Chapter 5 #2
I stepped outside, only hesitating at the door when I wasn’t sure if the captain would cover my night's bed and meal. I felt a presence behind me, and glancing over my shoulder, I saw it was Baxley. He gave me a wink, which encouraged me to walk out, the sound of Nicco’s chuckle lingering behind us.
If I hadn’t been expecting Nicco, who I just knew was going to be an antagonistic pain in the ass, then I definitely wasn’t expecting the blonde woman cursing at a horse with her pack already loaded into one of the wagons.
Her hood was down, and her messy blonde braids fell over her shoulders, one snagging on the strap of her sword worn across her back. Her loose cloak was pushed over her shoulders, and underneath, she was as heavily armed as Baxley.
Blonde hair was rare in Crystallese, almost as if even our heritage refused to allow us to be light. It looked wrong on her. Too bright in a land that rarely saw the sun. It wasn’t just the sight of her hair, but she was tall. Not just tall, but imposing. I’d never seen a woman like her before.
She glanced over as the inn door shut behind Baxley. Pale-blue eyes, faintly crinkled at the corners, slid past me as she looked at him. She pulled her neck warmer down and grinned.
“Is he being a prick?” she asked Baxley. She pointed at the leather strap looped around the wagon post. “Come on, give me your muscles. It won’t budge for me.”
Baxley stepped around me, and after putting his pack beside hers in the wagon, he set about fixing the strap for his companion.
She walked over to me, and I said nothing as I took in her appearance. Up close, it was worse. Even more imposing.
She moved like a trained fighter: precise, efficient, with no wasted motion. Every step seemed balanced, even in the snow. Her eyes were sharp and assessing as they swept over me. A cold, watchful blue that gave no hint of friendliness.
“You’re the trailfinder?”
“Unfortunately for me.”
Her eyes flicked over me once more, quick and thorough.
I returned her look with one of my own.
She wore her strength effortlessly. I could see it in the way she carried herself.
I doubted she needed Baxley for his muscles.
She simply wanted to get closer to inspect me.
Her clothes were fitted but practical—layers that kept heat in without slowing her down.
Snug trousers hugged her long legs, and thick wool wrapped over her boots.
Boots that looked like they’d survive years on the road.
Those boots would have cost two, maybe three silver, but they were built to last.
Boots better than mine. Her travel cloak was thick and heavy.
Everything she wore was better than mine, and I hated that I noticed. But beside her, I felt… less than. Less than what, I wasn’t sure. I just knew I didn’t like it.
“I’m Larana,” she told me.
Even her name suited her.
“Amarya.”
She watched me, saying nothing further, and turned away when we both heard the leather snap free of the binding. I simply stood there as she and Baxley fixed the wagon to her liking.
The door opened behind me, and I moved aside as the captain came out. I saw his lips thin as he watched them arrange the wagons. Captain Marson glanced at me and merely raised his eyebrows when he walked past me.
What was that look? I didn’t like that either. I didn’t like any of this, at all.
“Thinking about running?”
I hated that I reacted to his voice behind me. When I turned to glare at him, Nicco was grinning. He took a hearty bite of an apple, and my eyes widened at the sight of the soft pink fruit.
He looked between my hungry gaze and the apple. “When was the last time you saw fruit?” he asked gruffly.
“Fresh?” I didn’t wait for him to confirm. “I don’t remember.” Never, maybe?
He grunted but said nothing else, walking past me to his companions.
“Someone needs to make sure the bunny doesn’t run,” he told the captain. Nicco got into the wagon his companions were preparing, ignoring their protests, and pulled his hood down low. “She looks like she’s going to run. Again.”
The captain looked over at me in alarm, and I rolled my eyes as I walked over to his wagon.
“Relax, Captain,” I told him quietly. “I have a gold piece in my purse, so you’re stuck with me now.
” They’d given me one gold piece last night as confirmation of the bargain.
I’d get four more at Iskaeld, and then on the return, I’d receive the rest. In my opinion, the fact that he was carrying all that gold made him a target, but no one was asking for my opinion. Just my ability to find a trail.
He relaxed, but I saw the look of wariness as I climbed into the wagon.
“You’re not walking?” he asked me as I settled into the corner nearest the seat, the one with the most shelter.
“I’m a trailfinder,” I reminded him patiently. “I find trails. There’s a road that leads out of Collharrow, I assumed your men could find that without me, after all, they followed it in.”
I closed my eyes, ignoring his mumblings and the snort of laughter from the other wagon. I wasn’t sure which one of them it was, but I hunkered down and didn’t speak again as I felt the wagon jostle from the other soldiers getting on.
I heard the command for the horses to move, and I settled in.
“Amarya?”
I opened my eyes to see the captain sitting at the front, turned toward me.
“Mm-hmm?”
“When do you take over?” he asked me almost softly.
“We head straight north,” I told him, shifting my pack to a better position. “If we have good weather today,” I told him, ignoring the gentle fall of the snow. “Then we’ll be near the fork before Eirhollow, before true nightfall. I’ll tell you where to camp for the night.”
Sergeant Gralen sat beside his captain up front. “It’ll take us a whole day to get back to where we were when you made a run for it?” he asked, disgust heavy in his voice.
“No one asked you to follow me.” I closed my eyes again, ending the conversation.
Was it my fault that they all packed up to follow me? No. Was it my fault they made their own journey longer? Maybe.
Did I care?
Not at all.