Drake fell into step beside Valentia as the reassuring sound of horse hooves joined them. Jeremy proved to be a natural rider, just as Anna had said, and while he seemed slow in most other things, he rode the horse like he’d owned it all his life. Anna sat just ahead of him, riding sidesaddle and occasionally kicking her legs in her fluffy blue dress.
“Ferals form incredibly strong emotional connections with those they trust,” Valentia continued. “They also sometimes have difficulty controlling those strong emotions when stressed. Your news overwhelmed her, and she wanted to process it in private.”
“Well, I’d hate to see what’d happen if I pissed her off.”
“Now that you have allowed her to harm you if she wishes, I would keep that firmly in mind. However, I feel comfortable saying your actions have gone a long way toward ensuring she will hold you as close as she holds Samuel. You now have a powerful ally.”
“Two of them,” he reminded her. “Real glad you two are on my side.”
“That’s good.” Valentia offered a faint smile. “Because you should be.”
They traveled until shortly after noon, then took a break for lunch. That was jerky, bread, and somewhat dry cheese, as well as water from their canteens. Valentia assured him there was another stream not far up the road from here, so they drank their fill.
Traveling, by foot, for a long distance was about as fun as Drake had expected it to be, which was not at all. By late afternoon his legs ached, his knees ached, and his feet felt like he’d been walking on sandpaper all day. What made it even more annoying is Valentia seemed entirely unaffected by their pace, and Anna had previously done a full day in sandals.
He’d always considered himself in shape back on Earth, but without cars, the people on this world took cardio to another level. If he was going to be stuck here, he was going to start taking some very long walks to get himself into even better shape. Maybe he could teach Gloomwood’s zarovian armorer to build him a bicycle. One with a mounted crossbow.
As much as he was tempted to order a halt as his aches and pains grew, he grimaced and soldiered on. By the time full dark arrived, however, he was ready to collapse and go right to sleep. It was a relief when Sachi reappeared... with a small boar slung over her shoulders.
Drake stared as she slammed the meaty animal down on the small open stretch of ground they’d chosen for their camp. “Holy shit, Sachi! We can’t possibly eat all that.”
“You’ll have to, because it had the misfortune of drinking at the same watering hole as me.” Sachi bared her sharpened teeth. “You did say you wanted meat, lord. The rabbits out here are a bit too scrawny to make a good meal. But once I get done roasting up and seasoning a few slabs of this monster, you can gorge to your heart’s content.”
Was this... was this her bringing him a present? Just how much of her was woman and how much of her was cat? Either way, he wasn’t about to question her gift.
It also sounded like she was offering to cook.
The moment they got the horse settled, Jeremy started to repeatedly run his hands down its neck and sides, which somehow caused the horse to lower its head and relax. Why was he doing that? Before Drake could ask, Anna put a finger to her lips and shook her head.
So massaging a horse was what you did after you rode it all day? Jeremy certainly seemed to think so. As long as it kept the old man content, Drake saw no reason to stop him. Brownie also seemed to be more than content to accept the attention, so it must be normal.
Meanwhile, Sachi hummed quietly as she skinned the boar while they worked to get a fire started. She skinned the beast with just her claws, which were sharp enough to do that. Anna watched the whole process with wide-eyed curiosity, and she even asked if she could have part of the haunch. Sachi grinned wide and promised her two.
Once they got a fire started, Sachi got on with the cooking. After she set up the portable spit they’d packed away, she also produced a thin skewer and expertly cut off slabs of boar meat that she just as expertly slipped onto it. She was basically making shish kebob, and with so much meat to choose from, it seemed she was choosing only the choice cuts.
Sachi was obviously an expert at cooking on the road, but given how much time she likely spent on it, that made perfect sense. Drake was relieved to have her along to handle the fire and cooking. He’d done some camping, but he’d always had a tent, lighter fluid, and a nice iron grill at an approved campsite where he could char meat to his heart’s content.
Sachi’s orange eyes glistened in the firelight as she turned the spit. At the smell, Drake’s mouth watered and his stomach churned. They hadn’t bothered with hauling a tent, so all they had to set up were sleeping bags. Sachi produced a small gleaming vial from her small pack.
She sprinkled something on the meat as she slowly turned the spit. Drake hoped those were spices. Despite how good the meat smelled, he felt not a trace of nausea as he had yesterday. That was a good sign his lingering ill effects from ratting out had worn off.
Meanwhile, Jeremy had moved on to combing the horse with a large wooden comb he’d gotten from somewhere. He must have borrowed it from someone. Sachi, maybe? She seemed like the type to keep a horse comb... if she ever even rode a horse.
As Drake observed the man’s calm movements, he noted something. Jeremy looked calmer and more focused now than he had since they’d met. It was like he could see the horse and everything he was doing with more clarity than he did anything else.
