Chapter 9: A Brief Respite

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear, cling onto it”

-Unknown.

A surge of strong winds suddenly blew over the green fields with unexpected tenacity, battering against the young beast speeding across the soggy highland grass at an incredible pace, carrying a very startled young maiden on his back. A deafening thunder resounded through the hills and the girl clung tightly onto her newest friend not to fall off from the sudden thrill. There were a few times he risked dropping his precious burden but the dragon kept running sure, undeterred.

The dark grey clouds threatened to drop their rain over them a few times but ultimately didn’t, but the heavens choose to cast a thick white mist instead that provided much-appreciated concealment. It was like if a supernatural power summoned the mist to protect them from the northmen that were on the loose.

However, there was enough visibility to see the trail that would hopefully lead them true to the village, allowing Rudo to stride at slow enough speed to preserve his strength, yet fast enough to cover the considerable distance in just a fraction of the time.

Nina had originally planned to walk the distance between both villages but her companion alerted her of a faint yet noticeable enough scent in the air with that impressive sense of smell of his that forced a quick change of course of action. That was exactly the moment when the mist descended from the mountain range and through the forests as if it was divine intervention and gently covered the entire landscape with a dense white mantle. Rudo could still smell the northmen in the vicinity while remaining unseen, skillfully navigating his way through their patrols and avoiding them.

But even though the pair managed to avoid them, there still was the possibility that they could attack the village they were heading towards, or worse, it has been attacked already. They had to hurry.

-“Are you sure we are getting closer?! Nina asked.

-“Yeah, I can smell them!” the dragon replied while slowing down a bit to allow his companion to better speak.

-“How can you tell the difference?” she asked again.

-“They smell different”

Nina had no other choice but to trust the creature’s judgment, he was the one with the keen sense of smell after all. She tried but couldn’t smell anything other than the humid grass, so she could only imagine what kind of world was the dragon able to build using only the scents he picked up from the air, drawing maps with them in his head, and then navigate his way through them without even watching his surroundings. There was no way he could see through that dense fog. How does he do it?

The girl closed her eyes briefly and imagined herself riding in the back of a majestic war dragon in the company of a gallant knight in shining armor that had come to her rescue. A dashing knight like her estranged half-brother that Nina deeply admired and remembered fondly, that she had the chance to meet briefly during her short time in the Empire. It was the reason why she admired knights so much, and even though it was short-lived, that meeting positively influenced her.

She felt bad for the poor creature that was helping her almost immediately. Come on! You have to stop being a jerk, Nina! It’s not his fault to be that ugly. Nina knew she wasn’t being fair with him and that she’s only being childish and superficial. By the Gods, I’m a priestess! I’m not supposed to even be thinking this! But she just couldn’t help it. However, to be fair, she had to remember to add unnatural strength, running like the wind and smelling things really, really far to the list of things that Imperial Knights couldn’t do.

I’ll burn in oblivion for this, please Gods forgive me.

-“There it is! I can see the village!” the dragon yelled, startling her a bit and snapping her out of her thoughts.

Rudo reduced his pace to almost a halt to allow Nina to leap down from his back and proceed to inspect the village’s surroundings. It was quiet, perhaps too quiet, so Nina decided not to take chances. The pair began walking slowly through the natural aisles that the tall crops encircling the village formed, just in case there could be a trap.

The pair finally reached the edge of the village, being greeted by the pointy ends of a stake wall. It seemed hastily built, apparently, the villagers decided to build defenses expecting an attack.

This isn’t good.

-“They build a palisade wall around the village, but it doesn't look like it has been attacked. The village seems deserted, maybe the villagers fled” the girl commented.

-“They are there, hiding, I can smell them”

-“Stay here, I’ll check it out!” the boy commanded.

-“No! It'll be better if I enter the village alone”

-“Why?!”

-“Shhhh! be quiet!” Nina urged him. The dragon complained loudly, prompting the girl to shut him down, the pair was arguing too loudly for someone trying to go unnoticed.

-“If they build defenses, it means they are on high alert! Who do you think they would most likely attack?! A dragon that talks? Or a cute, innocent girl like me?” the girl asked as softly as possible.

-“You should know better what evil men do to girls!”

Damn.

-“You don’t have to remind me!” it was now Nina’s turn to complain loudly. She didn’t expect that the dragon could demonstrate such level of awareness about her own previous plight, but he proved her wrong.

