Chapter Seventeen #10
They rode for a long time, and when Ulyseon noticed her sweating and breathing heavily, he called to her in encouragement. “We must pass through two mountains today, but the road will be smoother once we are out of Anatolium. Hold out until then, my lady.”
She nodded, wondering how he was able to articulate so well atop a galloping horse without biting his tongue. Her thighs and buttocks were already throbbing, but she could not complain. She was the one who had stubbornly insisted on coming along after all.
The knights thankfully slowed down once the road became steeper. Finally able to relax a little, she scanned her surroundings.
Lush hazel trees lined the narrow path through the valley.
A pointed rock that looked as if it had been carved with a chisel loomed precariously from the mountain peak.
Somewhere in the distance, the sound of rushing water floated over to them.
They rode for a while longer before stopping to rest at a brook.
Maxi dismounted with great difficulty onto shaky legs and led Rem to the water.
While the horses guzzled from the brook as though they intended to drain it, the knights ate rations of bread and jerky.
Maxi quenched her thirst with her waterskin and gulped down a chunk of tough jerky that was as hard as a block of wood.
After only twenty minutes’ rest, the knights mounted up again and set out.
Only half a day in, and Maxi was already losing her confidence.
The brutal saddle made her backside feel like it was on fire, and her lungs stung as if pricked by countless needles.
Even her hair annoyed her; curly locks kept slipping free from her braid and sticking to her face.
In contrast, the knights appeared at ease in their heavy armor.
Maxi pressed her thighs against the saddle as she struggled to maintain her posture. It was not until the narrow, secluded road turned into a smooth path that the hellish march finally came to a stop.
Riftan’s voice resonated down the ranks. “We will sleep out here tonight.”
Garrow muttered under his breath as he slid off his horse. “I suppose it would be difficult for us to traverse the mountains in a day….”
Maxi was so relieved that the ride was over that she had no qualms about spending a night in the mountains. She nearly tumbled off her saddle. If Ulyseon had not been quick to steady her fall, she would have ended up facedown on the damp ground.
“You must be exhausted, my lady. Please, sit over here. I will pitch a tent for you immediately.”
Gripping her shoulders, Ulyseon helped her onto a flat rock. Maxi thanked him weakly.
The two squires showed no signs of exhaustion as they untied their saddlebags.
The other knights bustled about, piling stones into fire pits, sparking kindling, and watering and feeding their horses.
Maxi knew she should help, but she did not have the energy to even lift a finger.
She placed her rein-burned palms onto the cold stone to soothe them.
“I’ve prepared a cot for you first, my lady. It is not much, but please rest—”
“I will look after her.” Maxi jumped and turned her head at the sudden voice. Riftan looked back at her impassively. “You two, tend to the horses.”
Garrow and Ulyseon promptly darted away. Maxi grew tense, worried that he would chide her for not listening to him now that he had seen her so disheveled and exhausted. Riftan wordlessly scooped her up and carried her to a tent pitched under a tree.
“I’ll bring you food once it is ready, so lie down and rest.”
“I am all right. I should h-help—” Maxi stopped when she saw Riftan’s forbidding gaze. He lowered the flap of the tent and disappeared. Too tired to move any further, Maxi fell back and sprawled out over the thick layer of blankets.
Tomorrow’s ride was already on her mind. There was no doubt that her backside would be bruised blue; she wondered if she would be able to endure a month of this.
Maxi shook her head. No, she only needed to get through one more day and they would be out of the Anatolium Mountains.
According to the map she had studied, there were more plains on the way to Livadon.
Since she would acclimate to being on horseback by then, and the road ahead was smoother, the journey would be easier than it was now.
It was too early for her to feel overwhelmed.
She was in the middle of consoling herself when Riftan returned to the tent. “We should massage your muscles before you eat. Take off your trousers,” he said as he practically folded himself into the cramped corner of the tent.
Wondering if she had misheard him, Maxi said, “What…did you just…?”
“Take off your boots and trousers. We have to apply this so you can keep riding tomorrow,” he said calmly, holding up a small vial of oil. He then took off his gauntlet, gaiters, and vambrace and placed them aside.
Maxi merely watched him vacantly. He frowned at her lack of movement, then went to take off her boots himself. Alarmed, she curled herself into a ball at the tent’s edge.
