A door squeaked behind her. She turned to see the boy entering carrying his cap filled with oats.
"I found some chickens in a coop out back and a barn with horses. I think they’ll not miss these and it could do us some good to have a hot meal."
The boy poured oats into a cauldron, added water from a bucket, and slung the kettle over the fire. He turned the chicken, inspecting it, set it so one side could brown a bit more, and turned to Leena with a serious expression.
"I’m sorry about yesterday M’lady. It’s just I was so scared. I knew them men meant to hurt me then kill me. I know my mind wasn’t working right, but I want you to know I thank you for what you done and I’ll try to do for you the best I can."
His expression was so sincere Leena could not help feeling pity for the lad. Despite his hard ways, she felt he could be a good boy if given the chance. She wanted to hold him and tell him it would be all right, but she sensed he was still nervous around her.
"I understand, Arvin."
He looked at her a moment longer. For a second she thought she saw a glint of something, perhaps tears, forming in his eyes. Before she could be certain, he turned to stir the kettle. He gave a great sniff that could be from the cold, but maybe not.
She turned to search the cupboards for dishes. The silence between them continued. However, it now had the comfortable feeling of shared emotion.
In a cupboard, she found a pot of honey that would go well with the gruel he was making. She laid the table then carried a platter to the fire so the boy could unspit the bird onto it. Using a rag to protect his hands from the heat, he carried the cauldron two handed to the table.
"Can you ride M’lady?" The boy managed to say around a mouthful of roast chicken.
"I never have. Can you?" The honey had a pleasant taste, like the smell of wildflowers in spring. Her mind drifted to carefree girlhood days and she found it hard to concentrate on what he was saying.
"Yes M’lady, and I can teach you. We could make a shorter trip of it if we rode. There’s horses in the barn, along with saddles and tack."
He looked at her expectantly. She could see no reason not to use the horses. The food available in the barn would soon be gone and the animals would starve if left here.
"I think it’s a splendid idea."
The boy beamed as though she awarded him a great compliment.
"I’ll go saddle them now." He jumped up and started moving toward the door.
"No, no, there’s no rush. Finish your breakfast. You can saddle them while I clean up in here." She wanted to prolong the pleasure of the meal and the memories the honey evoked.
The boy looked startled. His gaze swam around the room with an expression that said 'why bother to clean up, no one is ever going to be here again'. A slight cloud darkened his expression as he reseated himself to finish his meal.
"It might be a while before we have a chance to have a hot meal like this again. Let’s enjoy it." Her hand reached out and patted his. The hint of cloud left his face as he looked down at their hands. A flush rose to his face, reddening his ears.
"Yes M’lady. It’s a good idea." He seemed suddenly shy.
Once dishes were cleaned and restored to the cupboards, Leena removed both blankets from the beds. She hefted their packs, slung the blankets over a shoulder, and went to the barn to find the mounts ready to travel. Two were saddled for riders and a third was laden with bags of oats for the mounts.
Arvin tied their packs together and slung them over the back of the packhorse like saddlebags. He rolled the blankets, tied them with baling twine he found in the barn, and inspected the horse to ensure all was secure.
"If you’ve a mind M’lady, we could bring the kettle and the pot of honey. There’s still plenty of room."
Leena was surprised he noticed the pleasure she took in the honey. She was pleased to find he could be thoughtful when he chose. She returned to the cottage to fetch them.
By the time they halted for midday meal, Leena was wishing she had never seen a horse. Her rear was sore and chaffed and her right leg had cramped from riding sidesaddle in her skirt. She swore that, in the next town they came to, she would find a pair of trousers. Maybe ladies did not wear trousers, but she could not ride like this for the weeks it would take to get to the Great Wizard's palace.
She felt creaky and old as she rolled to her stomach and slid from the animal's back. While Arvin rummaged through packs for food, she used a healing spell to cure her aches. As she replaced her hedge witch wand beneath her tunic, her hand brushed the Garlan branch. For a moment, she considered dispelling the protection spell. No, she decided, it did not feel safe enough yet. The boy had improved a good deal, but he was still unpredictable.
