Chapter 7
On the Road Again
The bed was hard. She was cold and hungry. The blanket was itchy. This was certainly not the way Serenity had wanted to wake up.
She could smell smoke and hear the gently crackling of flames. Good, at least they were getting her breakfast and tea ready. Wait... hadn't they just been heading towards an inn? Her eyebrows furrowed for a second and she thought back to their well planned out trek. Her mind was filled with memories of rain and coldness and hunger. She vaguely remembered the waterfall they were heading to and then nothing.
With a sigh, she turned her head to bury her nose into her pillow and was startled to find her face meeting only more itchy blanket with a hard surface under it. This was most certainly not a bed, she realized. Her eyes shot open almost instantly and her whole body went into a high alert mode. She could feel her muscles screaming with pain and tenderness as she pushed herself up.
She gasped. The inn she had though she was in was nowhere to be seen. Instead she was outdoors, under some branches and rocks, with an unfamiliar man crouched near her by a fire, toasting a slice of bread. She clutched the blanket to her chest, panic running through her entire being. This was not happening.
The sound she made caught the attention of the dark haired man. His eyes shot over to her and assessed her sitting there. A small grin lit up his features as he swung the stick with the bread on it over to her. "Hungry?"
The chirping of birds could be heard, along with the soft shuffling of what sounded like a horse. Serenity didn't know what to do or say. Where was Artemis and the rest of her escort? Why was she here? And why did those blue eyes staring at her seem to be reading her deepest thoughts and emotions? Yes, those eyes, she knew them!
"Where am I?" she heard herself ask quietly, her voice feeling strained and raspy.
Her companion frowned a little. "I'm not sure I can answer that, your Grace. We were washed down river quite a ways. I have an inkling of where we are, but unless you know this forest and all it's landmarks... any answer I give your will make no sense."
Things already weren't making any sense. Serenity glanced around them, trying to take in her surroundings in more detail as her heart hammered in her chest. "How did I get here? Who are you?" Her eyes shot back to stare at him as she tried to give him a glare. "Where is Artemis?"
"Your Grace," he paused, shifting his weight a bit, "there was an attack on your convoy. You and your horse fell into the river. I don't know if the others survived or what happened. I followed you and brought you out of the water and made camp. I'm afraid that is the extent of the information I can give you."
Serenity shivered and suddenly became incredibly aware of how sore and stiff she was, and, more importantly, that she wasn't wearing her own clothing. She give a small squeak as she grabbed at the shirt she was wearing under the blanket. She glanced down and then back up at the young man who seemed to be outright smirking now. "Who else is here with us?"
The smirk on his face grew. "I'm afraid it's just you and me, your Grace. I do apologize for your attire, your gown is drying just behind those rocks there. If I'd left you in it, you probably would not have survived the night." He took keen interest in the bright red colour her cheeks took on as he spoke and chuckled to himself. In truth, he couldn't remember much of the previous night either. Mamoru could hardly remember getting out of the water, much less how he had taken care of matters. He waved the stick he was still holding out a little and smiled again, "Now take this and eat."
"How dare you!" Serenity hissed as she clutched the blanket more tightly to her chest. "I'm a princess of Luna and you dare to undress and-and-an-" Mamoru shoved the stick closer yet, eliciting another gasp from the young girl as she shrank back.
"I wasn't kidding when I said you wouldn't have survived the night," he said gently, wiping the smirk off his face. "It's too cold out to be wearing wet clothing all night. Now, we can go into the issue in great depth and detail, or you could say thank-you, take this bread, eat, and then we can plan our trek."
Serenity gaped at him. She really, truly didn't know what to say to him. She could still see a glimmer of amusement in his eyes but he seemed sincere. She still wanted to throw something at him for his insolence but given her current situation she didn't feel it would be a good idea. Still, the idea of him undressing her... she shivered.
She reached out gingerly, still trying to clutch the blanket to her chest, and took the warm slice of bread from the stick. Her heart was still racing but her stomach was starting to gurgle.
Mamoru finally tore his gaze from the princess as she took his food offering. "As for Artemis," he continued, " I don't know what happened to him or the others. I can't take you back though."
"And why not?" she shot back, crumbs falling from her lips in a most unladylike fashion.
Mamoru brought his gaze back up to meet hers. "I don't know what happened to him and the others, as I said before. If the attackers, whoever they were, got the upper hand, I can't risk bringing you right into their waiting arms."
Serenity swallowed hard. "How do I know you're not my enemy?" Her voice betrayed her sudden apprehension.