“I…I do not think that will be n-necessary! I am perfectly fine!”
“Do you expect me to believe that? You look as if you’re about to drop dead.”
Riftan blocked her escape and made her lie down on the blankets again. Her already throbbing muscles screamed in pain when he grabbed her thigh.
At her stifled cry, Riftan shot her a look that screamed, “I told you so.” He carefully untied the bootlaces that were wound tightly up her calf.
Maxi’s face flushed crimson. “All right. I w-will do it! If you g-give me the vial, I shall do it myself…so please w-wait outside.”
“You are too tired to even lift a finger.”
“That is not t-true. I can do it m-myself, so—”
“I know you think so little of your husband’s words, but…”
The chill in his voice cut Maxi’s protests short.
“You should at least pretend to listen sometimes,” he hissed.
Realizing that he was on the verge of losing his patience, Maxi pressed her lips together. He pulled her boots off and threw them aside, then placed his hands at the top of her trousers. Maxi glanced at the entrance of the tent.
“W-What if someone comes in…”
“Don’t worry. I have told them not to come anywhere near the tent,” he said brusquely as he pulled off her trousers, and her face flushed once more when she felt the cold air on her bare skin.
Riftan had Maxi lie on her stomach, then he calmly pulled out a cloth, a waterskin, and a vial of oil from his bag.
She watched in silent mortification as he soaked the linen and wiped her clammy legs, cooling her feverish skin.
He carefully wiped her thighs, calves, and the soles of her feet. Uncorking the vial of oil with his teeth, he spread an ample amount on his strong hands. He pressed his thumb into the center of the sole of her foot, then slowly moved up her leg to massage her stiff calf.
Maxi moaned at the sharp pain. “I-It hurts…”
“If we do not relax your muscles now, you will be in far more pain tomorrow morning.”
Riftan was ruthless digging into her aching muscles, and Maxi had to muffle her groans in the blanket. The pain was so dizzying that it left her no time to feel embarrassed.
From her calves, Riftan moved up to her thighs. She twisted away when she felt his firm hands, slick from the mint-scented oil, run down her flushed, saddle-chafed skin.
“I-I really think that is enough,” she said, embarrassed. “You must also be tired, Ri—” Maxi gasped as Riftan pulled her undergarment below her knees. “R-Riftan!”
“Stay still. If I do not apply this, we will have no hope of you riding tomorrow.”
“I will d-do it! I will apply it myself, so—”
“Why are you getting embarrassed?” With a snort, he crouched just above her as she writhed in an attempt to escape. “Stop wasting your energy and lie still. I am not going to do anything to you.”
He was clearly not going to back down. After applying the oil to his hands again, he started kneading her thighs in small circles.
Now flushed to her ears, Maxi clutched at the blanket.
Having him touch her body in such a sober state of mind was mortifying, and the fact that he was nursing her after she had proudly declared that she was more than capable of being the Remdragons’ healer made her feel pathetic.
Riftan, however, paid her no mind and quietly continued to apply the oil to her blistered skin. He only pulled her undergarments up again when he had kneaded out all of the biggest knots. “I will go check if the food is ready. Lie here and rest.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, his voice hoarse. Perhaps it was from crouching uncomfortably inside the cramped tent, but Riftan’s face looked slightly flushed. Maxi nodded, blushing as she pulled her trousers up. Riftan heaved a sigh and shuffled out of the tent on his knees.
Maxi lay sprawled on the blanket feeling as listless as a soggy leaf.
Although the massage had been painful and mortifying, her muscles did feel significantly better.
Rubbing her oil-smooth skin self-soothingly, Maxi turned to her side and used her arm as a pillow, falling immediately into a light sleep.
She awoke when Riftan returned, the light outside the tent already a twilight blue. He set down a wooden tray laden with a thick piece of sizzling ham, three fist-sized loaves of bread, a chunk of cheese, and a bottle of wine.
“The smoked ham should taste better if you eat it with some bread.”
Maxi was so hungry, she could hardly wait for Riftan to cut the food into bite-sized pieces with his dagger before she was cramming it into her mouth. The platter was humble compared to those at Calypse Castle, but she was so famished that it tasted delicious.
“Do you want me to bring you more?” Riftan watched her wolf down her meal with wide eyes.