Mira silently worked through the night, with only bumps and animals making a noise that could awake the man sleeping in her bed. If her master knew of his existence inside the cottage, Jonen would die. The snowfall comforted her as she exerted herself doing manual labor around the cottage. She chopped smaller trees to bundle firewood, fixed the wooden wagon she often used, and moved boxes from the house to the wagon.
A screeching bird finally shocked Jonen awake. He flung himself from the bed in panic to land in a space barely larger than himself. As his ankle hit the floor, he let out a loud stream of curses. He grabbed the staff leaning against the wall and pulled himself to his feet.
He took a deep breath and called out to Mira, “Hey, uh, Mira?”
When she didn’t immediately answer, he worried that she abandoned him during the night. He redressed himself and used the staff to wobble to the dining table in the other room. A neatly folded note rested on a slab of wood covered in sliced bread and cheese. Her handwriting was oddly neat, despite the tight characters.
Jonen – If you wake up before my return, please feel free to eat. I will return shortly.
He greedily ate the simple breakfast. He stuffed the note in his pocket and noticed the boxes near the door were no longer there. Another unpleasant squawk rang outside of the cottage before Mira looked through the window. She nodded politely to him and disappeared from view again. After a few moments, the door opened, and the sweat covered woman stepped through. door. Jonen noticed the cloth bag in her hands flapped around wildly.
“You’re awake,” She wiped the moisture from her brow with the back of her hand, “How long will you need before you’re ready to go?”
Jonen’s eyes focused on the writhing bag as she dropped it to the floor, “What’s in there?”
“A bird,” Mira shrugged before grabbing a handful of food and stuffing it into her mouth.
Jonen pursed his lips in confusion and waited for her to elaborate. When it was clear she wouldn’t answer without prompting, he pointed to the bag.
“Why?”
“It annoyed me,” She paused before adding, “I moved its nest from on top of the house to a nearby tree. It tried to peck at me, so I threw it in the bag.”
“Were their eggs in the nest?” Jonen stifled a chuckle.
“No,” She sighed wistfully, “I could have made a better breakfast if there was.”
The bird screeched horribly in response. Mira peered at the bag and growled back at it. The bird quieted at the response, and she took another bite.
“When it calms down, I’ll let it out.”
“Do you often trap birds in bags?” Jonen laughed, “Then growl at them?”
“When they annoy me and I don’t want to outright kill them,” She shrugged, “They make for good target practice.”
He shook his head, “Well, I’ll be ready to leave as soon as you are.”
“Very well,” She stood from the table and headed to the small room, “One moment while I pack my things.”
Jonen heard the rustling papers as she flipped through her books. He looked to the room to say something, but noticed the curtain was not shut. He tried to rip his eyes away, but Mira’s skin appalled him. As she changed tunics, he watched the deepening red and purple scars that covered most of her torso. The cloth she used to bind her breasts to her chest did very little to hide how low the scars went down her. His fist clenched as his mind ran at what the possible causes of those marks were.
When her amber eyes met his, he jerked his head away and tried to unclench his tense jaw. Mira tucked the white blouse into her pants and packed a small bag of the trinkets she was allowed to keep: some ribbons, the small wooden box to hold sewing supplies, and a few books. She grabbed the shield from by the front door and left the house quietly.
“Stop staring at her,” Jonen whispered to himself as he tried to relax, “Why are you staring at her?”
When Mira knocked on the window for him to follow, he hobbled towards the front door and took a deep breath to prepare himself. He tried to tame his anger at the sight of the dead warriors outside of the front door. As he used the staff to limp down the stairs, Mira grabbed two ropes and pulled the makeshift wagon towards him. The walls were lined with the wooden containers that were inside the cottage last night. Pillows and blankets in the middle made a cushion large enough for Jonen to sit in.
She hopped onto the flatbed of the wagon and held a hand to him, “Let me help you up.”
Jonen grasped her hand and her ease of lifting him from the ground surprised him. She pulled him almost completely off his feet with as much effort as lifting a pillow. She wrapped her arm around his waist as he stabled himself to sit on the wagon floor.
“Make yourself as comfortable as possible,” She nodded before hopping to the ground, “It is rough ride. I tried to accommodate the best I could.”
“Are you using a horse to pull…this?” Jonen watched her travel around to the ropes again.
“The only horses were from the attack a week ago,” She shrugged, “I will be pulling it, as I always do.”