Reaching into his bag, Mamoru fished out another slice of bread and put it on his toasting stick. "Well," he said slowly as he extended the food over the low fire, "I suppose you don't know." His eyes came back up to meet hers. He tried not to laugh as he saw her sitting there, eyes as large as saucers with crumbs of toast hanging onto her lips. He nodded his head in her direction. "You can look at my clothes hanging behind you for some proof if you like."
Serenity shifted so she could take a look in the direction he was motioning in. Her neck and shoulders screamed at her as she moved. She grunted quietly as her eyes fell on what looked like a uniform that the soldiers in her escort had been wearing. The fabric looked dirty and crusty but the symbol of the moon was unmistakeable on it.
Feeling a little reassured and at the same time more fearful, she turned and took another bite of bread, analyzing her one remaining protector. He stared at the bread he was warming over the flames. There was a light layer of stubble over his jaw and cheeks and his hair was rather dishevelled. "How do I know you didn't just steal that uniform?" she asked quietly.
Rolling his eyes, Mamoru lifted his bread from the fire. "If I had stolen it and meant you harm, do you think I'd need to try and convince you otherwise? I could just take you where I wanted and do what I liked." He paused and gave her a frown. "Or I could have just let that bear eat you in the forest."
Serenity gaped at him. No one would talk to her like this back at the palace and no one would dare roll their eyes at her. As quickly as it came, the shock of his tone melted away when she heard what he actually said. "You were there when the bear attacked me?"
Mamoru gave her a nod accompanied by a small grin. "Mmhm. Now finish eating your breakfast. We should head out soon."
"You were the one who shot the arrow, weren't you?" Serenity's eyes grew wider as recognition dawned on her. She hadn't seen any details of the man that had shot the bear but she most certainly remembered the eyes of the man that had been in her tent. "And you were the one in my tent that night I was attacked! Weren't you?"
Lifting the bread gently from his stick, Mamoru nodded. "I was," he said before taking a bite of his breakfast. "Are you reassured now?"
Serenity nodded slowly, unable to peel her eyes from her savior. At least she didn't think he was trying to kidnap her at this point. He had saved her twice, though she couldn't really place him anywhere in their troop. Not once could she remember seeing him among the other soldiers. That didn't mean anything though, she thought. She hadn't exactly had lengthy conversations with all the men, mostly just Artemis.
With one last bite, she finished off her toast. "Where are we going, then, if you're scared of taking me back to where you last saw Artemis? It's hardly proper or safe for the two of us to be travelling alone..." she said the words straightforwardly and yet in the back of her mind they seemed to excite her. Here she was in the middle of a forest with a man that had saved her life twice already, a man whom she had to admit wasn't bad looking either. His jawline was strong, his shoulders broad, his features handsome...
"We're going to have to make it to a friendly area and get some provisions. It's going to take longer to get you to the capital of Terra at this point but I don't see any other way around it. The village that I am from isn't too terribly far from here, and closer than any other place I would trust to take you." He paused as he took another bite of bread. "Hopefully I can send a message to Terra at that point. I think we'll be able to travel faster if we just keep moving, but it might be best to wait for a new envoy to come and collect you."
Serenity nodded. The longer it took to get to Terra the better. She was in no rush to get there. "Maybe it would be wiser to just get to the village and wait," she commented quietly, pulling the blanket tighter around herself.
Mamoru sighed. "I still haven't decided what to do yet. Waiting is fine but the sooner we can get you to safety the sooner everyone will sleep more soundly." He nodded to the brush behind the princess again. "You should get dressed. I'm afraid I can't offer you fresh clothes for the time being, at least not until we can reach my village. I doubt you want to travel in just that shirt you're wearing now."
A bright blush lit Serenity's cheeks again. She wanted to protest on the grounds of decorum and modesty, but realized that it would be worse off if she didn't get changed. By then her soldier had turned his back to her and started to move the embers around in the fire. Serenity slowly stood from the makeshift bed, the blankets still clutched tightly to her, and slowly waddled behind the bushes. Sleeping on the hard ground had certainly done nothing good for her sore and tired muscles.
Her clothes were draped over a few branches in the sunlight. She shivered violently as she let the blanket drop, after she had checked over her shoulder to make sure she was out of sight. The crisp spring air hadn't warmed up yet to make dressing comfortable. She whimpered as she pulled the cold garments on, the fabric stiff and coarse feeling. It was dry at least and once it had sat against her skin for a few moments it started to warm a little.
Mamoru moved the embers around and listened to the girl getting dressed. Her gasps and whimpers were not completely lost on him. He shook his head a little as he did his best to put out the dying fire. He knew this trip was going to be trying and troublesome. He now had to be a babysitter to a young girl who most likely had never gone more than a few days without most comforts of life. Even the trip she had just been on was a luxurious one by most standards. Food and shelter were readily provided, as well as protection and some entertainment. He could do his best to keep them alive and that was about it.
