Chapter 14: Chapter Riftan rained ravenous kisses on her. Caught between the tree trunk and Riftan’s torso, Maxi struggled for breath. His hands cupped her rear and pulled her close, his bulge grinding on her belly. Heat ignited between their bodies. Afraid of how she might react, Maxi tried to twist out of his embrace. “N-No... N-Not here...” “You’ll be the death of me, goddammit.” Groaning, he knocked his head into the tree. Her body tensed at the sight of his shoulders heaving with ragged breaths. She braced herself, thinking that her rebuff had displeased him, but he slowly backed away from her. “I can’t help myself whenever I’m around you, so you should sleep alone in the carriage. Do you understand?” He patted her cheek lightly. She nodded. Once again, he led her away by the hand, this time back towards the camp. A burly knight sat perched on a rock, warming himself by the fireside rock. When he saw them returning, he flashed them a knowing grin. “Done so soon, Commander? It’s been too long since you brandished your sword! Has it gone rusty?” Riftan stopped in his tracks and threw the man a murderous look. Unfazed, the knight continued to snicker. A mutter came from the direction of another knight who had been leaning against a tree while polishing his sword. “Vulgar oaf.” “And how virtuous is the young scion of the House of Ricaydo?” “More virtuous than you will ever be.” “Ha! The tongue that praises its own master often spouts lies. Prigs like you are the worst lechers when no one’s looking- Oww! You little...!” At a kick from the blond knight, the burly knight sprang up and drew his sword. Maxi clung tightly to Riftan in shock as the blond knight leveled the sharp edge of his sword at his rival. Putting an arm around her shoulders, Riftan directed a fierce glare at the two men. “Looks like you are both sprightly enough to take turns standing the night watch.” “Commander!” But their protests fell on deaf ears. Riftan brushed past them and headed to the carriage. Maxi’s anxious gaze fell on the two men, who were still glowering at each other with murder in their eyes. Riftan turned her around to face him. “Don’t mind them. They’re always at each other’s throats.” She nodded blankly. Not all knights in the same order got along, it seemed. Riftan helped her onto the carriage before going back to put the finishing touches on his tent. Maxi sat at the door of the carriage and held out a lantern for him while he worked. He tossed a bedroll into the tent, then settled on a bulging tree root to polish his sword. Soon, two knights who had been on patrol returned with three black-feathered birds the size of geese. Grabbing the birds by the wings, the knights twisted and ripped the appendages off at the joints and discarded them on the ground. Then, with one swift motion, the skin was pulled clean off. Maxi froze in shock. Next, the knights sliced off the legs with a dagger before casually tossing them onto the pile of feathers. Feeling her stomach turn, Maxi hastily withdrew to the safety of the carriage. Riftan soon returned with roasted, golden-brown meat. He insisted that she eat, but she flatly refused, unable to bring herself to try a single bite. Instead, she chose to have the dry-as-bone bread, which she gulped down with the help of a few cheese morsels. Riftan gnawed on meat that dripped with sizzling fat and scowled disapprovingly. “It’ll take another day to get out of this place. You need to reserve your strength for the journey.” “I-I’m eating m-my fill.” She really was continuously cramming food into her mouth, knowing that there would be no end to his nagging if she stopped. He raised an eyebrow as if he had something to add, but he soon gave up and directed his attention to the food in his hands. Maxi finished her meal and returned to the carriage, trying her best to ignore the mound of feathers next to the campfire. As the night wore on, the chilly night air became heavy. One by one, the knights entered their tents. Maxi spread her bedroll on the seat of the carriage and lay down. She could hear the occasional howl of wild animals and the rustling of leaves. The cold seeped into her spine. She quietly opened the door and looked down at Riftan’s tent. For a reason she could not explain, the sight of his long legs jutting out of the tent put her mind at ease. She laid her head down again and tried to fall asleep, but she was haunted by the cries of birds that seemed to be mourning the gruesome fate of their brethren. Pulling the blanket over her head, she plugged her fingers into her ears. *** Maxi tossed and turned all night. She managed to fall asleep just before dawn, but she was awoken by a flurry of activity before long. Knights were putting