Chapter Eighteen #2
“Does that mean they will stop following us?”
He glared at the monsters perched on the cliff edge as if they were a mere nuisance, nothing more than bothersome flies. “They might try to follow us for another meal, but we will be long gone by the time their stomachs are full. Filthy hyenas.”
As if remembering that he had meant to ignore his wife, Riftan stalked away toward Talon. Maxi trailed after him. He was treating her like she was invisible, and she wanted to know why.
“R-Riftan…are you not hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine,” he replied brusquely, pulling on his gauntlet.
Maxi blocked his path, forcing him to look at her. “Riftan…a-are you still angry with me?”
His mouth tightened into a thin line as he met her gaze. Suddenly, she felt as though she were being dissected, far too aware of her sweaty face, disheveled hair, and dusty clothes.
She knew she was blushing, but she crossed her arms in defiance anyway. “Was it not…fortunate that I c-came along? Someone was injured…just two days…i-into the journey—”
“We are departing immediately,” he said stonily. “We do not have time to waste, so return to your spot in the formation at once.”
“I-I think we could spare some time to—”
“Was it not your wish for me to treat you as a mage and not my wife?” he said curtly, nimbly mounting Talon. “You were the one who insisted on joining the campaign against my will, so you should damn well obey your commander’s orders.”
Maxi glared at him, his face half concealed in shadow, before spinning on her heels and striding to her own horse. As she mounted Rem, Gabel rode up beside her and gave her a comforting chuckle.
“Do not take it to heart, my lady. The commander is merely on edge from battle. He is his most fearsome when monsters are about. One mistake could cost him his life or the life of one of his men. Until he knows his people are safe, he will be rash as a wild animal.”
“I…d-do not mind,” Maxi replied slowly, speaking as clearly as she could so Riftan would certainly overhear. “Riftan…I mean, Sir Riftan, is right. He is now…my commander, and I am his m-mage. It is only right that he demands my absolute obedience.”
Riftan spared her only a glance over his shoulder. Maxi fell into formation, trying to hide her despondence.
—
As Maxi rode to her place behind the company, Garrow and Ulyseon hastened to her side, abandoning the drake carcass they had been inspecting. A senior knight clicked his tongue loudly at them as they passed.
“You two better get your heads on straight.” With a grunt, he retrieved a heavy ball and chain looped around the leg of one of the monsters, then looked back at the junior knights disapprovingly. “Getting distracted from guarding her ladyship while those vultures are circling…”
Ulyseon scratched his neck, looking embarrassed. “Our apologies, sir. This is the first time we’ve seen a drake up close….”
Ulyseon turned to Maxi with a look of apology. Maxi smiled reassuringly. What could have happened to her with so many knights around?
As if reading her thoughts, the knight who had admonished the squires grew grim. “We do not know what dangers may be lurking, my lady. One moment of carelessness can cost a life.”
Maxi nodded stiffly, and even the squires’ faces grew serious.
“Never take your eyes off of her ladyship from now on.” With a satisfied look, the knight went to retrieve another weapon.
Maxi watched as he joined the men cleaning the weapons recovered from the carcasses while the others finished harvesting the magic stones from the drakes’ hearts, all with the methodical detachment of people who had performed these tasks many times before.
When they were done, they hastily washed their blood-splattered armor and mounted their horses in unison, setting out again without a moment to catch their breaths.
Not long after the company had put the cliff well behind them, Maxi heard loud flapping above.
The flock of harpies swooped down to gorge on the drake carcasses.
Maxi shuddered at the sight, certain that the horrifying image of the monstrous creatures with their pallid faces smeared with blood would haunt her dreams that night.
Riftan’s commanding voice snapped Maxi’s focus back to the front of the party.
“Keep your wits about you! More drakes may be hiding nearby!”
The terrain remained rugged for hours, but the knights never lost focus as they traveled along the lively stream that flowed through the valley.
The looming possibility that monsters might leap out at them made Maxi’s back damp with sweat.
She was so on edge that by the time they stopped to feed and water the horses, she was utterly exhausted.
“Here, my lady, have some water and salt.” Garrow handed Maxi a waterskin and a small quilt pouch. “You will exhaust yourself if you do not keep hydrated.”