The horse nickered gently as Serenity walked by it, dressed in her own clothing once again. "I'm ready to depart," she said as she started to stroke the animal's neck. Mamoru stared up at her for a moment before lifting himself from the ground. He took one step over to where their makeshift bed had been to reclaim the tent cover he had stretched out over them. Serenity stared at him as he moved, noting his movements were slow and strained. He was tall and lean and looked like he couldn't be older than twenty five perhaps.
"It would be helpful if your Grace," Mamoru said as he winced from putting weight on his bad knee, "would get the blanket you left behind the bushes and folded it."
Serenity's eyebrows shot up almost instantly. "It's not my place to pack up or set up camp," she said quickly. The words seemed to slip out thoughtlessly and naively. Of course it wasn't something she had been expected to do up to this point. She was the Princess after all.
Mamoru lifted the leather tent from the branches of three. His gaze shifted to the princess as he folded it slowly. "I'm afraid there's only two of us from this point forward. I'm sure your Grace can manage to fold a single blanket. I'm just as tired and sore as you are, and I'm afraid I don't deal well with pouting children." He let the last few words be a little clipped. His knee was throbbing again as he stood. Any patience he possesed was quickly being eaten away by the pain and he didn't want to argue with a spoiled princess.
Serenity straightened her back. "You can't talk to me like that! I'm not a child. I'm a princess and it's your duty to take care of me!" Mamoru almost expected to see her stomp her foot at this point but she didn't. Instead she crossed her arms and pouted.
Mamoru leaned on his good leg and swept her a mocking bow. "My apologies, your Grace, but I'm afraid you'll have to pull your own weight from here on out. As you can see," he gestured to his swollen knee, "I'm not in the best of shape from our little frolic in the water. Now, unless your Grace wants to spend another night here in the cold forest, you will help pack up camp." When she didn't reply, he gave an exasperated sigh. "I could toss you back in the water and say I never found you too." He was only half joking but almost instantly Serenity's eyes widened, filled with tears, and she turned away in a huff.
Mamoru closed his eyes and shook his head. He shouldn't have been so harsh. But, as he could see, at least now she was walking over to the blanket and folding it up. It was amazing how quickly the mood had changed.
The horse watched the two as they worked around him. Mamoru felt like he was being weighed down with a suit of lead. All his movements were slow and burdensome. They managed to get what little the had packed in the horses saddle bags with Serenity avoiding any sort of eye contact. In a way, Mamoru thought the silence was nice.
When they were finally ready to go, he held his hands out for her to get on the horse. She took his help silently still, laying a hand on his shoulder as she hopped onto the mount. The girl was blessedly light and quick. She was just settling into the saddle when Mamoru pulled himself up behind her. She squealed. "What are you doing?" Her head whipped around so she could stare at him.
Mamoru wrapped his arms around her so he could grab the reigns as the horse shifted from the added weight. "Unless you're seeing something I'm not, we only have one horse. And unless you want to volunteer to walk, we'll have to share this one. I can't walk with this knee. It would take too long anyway."
Serenity stared at him with her mouth agape until Mamoru urged the horse forward, giving her no room to argue. Serenity brought her gaze forward as she gripped the horn of the saddle. Her back was tense and straight as a board as she tried to not touch the solid wall of muscle behind her. That lasted a whole of two minutes. Eventually she leaned back, though the tension didn't leave her posture.
They rode in silence for a while as Mamoru navigated the horse through the trees along the river. The sun was warm and bright, which was a nice change from the frigid night they had just finished. The river was running high and strong, a good reminder not to ride too close to it. Neither traveller was too keen to end up in the turbulent water again.
As the horse swayed and walked, Princess Serenity relaxed and tried to enjoy the ride as best as she could. "You haven't told me your name yet," she finally said. "I'd like to know what to call you instead of 'you.'"
Mamoru looked at the platinum blonde head leaning against his chest. "Mamoru," he said, "though you can call me 'Illustrious Great One,' if you wish to be formal." Serenity couldn't help but giggle a bit.
"Well my name is Your Grace, apparently, but you may call me Serenity, or at least you may for this trip."
Mamoru chuckled a bit too. "I'll try to remember proper manners when we reach society again. It shouldn't be too hard though."
The young girl smiled. The gentle motion of the horse and the warm arms surrounding her were making her feel very relaxed and almost sleepy. Oh if only her mother and Luna could see her now. Mamoru, on the other hand, felt anything but relaxed. Oh if only Aretemis and Nephrite could see him now. He was in the middle nowhere alone with the heir to the throne of Luna and future Queen of Terra, on a horse, cuddled up close with said heir, with enemies potentially tracking them from all sides. Oh yes, this would look fantastic.