Massaging and combing that horse wasn’t something Jeremy had to think about. It was something he just knew. Anna had said her father was an expert rider, but there must be more to it than that. Had he run a stable before the Redbow took him and his daughter?
He glanced at Sachi and that delectable meat. “Hey, so—”
“It will be ready when it’s ready, lord.”
“Right, I knew that.”
Anna tugged at his hip sheath. “Could we talk a little?”
Drake glanced down at her and smiled. “Sure. What’s up?”
She looked to the firelight, where Valentia sat quietly reading her book. Then, she looked back at him. “Alone?”
He hesitated. Last time he’d trusted Anna, she’d teleported him into the clutches of Captain Ro and his men. Yet she had promised never to trick him again, and she looked so hopeful that he couldn’t imagine her doing something like that again.
The last thing he wanted to do right now was walk more. Still, the little girl seemed to have her heart set on it, so he glanced at the fire. “We’re taking a short walk.”
Sachi rose and sniffed the air. “Should be fine. No one’s about. But don’t go far, lord.”
Valentia didn’t even look up from her book.
Given Sachi could apparently smell anyone who might be a problem, Drake was confident he’d be in no danger. “Cool. Won’t be long.”
He strode away from the camp despite his aching everything, and Anna walked eagerly alongside him. They were still in sight of the distant fire when Drake turned to her and frowned. “All right. What do you want to talk about?”
She took a deep breath. “I want to take the blood pact.”
So that was what this was about. “We already discussed this. You and your father can both live with me. But you aren’t old enough to take the blood pact, and besides, as a manor lord, I do things differently. I don’t make people my slaves.”
“But I want to serve you, lord. I cannot serve you unless I take the blood pact.”
“That’s not true, at least not with me. But we’ll discuss it later.”
“But I want to work for you! You have been so kind to us, to Daddy, and... after I caused you so much trouble. I nearly got you captured or worse, killed!”
She’d seemed so happy and collected all day, but now, it looked like she was barely keeping it together. “I already told you, I forgive you.”
“But I...” A single tear coursed down one little cheek. “You can’t.”
“Sure I can. You only took me to save your father. We’ve been over this.”
“But that doesn’t... I also...” There went the waterworks. “You weren’t the first. Not even.” She wiped her nose and blinked away tears. “There were so many others, lord!”
“I see.” It made perfect sense that she had tricked and teleported other people for Captain Ro, given how good she seemed to be at it. “And you feel guilty?”
“For all of them, lord, but most of all for you. I don’t... I’m not good. I don’t deserve to have this nice dress, or that yummy food, or Brownie, or—”
Drake gripped her little shoulder firmly, which seemed to shock her into silence. He needed to put an end to this sort of thinking right now. “Please don’t think like that.”
She stared up at him with glistening eyes.
“Blaming yourself for things you had no choice about isn’t going to help or make it up to anyone. Punishing yourself won’t help either. You didn’t have a choice.”
“But... lord... how...”
“How do you deal with it? That guilt? I have absolutely no clue.” Despite his aches and pains, he forced himself to crouch before her. “But I do know someone who might. Do you remember the dark-haired battle maid who you met at my manor? Her name is Lydia.”
“I do remember her, lord.” Anna wiped her eyes. “She seemed nice, and she was very pretty.”
“Yes, well... Lydia’s had a life a bit similar to yours. She worked at my manor before I lived there, and the old lord made her hurt and kill people. I know that still makes her feel sad and guilty, but she gets by just fine. So, she might be able to give you advice.”
Anna threw her arms around him and sobbed. “But then I’ll just owe you all the more!”
He awkwardly gave her the gentlest of hugs. “Lydia won’t mind talking. You can help her too, by listening to her worries, and remember, you’re also going to help me by using your powers for good. I won’t ever ask you to make you abduct others so I can hurt them.”
Anna hugged him tighter. “Which is why I want to serve you, lord!”
She was still a child. This was far too big a commitment for someone so young, and this was simply the truth as she saw it now. For now... Drake would simply let her feel like she’d made up for the trouble she’d caused him. That seemed to be what she needed.
“You and your father are going to join my manor and help people. I promise. We’ll figure out the rest later. Now... I am really hungry. So how about we go check on the meat?”
She released him and stepped back, wiping at her eyes. “Of course.”
As he stood, his taut muscles screamed at him. He pressed both hands to his back and groaned. “Oh, I am going to feel that tomorrow on the road.”
She blinked worriedly. “Are you injured?”
“It’s fine. Just griping. Let’s just go get something to eat. Seems like Sachi’s been working real hard to feed us some good meat.”
“I like her, lord.” Anna smiled through the last of her tears. “She’s been so nice to me.”
Drake chuckled. “I think she’s getting fond of you too.”
And hopefully, he added silently, as a friend and not a snack.