on their armor in the gray of dawn. She hurriedly splashed some water on her face and combed her fingers through her hair. The knights had a rushed meal of bread and water before signaling their departure. Maxi ate her fill of the same and climbed into the carriage. The carriage began to move with speed. Maxi dozed off despite the rattling. Contrary to her worries, the journey thus far had been smooth and easy. The knights even seemed disappointed by the lack of monsters, grumbling aloud that not even a common forest goblin was to be seen. Maxi thought to herself that goblins were the last thing she wanted to encounter. They rode for half a day without a break. After stopping for lunch by a small spring, the journey resumed. Maxi’s arms and shoulders ached from gripping the handle all day to stop herself from tumbling over inside the juddering carriage. Yet even when her head began to throb, she could not work up the courage to ask to stop for a moment’s rest. She endured until night fell, granting her respite. She ate the food Riftan handed her without much appetite and fell asleep the moment she lay down on the blanket on the carriage floor. A good night’s sleep made the following day more tolerable. They departed at dawn, and by midday, Eudychal Forest was behind them. The carriage no longer convulsed so violently, and Maxi let out a sigh of relief. Unlike the rugged terrain of the forest, the roads on the plains of Anatolium were paved well. She opened the window and took in the lush grassland, which was sprinkled with cream-white wildflowers. After days of having her vision obstructed by dense forest, the wide-open plains were refreshing. “Anatol lies just beyond those mountains.” Riftan, who had been leading the knights, approached the carriage. She stuck her head out of the window and looked ahead to see snow-white peaks lining the horizon of the open plains. “Endure just a little longer. We might be able to reach Anatol as early as tomorrow evening.” She almost cried out in relief at the thought of sleeping in a proper bed. For the rest of the day’s journey, she pictured herself soaking in a warm bath and dining on soft, freshly baked bread and thick vegetable stew. She would have a pie stuffed with jam and a sweet-smelling fruit wine for dessert before falling asleep in a soft, clean bed. The carriage came to a stop just as the sun was starting to sink below the horizon. The knights barely acknowledged her as she stepped out of the carriage. Standing among them, she felt like a lost child. She began to look for Riftan. She cautiously passed through a group of men who were busy setting up camp. Spotting Riftan watering the horses by a river, she hurried towards him. He turned to her with a concerned expression. “What is it? Is something amiss?” She could not bring herself to admit that she felt uneasy without him in her sight. Instead, she bent over and pretended to wash her hands. Riftan crouched next to her to wash his hands and sweat-slicked neck. His long, muscular neck glistened in the sunset like heated copper. She stole a furtive look at him as he ran a hand through his windswept hair. His handsome features moved her heart once more. Suddenly, he pointed at her feet. “Look, your skirt is getting wet.” His words snapped her out of her daydream. When she stood up, she found that her skirt, dirt-streaked from days of travel, was now heavy with moisture. She clutched her dress and tried to rub away the mud stain. Riftan watched her for a while before getting down on one knee before her. “Let me help.” “I-It’s all ri...!” She was about to take a step back when he frowned. She hesitated, recalling how he had asked whether it was her habit to always say that she was all right. While she was wavering, he took hold of her skirt and soaked the muddy part in the river before wringing the water out. Not knowing what to do, she crouched next to him. Knights valued honor more than their own lives, and a knight would never bow his head before someone who was not his sworn lord. But Riftan always stooped before her for the most trivial affairs. Perhaps he was not averse to lowering himself before her because he was lowborn. Would the other knights not disparage him for kneeling before a woman like her? “Your skin is cold,” Riftan said as he washed his muddy hands nonchalantly. “Warm yourself up by the campfire.” Maxi began making her way up the hill, taking care not to soil the skirt he had just cleaned. A cold westward wind cut through the field. She pulled the hood tightly over her head so the wind would not ruffle her hair, watching as Riftan’s pant cuffs became damp as he watered the horses. The sun sank behind the mountains, and indigo darkness descended.