To make things worse, they were moving a lot slower than he would have liked. He could probably get them to his village before the next morning but they would have to ride into the night and he didn't much like the idea of trying to plod along in the dark. The river would take them to a road eventually, a road they could follow while hidden by the treeline.
It was a couple of hours into their trip when the complaining started. Serenity started to fidget and squirm in the saddle while sniffling. "I'm cold," she finally said. "Can we stop and make some tea, or something warm to eat?"
Mamoru bit the inside of his cheek. "I'm afraid we don't have what it takes to make either of the rations we have left are dry, like bread and cheese."
Serenity's shoulders slumped. "I really want tea." She sniffled and rubbed her nose. "I feel sore too."
"I'd prefer if we didn't stop for a while yet. We have a lot of ground to cover. The closer we can get to my village the more safe I'll feel about stopping." He could feel her still squirming a bit, but she remained quiet again for a little while. It took another hour before she settled down again. The sun was high in the sky before he finally found a spot to stop at. He dismounted first, very gingerly, careful not to put too much force on his knee. He then helped Serenity down, who almost fell right on top of him as she dismounted rather ungracefully.
"I'm sorry," she murmured as she regained her footing on the ground. Mamoru shook his head as he helped steady her.
"Think nothing of it."
The small package of rations was very meagre. He really didn't have much food left since he head been planning to restock at the inn they had never reached. A small wedge of cheese, a little bread and a small pouch of dried apples was all he had left. They split the food and ate quickly. The horse was glad to get a brake to drink some water.
"When will we reach your village?" Serenity asked as she took her last swallow of lunch. "I'm getting very sore and tired."
Rubbing his knee gently, Mamoru nodded. "I'm sure you are. We should get there either sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning. I can't move as fast as I'd like in this brush."
Serenity closed her eyes and rested her forehead against her knee. The fabric felt cool against her skin. She wasn't sure how long she was sitting there before she felt her shoulder being shaken. "Serenity," her name sounded distant and fuzzy as she lifted her head slowly. "Princess."
As her eyes focused she saw Mamoru kneeling next to her. His brow was furrowed and he was touching her forehead. "What are you doing?" she asked tiredly. His hand on her face felt cold as ice. "Why are you so cold?"
Mamoru lifted his hand from the girl's face and cursed softly under his breath. Her sking was burning up and her eyes had a very glazed look. The dip in the river and night under the starts was taking it's toll now. Mamoru stood up and offered his hand, "Here, can you stand up?"
Serenity nodded and took his outstretched hand. She winced as he pulled her to her feet and almost fell right back down. Her whole body felt like it was burning up and each motion brought a new wave of pain. She was aware of a strong pair of arms catching her, followed by a grunt. She leaned against the wall holding her up desperately trying to stay awake.
Mamoru half carried, half dragged Serenity over to the horse. He was in trouble, deep trouble, especially if he couldn't get her to his village soon. He could feel her burning in his arms and she certainly wasn't able to stand on her own two feet anymore. Panic started to course through his veins. All he needed now was for the girl to die from a fever. The bear, marauders, raging river; all those had been no problem. There was no way he was going to let a cold get the better of him.
"Mamo..." Serenity opened her eyes, forcing herself to focus on the what was going on.
"I'm going to help you on the horse, all right?" Mamoru said softly. "Please try to hold onto the saddle long enough for me to get up there too." Once she had nodded, he grasped her hips and helped her up. She had enough energy to swing her leg over the horse and grip the horn of the saddle again. As quickly as he could, he swung up behind her, his knee almost giving out as he hopped up.
As soon as she felt him settle in behind her, Serenity didn't hesitate to lean agains the strong chest behind her. His arms were around her right away and he was wrapping his cloak around her as much as he could. Within moments the horse was moving again.
"Don't drop me," she whispered as she watched the trees pass them once again, her eyelids feeling heavy. She felt almost unbearably hot in the folds of Mamoru's cloak but she didn't try to dig her way out.
"I won't," he murmured as he urged the horse forward. He glanced down at the small princess leaning against him. He felt that same overwhelming need to protect her as he had on several occasions already on this trek. He pulled her tighter to him as he tried to let the horse pick up the pace. At this point he was willing to risk using the road for a while just to get to a doctor sooner. He prayed to any deity that could hear him that he could get the girl to safety and care fast. Please let me save her once more, he though as he felt her slump against him, fast asleep. Please.