Drake fell into step beside Valentia as the reassuring sound of horse hooves joined them. Jeremy proved to be a natural rider, just as Anna had said, and while he seemed slow in most other things, he rode the horse like he’d owned it all his life. Anna sat just ahead of him, riding sidesaddle and occasionally kicking her legs in her fluffy blue dress.
“Ferals form incredibly strong emotional connections with those they trust,” Valentia continued. “They also sometimes have difficulty controlling those strong emotions when stressed. Your news overwhelmed her, and she wanted to process it in private.”
“Well, I’d hate to see what’d happen if I pissed her off.”
“Now that you have allowed her to harm you if she wishes, I would keep that firmly in mind. However, I feel comfortable saying your actions have gone a long way toward ensuring she will hold you as close as she holds Samuel. You now have a powerful ally.”
“Two of them,” he reminded her. “Real glad you two are on my side.”
“That’s good.” Valentia offered a faint smile. “Because you should be.”
They traveled until shortly after noon, then took a break for lunch. That was jerky, bread, and somewhat dry cheese, as well as water from their canteens. Valentia assured him there was another stream not far up the road from here, so they drank their fill.
Traveling, by foot, for a long distance was about as fun as Drake had expected it to be, which was not at all. By late afternoon his legs ached, his knees ached, and his feet felt like he’d been walking on sandpaper all day. What made it even more annoying is Valentia seemed entirely unaffected by their pace, and Anna had previously done a full day in sandals.
He’d always considered himself in shape back on Earth, but without cars, the people on this world took cardio to another level. If he was going to be stuck here, he was going to start taking some very long walks to get himself into even better shape. Maybe he could teach Gloomwood’s zarovian armorer to build him a bicycle. One with a mounted crossbow.
As much as he was tempted to order a halt as his aches and pains grew, he grimaced and soldiered on. By the time full dark arrived, however, he was ready to collapse and go right to sleep. It was a relief when Sachi reappeared... with a small boar slung over her shoulders.
Drake stared as she slammed the meaty animal down on the small open stretch of ground they’d chosen for their camp. “Holy shit, Sachi! We can’t possibly eat all that.”
“You’ll have to, because it had the misfortune of drinking at the same watering hole as me.” Sachi bared her sharpened teeth. “You did say you wanted meat, lord. The rabbits out here are a bit too scrawny to make a good meal. But once I get done roasting up and seasoning a few slabs of this monster, you can gorge to your heart’s content.”
Was this... was this her bringing him a present? Just how much of her was woman and how much of her was cat? Either way, he wasn’t about to question her gift.
It also sounded like she was offering to cook.
The moment they got the horse settled, Jeremy started to repeatedly run his hands down its neck and sides, which somehow caused the horse to lower its head and relax. Why was he doing that? Before Drake could ask, Anna put a finger to her lips and shook her head.
So massaging a horse was what you did after you rode it all day? Jeremy certainly seemed to think so. As long as it kept the old man content, Drake saw no reason to stop him. Brownie also seemed to be more than content to accept the attention, so it must be normal.
Meanwhile, Sachi hummed quietly as she skinned the boar while they worked to get a fire started. She skinned the beast with just her claws, which were sharp enough to do that. Anna watched the whole process with wide-eyed curiosity, and she even asked if she could have part of the haunch. Sachi grinned wide and promised her two.
Once they got a fire started, Sachi got on with the cooking. After she set up the portable spit they’d packed away, she also produced a thin skewer and expertly cut off slabs of boar meat that she just as expertly slipped onto it. She was basically making shish kebob, and with so much meat to choose from, it seemed she was choosing only the choice cuts.
Sachi was obviously an expert at cooking on the road, but given how much time she likely spent on it, that made perfect sense. Drake was relieved to have her along to handle the fire and cooking. He’d done some camping, but he’d always had a tent, lighter fluid, and a nice iron grill at an approved campsite where he could char meat to his heart’s content.
Sachi’s orange eyes glistened in the firelight as she turned the spit. At the smell, Drake’s mouth watered and his stomach churned. They hadn’t bothered with hauling a tent, so all they had to set up were sleeping bags. Sachi produced a small gleaming vial from her small pack.
She sprinkled something on the meat as she slowly turned the spit. Drake hoped those were spices. Despite how good the meat smelled, he felt not a trace of nausea as he had yesterday. That was a good sign his lingering ill effects from ratting out had worn off.
Meanwhile, Jeremy had moved on to combing the horse with a large wooden comb he’d gotten from somewhere. He must have borrowed it from someone. Sachi, maybe? She seemed like the type to keep a horse comb... if she ever even rode a horse.
As Drake observed the man’s calm movements, he noted something. Jeremy looked calmer and more focused now than he had since they’d met. It was like he could see the horse and everything he was doing with more clarity than he did anything else.
