Back to Chapter 49
The breathing at the back of her neck was steady. The cloak wrapped around her was warm and when she moved, the arm around her tightened, drawing her closer.
“Edgar...?” Laun mumbled. The man in back of her stirred, but not like her Love.
Laun’s eyes were open and she was awake. She saw straw around her, smelled horses. There were blankets and the cloak and his arm under her head and andand...
The tears started flowing when she remembered. The assassins. Ithian.
Hunter woke to Laun sobbing again. She had not slept much and what he had witnessed was troubled and fretful. He drew his hand up and started to stroke her hair. It had worked in the night, calming her and putting her deeper into sleep. But this time, it was not working.
“Shhh. You are safe.” He put his arm over her and tried to pull her closer again through the layers between them. There was a slight shudder through her body and he felt her start to try to move from under the blankets. He also felt her stop, her back freezing and then slowly relaxing.
Her voice came from under the wool blankets. “Did it really happen?”
He nodded and said, “Yes, Laun.”
There were a few more sobs and then she quieted. “Do you think he blames me?”
Hunter did not know what to say. “You protected the people here, warned those around the King. I think the Ambassador understands about that.” He put his face into her unbound hair and smelled her. His breath was warm and tickled her slightly.
“Are we at war with Rosemond?”
Hunter was not expecting that question. Especially that early in the morning. “The Rosemond nobles stood watch along with the Midlands men. They know it was personal.”
Laun seemed to relax a little and Hunter thought she had gone back to sleep. Her breathing was steady. Her head was heavy on his arm. The tears that had just been shed were cooling through his tunic but not being added to.
“I need to pee.”
Hunter could not stop the laughter that came out. “My Princess, I will try to help you.”
The horses were interested in the two humans who were using one of the stalls. When they started to move, the horses started to make a little bit of a fuss. It brought several of the stable hands to see what was going on, which led to some embarrassment for some of them. They had not expected to see the Sergeant and really did not expect to see the Lady.
They would have been even more embarrassed if they had known that she had just squatted over one of the offal buckets, the only barrier the cloak held between them and her.
Laun needed help to move. Things had twisted and moved and torn the night before and she was having problems knowing which way to turn to not hurt as much. Hunter unbuckled the empty sheaths and that helped some, though an uncounted cut started oozing once the strap right above it was removed.
Hunter insisted on carrying Laun and, past a token waving off of his hands, Laun let him take her up into his arms. She was brought out of the stable into the paddock, the grey morning burning off into a bright morning already.
Soldiers saluted as Hunter passed. Laun was thinking of the night before, what had happened, and if it could happen again. She did not see the soldiers keep their salute until she was past. She did not see the respect they had for her on the word of their superiors. She did not see the grim set from those that had seen the assassins laid out under the tent beside the men who had lost their lives.
Hunter was not sure where to take her, so he took her to the small mess tent the company had put up. It had been used to keep the men in hot tea and travel cakes when the manor’s kitchens were not available. A soldier held back the flap, a pole straight salute for the Princess. Hunter was through and someone inside made a call to salute. All the men stood, getting Laun’s attention.
She looked round at all the men who were saluting. It took a moment for her to have it sink in that she was the one being saluted. She made a sloppy salute back and the men relaxed. It brought tears to her eyes.
A place was cleared at one of the folding tables and hot tea and a milk-soaked travel cake was placed before her. Laun thanked the Private and he saluted back.
Hunter stood behind her, protecting her back from being bumped by soldiers trying to get by. She drank some of the tea and poked at the travel cake, finding that the dry inedible thing she was expecting was soft. She picked it up and nibbled at it, and then took a big bite. She mostly swallowed and said, “I never thought of that. I wondered how people ate these things.”
There were some chuckles from the men around her. She ate and drank and became more aware of the glances as she sat there.
It was starting to unnerve her. She put her hand to her face and did not feel anything swollen or sore. She did pick out a few strands of straw from her hair, but it did not seem to be too messy. The tunic was a dark color and was not showing anything but a little dirt on it, even the moisture from her nipples was not showing through. Laun was not feeling particularly enticing or alluring that morning and was not understanding what the men were looking at.
Laun turned, slightly, and motioned for Hunter. “Do you wish to go somewhere, Princess?”
She shook her head slightly and whispered, “Why is everyone looking at me? Do I have a frog on my nose?”
The Sergeant ventured a familiar gesture and ran his finger down her cheek. “No, Highness.” He stood back up and went back to parade rest.
