Return to Caer Lon

by Claude Dancourt

  “Did we…?” Take a swim sounded stupid. “Did we fall into the pond?”

  Her question seemed to amuse him but not enough so that he would answer right away. The young man moved from his support with a grimace and walked to the entrance to retrieve his weapon and his bag. The ceiling was so low he had to keep his head bent forward. His frame filled out the opening completely. Sacha stood on tottering legs. Her own head brushed the stone above her. Instinctively, she looked for something to steady herself and she found his arm ready for her.

  “Thank you.”

  The heartfelt words took him by surprise. But it lasted only a second, before he barked, “We need to keep moving or we’ll freeze to death. Let’s go.”

  Holding their packs at arm length, he started toward the dark cave in front of her. Sacha had no choice but to follow. Somehow, she was grateful he assumed she could walk. It forced her to fight the lassitude which was slowly invading her. If only she had not been so terribly cold… She didn’t question his venturing into the cavern. Approaching the water again… Another shiver shattered her bones.

  The small passage seemed to connect to a bigger cave. Fortunately, it went drier as they progressed farther from the fall. On the other hand, light was only a memory now. As darkness grew, Sacha felt her wet clothes become heavier on her shoulders, refusing to dry. She was unable to warm up, and she was sure her teeth were going to crack if they continued chattering so hard.

  Derek was still going, towing her behind him. She had gripped his sleeve at one point, letting go off his arm but unable to free him completely. Her pride refused to ask for a stop. She forced one foot in front of the other, enduring the glacial sting cutting her bones. Her cloak tangled in her legs to make her trip. Her dampened boots made each step spongy and more difficult. In the dark, her labored breathing rolled loudly, reverberating in the silence around them.

  Derek stopped, fidgeting while her chattering teeth tried to break her jaws. Taking her hand, he forced her fingers to close around a stick of hard wax.

  “Can you light the candle?”

  She tried to make sense of his request as the unbearable pressure crushed her temples. The words seemed disconnected from each other.

  “Sacha, I know you are tired, but we need light. Please, try to light the candle.”

  She focused on the form in her hand, picturing the wick. The pounding in her head jammed harder. A small flame erupted, dangerously weak before it grew stronger. The effort to call on her magic exhausted the last of her strength. Derek instantly caught her when her legs gave way under her, helping her to the ground slowly.

  The small gleam chased away the shadows around his face. She hoped she didn’t look that pitiful. His hairs were half-glued to his skull, half spiking in every possible direction. His skin was glowing under the candlelight. His strong jaw was firmly clenched, probably because he was fighting shivers, as well. His shirt was nearly transparent and the bulge of muscles, strengthened by years of training, showed through.

  Sacha tightened her cloak around her. She regretted it instantly, for more cold seemed to penetrate her bones. The heat on her cheeks was almost welcome in her prison of ice. Derek’s voice floated toward her, so far away...

  “You need to get rid of your wet clothes.”

  The order partly stopped the mad dance of her teeth.

  “I a-am not di-di-dives-ti-ti-ting in front ooooof you.”

  Derek groaned and fixed the candle on the ground with drops of melted wax.

  “I didn’t pull you out of the water to see you die of cold. Here.”

  He handed Sacha a dry shirt he had extracted from his backpack, along with his cloak.

  “It will help you stay warm, and modest.”

  Her fingers refused to release him. Derek gently unclenched her hand from his sleeve, brushing her skin.

  “I won’t be long. I just want a look around.”

  Free from her grasp, he put the cloak on the ground and pulled his shirt above his head. Sacha’s eyes widened in – appreciative - shock. How long had it been since they played in the lake, children, unaware of the effect of bare skin? She swallowed nervously and shivered again. The play of light on his shoulder blades distracted her. Clearly, they weren’t children anymore. Head low, Sacha started unlacing her shirt, and took off her boots, then her pants, fighting (blessing) the heat cramping up her neck and face.

  The light flickered on the wall in front of her. She guessed Derek had taken up the candle to visit their shelter. Risking a glance above her shoulder, Sacha glimpsed his large frame. His back and his shoulders were bare. Her gaze moved down to his waist, locked on the display of skin and muscles which were very… really… She turned away with a muffle cry.

  With her eyes firmly shut, she finished stripping off her wet clothes. Twisting her hair into a bun to wring it out the best she could, she unfolded the shirt. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when she slipped it on. The blissfully dry garment was large for her slender frame, and nearly reached her knees.

  She wondered what Derek was doing. He had saved her life… She didn’t dare look around, in any case her traitorous eyes ventured inappropriately again. Crouched with her knees to her chest, she relished in the scent of his shirt. It smelt of earth, and metal, and something peppery she thought was just Derek. The rough fabric was comforting; yet her body heat refused to decrease, as tiredness sank back in. Cold seemed encrusted in her bones, so her skin burned while her insides quivered. Her head grew heavy once more and soon keeping her eyes closed stopped being that hard.

  His voice made her jump out of her half-doze.

  “You can look now. I’m covered.”

