William sat straight up, immediately awake. He took a deep breath and put one hand on the bottom of his helmet and the other on the top and cracked his neck.

Jormund had kept watch so he could sleep. The large snake was wrapped around the entire campsite twice over, his large head resting lightly on his body.

Miss Mina was already awake, but was still laying on the bedroll that he’d pulled from her bag for her. She wouldn’t want to really move that much for a while, not with her injuries.

His own collarbone ached in sympathetic pain from the multiple times it had been broken. He’d been able to get to healer relatively quickly each time though, so he hadn’t had to deal with it long. For Miss Mina though, it would be at least a week before they arrived at Lynden.

There weren’t any villages between where they were and Lynden, so there wasn’t even a possibility of finding a healer before they got to the capital.

“Good morning, William,” Miss Mina said.

He looked over at her and nodded his head. “Good morning, Miss Mina.”

William stood and moved over to the small woman. He held his hand out to her and she stared at it for a long moment before placing her own in it.

Even with how gentle he was when he pulled her up, she still winced. Yeah, this week wasn’t going to be pleasant for her.

“The closest healer is going to be in Lynden, and it’s a week’s travel,” he told her.

Miss Mina’s nod was shallow, almost imperceptible. “I can’t afford to pay a healer, as much as I want to.”

“Don’t worry about the cost. You made my job of getting rid of those orcs much easier, the kingdom will cover it.” They actually wouldn’t, he would, but she didn’t need to know that. He didn’t want her to feel like she was indebted to him in anyway.

“You slept with the helmet on,” Miss Mina said.

There it was. The question that he knew would be coming. William simply nodded. “It is easier to keep it on and be prepared in case of attack.”

“Right…isn’t it uncomfortable?”

He shrugged. “You get used to it.” It wasn’t pleasant to sleep with it on, but orders were orders.

“Okay, and I’m the daughter of Talyx. What’s the real reason you keep it on?” Miss Mina pursed her lips and narrowed her golden eyes at him.

She didn’t believe him? He’d thought he’d delivered that line well, perhaps she was just incredibly astute.

“No, you’re just a really bad liar,” Jormund said dryly. The snake wasn’t visible any longer, but that didn’t stop the Spirit from speaking in his mind.

He ignored the python. “I’m under strict order to not take it off, under any circumstances. So, I don’t.”

“Why not?” she asked. Miss Mina had started to tilt her head to the side but stopped. Her voice was becoming strained, and she paused between the two words.

“I’m not at liberty to disclose that information.” He glanced over at her with a frown. Was she trying to distract herself from the pain? He wasn’t sure if talking was the best way to do that.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“So, you don’t know.” Miss Mina let out a soft laugh and then groaned. “So, you’re nothing but a well-trained dog.”

William scowled and narrowed his eyes at her. “I’m not a dog.”

“Oh, so if you were told to sit and bark, you wouldn’t do it?” She kept walking, her gait off-kilter and staggered.

“The prince wouldn’t do that.”

“But would you if he did?”

He thought about it for a moment and then nodded. “I would. I wouldn’t be given an order like that without good cause.”

“Then, you’re just a well-trained attack dog.”

This conversation was going nowhere, and he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a response. She was being very rude to someone that no only had she just met, but that had saved her life. He lengthened his stride and easily passed her. He wouldn’t walk too far ahead, but just far enough that actually talking to each other would be difficult.

William glanced back over his shoulder and blinked. She was far further behind than he’d expected her to be. He hadn’t even walked that quickly. If this was going to be the pace they were set at, it would be weeks before they got to the capital city.

He paused and looked down at his hands, the metal covering them glinting in the sunlight. Why hadn’t he thought of using a litter sooner? He could easily fashion one out of the earth at their feet. He turned on his heel and walked back to Miss Mina.

She stopped and stared up at him, confusion marring her features.

The earth behind her rumbled and shook as he raised his arm, his muscles bulging beneath the armor. A thick, flat piece of earth rose from the ground, a foot longer than she was tall, and slightly wider than her.

“You have an earth Spirit,” she murmured, turning and watching the platform take shape.

“This will be faster, I can’t guarantee I still won’t jostle you, but you will not have to wa-”

“You have the ability to make it move and float, would that not be easier?”

“You won’t have to walk, actually.” Jormund had made a good point. “Just, try not to move too much once you get on it.”

She couldn’t weight too much, and he had decent stamina. Using Jormund’s abilities for this shouldn’t wear him out too much, and even if he had to stop to rest once or twice before night fell, they’d still make far more distance than if she was walking.

“I am not being ferried around like a cripple,” Miss Mina said, her jaw tense.

William blinked. Was she truly too prideful to get on the platform so she wouldn’t be in pain?

“You could just knock her out and put her on it.”

“No, I am not doing that, it’s rude.”

“It’s the most efficient way of doing this, rather than trying to argue with her about getting on it.”

“It’s still rude. Knocking her out is not the way to go. She will either get on it of her own accord, or not.”

“You and she are both fools then. She will not get on it, and you will not knock her out. It will take you weeks to reach Lynden at this rate, if not longer.”

“I know it’s going to take weeks if she doesn’t get on it, but knocking out a woman is against my morals.” William shook his head. Jormund had a point, but not one that he would concede to.

“I…I will get on the platform,” the woman said, slowly walking over to it. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.

Why did she change her mind? William shrugged. It didn’t really matter right now, at least she’d agreed to get on the litter.

He lowered the slab of dirt so she could get on without effort. She laid down gently, wincing as her back hit the earth.

“Are you comfortable? I can make the dirt around you a bit softer if you need it.” William moved over to her, raising the platform until it was chest-height to him.

The next week passed quickly. Miss Mina slept for most of it, which was good. She needed the rest with those injuries.

Towers and walls of alabaster stood before them. The fiery woman asleep, despite the noise of the people entering and leaving the city.

Home.

He picked up his pace, the citizens stepping out of his way after seeing his size and the crest upon his armor.

There were four guards at the bottom of the gate, several more along the parapet, and he knew that there were countless hidden from sight. They all wore dark green surcoats with bright red trim over their chainmail and a stylized L emblazoned upon the cloth.

The guards at the gate gave William a small nod, their eyes focused on the sleeping woman floating next to him, and waved him through.

People streamed past into the city. He’d missed it, what he hadn’t missed was the stench of the lower ring of the city. The healer he was looking for was in the middle ring, that was where he went.