Mira’s foot tapped lightly against the wheels to make sure they were secured. As she inspected the cart, Jonen moved blankets to make a footrest for himself. He watched her move to tie the ropes around herself. She diagonally crossed each rope to form a harness she slipped over herself. His gaze lingered on her as she stretched for the day.
“How old are you?” Jonen asked as her eyes caught his again.
“I do not know,” She straightened the ropes against her
His brow furrowed, “What do you mean you don’t know?”
“Is it common for people to know their exact ages?” Mira turned to face him completely.
“Yes…” He paused as she walked towards him.
He could see a slight glance of confusion as she looked him over. Mira did not necessarily believe him but did not want to argue with her travel companion.
“Are you comfortable?” She asked to interrupt his next question.
Jonen took it as a sign to drop the subject. He grabbed the side of the cart as it jerked forward. The movement was slow, but gained momentum as they rolled down the hill. He looked towards Mira as she sprinted towards the bottom of the hill. The small handle that steered the wagon rapidly jerked around at every bump in the road as she ran. When the wagon built enough pace, Jonen did not expect to see Mira jump. She landed in the cart next to him and grabbed the steering rod.
“You do this often, don’t you?” He laughed.
“It is fun,” Her windblown hair did little to hide her smile, “If my master is with me, he does not allow this speed.”
Jonen watched anxiously as she turned away from the front of the cart and unbagged the bird. She held it gently in her hands and whispered to it. The rush of the wind around the00 cart and the squeaking wheels blocked the words from him. Mira opened the hand and the bird squawked unhappily once before flittering away.
She laughed and pulled a loose strand of curl back behind her ear. Jonen grinned at the softer side he saw of the young woman. When she stood and he felt heat coming off her, he grabbed her leg so she wouldn’t fall. She gave him a questioning look before a small ball of fire formed in her hand.
“Goodbye,” She whispered before casting the flame back at the cottage.
The small building slowly smoked as they drifted away from it. Jonen saw a sadness wash over her as she looked back to the front of the wagon. When her eyes widened at a quickly approaching tree. She grabbed his arm to pull him in closely.
“Brace yourself!” She called as she jerked the steering rod.
The cart twisted unhappily at the motion and slid to a stop at the bottom of the hill. He had not expected her to pull him that closely. When Mira’s head turned to find his face close to her, she blushed.
She stood up, “I did not want you to topple out of the wagon.”
He ran his hand through his hair and leaned away from her, “I mean, I grabbed you first so you wouldn’t fall out.”
Smoke billowed off the burning house. Mira stared silently for a moment to confirm it caught flame properly. She jumped from the wagon and lassoed her harness around her once again. She pushed energy into her back and legs to start running with the cart. The ropes pressed against her as the full weight of the cart moved.
Each passing moment with Mira fascinated him. A normal woman of her size would have never been able to lift him, let along pull this cart full of items. Jonen knew that Isaan had a thrall, but he never imagined her to have that much brute strength. Though, he wasn’t enough of a mage to sense if she used magic or not.
As early morning transitioned into midday, Jonen spent most of the time trying not to ask her too many questions. Mira responded with short answers or complete silence. She dodged rocks and other debris easily in her run. The animal paths she traveled were barely large enough for the wagon to fit through. She kept a comfortable jog and steady pace until easing to a stop in a small clearing at the base of the mountainous area they were in.
“I don’t know how you can run this much, especially with all this,” He spoke as the cart eased to a stop, “You’re an absolute animal.”
“No,” Mira shook her head and pressed a container of water to her lips, “I have done this for many years now. I know my pace.”
She blinked to clear the blurriness from her eyes as the exhaustion from her magic faded. She sat on the ground and took another drink before handing him the waterskin.
“It’s three days at this pace?” He sunk down, “I would’ve taken me a month.”
“That is why I agreed to travel with you,” She wiped the sweat off her face and arms with a small cloth from her pocket, “I need to make a stop along the way for my master.”
“Let’s take a break,” He watched as she dabbed at herself, “You must be starving.”
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“I just need water,” She waved inconsequentially, “I ate breakfast. I will be fine until dinner.”
Jonen shook his head, “If you say so. Are we stopping for the night at dinner?”
“If that is what you want,” She stood up and walked over to him, “I can keep going if needed.”
“Won’t you need to sleep?” He paused a moment before thinking, “When did you sleep last night?”