  Teasing perked in his voice, too tempting to resist. Her eyes fluttered open before she could even blush. Covered was a manner of speaking. He had wrapped his cloak around his hips as an oversized towel. The shadows played an intriguing ballet on his bare chest when he bent down to pick up the bag. For a moment, she failed to convince herself that his speech was more interesting.

  “There is an alcove up there, where the walls narrow.”

  Sacha nodded and stood awkwardly, unnerved by the feeling of her naked legs offered to his attention. One hand on the wall to steady herself, she took one step forward and tripped. Derek circled her waist to support her. She hadn’t notice he was so close.

  Her teeth started their crazy chatter again and she began to shiver uncontrollably. Pain shot through her legs with every step. His grip on her waist tightened.

  “Just a little farther, Sacha. It will be easier to warm up there.”

  She could only nod. "Warm up" had the taste of wishful illusion. Tears burned her eyes. She shut them tight to stop them from welling, exhausted by the effort and the desperation of their situation. Their clothes were drenched and without a fire, it seemed impossible to dry them. They could not go on with only three candles, his cloak and the shirt he had given her.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Derek stopped walking to look at her face, surprised.

  “What for?”

  “We were attacked and you got wounded; then I fell and you had to jump into the water to help me. Nothing would have happened if I hadn’t force you to come with me.”

  “You didn’t force me to do anything.”

  His tranquil voice contrasted with the riotous bounce in her chest.

  “You asked, I agreed, and I’d rather be wet in this place than have you dead.”

  Her hug erased the fatigue; it was over before he even realized her arms had circled his shoulders but it chased away doubt and worry. She trusted him with her life, and it was enough to renew his strength. The ice of her touch when Sacha slipped her hand into his reminded him to take in air. The strange cave didn’t feel that cold anymore.

  Chapter 24

  Derek looked anxiously at the wax in his hand. He had two more candles but God knew how long it would take them to get out of the tunnels.

  Going back meant diving and swimming against the
stream if the bank had totally collapsed. The idea had less than little appeal. But if they didn’t find their way through the caves or if they reached a dead end, the third candle might be their only chance to walk back to the waterfall.

  He made a mark with his nail in the wax; past this, he would blow it up. They could not afford to waste their resources.

  Sacha was spreading their wet clothes on the ground the best she could, maybe hoping the air would be enough to partly dry them. He didn’t dare to say her attempt was fruitless; with the humidity around the cave and the absence of a proper warm source, their clothes had little chance to dry.

  Her face was marked by the trauma of her near-death experience. White circled her lips, which had taken on a worrisome dark shade. She tried to hide it - she always tried to hide everything - but he could see she was trembling again.

  They had nothing with which to build a fire, basically no light, and they were possibly trapped inside a mountain. Derek punched the wall in frustration. Sacha glanced up.

  “Derek, your hand is hurt!”

  He grunted. Of course it was hurt, he had just hit a stone wall…

  “You’re bleeding...”

  In the dim light, he barely made out the red color staining the ground.

  “Don’t worry about it. Sacha, we have some food in the bag. Can you-?"

  ”Come here.”

  Her order suited him better than seeing her desperate, as she had been earlier. He failed to swallow his smirk when she motioned for him to sit down.

  Sacha gave him a reproachful glance and took his hand to check the sore skin; her fingers were so cold he flinched. Another cutting look shut him up before he protested. She abandoned him briefly to tear a band of cloth from her wet shirt.

  While she knotted her pitiful bandage around his hand, Derek concentrated on their goods.

  “We have enough for two days, I think, if we split it carefully.”

  Two days of food, for two days of light.

  Sacha nodded, still occupied with her tending, and he went on with his examination. The bread was a little spongy and the dry meat, not that dry. He also found an apple and some brown sticks he supposed were sugar canes. Derek nearly added they couldn’t afford to stay in those caves more than two days; but seeing her eyes watered when she yawned, he said nothing.

  “We should put out the candle while we sleep. I can light it again later.”

  The wax had melted past his mark. Sacha was already curling into a ball like a cat, her eyes fluttering closed. Her features were strained with drain, greyish despite the gleeful candlelight. Food lost the little appeal it had. Derek blew on the little flame before he leaned backward slowly. The stone at his back didn’t feel that cold; unless he was getting use to the chill. The cut in his hand pounded painfully under her tight bandage.

  “Can we go out by the waterfall?”

  In the dark, her voice stretched on a note a little too high to ignore the anguish behind her question. Derek tried to remember where she was and held his good hand forward, brushing something round and soft he hoped like hell was her shoulder. He told the truth.

  “I am not sure. The bank partly collapsed.”

  Derek jolted when her hair wet his arm as she turned to face him. Sacha moved to push away but he wrapped his arms around her, bringing her to his chest. She stiffened at the contact. For an instant, he wondered if her shivers came from cold, or the intimacy of his hold.

  A drop of ice glided along his hip, silencing the devilish voice in his head, which had started to detail the many ways to share and increase body heat, one by one.

  “We’ll find another way out. Take some rest.”

