The Way We Fall

Chapter 133 (Tigris)

Tigris was grateful for the mission. It was probably a terrible thing to say because there was the possibility that the kingdom was in danger, but she couldn't deny that it was a welcome excuse to leave the castle. She could barely stand next to her father after everything that had happened. As they drew further and further away, Tigris found herself relaxing.

The feeling, apparently, was not shared by everyone.

And by everyone, she meant Roche.

"Oh, I forgot to pack my spices!" the maid moaned when they were in the thick of the forest. Tigris snorted.

"Oh no, what a travesty!" she mocked. Roche whirled on her with an indignant huff.

"You're laughing now, but you'll need to eat unseasoned stew. Speaking of, I think I forgot to pack dried meat too."

Tigris felt a flare of annoyance. "Is there anything you actually remembered to pack?" she asked, smiling when some of the knights chuckled. Roche's hair whipped against her cheeks as she rummaged through her pack frantically.

"We have to go back!" Roche said urgently.

Aodh raised his brows. "Not a chance."

"But what will we eat?" Roche asked. There was something strained about her voice that made Tigris stop laughing. Aodh didn't seem to notice. Without batting an eye, he lifted a dagger and hurled it into the canopy. Roche yelped as a bird with a dagger through its neck fell on her head. Aodh pulled his horse beside hers and yanked the dagger out.

"There's your meat," he announced, grinning as Roche scowled, "Honestly, it's like you don't even want to be here. Scared of a little riding?"

Roche huffed, her eyes darkening. She crossed her arms and glared at Aodh venomously. "Forgive me for not wanting to wade through bandit infested trees!"

Ah, so that explained Roche's moodiness. The maid was just scared out of her wits. It wasn't like Roche to be scared of much, the girl was foolishly brave for a defenseless maid, but Tigris supposed the recent events had frayed her nerves.

"Don't be so cowardly, Roche. I'm sure it's nothing." Tigris said, swatting the back of the maid's hair. Roche glowered at them all, ducking beneath Tigris' hand. Tigris was ready to tease the maid further when her eyes caught on movement ahead of them in the trees. She held up her hand, signalling for the knights to quiet. Immediately, the group stiffened into alertness.

Roche's horse nickered nervously as the atmosphere grew thick with tension.

Tigris saw Aodh lifting a brow at her questioningly. She pointed silently to the treetops. Above, wafting past the thick leaves, was thick trails of smoke drifting into the blue sky. They were close to the valley. Something was travelling from the valley towards the city.

Something was coming towards them.

Tigris' mind whirred, alert with thought. If it was a threat, they could intercept it before it got to the city, as her father demanded. From the position of the smoke, the threat was up ahead, somewhere past the edge of the forest at the mouth of the valley.

"Everyone off your horses," Tigris ordered, leaping off her stallion quickly, "The valley's too narrow for them to follow."

Roche hurried to her side. "I have a really bad feeling about this, princess. We should go back to the city for reinforcements."

"Since when have you been an expert on defensive strategy, Roche?" Tigris asked, beginning to feel more irritated than sympathetic for her maid's cowardice. "Come on."

Roche grumbled, but followed, just a step behind Tigris. Aodh flanked her on her other side. The knights trailed behind them, their hands locked on their weapons. Slowly, the trees began to thin and the ground transitioned from thick, fresh smelling mulch to dry, brittle ground. The scraggly dirt piled into large, dark stones that came up to Tigris' waist. The ground sloped downward, and Tigris found herself leaning her weight back, her muscles coiling with tension. She signalled for quiet.