They rode until well after dark looking for a place to stay the night. They had passed no towns or cottages since the one where they found their mounts.
At last, they could ride no more. The boy was nodding in the saddle and Leena’s inner resources were draining rapidly. They had to rest. They would have to sleep on the road. The forest and fields were covered in deep snow.
"Arvin." The boy continued, unheeding.
"Arvin!" He jerked, lifting his head.
"Huh, wha?"
"We have to stop. We need rest."
Numbly, the boy nodded, pulling the reins to halt his mount.
They slid to the ground. As though sleepwalking, the boy stumbled to the packhorse, released the blankets, unrolled them, and flopped down on one. He pulled the other over himself and was quickly asleep.
Leena was left to unsaddle the horses. She was also left without a blanket. Oh well, she had been through worse. She spread her shawl, cast a warming spell, and quickly followed Arvin into sleep.
For several days, they saw no signs of civilization. Forest stretched around them interminably with nothing but the road to show people had ever been here. Few birds remained this time of year and only occasionally would they spot game in the distance.
They settled into a comfortable routine. They rose at dawn, breakfasted on hot gruel with honey, rode until the sun was in the afternoon sky, broke for cheese, rolls and apples, then continued until it was too dark to see.
At times, Leena forgot why they were riding. It seemed this was all there was, the two of them riding north, now and forever.
By the fourth day after leaving the cottage, their food supplies were low. The day was cloudy, dreary with storm clouds rolling and building darkly on the horizon. When they stopped for midday meal, Leena found they had just three apples, one roll and a crumb of cheese remaining. Except oats, this was their food until they found a village. Even their oat supply was running low because it was all they had to feed the horses.
Arvin stared at the miserable fare she laid out. He picked up an apple and the roll then started toward his horse.
"The rest is yours M’lady," he said around a mouthful of roll as he mounted. "Go on and eat, then wait here. I’ll be back soon."
"Where are you going?" she called, but he was already galloping away on the road to the north. If he heard, he did not respond.
CHAPTER 12
The first large flakes started falling before she finished lunch. By the time she repacked, they came steadily, blotting out the horizon. Leena was sealed in a white world of silent and furiously drifting snow.
In less than an hour, it was impossible to see beyond an arm’s length. Although barely past noon, clouds swallowed daylight as snow suppressed all noise. She felt trapped in a world where light and sound no longer existed.
Where was Arvin?
Although she did not trust him enough to reduce her protection spell, acceptance had grown between them. She was used to his company and missed him now he was gone.
On rare occasions, they had talked to pass time. Although their conversations were few, she learned a good deal about his past. Arvin had been born a tinker’s son, but his father wished more for him than a life of mending pots. His father managed to secure hi
m apprenticeship as a knight’s page. The work was grueling; keeping and tending the knight’s horses, maintaining a constant shine on his weapons and armor, cleaning the knight’s quarters, even helping the knight to dress. The work was menial and demeaning. In trade, he was learning combat skills. Someday, he told Leena, he would be the greatest knight that ever lived. Legends would be told about him for centuries.
Leena looked up. White flakes charged into her face like a meteor storm. She had no idea what time it was. Had the afternoon passed and darkness arrived while she waited? She had no way of knowing.
Her head nodded with fatigue. With effort, she stood and led the horses up a gentle slope to a stand of pines whose lower branches were high enough to accommodate them. She lifted branches and shooed the horses in where they could stand comfortably in the shelter of the tree. She unsaddled and groomed them then spread her shawl to sleep.
By morning, snow was deep enough to seal the area beneath the trees. Leena woke to find a soft white wall hemming in the branches of her shelter. She crawled to the edge and dug a passageway.