Laun kept her tongue and finished her tea. She still had some of the moistened travel cake left on the tin plate. She started to lift her mug to ask for more and there was a replacement on the table for her. The Private took the empty and made a small salute in the space he had. Laun nodded back and put her hands around the hot mug.
Laun was drinking and nibbling, thinking about the night before and trying not to have tears come too often to her eyes. She would have to put the mug down and put her hand over her eyes for a moment as the tears that would not hold back would flow out. She would regain her composure, wipe her nose on her sleeve and go back to her tea.
There was a call to salute as the General was escorted into the tent. The men around her stood, a few pieces of food landing on the foot-worn dirt floor. Laun did not see the returned salute, but the men in the tent relaxed and most sat back down. Several of the soldiers around her suddenly moved and General Alsen and several of his Captains sat. Hunter’s presence at her back made her feel more secure, but Laun was feeling jumpy.
Food and drink were placed in front of the officers, hardly a notice of the Private who placed them. The General absently drank the hot tea while looking at Laun. She saw that he was fully awake, fully dressed and scrubbed. She felt even more out of place in her dirty tunic and unbound hair. But she sipped her tea and looked back as calmly as she could.
The officers were not talking, but she saw the communication between them. Some of the signs were obvious. Some were subtle. These men had been around each other for a very long time. Most of them were in their late thirties, the General the eldest at what Laun would think his mid forties. Their uniforms were mostly plain, but of a slightly better quality than the men around them. The buckles shone because someone else had worked on them, the better metal keeping the shine. One of the officers was trying to communicate something to his fellow officers by pulling on one of his leather jerkin’s buckles, a slightly greasy fingerprint being left from the food he was eating.
Laun finished her tea and set the mug down between herself and the General across from her. She could not lean back without her body telling her it was a bad idea, even though she was certain Hunter would not let her fall. She kept looking back at the General and waited. The tin plate was taken from her place and the tea was refilled as Laun waited.
He was mostly done with his food when the General stopped just looking at her and spoke. “Princess, did you sleep well?”
Laun had no compunction to lie or hide behind niceties. “No. And yourself, General?”
He shook his head and said, “I ran watch most of the night. Got some sleep, but not enough.” He took another sip of tea and looked into the mug. “I remember why I don’t eat this crap.”
Laun had a twitch to her lip as she said, “One reason to buy a commission.”
He smiled and the nod he gave her was more then just an acknowledgment. “There are always advantages, your Highness.” He drank the rest of his tea and set the mug down, putting his hand over the mouth. The Private came and took it but did not replace it.
“What do you need to talk about, sir?” Laun tried to tilt her head and her neck twinged. Her hand went up to her neck and started to rub sightly, feeling a pain a little bit down on her shoulder in back. Her hand came back with a little crusty blood on it. She sighed, knowing that was from her last time with Ithian.
The General sat up a little straighter. “What would make you think I need to talk to you about anything?”
Laun automatically tried to bring her braid around to the front. When her hair was in her hand loose between her fingers, she looked down slightly and sighed. “Let’s just say I think you would have preferred to have your own man cook for you instead of searching out the common mess tent this morning.”
His head bobbed. “You came from nowhere and have shown yourself to be quite...credible, Highness. Word is that you will be going back to Salam-Dir in a few days. Arrangements need to be made for your escort, and I wish to offer myself and my men for the duty.”
Laun was not sure if she had felt Hunter behind her twitch or not. Laun closed her eyes and saw the keep and the people that should still be waiting there. Her eyes flew open when she started to see the ghosts of people who would always be there. “General, I thank you for your consideration. I am honored that you would deign to take time to babysit someone such as I-”
“Babysit? What the fuck are-” The General caught himself and apologized with, “I am sorry, Highness. I am used to being around the men.”
Laun smiled. “General, I have heard and been called worse. Do not censor yourself because of me.”
The General made a motion that Laun thought meant an acceptance. “Your Father knows you. I lost my best charger to him last night because of you. It was a shame you had to show your skills last night, but I am glad you were there. It is my honor to escort you.”
“I will need an escort. I will accept that. But I know my people. Even if the siege is lifted and I come back to them, having high officers at my back will seem more of a sword ransom than an escort.”
His eyes narrowed. “They would be that suspicious?”
Laun wanted to nod and shake her head at the same time. “They know me. A smaller unit, a squad even, would be more appropriate. That way, you would have the honor of escorting Falmir to Salam-Dir after me. They don’t know that there has been an agreement and still have the defenses that you have been trying to get through. It would take some time to bring them down enough for a royal party to be brought through.”