“I prepared for our journey,” She walked past him and reached into the wagon to grab another waterskin, “I will sleep when I need to.”
“I can take the first shift so you can sleep,” He offered, “I can’t do much else.”
Mira shook her head, “You sleep first. I can keep moving until I need to rest.”
“Like now?” He looked her over.
““This was to make sure you are comfortable with my pace,” She dabbed the cloth against her face again before tying her hair up, “My master usually demands a slower speed because of the rockiness. You have not said anything, so I wanted to check in.”
Jonen couldn’t disagree with that. The animal path she followed was no better than the rocky terrain around it. He could live with being jostled around if it meant to be healed sooner. Mira watched his hesitation but waited for an answer.
“This is fine,” He nodded and met her gaze, “But, you should rest. Why don’t you?”
Mira looked into his sapphire eyes to wait for an unspoken tell to argue against his words. The hallowed hollowness in her eyes horrified him as she thought of what to say. He’d only seen a gaze like that on elders or grizzled warriors three times her age.
“I don’t trust you.”
Jonen didn’t understand why her words stabbed into him as much as they did. He wouldn’t trust him either. Still, her stoicism reminded him of marbled statues, not the smiling woman he saw rolling down a hill a few hours before.
“I see,” He lowered his head, “Go as fast as you want. I will be fine.”
Mira stretched again and the sickening pops as her spine realigned caused Jonen to shudder. He noticed that when she began her run again, she notable slowed down to keep the wagon from rocking.
He spent the rest of the day grabbing her empty waterskins and replacing them at her request. Only a few quick stops to relieve natural’s calls stopped her from running. When she unusually slowed to a stop, Jonen lifted his head. She unceremoniously plopped onto the cool stones beneath her and laid down. Her sudden bout of dizziness was not unusual to her, but it concerned her with the knight nearby.
“Are you alright?” He leaned over the wall of the wagon.
Jonen winced at the frayed fabric where the ropes had been. Her hands quickly ran along the knots of the ropes to untie her as she laid down. Bruises and rope burn peaked from under her ragged blouse. She gripped her stomach and it growled angrily at her.
“I am famished,” She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes, “Throw me food.”
“Do you want to come sit up here with me?” He offered.
“If you’d like,” She hesitated before rolling onto her back and looking up to him, “If not, I am used to the ground. I sleep on it most nights.”
Jonen bit his tongue to not speak his mind. Instead, he reached out to her and waited for her to grab his hand. He pulled her to her feet, and she jumped onto the wagon to join him. She eyed him cautiously as she sat across from him. Mira was unsure of what he was doing. She took a deep breath, then sniffled at herself. She grimaced and anxiously rubbed at her bare arms as the night chill settled in.
“I apologize for my odor,” She scrunched her nose, “There’s a creek nearby that—”
Jonen burst into laughter and waved her concern away, “You’ve been running all day. I’m sure I smelled terrible the week you took care of me. Now, where’s the food?”
Mira pointed to a sack behind him. He opened it and found less food than he was expecting. A few loaves of bread, chunks of cheese and meat, and a jar of jam made up most of the bag’s contents. He held the bag opened towards her. She greedily pointed at a large chunk of skewered meat. He passed it to her and watched her sink her teeth into it. After the long day of travel, he wasn’t surprised at how ravenous she was, but she ate like a wild animal compared to the pampered snacks he saw before. He grabbed a chunk of bread and the jam to have a lighter dinner.
“Do you need anything else?” He held the piece of bread out to her, “There’s plenty more.”
She eyed him cautiously and grabbed it from his hands. He took another piece for himself and dipped it into the jam before taking a bite. The wild berries mixture was something Shayleigh would’ve loved. Mira belched loudly and he chuckled.
“Do you want anything else?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No, I shouldn’t have eaten as much,” She grabbed her stomach, “There will be less food tomorrow.”
“Are you going to rest, now?”
“No,” Mira closed her eyes and rested her back against the boxes near her, “I just need a moment before I start again.”
“How are you not dead on your feet?”
“I will not run now. That’s much less energy,” She pulled out a rusty sword from between the boxes and the wall of the wagon, “Bandits can hear carts traveling down the main path if they’re going at a decent pace. I will walk and make sure I can defend us if necessary.”
“Why are there so many bandits out here?” Jonen groaned, “We ran into many groups.”