Slumped on a rock, Maxi pinched some of the salt and sprinkled it into her mouth. Ulyseon watched as she drank thirstily from the waterskin, looking as though he felt sorry for her.
“Please endure it a bit longer, my lady. We should be able to get some proper rest once we are out of this valley.”
Maxi barely managed a smile. Even in the face of the young knight’s pity, she simply could not bring herself to claim that she was fine.
Despite her anxiety, they rode for the rest of the day without any more monsters.
When they had finally passed out of the valley onto the surrounding plain, they began setting up tents.
Maxi teetered off her horse and mechanically began to gather firewood alongside the knights, who were all quick to dissuade her.
“You must save your energy, my lady. You would be helping us more that way.”
After hesitating briefly, Maxi put down the twigs.
The knight who had spoken had a point. It would certainly not do for her to drop from exhaustion tomorrow.
It would only slow the party down. She retreated while the knights prepared the meal, washing her clammy face and neck in the brook.
The cool water soothed her sore hands and forearms. She soaked a towel and wiped her underarms and back, imagining how heavenly it would feel to take a real bath and change her clothes.
With so many knights around, the best she could do was to flap her clothes and try to dry the sweat.
Thinking that she would at least change her socks, she had just submerged her feet in the stream when Riftan’s voice sliced through the silence. “Your tent is ready. You should go rest.”
Maxi rose obediently and picked up her boots, but she did not like the thought of putting them on again with wet feet. She gave him a bashful look as she shook the water off. Before she knew it, she was in the air.
“R-Riftan!” Maxi shrieked.
“You mean, Sir Riftan,” Riftan muttered sarcastically, striding toward the tents with Maxi in his arms. Maxi pursed her lips as he laid her down in the tent. “Rest awhile. I shall bring your meal as soon as it is ready.”
Maxi wanted to lash out and ask him if he had ever heard of a mage being served thus by the commanding knight, but she could not muster the energy.
Once he left, Maxi changed into a new tunic and undergarment.
She wished she could change her trousers as well, but neither the energy it would take to wash and dry them, nor the embarrassment it would take to ask the knights to do her laundry, seemed like appealing options.
Maxi brought her trousers to her nose and scowled in disgust before slipping the sweat-soaked garment back on.
She had never realized just how opulent her life had been up to that point. She had always had clothes to change into and clean water to bathe in. The damp trousers she wore smelled of horses and sweat, and she wrinkled her nose in another wave of disgust.
It is unavoidable in a campaign….
Maxi lay down and squeezed her eyes shut. Perhaps it was because she was not as tired as she had been the previous day, but she was far more aware of every bump on the ground beneath her blanket. Tossing about, she tried to find a comfortable position.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
Riftan, his head poked back in through the tent opening, had caught her wriggling around. The last thing she wanted was to be seen as fussy when he already thought of her as a delicate noblewoman.
Maxi shook her head. “I-I was…merely trying to scratch my back. Is that…dinner?”
“It is soup with dry meat and some bread.”
He crawled into the tent and lowered the tray onto the floor. The tent suddenly felt too cramped to accommodate someone so large. Maxi picked up the bowl of soup absentmindedly as Riftan stretched out his long legs and began removing his armor one piece at a time.
When he caught her watching him, he cocked an eyebrow. “I know it’s not much, but it’s the best we can manage. Try to eat it even if it does not suit your palate.”
“I had no intention of complaining a-about the food,” Maxi replied in annoyance, then quietly began to eat. The stale bread and bland soup were practically a feast after her breakfast of apple and jerky. She gulped it down in the blink of an eye.
“You must have been famished.” Riftan looked serious as she wolfed down the meal.
Maxi blushed, wondering if she had devoured it too hungrily. “A-A little.”
“Our journey will continue like this. Are you sure you can handle it?”
Maxi stubbornly nodded her head. Riftan’s expression remained doubtful, but he eventually turned his attention to his own meal.
They finished eating in silence, then lay side by side in a futile attempt to sleep. Even though Maxi was close to fainting from exhaustion, sleep strangely eluded her. Sighing, she tossed about and accidentally brushed her hand against Riftan’s leg.