For someone so simple, he was awfully aware.

Indeed, she should know better, especially after almost falling prey to the northmen herself. Nina felt glad for the most part that her new friend’s protective instincts kicked in at the right time, but she also felt quite embarrassed and angry at herself for it. Their previous fight and subsequent victory against the wizard left her quite emboldened and with high spirits, but also a bit reckless.

What am I thinking?! I should be the one overly aware! I really need to be more careful.

-“I can handle a few of them no problem!” the boy interrupted her thoughts.

-“Exactly, you dummy! I don't want you to fight them either! Wait here!” the young girl replied vividly, making her friend back off a bit.

-“But… Nina!”

-“I’ll give you a signal after I have talked with them”

-“What if there are bad guys instead?”

-“Then you step in, take me on your back, and run away as fast as you can, no fighting unless is absolutely necessary, okay?!”

-“Right” the boy replied dejectedly.

-“Wait here, I'll be back soon”

Rudo dubiously extended one arm towards her in an attempt to stop her but decided not to at the last moment. It was obvious that he worried about her well-being which made her heart feel a bit warm. It was a nice feeling, having someone to rely on, especially in difficult times like these; she found an opening in the palisade wide enough for a small cart to pass reliably, which apparently was the only access left. That way it would form a natural bottleneck in which the villagers could focus their defenses in the case of an attack.

The mist began to falter at this point, allowing her to see at a greater distance. She could clearly see the stone buildings with thatch roofs at the far side of the town square, the typical highland style, but no sign of the villagers. A combination of uncertainty and dread filled her heart, making every step forward a monumental task, but knowing that Rudo had her back in case anything happen definitely helped.

-“Hello? Is anybody there?!”

-“Who is there?!” an unknown voice replied loudly out of nowhere.

-“My name is Nina! I'm a Priestess of the Church! I need help!”

-“By the Gods! It's the priestess!” another unknown voice yelled.

-“Come quickly! She needs our help!” the same voice commanded.

Then suddenly, several men armed with improvised spears and farming tools emerged from well-hidden ambushing positions near the entrance after hearing the command, forming a circle around Nina and startling the poor girl a bit. One of them kneeled beside her and asked with a thick accent and concerned tone:

-“My Lady! Are you alright?”

-“Yes, I am! Please, I need your help!” the young girl replied, feeling so immensely relieved that she couldn’t help shed some tears.

-“Thank the Gods! I’m Huno, and this is Harvest, I'm the village's chief” the tall, overweight, middle-aged man spoke.

-“What happened?” he asked.

-“A band of northmen attacked the village near the mountains last night!” Nina replied frantically, much to the villagers’ shock.

-“Northmen?! How is that even possible?!”

-“I told you I saw them last night!” another villager responded.

-“They attacked Repose? I was just talking with Utios yesterday!” another of the villagers commented in shock.

-“Pardon our caution, My Lady, but we expected your arrival in a month! You come at the worst possible time; we've been on high alert! First, our Lord passes away all of a sudden, and now we face an imminent attack. There have been sightings of numerous bands of armed men roaming around since a couple of nights ago. Rumor says that our new Lord went north, leading a large band of warriors to face the threat” the village’s chief explained.

-“It's a trap! That force is a distraction to keep the warriors away from here! Someone has to warn him!” the girl replied.

-“We can't warn him! Our warriors took all our bulls! And what do you mean it's a distraction?” the chief asked back.

-“Another raiding band is here and attacked one village already! They killed everyone there! I could barely escape!”

-“We cannot do anything other than preparing ourselves”

-“Alright brothers! Return to your posts and stay sharp!” the chief commanded loudly, and the villagers quickly returned to their positions except for a single one, the chief’s right-hand man.

-“Lars, take our Lady to the dispensary and treat her wounds!”

-“I'm not wounded, sir” Nina interrupted.

-“But... then what about all that blood?” he asked in disbelief about the priestess’s blood-stained face, leather tunic, and mangled, hastily put-together clothes from the previous ordeal.

-“This blood... is not mine” the girl replied while lowering her head, and at the same time, covering her body with her arms for the sudden attention. The chief could only gape like a fish in consternation.

-“By the Gods…”

-“My lady, was not the priest Verkan accompanying you? Where is he?” it was Lars’s turn to ask.

