The Walled Cities

Chapter 5

The sound of birdsong roused me from sleep as they heralded the start of another day. Without their noise I would have slept longer, but every morning without fail they woke me, no matter where I was. It was a good thing I had become used to such early mornings, as I wisely made small movements while my body woke up.

Before I did anything I found myself smiling as I noted that Kaelyn had curled close to me sometime during the night. Her body was still under her blanket, but she had gotten as close to me as possible while just barely touching me. Having never been with a woman like this before I quickly found myself enjoying it, even though by rights it was wrong and if Kaelyn was awake she would have distanced herself from me. There was no harm in it and I was able to analyze the current weather conditions along with the events from yesterday while curled up with her.

While curled, I moving my head slightly was able to look through the branches and note the lack of white outside. This along with the noticeably warmer weather brought me to the conclusion that the storm had passed and that is would be safe to travel today. Despite wanting to get up with the birds, Kaelyn's warmth and almost gentle nuzzling convinced me to gradually fall back to sleep.

My next thoughts when I awoke were of worry as I heard a voice urging me, "Get up. Oh good riddance are all men like this?"

Confused at the voice I opened my eyes to see Kaelyn's face moving away from mine suddenly. After a moment for my eyes to adjust, I noted that her hair was messy from sleep. No doubt had she been home she would have sat at a vanity table and fixed it. Here though she would have to make do without such things.

Opening my mouth in a yawn as the nap had not been enough to regain all my energy, I looked at her curious as to what had been so urgent that she had woken me up. After a moment of thought as my brain was sluggish from the nap, I asked, "Is there something wrong, Kaelyn?"

Glaring at me for some unknown reason, she replied tersely, "Yes there is. I slept in a tree shelter in the middle of the mountains with a stranger."

Unwilling to be treated this way after saving her life I replied, "That tree saved your life. This stranger also saved your life. I could have easily let you die last night, but what would that say about me. My sister in law would never let me near the house again if she knew I had refused to help someone in need."

Wanting to change topics before we got into a pointless argument I continued, "Now the sun is up and unless things have changed from when I woke up earlier, the snow has melted and today should be a good day for traveling. So perhaps you would like to go out and wait for me to collect my things. We should eat before we get moving."

Probably still not convinced that I was thinking in her best interests, despite the talk we had last night before we had fallen asleep, Kaelyn crawled out of the shelter. Naturally she left her pack and blanket behind. Shaking my head I grabbed them along with my gear. Whether or not she had forgotten her gear was irrelevant in this situation, as she was staring at the burned out campfire instead of scanning the area for animals or people.

Her ignorance of the dangers of the wild would need to be remedied even if she was not going to accompany me, though I was hoping that she would. Her life up till now in one of the Walled Cities would do her no good out here, and despite only knowing her for a day; some part of me knew I would feel guilty if I let her leave on her own and she somehow died or worse. There was no doubt that it would be trying for me to teach her, especially if she clung to the customs and beliefs of her home. I would respect her choice, but that did not mean it was going to make me happy.

Before I could talk to her about this though, I wanted to feed her and maybe get the fire burning again just to warm us both up before we decided if our paths were the same or separate. Doing this meant that I needed her to watch out for trouble.

Placing her pack along with mine on the damp black dirt where snow had been just last night, I ordered, "Keep an eye out while I start the fire."

Whether or not she liked my order, she responded immediately by standing and absently brushing her hands down the front of her white dress, she walked a few paces away and stared down the trail. Smiling to myself as she at least understood that trouble would not be coming from Notredram, I arranged some tinder and with a brisk strike set it to flame. Everything was easier today as my hands were not numb as they had been yesterday while I had been building the fire and later the structure.

Once I had the fire started, I remained crouched as I examined the grove. Despite having arrived in it late yesterday, it did not seem all that different. Without the snow which had melted with the morning sun, the ground was a dull brown and green due to the mix of dirt and scattered grass and other vegetation. No animal prints were visible in the dirt, though I doubted any animal had left the safety of their homes last night. That would not be the case tonight, and as I had said earlier, I had no desire to deal with a bear or wolf pack.

Returning my attentions to the fire as it greedily consuming the last of yesterdays wood, I prepared myself for the coming conversation regarding Kaelyn's future.