His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. “Done. I’ll arrange one of the Captains-”
“Sir, if I may, and I do not mean any disrespect to the Captains at your side, I would like to include Sergeant Hun-Kan and his men in the escort. I will want to ride on one of the horses, not in the damnedable carriage, and having the trainer with would make me feel more secure.”
He nodded. “Done. It is good to have a woman who knows what she wants.”
Laun raised the mug in front of her and said, “It is good to have a man who can do it for me.” The General laughed and the men around him followed his lead.
There was some small talk between the officers, Laun being included in some. Laun finished her tea and put her palm over the mouth. The mug was taken away and there was no reason to stay at the Mess tent. Laun tried to stand on her own, but her back did not want to support her without great amounts of pain. She was able to support herself on the table for a moment as she excused herself.
She saw all of the men in the tent stand without a call to salute. She forced herself up straight, saluted as crisply as she could and relaxed. The General smiled before he sat again.
Laun put her arm up and Hunter lifted her into his arms. A small gasp was forced out of her and she winced from the spasm that clenched her back. The way was cleared and they were outside.
“I hate to say it, but I need to see one of the healers. Aloen seemed better last night...”
Hunter started to walk towards the medic’s tent. “When the alarm sounded, he came running with the rest of the men.”
“I am glad he did. It means that he is better.” Another pang of guilt went through her over the Corporal.
It did not take long to get to the medic’s tent. The flaps were pulled up and there were many voices coming from within. A soldier came out holding a small phial and almost slammed it into his forehead when he went to salute. Laun waved an acknowledgment back and the soldier went on his way.
Hunter ducked down to get into the tent, shifting Laun so that her back made her cry out. Her hand clenched at his leather and there was a flash of pain over his face as Laun had gotten his skin along with his uniform. He put Laun down on a camp stool that was there in the tent and stood behind her, rubbing his shoulder for a moment.
Both Kell and Aloen were in the tent, poking and prodding a Private who looked slightly green. Kell looked over and nodded to Laun before continuing with the examination. The healers stepped back and consulted before Aloen said, “We could make you throw up and see if that makes you feel any better, but we both think you just have to go on the sick roster for a few days until what you ate works it’s way through your system.”
Kell nodded in agreement. “You did not grow up around here. You are lucky it wasn’t one of the deadly mushrooms, not the Hutberry. Just don’t pick anything that you don’t know, all right?”
Laun’s tongue went partway out of her mouth at the mention of Hutberry. The soldier must have been very tired of travel cakes to eat enough of the sour berries to make himself sick. The soldier received a piece of paper from Corporal Aloen and left, his stomach being held with both arms wrapped around him.
“Princess Laun. What did you do to yourself this time?” Kell had some humor to her face as she talked.
“The main thing is that I twisted and tore my back last night and cannot support myself and the babies. There are a few other minor things, but that is the main problem.”
Aloen’s eyes watered slightly. “I saw and heard of what you did to the assassins, Lad- your Highness.”
Laun nodded, wincing. “I couldn’t catch the one with the bow...”
Kell stepped in and said, “That was last night. Your back hurts now. I know what I would like to give you, but we should see what else is possibly damaged before giving you anything.”
Laun started to strip even before the healers had asked, Laun’s weak shoulder not helping with taking the tunic off. She had to stand to drop the skirt and the last weapons harness was taken off. Hunter stayed and held her up as the hands and fingers poked and prodded her. She tried not to call out too often, but Kell had a way of finding exactly where Laun hurt the most and making it come to the surface quickly.
Laun was dressed again and sitting with a medicinal tea in her hands. Kell did not have to tell her that it had some of the knock-out elixir in it, the healer had put it in while Laun was watching. A bottle of oil with a few drops of several things was being shaken by Kell as she told Hunter how it should be applied, and not to get it on certain parts of the anatomy.
“And as for you, Laun... You should be asleep soon. The soldiers have said that they are making patrols and the manor is secure. Your room is as safe as any place around here, so go to your rooms and stay there until you can move on your own.”
The slight vagueness she knew from the medicines was seeping into her. “You will know when I can move on my own. Thank you, Kell. Thank you Corporal A...Aloen.” Her mind was loosing it’s battle to stay aware. She felt the mug being taken from her and Hunter’s arms were around her.
She heard Kell’s voice as she slipped under saying, “That was three times the dose I was giving her for her foot and it still took close to half an hour-”
Then painless dark.
Recovery and plans in Chapter 51
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