The mere mention of her mentor’s name was enough to make the poor girl tear all up again, although she tried her utter best to fight the tears back. However, it was enough to clue both the chief and his right-hand man on the old man’s fate.

-“He... He was killed last night... along with the other villagers”

-“Those damned barbarians!” Lars yelled loudly in anguish.

-“My Lady! May I ask how they died?” the chief asked.

Nina was taken aback by the chief’s sudden question, she had thought they would be just as devastated as she was but the chief didn’t seem pained by the tragic news, in fact, he seemed curious. The girl replied annoyed:

-“It's really that important?!”

-“They were our brothers My Lady, it is important to us, please tell us in detail” the chief replied.

-“They were your brothers?” the girl asked.

-“Not our actual brothers, but we highlanders from the Clans are brothers in all but blood”

-“I see…”

Of course, the culture and values of the highland clans were completely different from those of her home islands and in the Empire. Verkan had already told her once that the highlanders didn’t see death as something horrible but as a fact of life. The wizard also told her that they actually craved an honorable end. No wonder why the chief is so eager to hear from his fellow clansmen’s last moments.

They are not so different from the Northmen in that regard.

-“The villagers... they fought to the very end”

-“I saw with my own eyes Garf landing a blow against a northman before being killed too” Nina told them.

By this point, the villagers were listening very carefully to what the girl was saying, not only the chief and his trusted man but also the others. Even though they were supposed to keep a vigilant eye, every head was turned towards her. It was painfully obvious that her words were of utmost importance to them.

-“And our brother Verkan?” Lars asked.

-“He held them off long enough to give me time to escape”

-“Thanks to the Gods! They died fighting, Lars! They died fighting!” the chief exclaimed in relief, much to her surprise.

-“DID YOU HEAR THAT BROTHERS?! OUR FELLOW CLANSMEN GAVE THEM HELL!” the chief yelled as loud as he could, taking Nina by surprise.

-“SELAH!!” the villagers replied in unison and raised their improvised weapons in the air.

The clansmen display left the poor girl with mixed feelings; it was striking, to say the least, to watch people actually celebrating the death of their loved ones. One would think that anyone would mourn their dead and feel greatly upset; even in the Empire they would do so, but not the highlanders. Such was the way of the Clans.

-“Are you actually... happy?!” the girl asked.

-“Of course we are! The Gods blessed our fallen brothers with a warrior's death! May we also be as fortunate as them and die gloriously too!”

-“My Lady, you said the attack was last night, may I ask how you got here so quickly?” Lars asked.

-“Indeed, there is at least one full day of travel from there!” Huno pointed out.

Nina thought it would be wise to cover for Rudo, just in case he was wanted for something. She had to come clean about him, but she also didn’t want to upset the villagers, so she figured a small little tiny white lie wouldn’t hurt anyone.

Wouldn’t it?

-“I… I came here with the help of my... err... servant! He is a slave serving the Church”

-“A slave? I've thought only Imperials owned slaves” Lars asked back confused.

-“That’s none of our business, Lars! If he's helping our Lady then he is also welcome here! Where is he?” the chief replied.

The girl let out a breath she didn’t know was holding and her heart warmed in relief. The chief has been extremely nice to her, and, thanks to the Gods, things were finally looking up.

-“He's waiting for me at the village's gates, let me call him”

-“Rudo! Come! It's safe!” the girl turned and waved towards the spot where her friend has been hiding, calling for him with a broad smile.

But her smile vanished almost instantly when the entire village burst in sudden and violent laughter, much to her dismay. The girl felt deeply hurt and confused, and tears began forming in the corner of her eyes. These people just learned the fate of their fellow clansmen literally just a minute ago and now they were laughing like fools? What could possibly have made them react like this? By the Gods, even the chief is laughing!

-“What's so funny?!”

-“Is he seriously named Rudo?” one of the villagers asked.

-“Yes! What's so wrong about it?!” Nina asked indignantly.

-“Pardon our laughter, My Lady; we are not laughing at you! It's just that whoever was the fool that named your servant truly had a very twisted sense of humor!” the chief replied between laughs, barely able to keep a straight face.

-“Why?!”

-“My Lady, that name is very powerful and important! It’s usually reserved only for the greatest of warriors, not for mere pets!” the chief explained.

-“You have no right to laugh Achtun! You named your bull after the Emperor!” Lars yelled loudly towards the crowd.