Outside, the sky was a deep, cloudless blue and the world was covered in a white blanket more than three feet deep. Snow absorbed all sound, making the world deathly quiet. Air smelled crisp and new. Cold bit the inside of her nose pleasantly when she inhaled.
Where was Arvin? Could he ride in this? She realized he did not know where she moved to. Had he passed her in the night?
Faint sounds caught her ear, distant clinks of metal on metal.
Arvin?
It had to be. She stood at the edge of her pine shelter looking over unbroken snow in the direction where the road must be.
In the silence the smallest noise carried a far distance. She heard the crump of a horse’s sneeze and strained her eyes north along the road hoping to see Arvin.
A red and gold banner appeared above the northern horizon, too far away to see the symbol.
She watched.
A knight’s helm, then a second rose in the distance. Two more appeared and another two. Finally, a column of thirty armored riders drew closer.
Now she clearly saw the golden eagle crest of the Great Wizard on their chests.
They must be looking for her. She ducked and hid behind the parapet her tunneling created. Through a small crevice, she watched their approach.
The horses were large and thick. They lifted hooves high to clear the snow. Powerful muscles on their flanks bulged as they plowed steady furrows. The noise of their trappings' clink and clatter grew deafening.
The knights were helmed as though expecting imminent battle. She saw no wizards among them.
How could they know she was near?
They passed her shelter without a glance, so close she could have easily thrown a stone and hit them. Finally, their supply wagon creaked past. A bored teamster clucked as he slapped the reins. She did not draw a sigh of relief until the wagon crested a far hill and disappeared.
Quickly, she scurried into the shelter and started packing. Her mind whirled furiously. What should she do? Her instinct was to get far from here, but to where? The knights were dressed for battle. That meant they had a camp nearby. If she stayed on the road, she could ride right into it. She had no idea where she was. How long could she last riding cross country?
But she had to do something.
She wanted to scream with frustration. Where was Arvin? Why had he chosen this time to take off?
Her eyes caught a flicker of motion as she lifted branches, preparing to lead the horses out. Quickly, she shooed them back and knelt behind her parapet.
A lone rider approached on the crushed snow path the knights created. Arvin rode slowly toward her, eyes scanning. She stood and waved, not daring to risk a call. He turned and rode up the hill. He had a slain deer slung across the saddle in front of him and several bags slung behind.
The horse left a deep trail in the snow.
"No questions now if you please, M’lady. We’ve got to move quickly."
Leena led the horses out and mounted. Arvin spurred his horse up the slope into the forest away from the road. At the top of the hill, Leena turned to look back. The road was nearly half a mile behind them. Their tracks were clearly visible winding through the sparse trees. When the knights returned, they could not miss the trail.
She reached for the Garlan branch. Perhaps it would have the power to shift the blanket of snow. Before her hand touched it, a wind sprang up along the face of the hill. A small wall of snow lifted and swirled violently across the face of the hill. When it settled, the snow was smooth and unmarked. What a stroke of fortune, someone or something must be looking out for them.
"M’lady, where are you?"
The voice came faintly from deep in the woods in front of her. She followed the tracks to Arvin. As she neared, he spurred his horse. The trees were scattered enough to allow them to ride side by side.
"What happened? Where were you?"
"I’m sorry I took so long, M’lady. I left yesterday to get some game so’s we could eat. I’d gone about two miles down the road before I came to a crossroads town. I thought maybe I could buy us some food, but the place was full of the Great Wizard's soldiers. There’s a permanent garrison in the town.
"There I was, the fool, ridin’ right up to their gate. When a sentry called to me, I turned and ran. I knew they would chase and they had fresh mounts. Ours have been sore used lately, so I couldn’t outrun them.
"As fortune would have it, the snow was gettin' thick enough they couldn’t see me, so I lit into the forest. My tracks were quickly covered and I waited till they rode past. It was fair dark by then and they couldn’t see no better than me.