Massaging and combing that horse wasn’t something Jeremy had to think about. It was something he just knew. Anna had said her father was an expert rider, but there must be more to it than that. Had he run a stable before the Redbow took him and his daughter?
He glanced at Sachi and that delectable meat. “Hey, so—”
“It will be ready when it’s ready, lord.”
“Right, I knew that.”
Anna tugged at his hip sheath. “Could we talk a little?”
Drake glanced down at her and smiled. “Sure. What’s up?”
She looked to the firelight, where Valentia sat quietly reading her book. Then, she looked back at him. “Alone?”
He hesitated. Last time he’d trusted Anna, she’d teleported him into the clutches of Captain Ro and his men. Yet she had promised never to trick him again, and she looked so hopeful that he couldn’t imagine her doing something like that again.
The last thing he wanted to do right now was walk more. Still, the little girl seemed to have her heart set on it, so he glanced at the fire. “We’re taking a short walk.”
Sachi rose and sniffed the air. “Should be fine. No one’s about. But don’t go far, lord.”
Valentia didn’t even look up from her book.
Given Sachi could apparently smell anyone who might be a problem, Drake was confident he’d be in no danger. “Cool. Won’t be long.”
He strode away from the camp despite his aching everything, and Anna walked eagerly alongside him. They were still in sight of the distant fire when Drake turned to her and frowned. “All right. What do you want to talk about?”
She took a deep breath. “I want to take the blood pact.”
So that was what this was about. “We already discussed this. You and your father can both live with me. But you aren’t old enough to take the blood pact, and besides, as a manor lord, I do things differently. I don’t make people my slaves.”
“But I want to serve you, lord. I cannot serve you unless I take the blood pact.”
“That’s not true, at least not with me. But we’ll discuss it later.”
“But I want to work for you! You have been so kind to us, to Daddy, and... after I caused you so much trouble. I nearly got you captured or worse, killed!”
She’d seemed so happy and collected all day, but now, it looked like she was barely keeping it together. “I already told you, I forgive you.”
“But I...” A single tear coursed down one little cheek. “You can’t.”
“Sure I can. You only took me to save your father. We’ve been over this.”
“But that doesn’t... I also...” There went the waterworks. “You weren’t the first. Not even.” She wiped her nose and blinked away tears. “There were so many others, lord!”
“I see.” It made perfect sense that she had tricked and teleported other people for Captain Ro, given how good she seemed to be at it. “And you feel guilty?”
“For all of them, lord, but most of all for you. I don’t... I’m not good. I don’t deserve to have this nice dress, or that yummy food, or Brownie, or—”
Drake gripped her little shoulder firmly, which seemed to shock her into silence. He needed to put an end to this sort of thinking right now. “Please don’t think like that.”
She stared up at him with glistening eyes.
“Blaming yourself for things you had no choice about isn’t going to help or make it up to anyone. Punishing yourself won’t help either. You didn’t have a choice.”
“But... lord... how...”
“How do you deal with it? That guilt? I have absolutely no clue.” Despite his aches and pains, he forced himself to crouch before her. “But I do know someone who might. Do you remember the dark-haired battle maid who you met at my manor? Her name is Lydia.”
“I do remember her, lord.” Anna wiped her eyes. “She seemed nice, and she was very pretty.”
“Yes, well... Lydia’s had a life a bit similar to yours. She worked at my manor before I lived there, and the old lord made her hurt and kill people. I know that still makes her feel sad and guilty, but she gets by just fine. So, she might be able to give you advice.”
Anna threw her arms around him and sobbed. “But then I’ll just owe you all the more!”
He awkwardly gave her the gentlest of hugs. “Lydia won’t mind talking. You can help her too, by listening to her worries, and remember, you’re also going to help me by using your powers for good. I won’t ever ask you to make you abduct others so I can hurt them.”
Anna hugged him tighter. “Which is why I want to serve you, lord!”
She was still a child. This was far too big a commitment for someone so young, and this was simply the truth as she saw it now. For now... Drake would simply let her feel like she’d made up for the trouble she’d caused him. That seemed to be what she needed.
“You and your father are going to join my manor and help people. I promise. We’ll figure out the rest later. Now... I am really hungry. So how about we go check on the meat?”
She released him and stepped back, wiping at her eyes. “Of course.”
As he stood, his taut muscles screamed at him. He pressed both hands to his back and groaned. “Oh, I am going to feel that tomorrow on the road.”
She blinked worriedly. “Are you injured?”
“It’s fine. Just griping. Let’s just go get something to eat. Seems like Sachi’s been working real hard to feed us some good meat.”
“I like her, lord.” Anna smiled through the last of her tears. “She’s been so nice to me.”
Drake chuckled. “I think she’s getting fond of you too.”
And hopefully, he added silently, as a friend and not a snack.