-“Of course not! That was my grandfather's name before that damned Emperor! It is not my fault that they happen to share the name!” a strong voice among the crowd replied.

-“Everyone in the village can tell your precious bull is lost again when you start shouting: Teberus! Teberus!”

-“That bull is smarter than you, Lars!”

The dragon then entered the village walking slowly, silencing the until that moment very noisy and jolly crowd. Some of the villagers pointed their improvised weapons towards Rudo but the chief ordered them to stand down immediately with just a motion of his hand.

It was the first time any of the villagers saw anything remotely similar to Rudo before. How to blame them? Even she was left without words when she first laid her eyes on him. Luckily, these villagers haven’t heard anything related to the mysterious thief that stole from the villages to the east near the mountains, so Nina felt glad for not having to cover for him. That’s one less thing to worry about.

-“It's a dragon! I thought they were extinct!” someone in the crowd commented.

-“No! I've heard they are quite common in the Empire” another of the villagers commented.

-“Don't overwhelm our Lady with your foolish chatter! Allow her some rest!” the chief commanded.

Nina felt deeply relieved that the villagers didn’t show any sign of hostility towards Rudo, in fact, quite the opposite, and much to her surprise, they were treating him just as nicely as they had treated her. The dragon could only stare back at the crowd with their same dumbfounded expression that looked so silly on him and that the girl couldn’t help but laugh a little at.

-“Chief, I was wondering… if you have any clothes to spare”

-“Lars! Provide our Lady with anything that she requires!”

-“Yes chief!” the man replied.

-“Oh, and I… I was wondering... could I take a bath?” Nina asked timidly.

The chief and his right-hand man could only stare nervously at each other, completely at a loss of what to do. The Clans were large militaristic groups where women took care of all the clan’s children in protected towns, away from any danger while the men fought and worked undisturbed in faraway villages. That was the reason why the villages’ population in the area were entirely male and also the reason why they didn’t have any sort of individual accommodations, any sort of luxuries, or even privacy.

Lars walked her towards one of the buildings that was used as a warehouse but that was empty now and mostly clean for the moment since the villagers were armed with the tools that were usually stored inside. He left the door open, went outside, and then brought with him a large wooden tub for her to use to take a bath in. He also brought an oil lamp to light the place a bit and opened a small hatch in the roof to allow some light in, since it would be rather dark inside when the door was closed, despite being just a little past noon.

-“I’m sorry My Lady, but we can’t afford too many luxuries”

-“Don’t worry Lars, I appreciate what you’re doing” the girl replied.

-“I’ll bring the water, please make yourself comfortable”

Nina sat on an upside-down wooden bucket next to the giant tub and took the time to contemplate her current situation but this time with a much calmer approach. She quickly found herself overwhelmed by her conscience, and the memory of the people who lost their lives because of her; her mentor Verkan, the village’s chief Utios, Garf, his brother Garen, and many others whose names she didn’t remember and barely knew but will now forever live in her heart. The young girl clenched her hands into tiny fists, and finally let loose all her pent-up feelings, opened the waterfalls, and allowed herself to cry in silence.

The memory of her mentor only made her want to cry even more, but she had to remind herself that that was the sight that the old Verkan disliked the most. If she really wanted to honor his memory then she had to be strong for his sake and carry on, Nina took a deep breath to calm down a bit, still finding herself unable to do so. She used what was left of her sleeves to clear her tears; feeling disgusted for having to wipe her face with the torn, blood-stained linen garment but did it nonetheless.

The girl had just stopped crying just in time when Lars opened the door again, carrying two large buckets full of warm water, the girl quickly stood up, rushing to help him with the heavy load but the man gently refused her help with a big smile. Behind him came Rudo, with an even larger cauldron also full of water that he carried like it was nothing, the man poured the bucket’s contents into the tub followed by the dragon that did the same.

-“If you like, I can have your tunic washed my Lady, you can use these clothes meanwhile” the man offered a white shirt and a pair of trousers that despite being the smallest he could find, were still too large for her, but that Nina accepted nonetheless.

-“I could also tailor-fit another pair to better fit your size”

-“Please”

To say that the conversation was uncomfortable was a huge understatement. Nina turned and timidly unbuttoned her blood-stained leather tunic and gave it to him while at the same time shielding her body from view with the new clothes she just received. Even though she was still wearing her old shirt, it was torn apart so badly that did too little to cover her. Her recent encounter with the northmen came to mind that she couldn’t help but feel frightened in the man’s presence, despite the fact that he has been nothing but respectful and polite.