"I left the horse and snuck into the town. There was lots of soldiers. It took a long time, cause I had to be careful. I made sure I didn’t accidentally run into anyone in the snow. It was coming so hard I couldn’t see nor hear nothing. Finally, I found a storehouse and loaded some bags full of food.
"It took longer to get back to the horse. I couldn’t see in the blizzard and, with wandering around town, I wasn’t sure the direction. It was near morning by the time I found him. Then I had a problem. The snow stopped falling but it was so deep I left tracks everywhere I went.
"What I did was lead him under trees where there wasn’t no snow then use a branch to brush out our tracks between trees. It took till well after sunup to get back to the road far enough from town I was safe.
"I was just about to mount when I heard an awful clatter coming along the road. It spooked a stag not a hundred feet from me. So I shot it and waited hidden to see who the noise was. It was them knights you saw, galloping on their huge steeds, making all that noise.
"They took care of the problem with me leaving tracks. So after they was far enough away, I gathered my deer and followed along. I hoped you’d be smart enough not to let them see you.”
He looked at her as though expecting a response.
"When the snow started, I took shelter under some trees. I was about to leave when they came," Leena said.
He stared at her expressionlessly for nearly a minute, then shrugged.
"Maybe luck is with us. Anyway, we can’t stay on the road no more. There’ll be more soldiers the farther north we get. I’ve heard there’s another road to the Great Wizard's castle about twenty miles east. The crossroad should take us there. I figure if we travel through the woods at an angle we have to find the road eventually."
They reached a small clearing. Arvin pulled up. They had crossed several hills since the road.
"I’m sorry M’lady, but I’d no sleep last night and I’ve got to rest."
Dark half moons of fatigue painted shadows beneath his eyes. How could she not notice how tired he was?
"I’m so sorry, Arvin. You must be exhausted. Do you think it’s safe to make a fire here?"
"I think we’re far enough from anywhere, no one will see our smoke. You think you could build a fire while I dress out our friend here?
We have to cook him soon if we mean to keep him."
While Arvin went far enough away from camp to dress the deer, Leena used her hedge witch wand to empty the clearing of snow. Beneath trees at the edge of the clearing, were numerous fallen branches. She gathered several and had a fire going by the time Arvin returned with the stag ready to roast. He selected several branches from the pile Leena gathered and quickly had the animal suspended on a makeshift spit.
"Keep the fire low and roast it slowly," the boy said while pulling the blankets from the packhorse. "That way, it’ll stay fresh longer."
He barely rolled in the blankets, next to the fire, when she heard quiet snores. She looked at the sleeping lump and a wave of pity flowed over her. The poor boy lost his parents and was now lost in the woods with a girl whose survival skills had not been developed. For a boy he was doing well, but she knew it must be hard.
By midafternoon, the stag was roasted to perfection. Smelling it was driving her to distraction. She had not eaten since yesterday. Her stomach rolled and growled in anticipation. Using her sword, she sliced a chunk and juggled it hand to hand until it was cool enough to hold and eat. She felt like a barbarian, greasy hands and juice dripping from her chin, but it was delicious.
She was slicing a second chunk when the boy woke.
"Smells wonderful, M’lady."
She held the sword out toward him, a large hunk of stag skewered on its point. He started eating while she sliced another for herself. As she squatted next to the fire, gnawing roasted flesh, she looked at his face. Grease ran in rivulets down his chin and between his fingers. Despite herself, she laughed.
A dark scowl instantly crossed his face then he looked at her face and hands, saw the reason for her laughter and smiled. Soon they were howling together like this was the funniest thing either had seen.
She supposed it was relief from tension that seemed to have been with them forever. For minutes both rolled on the ground, holding stomachs in mirth, as peals of joy rang through the woods.
Eventually, their laughter subsided. Then one would look at the other and they would be off again. The periods between outbursts lengthened and eventually tapered to a few random chuckles. They finished their meal in easy silence. She realized this was the first time she felt comfortable around him. He had a few hard edges, but deep down she felt there must be a kind person in there.
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