An Oath Of Lords And Ladies (ARTK, Book 1)

Chapter 44

Ocono 2nd, 3328 A.G

The rough terrain of Kaeles, often lacking real paths- felt like it took longer to travel over this time. Nara could only compare the journey to her last one there, but Renard could say it was much worse than the hills and mountains of Narene. Plenty of Kaeles was uphill, rocky, impossible to set camp on- or otherwise unpleasant in some way. Nara remembered how rocky the carriage ride had been, but even that felt like nothing compared to a horse.

Five days ago, they'd all slept on the freezing ground near fires instead of bothering with the tents. That was the only time Nara had slept pressed against Renard- for their survival and nothing more.

The freezing period seemed to be starting far earlier than usual for the second year in a row, as it had already begun to get far colder than usual- even for the continent Ebon- and it had been lightly snowing for three days straight. The snow was not unusual; but the ice was.

  For two days, the ground had cracked underneath the horse's hooves as they trotted forward, and the cold seemed to get through the thickest layers of clothing.

  They hadn't seen an ice giant once since leaving to recruit soldiers- which was oddly more concerning than if they'd run across them daily. Where had they all gone?

For a little over a day, the horses had been acting off- with even the most trained, belonging to high ranking guards- refusing commands. Three had died so far, and Nara was beyond relieved when Tuyon said they couldn't be more than half an hour from House Beckett and their heated stables.

Then she stopped and looked back at the fighters for a moment. They all knew what they were getting themselves into when they followed her, yet she couldn't help but feel for those who didn't have the luxury of a thick coat. A few stared longingly at the women of snowbush- not because they were women, but because of their whale-skin coats. Nara pulled at the one a dying old man had given her while she was there, wrapping it tight around her body. The hood covered half her forehead, but at least it kept her warm- mostly. She hadn't been able to feel her face for hours, since they'd put the night fires out and continued their trek.

  Some of the lucky ones had Narenian bear fur, but most others had turamel or fox- which wasn't nearly as warm on its own without the insulation of whale skin.

The fighters with stronger horses had been assigned to cart the wagons- and they looked as if they would collapse any second. Nara sighed.

  "Are there suitable flat grounds for a camp anywhere close?" Nara asked Tuyon, having forgotten since the last time she was there.

  "There's an abandoned farm field through those trees-" he pointed to her right. "But House Beckett has more than enough room to provide them all with a warm, real bed and meal. If we can make them press on just a little while longer-"

  "No." Nara brought her horse close enough for only Renard, Lennix, Tuyon, and Aises to hear. "Look at them- they won't make it  'a little while longer'. See to it that the tents are set to allow fires inside. Make sure they are fed well."

  Tuyon nodded, then called Uwen and Mace- two villagers of Old Westwend he'd grown fond of, to the front. After repeating the instructions Nara gave him and pointing them towards the field, they stuck around for only a little while to make sure no one collapsed as the tents were set up. Tuyon wanted to bring a few soldiers with for Nara and Renard's protection, but they both refused- knowing all too well how skilled Nara was with all three of the weapons she carried.

  And so, after Aises offered her horse up to cart a wagon with their things- they continued on. The walk ended up being far shorter than Tuyon's estimate, as House Beckett was visible through the trees just minutes later.

  "Lord Beckett will not be happy about us riding in and demanding his men." Renard said, causing Nara to roll her eyes.

  "They are not his men. They haven't been since the day he openly foresaked his claim to the commanding lord title and supported my reign."

  "Don't you mean our reign, my sweet wif-" Before Renard could finish his sentence, Nara punched him in the arm hard. He laughed- not able to feel it, and then they both did. They'd been so tired for so long that everything was humorous. It had to be, as the only other way was pure misery.

For the first time in weeks, Nara's smile lingered. Crafting an empire- or rather the things that came before, was not the most pleasant work.

When they were just a few hundred paces from House Beckett's walls, a figure jumped in front of Nara's horse from a tree branch above, startling it. The beast nearly threw her off, but Nara being Nara- had her bow off of her shoulder and loaded before the figure hit the ground.

When she saw the figure's face she immediately lowered her arrow.

"Gods- I believe you startled us all. Maude, was it?" Nara asked kindly, but when she looked into the eleven year old's eyes, there wasn't a hint of respect. Nara could sweat the child glared at her. Moments later, Maude turned her back and began walking away- towards the main gate.

"Would you like my horse?" Aises offered. "The ground is... quite cold."

Aises was the first to notice Maude's lack of boots or appropriate clothing to protect from the air around them. Maude's breeches were old and torn at the bottom of the right leg from where they'd gotten caught on a tree branch, her tunic appeared to need washing months ago- and her bare feet were scraped up.

That morning Maude had practiced leaping from tree to tree off of the most precarious branches, balancing on ones no thicker than her fingers, and slicing them from their trees while hanging at odd angles. She'd read that it was how the prarinese trained their recruit soldiers during the Great War, and while she knew it couldn't have been effective (they suffered the most losses)- she felt drawn to trying it anyways.

"No." Maude finally replied. "I like the cold."

Maude had grown up wondering why everyone around her looked so miserable during the last months of the year. While she could feel the cold, it was a welcome thing to her. She'd often put her chamber's fire's out early in the night so the cold would sink into everything by morning. It made her feel more alive and strong- yet she'd never met anyone who could say the same.

After she approached the main gate, which were left up longer than usual because of the queen and king's presence not far behind- she went straight to her chambers to read some more.

Outside, Nara turned to Tuyon for only a moment- then to a servant who'd stopped to stare.

"Stay behind. Do whatever it is you do in your free time." Tuyon started to protest, since the reason he'd come along to begin with was advising and protecting- but Nara silenced him by putting a hand up. "You- take me to Lord Andrew Beckett."