While Lars kept looking away obediently at all times as not to disrespect her, Rudo on the other hand, couldn’t stop staring at her. Nina could tell, however, that the dragon didn’t look like he was ogling her, as it was more of a curious look than anything else. The man then turned away abruptly, grabbing the dragon by the arm and forcefully dragging him behind him, closing the door on his way out.

Nina took another deep breath to calm down, and then slowly undressed; tossing what little was left of her blood-stained clothes to one side of the bathtub. She stood next to the tub, waiting patiently until the surface was still enough to contemplate her reflection on the water mirror. The girl gently touched her face, looking at the way the dark red bloodstains on her face and shoulders contrasted against the fairer shade of red from her skin.

She then looked down at her teenage body that she usually hides behind her long leather tunic most of the time with a mixture of feelings. Nina made a habit of overhearing other people without being noticed, but among the many secrets she discovered, her favorites always were the comments of people talking about a time when her mother was still alive. They often talked about how the High Priestess was the most beautiful woman on the highlands, or even of the entire continent, rivaling even noblewomen, and princesses from the Empire.

Although people avoided outright saying it, Nina knew she is always being compared to her mother. Although she isn’t supposed to be attracting any male attention, the girl did want to measure up to her people’s expectations. It has always been a sore point for her.

The girl felt glad that she inherited most of her mother’s good looks and beauty, along with some northern traits from her father’s side, like fair red skin, sky blue eyes, and long greenish hair that were so foreign among the highlanders, and the people from her home in the Southern Islands. Since her family enjoyed a high status, Nina had access to a healthy diet that allowed her to grow well and fit, and the priest training plus constant hiking through the years granted her a shapely and slender figure that she felt mostly comfortable with.

However, she still had to grow more; Nina was slightly shorter than other girls of her age, and her childish-looking face still bothered her, but at least come in handy to help her conceal her increasingly not-so childish thoughts that always came up when reading those forbidden books. The girl looked again at her reflection, sighing about her breasts being too small, because if the stories about her mother were true, then she had a lot to fill up. She could only hope that she would grow more with time.

The tub was large enough for her to fit completely, so the girl submerged under the surface for a few seconds, and the water soon turned reddish from the amounts of dried blood over her body. Nina wasted no time on washing her face and hands emphatically, as the dried filth was sticking on her skin would not come out without some persuasion of her part. She took a soap bar from her belongings as the highlanders didn’t provide her with some and proceeded to wash the rest of her body.

Never had a bath ever feel so good! she thought. She wasn’t only wiping all the blood, the salty sweat and tears, the pee, the filth, and small bone fragments, but also washing away the pain, indignity, and humiliation she went through. She could relax her muscles and let the warm water do some much-needed cleansing and also heal some of the trauma.

She closed her eyes and just lay on the tub against one of the edges with only her face surfacing above the waterline. Her thoughts were with the mother she never met and her recently passed mentor.

-“Verkan, please, talk to me”

The girl had cried enough already, so this time the memory of her late friend only brought a couple of tears. She tried to recall all the advice the old man had told her in the past, trying to listen to it as if he were there, but she couldn’t hear his voice.

-“Please guide me Verkan, I don’t know what to do”

“But there is now someone else helping me” she recalled. Of all the living creatures, the Gods sent the rarest of them all, a dragon, to save her and protect her. She couldn’t help but smile, Nina had always thought that dragons were just legends of times past, a belief that spread thanks to fantasy books that portrayed them as wise and noble beasts, often on the side of good, helping knights and other heroes in their quests, a tale that even she thought was true. That was until one day where she found a book, written by a respected imperial scholar no less, which had a lot of factual information about dragons, and actually described them as cunning but otherwise just simple animals. In fact, the book mentioned they had more in common with birds than with reptiles. Who would have thought that she would ever meet, let alone befriend one? Her thoughts briefly went with Rudo, her new dragon friend. What could he be doing now?

-“Hey Nina!”