“Rumors of mines filled with gold and old pirate treasure,” She ran a fingernail along the sword and flicked off a scale of rust, “Plus, it’s remote enough that any traveler that gets robbed will either die in the wilderness or forget what the bandit looks like by the time they find help.”
“Does nobody around here care? Why don’t they send more –” Jonen stopped himself before suggesting armed guards.
The wraith wiped out a small army by itself. Of course, Mira didn’t run into bandits often. If her master and the wraith worked together, it probably protected her because of that.
“The leader of the nearest, larger clan and my master have an understanding,” Mira held the sword out to check its balance, “We will be fine.”
“Then why the sword?” He asked, “I mean, do you even know how to use it?”
“Do you really think my incapable of defending us?” She scoffed without looking to him, “If the person my master made an arrangement is no longer the leader, I will have to make adjustments.”
Jonen felt a twinge of guilt, “If I wasn’t injured, I’d be able to –”
“If you weren’t injured, then I would not be here,” Her serious expression caught his attention, “They would likely just kill you on sight.”
She yawned and placed the sword in her lap. Mira let her head fall backwards before closing her eyes to think. She opened the map from her belt bag and her hand brushed the surface of the mask. The tantalizing power called to her, but she realized transforming to help the man that had openly denounced her other form would not be wise. He could try to attack her, and she didn’t have enough energy to continue the journey at the moment.
“Do you want to take a break?” Jonen saw her closed eyes and asked aloud, “I can take first watch.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“You could easily put me next to a rock over there and hear me grunt at you if I try to sneak up,” He offered, “Or, realize that I am dead if you’re angry with me and I’m not stupid enough to tempt that.”
She smirked, “I will take a break when we are not in as open terrain.”
Jonen watched as she tied the ropes to her and began to pull again. Any horse he used before would throw a fit with how hard she worked herself. Yet, she kept a speed just above a walk. He watched as they travelled through gravelly dirt roads through open, woodsy landscape. The dead trees and large rocks at the bottom of the mountain were average for most of Zrud. The lack of vegetation wasn’t as big of a shock to Jonen as the heat during the night compared to the day. He let his eyes close as he dozed off.
When the cart halted again, he noticed Mira sluggishly walk towards the cart. His eyes adjusted to the night around him. Large outcroppings of boulders blocked most of the view from the road.
Jonen reached out a hand and helped lift her into the cart. She blinked a few times before pointing to the bag of food. He tossed it to her, and she snacked on some of the meat. She relaxed a bit before staring at Jonen. Her amber eyes viewed his strategically and he did not like that he couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
“Do you need to sleep?” He asked.
“Yes,” She rubbed at her eyes, “I need to rest for an hour before continuing.”
“Only an hour?” He blinked at her, “You can take a longer break.”
“Not if you want to remain on schedule,” She shook her head, “I will be fine.”
“Do you want me to move?” Jonen looked to the remaining floor space, “I can try and sit on some of the boxes.”
“Would my closeness be uncomfortable?” Mira tilted her head, “Or should I not trust you?”
“Oh,” He paused to look at her, “It’s just, typically, men and women only sleep next to each other if…”
“Do you not share sleeping place with your fellow knights?” She narrowed her gaze.
He nodded, “If you are comfortable, I’m okay with it.”
She stretched across the floor of the wagon to lay down. Jonen made as much room as he could and gave her the pillow that he used to prop his ankle up during the day. Her head nearly rested at his lap’s height. Mira laid the sword in between them and grabbed the hilt before looking up to him.
“If you hear, see, or smell anything odd, wake me,” She poked the sword tip gently into his ankle, “And if you try anything while I rest, I will cut off your foot and leave you stranded.”
“I wouldn’t dare,” He held his hands up defensively and nervously laughed, “I get it. I want to live.”
Mira acknowledged his statement with a curt nod and closed her eyes. Jonen noticed how quickly her breathing slipped into a steady rhythm. Her grasp on the sword loosened and her body limped as she fell deeper into sleep. Jonen grabbed one of the blankets near him and threw it over the sleeping woman. He smiled as she sleepily pulled the blanket tighter to her. It reminded him of his late lover.
Jonen rested his back against the boxes keeping him propped upwards. He looked upwards to the sparkling sky above him. The cities he had been stationed in for the last seven years didn’t have skies like this –like back home in Vanora. He wondered what would happen when he reported back to Hangral about the fight. Perhaps, the knight’s council would let him out early for his injuries. Hopefully, they would at least cover the bill for the healer.