  A low, thankful sigh answered him. Derek wished he could believe his own words.

  oOo

  He kept his eyes close. Listening to Sacha’s fractured breathing helped him concentrate. He couldn’t sleep, though his body longed for the rest. His mind raced over that poem again and again, trying to make sense of the strange stances.

  Derek mouthed some of the verses silently.

  If I cry, share my tears,

  And guide me through my fears;

  If I fall, help me stand,

  And in your right, take my hand

  He had taken a wild guess, turning left each time the wall curved or split, because if the right hand was offered, then the escort would have to give its left. He interpreted tears as the waterfall, and the legitimate fear anyone would have at walking through it.

  He could be wrong. He could lose his way in the endless maze of pillars and turns and lead them to a death of freezing and hunger. Maybe the prayer meant to take the right path and not the left. Maybe…

  Sacha shivered and his eyes snapped open. His mind was so blurry it didn’t shock him to be able to make out her delicate frame. The cave might not be as pitch black as he thought, or his eyes were getting used to the darkness. She stirred, her legs hunching higher under the garment, so her knees pressed hard into his flank. So much for the romance.

  The tunic had slipped down her collarbone to bare the inviting swell above her breasts, more than decency would have normally allowed. Derek swallowed, watching the feeble light played on the landscape of her throat. Had her skin felt that soft under his palm when he thought she was an intruder in his chambers? It was only days ago; an eternity. It would be so easy to close his eyes and truly lay with her. It amazed him how different she was since they set off together. Unless she had always been like this, both defying and tender, and he had never taken the time to notice. Shaken, he forced his hand to withdraw from the curve of her neck.

  Sacha sighed softly and Derek jerked back, letting go of her. He needed some distance, something to distract himself from acting like a lustful teenager. Think about weapons. Foot play Training. Tournaments. Fully-armed tournaments.’

  His armour would have been great to wear at the moment instead of being barely covered near her: some cold, hard steel, thick enough to protect both of them. Unfortunately, his armour was in Haven. Humid breeches and shirt would have to do. Derek gathered his clothes as quietly as he could not to disturb her and started to dress. His elbow hit the wall behind him when he slipped his tunic on.

  The loud curse echoed in the empty cavern. Sacha opened her eyes slowly and instantly gasped, reaching to the loose end of her bodice to cover herself.

  “Derek!”

  The young man searched his mind for a suitable excuse for whatever she might chastise him for: the improper touching, the swearing, anything, as long as she would stop looking at him with such a baffled look on her face. Then he realized her widened eyes were focused above his shoulder. His mouth clasped shut instantly as she babbled:

  “The wall… It’s glowing!”

  If he had not been so keen on listening to his lowest instincts, he would have noticed. Maybe he had slept after all, and the day had broken again, dawn pouring into the cave from a natural chimney he hadn’t heeded when scouting with only a candle.

  “Yeah, I know,” he lied cheekily.

  Still protecting her modesty with one hand, Sacha tottered up to approach the opposite wall, touching the stone lightly in bewilderment.

  “And it’s warm too…”

  She laughed. Her happiness pearled in the air, enticing, right before goose bumps attacked her once more and she inched closer to the seemingly hot wall, nestling against it, her beautiful smile chattering. Derek grumbled.

  “Please, take it.”

  His cloak enveloped her from head to toes when he put it on her shoulders before he took a quick step back when Sacha flashed a grateful smile above her shoulder. She pulled the garment closed, briefly burying her nose in its folds with her eyes shut. Her cheeks flamed to match his cloak’s crimson color at the indulgence.

  Where had he gotten the idea that getting dressed would help? His tunic glued to his back. The pants seemed wetter now he had them on, and squeezed his lower body disagreeably. He jittered to get accustomed to the itch on his skin.
Derek looked for another topic, finding none.

  Sacha crouched against their wall again yawning as discreetly as she could. Derek perused their provisions. The apple didn’t look that bad, maybe a little crushed on the side. In any case, it still looked better than the bread.

  “Here.”

  She munched at the fruit, barely taking a bite before she put it away.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  Maybe she wasn’t. She looked paler than usual, nonetheless. Derek frowned.

  “We may have light, but we still need to keep up our strength to get out of here.”

  Her snort was missing her trademark bristle at being patronized.

  “You’re not eating, either.”

  Derek lied again. It was a skill he had mastered around her, it seemed.

  “I ate while you were sleeping.”

  Sacha scowled in doubt - alright perhaps mastered was an overstatement - but she said nothing, taking another nibble before she abandoned her apple for good.

  “Can we stay here, just for a little while?”

  They shouldn’t. Deep within the cave, they should use every minute of light they could get to move forward. He detailed every reason they should move on in his head as her green eyes opened to fix onto his.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Derek leaned into the wall, savoring the heat in his back through his shirt. Sacha pressed her cheek on her knees, nestled under his cloak. Uneasy, he grabbed his sword to check the blade. After a while, he couldn’t pretend anymore.

  “The light probably comes from some sky light I didn’t spot earlier.”

  Sacha turned her head toward him and for a minute, he could only stare as her hair cascaded over her knees like ebony silk.

  “Do you see how the wall seems to glow? I never saw anything like it…”