Nina slipped from the sudden thrill immediately after hearing the dragon greeting her out of nowhere, losing her grip on one of the edges and diving below the surface as a result, although only for a brief instant, as she quickly managed to resurface again, desperately trying to catch her breath and looking for something to cover herself. She tried to reach the clothes she was given but they were outside her reach, she then tried to reach the towel but could not do so without leaving the tub and exposing her naked body, so she had no choice but to resign to cover herself with only her arms, much to her utter frustration. She looked at the door but found it closed, and so were the windows, she was unable to locate the sound’s source either.

That stinky, pesky dragon! Where the hell is he?!

-“Up here” the dragon spoke.

The girl looked at the roof and saw the dragon boy poking his head through the roof’s hatch, and waving at her while upside down, to her surprise and dismay.

-“R-R-Ru-Rudo! What the hell are you doing up there?!”

-“Just taking a look, you don't smell like pee anymore” the dragon replied.

The nerve he had! What’s his problem? Knights would never do that! The girl took a deep breath to calm her nerves and had to remind herself that he was most probably ignorant of any kind of norms or rules, let alone basic decency. But as estrange as it sounds, she didn’t feel threatened by him, but quite the opposite, she felt safe when he was around. However, he wasn’t without faults either, as his complete lack of manners proved to be not only infuriating but also extremely annoying, pushing her patience to its limits. And right now, he was really, really pushing it.

-“I can see you’re taking a look! But why?!”

-“I just wanted to see… It’s something wrong?” Rudo asked back, completely unaware of how uncomfortable the girl was.

-“You’re not supposed to be looking while a girl is bathing!” she replied indignantly.

It was odd because he had warned her previously about the dangers of going to the village by herself, he seemed extremely aware of the fact that anyone could easily overpower her, and have their way with her, yet apparently, he believed himself as harmless, incapable of such things. It didn’t seem he was doing it on purpose, and only being innocently insensitive. He had stated that he wasn’t “evil” when they first met and has already proved himself trustworthy.

Did he think of “those things” as inherently evil? Well, if that’s the case, then that’s one less thing to worry about! she thought. But even if he didn’t think of her that way, she was still not fond of the idea of exposing her body to any male, and much less this filthy creature.

-“What’s bathing?” he asked again.

-“I’ll explain later! Please go away!” the girl demanded furiously.

-“We just finished the fortifications, the villagers are eating now, they gave me some food, but it wasn’t that good, I like your food better”

-“What's that anyway? It smells nice” Rudo asked again.

-“Why don't you go talk with someone else?!” Nina asked back.

-“The villagers think I can't talk”

-“Really? Why didn't you tell them?” the girl asked again, this time with a small amount of curiosity, calming down a bit.

-“I thought they would ask too many questions if they knew”

-“That's surprisingly thoughtful of you” she commented.

-“So, what's that smell? It smells nice”

-“This? It's called soap, you should try it someday!” Nina replied sarcastically, although the insult flew right over the dragon’s head.

-“Nah, I tried it once, it doesn’t taste very good, but the soup I tried didn’t smell this nice” the boy responded, and Nina could only roll her eyes in response. Apparently, he thought that soap and soup were the same things, despite that she pronounced both words very differently, and the girl quickly deduced that, one: he was never fed a decent soup, and two: he never took a bath in his entire life.

That explains his horrible smell.

-“Rudo, listen, I don’t want to be rude but could you please go away? I’m naked!” she demanded, but this time a bit more calmly.

-“Me too, I walk naked all the time”

-“But I’m a girl! It’s embarrassing!” Nina replied all worked up.

The boy just stared at her for a few seconds before reacting to the girl’s justified hostility; he bared his teeth in anger before replying, sending chills down her spine.

-“Fine! I’ll leave you alone!”

-“Rudo wait!” Nina tried to reach out for him, but he had left already.

That stupid dragon! Why he has to be so difficult?! she cursed under her breath. Nina understood why he was so pissed, the boy has been nothing but nice to her while she replied with hostility the whole time. The small, tiny, little detail was: Why in hell can’t he see that HE is the insensitive one! But despite being just as mad at him as he was with her now, as the smarter among the two, the girl thought it was her duty to sort things out between them. Even if Rudo wasn’t a “person”, he still got feelings, and she had unwittingly hurt them.

-“Rudo? Are you still there?!”

-“You want me to go, but now you don’t want me to leave, I don’t understand you!” the boy replied through the thatch roof.

-“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean yelling at you!

-“It's fine” the dragon replied dejectedly.