If he convinced Mira to help them, then Jonen would likely be promoted and allowed to run his own squadron somewhere he wanted to be. The thoughts of Shayleigh had made him incredibly homesick. He knew his family missed him.
Jonen waited until he heard soft snoring and set an internal timer for her. He could let her rest more than she asked but guessed that she’d be more upset if he did. He spent the hour stargazing, watching small creatures run about the ground, and studying the terrain. His eyes always drifted back to Mira.
Although soaked by a day’s worth of sweat, she didn’t smell terrible. Her dampened, wavy curls were lazily pulled up to keep the heat and heaviness from her neck. The light dusting of freckles across her face were only noticeable now that she spent most of the day in the sun. The slight pink tint of a sunburn made her look as if she was constantly blushing. Looking at her now, she seemed like an adorable young woman.
In Vanora, she could be a commoner, like his own family. She could’ve very easily picked up as someone’s bride in the richer houses. In Saceida, the freedom of nomadic tribes outside of major cities would let her travel as she pleased. Jonen rolled his eyes that the thought of how orcs would react to her. Isaan had chosen wisely to bring Mira here. In Zrud, she was below a commoner and his slave.
“If she could just break the contract,” Jonen whispered.
The rapid movement under Mira’s eyes worried Jonen. He reached down to gently shake her away, when suddenly he flew from the cart to the ground below. Mira held a knife against his throat as she stood over him with wild eyes. Her sleepiness blinked away and she looked at her prey. After she noticed the shock on his face, she yawned and pulled the knife away. She rolled off his stomach and to her feet. He gripped at the throbbing wound and cursed aloud.
“Sorry,” She rubbed the grogginess from her eyes, “You scared me.”
“I scared you?” Jonen barked in laughter, “You just threw me to the ground and held a knife to my throat. Where did you even get that?”
“I felt your hand on my hip,” She pulled her blouse back into place and retucked it, “I’m not normally touched in my sleep.”
“Not normally?” His eyebrow raised, “And where did you get a knife?”
Mira grabbed his hand and hoisted him onto his good foot. She completely ignored his question. She clearly summoned it. If he had not noticed, then perhaps she could keep that trick up her sleeve.
“I warned you not to touch me,” She helped him get back into the wagon.
“You made it seem like… an inappropriate sense,” He tried to think of the words to get out of the situation, “Not in general.”
Jonen gripped her forearm firmly the first time she tried to pull away. She narrowed her eyes at him as if to accuse him of finding a way to twist her words against her.
“I just want to be clear I didn’t mean to hurt you,” He let go of her arm, “Just wake you up, I promise.”
He looked down from the wagon at her on the ground. She stared back up at him. The same energy of the first time they met caught Mira’s attention. His sapphire eyes pleaded with her to forgive him. She pulled away from him slowly with a nod.
“I believe you,” She grabbed the ropes nearby and tried to think of the words, “I will attempt to tailor my reactions. I am not used to… kindness like that.”
Mira’s hand instinctually rubbed at the stone dangling from the chain on her neck. The black void cracked by lightening caught his attention again. The depth seemed endless compared to the size of the stone. It mesmerized him as he thought of anything to say to the woman. When he looked up to see her glaring at him, he realized the stone dangle just between her breasts.
“Oh, Goddess,” He slapped his hands over his face, “I was admiring your necklace.”
“Why are you staring at it so intently?”
“It’s just… stunning,” He sighed, “I haven’t seen anything like it. It looks incredibly delicate.”
“My mother had good taste,” Her hand wrapped around it gently, “I hope to find another like it one day.”
“I’ve never seen any stone like that before,” He shook his head with a chuckle, “I wouldn’t even know where to begin looking. That’d be an adventure.”
She waved a hand dismissively, “Are you ready to set off again, or do you need a few more moments?”
Jonen shook his head as she tucked the stone back under her blouse. She waited until he settled in before pulling the cart at a slow, steady pace. Jonen looked up into the starry sky and quietly listened to the squeaking wheels underneath him. Being thrown from the cart and landed on did not help his pain. He was thankful that Mira did him the courtesy of wrapping wounds and made a splint for his ankle.
The wound on his stomach seeped from the day, but the stitches held his skin tautly together. He touched it lightly and winced. The sticky scabs itched at him. He hoped nothing was past what the healers could fix.