The Princess and The Bandit

TWENTY FIVE

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"I can walk by myself now,"

She heard Camila say.

Now that the giant echidna who lured them deep into the forest has been reduced into nothing but a scattered chunks of flesh, some lifeless mess of organic matter on the ground, the spell that was cast upon their path was broken. There's no more eucalyptus trees standing out of place in a crowd of elms.

And Camila looked to be more confident of which path to go despite being covered in disgusting echidna blood, her muscle and bones seems to be aching at every step.

There's a slight wince in the bandit's face as she walked. It was very slight but it never escaped Lauren's keen attention. It worries the princess a lot. That kind of impact from a massive half-breed must've caused severe bruising. If left unchecked, it'll most definitely get worse.

But she doesn't know how to broach the subject without getting a snappy response from Camila.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes,"

She pulled away from Lauren's hold. Tight lipped and with a deep intake of ragged breath, Lauren wasn't sure if Camila can hold herself upright, but she let her go anyway. Despite her worry that the girl's injury will get worse if she kept this strong act.

But then, the bandit managed to stand by herself and started walking slowly on her own.

"Don't look so smug now, Arcadian. I've been through worse . . ."

Lauren only smiled, and nothing about it was smug, "Worse than being kicked in the ass by a giant half-breed?"

"Technically, kicked in the chest . . . But yeah, been through worse than that,"

Now, the princess is most definitely curious about the worst things in life that this deadly capable bandit may have been through, all the things that led her to become this person. She wonders how much scars scatter over on that light bronze skin underneath those clothes. The stories behind it. She has been curious to find out the mysteries that lay underneath that brooding attitude.

For a moment, Lauren caught a glimpse of what appears to be a ghost of smile on Camila's face. But it would have easily been just her typical devil smirk because for as far as she noticed, there wasn't much difference in it anyway.

It's both sexy as fuck. Not that she'll say that out loud.

But something passes between them in the silence that ensued. It seems to have lifted whatever kind of animosity that used to be there. But it also seems to amplify the already undeniable connection between the princess and the bandit.

"We need to wash off," Camila changes the topic, "There's a river up ahead,"

"Mhmm . . ." With an arched eyebrow, the princess gave the bandit a quizzical look.

"Don't give me that look," Camila grumbled, "I'm very, very sure this time, okay . . . Unless another echidna attacks us in broad daylight again,"

Clearly, the bandit misunderstood her. What she isn't sure at the moment is whether Camila can reach their destination all in one piece or in a pitiful bunch of bruises.

"I still don't understand how that happened," Knowing that the bandit's self-sufficient tendencies borders on arrogance, she didn't voice out her concerns. The princess isn't really in the mood to press Camila's buttons right now just so they can get back to their usual bickering.

But she surely kept a close eye on the bandit while indulging her on the echidna topic, "Aren't those things supposed to be night creatures?"

"That's what I thought as well,"