The Thief and Prince

Chapter 18: Rorik

My boots kick a pine cone as I navigate the thick pine forest, the damp morning air sticking to my skin. The sun has finally begun to make its appearance, allowing me more lighting to check my final snare. Given that today is the day we make it to Rorik, I didn't get much sleep last night, too wired with anticipation.

A bird begins to chirp overhead and I pause, closing my eyes and taking it in knowing that this morning could possibly be my last. It's been close to two weeks since we left the outpost, and every day that's passed by I've come to terms with the possibilities this day holds.

Sighing, I slowly open my eyes and continue to make my way to the area where I set the snare, pleased to see a rabbit sways from the rope in the distance. Closing in, I remove the noose from its neck, noticing how warm the carcass still is and open my satchel, dropping it in with the other two.

Turning around, I see a pillar of smoke in the treetops quite a distance away and know that the others have awaken to start the new day. I quickly make my way back, trying to ignore the racing in my heart as the familiar face of Crispin creeps into my mind. Ever since the night I snuck into his tent, I've yet to sleep alone since. During the day the two of us remain friendly, sometimes exchanging the occasional flirtatious jab, but at night is when I decide to throw any logical thinking out the window as his lips find mine to comfort me while his touch is too inviting to resist.

We've discussed what it means for us and have decided that if or when we make it back to Paevia, we will just play it by ear for a few weeks and get a feel for things. If our feelings for each other remain after our return to normalcy then we will go from there, but if these nightly encounters are only a symptom of our shared trauma then so be it.

As I draw closer, I hear Darko has begun to hum a tune, his deep voice carrying the melody throughout the woods. When he sees me, he gives me a small bow of his head and I toss him the satchel so he can begin to clean the rabbits.

"Morning," Laria greets as she slips on her boots by the fire. Amiri and Crispin sit side by side on the ground, warming their hands near the flickering flames.

"We thought you ran off and left us," Amiri teases.

"I figured you two could use all the help you could get today so I decided to come back," I retort, plopping down next to Crispin. "Good morning," I greet. My muscles protest as Amiri and I have trained consistantly for the past nine days and I'm proud to say I've gone from being mediocre at best to halfway decent with a blade. I only got by at the outpost with sheer luck and not wanting to be in that position again, I made sure as soon as he was able to continue training that we did so for hours on end.

He gives me a smile and nudges my arm with his elbow. "Couldn't sleep?" he asks, a dark eyebrow raised. His face has healed up quite well, with the swelling around his eye going down immensely; the only evidence of that night on his face being the small scab on the bridge of his nose.

Shaking my head, I focus on the small fire before me and hear Darko as he tosses the rabbit's innards into the woods. "Not really. I've been up for almost two hours," I admit.

"There's no reason to be nervous, love," he assures me, "Darko is confident that everything will go smoothly."

My eyes drift to the slaver who skins the rabbit, tugging at the pelt until it slides off. He's grown on me enough to feel comfortable around him and has proven to be a big help, but did I trust him completely with our lives? Enough to blindly follow him into the heart of enemy territory?

Crispin throws a strong arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his chest. "We've made it this far haven't we?" he asks.

"Barely," I tease, looking up at him.