mouth.”