-“I… I don’t want to be left alone! I just… don’t want you to look at me like this”

Rudo didn’t reply, but Nina could notice he was still on the roof above her, by hearing the noises made by the thatch under him when he shifted his weight. She felt the need to explain herself further to make up with him. She took a deep breath before speaking.

-“Look, soap and soup sound similar, but are different things, soup is a kind of food, soap is for cleaning. You’re not supposed to eat the soap; it’s to use it on your body, so it smells nice too”

-“I see, speaking of food, they’ve got some food for you too; you should eat when you come out. I’ll be going, but don’t worry, I’ll be back soon” the boy commented in a calm tone.

-“Where are you going?”

-“Outside town, I have to poop” he replied before jumping down the roof.

He didn’t really have to say that out loud!

The girl cursed internally, she didn’t mean to make him upset. Unlike the villagers that treated her with the utmost respect, the beast was the only one who treated her differently. It wasn’t fair that only he was allowed to express his frustration while she had to constantly appeal to his good side and swallow her pride. Nina understood the dragon’s childlike behavior; she was also guilty of childlike tirades as well, both were roughly the same age after all. She was glad that he had saved her, and was now helping her and all, but he could also be incredibly infuriating sometimes. She would have to teach him some manners and proper etiquette later.

A knight would treat me much better! And he wouldn’t be so foolish! And he would also show some manners! And he would look much better too! That dummy just does what he wants without a care!

Nina stood up and left the tub, not before taking one last look to make sure nobody was watching her. She quickly dried herself with a towel and hurriedly dressed in the oversized clothes that Lars provided her with; the white linen shirt was too long for her, she fastened a short stretch of rope around her waist that served as an improvised belt, with the remaining length left hanging like a skirt and rolled the sleeves until the length was appropriate. The clothes looked perhaps too baggy on her, but were otherwise comfortable, helping her to conceal her slender frame from view. It felt nice to finally have clean clothes.

The girl left the building and was immediately spotted by Lars, who then warned the chief. Both of them walked to meet her.

-“My Lady, we have prepared lunch, it will be an honor if you eat with us” the chief spoke.

-“The honor would be mine, chief”

They had barely begun talking when their conversation was brought to an abrupt end by sudden shouting.

-“Chief! Riders on the horizon!” the lookout warned at the top of his lungs.

The villagers immediately raced towards defensive positions on the hastily-build palisade wall. The clouds threatened to drop their rain at any moment, and the mist began to fade by this point, allowing seeing at a greater distance. Nina felt a sudden chill down her spine, cold sweat over her face and her heart began to race. Was the village about to be attacked? Like right now?

-“Riders?! Raiders?! Speak clearly, damn it!” the chief demanded.

-“Bull-riders, chief! A fist of them!” the lookout replied while making a closed fists signal with one hand.

-“A complete fist? It's been ages since the last time I saw one!” Lars commented.

-“Too few for the raiding party our Lady described, and too many to be scouts”

-“To your battle stations! Protect our Lady!” the chief commanded.

-“Rudo fights well, he can help!” the girl offered.

The chief ignored her comment and raced towards the wall, then swiftly climbed onto the same platform the lookout was to take a look at the horizon. Nina could just watch awestruck how each man ran through the village, knowing exactly what to do. Such dedication! Such discipline! No wonder why he is in charge. The highlanders are truly amazing people.

But after a quick glance, the chief commanded the villagers to stand down with only a motion of his hand, filling her heart with relief.

-“That won't be necessary My Lady, it is one of ours!”

-“Who's coming, chief?” Nina asked.

-“The Overseer” the chief replied with a somber tone.

The chief jumped down from the platform, taking the girl with her guard down, she didn’t expect a man of his size and weight could move with such agility. Then he walked towards the only opening on the palisade wall to wait for the arrival of this so-called Overseer that he had mentioned, which judging for the face the chief made, was someone very important, perhaps only second to the Clan Lord himself. She didn’t remember anyone with that title during the funeral or the trial, so she figured it was probably someone with such an important duty as to excuse himself from his Lord’s funeral.

Rudo quickly made his way back to the village and next to her, after being interrupted by the sudden outburst while he was doing his bodily needs. He took a defensive stand next to her despite their previous argument, but the girl calmed him down by absentmindedly putting a hand over his forearm. Nina knew there was no immediate danger but the villager’s faces let her know it was serious business. Who was this overseer that everyone was so concerned about?

She was about to find it out.