Chapter Nine: Journey Continues….
Ray worked on getting the horses ready while Maya cleaned up. The sun was just barely rising in the east, throwing long shadows across the ground. Ray shivered slightly as he turned back to face the small inn they had stayed in the night before. Maya was hurrying over to him, her face tight with concern. "Come on…we need to get going. Now." She pulled herself up onto Maribelle, grasping the reins.
"Why? What's going on?" Ray scrambled onto Firebolt, a frown crossing his face.
"A couple of men were inside asking after me… not that the landlady knew it was me that they were asking after." Taking in a deep breath, she glanced over at him. "I recognized both from my people's army. I suspect my disappearing act has been noticed."
"Well then… we need to get going then. The sooner we get to this Ninjago, the better." Ray nudged Firebolt into a gentle trot.
Maya took a deep breath, before nudging Maribelle to follow him. "I hope we actually make it there."
…
Maya rubbed Firebolt as she leaned into the warhorse, watching as her best friend aided an elderly lady with her gardening. Her grandson had offered a good deal of money for anyone that would stop and help her. Ray of course had jumped at the opportunity to earn more money for their planned voyage.
Ray wiped at the sweat that beaded his forehead. He glanced over, noticing that Maya was watching him silently. He gave her a small wave, before turning back to what he was doing.
"Tu esposo trabaja duro, ¿no es así?" The elderly lady that Ray was weeding the garden for suddenly appeared next to Maya.
Maya jumped, before quickly correcting her. "No estamos casados. Sólo somos amigos."
She arched her eyebrow upwards, surprise flaring in her eyes. "Sin embargo, estás esperando a su hijo."
Maya turned red as she subconsciously placed a hand on her stomach, feeling for the small life that was growing in there. "Bueno, sí. Pero no estamos casados."
"Todavía..." She chirped back at her in a sing song voice.
Maya somehow turned even redder than she had before, crossing her arms hurriedly in front of her chest. Ray looked over and noticed her obvious discomfort. Well, then he better do something about that. Standing up, he brushed the dirt off of his hands and onto his breeches. Walking over, he sidled up next to Maya. "Are you ok?"
Maya shrieked in surprise, jumping as she whipped her head around to gawk at him. "Ray! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"You watched me walk over here… so unless you weren't paying attention to what was going on around you, you knew exactly what I was doing." Ray pointed out as he arched his right eyebrow upwards.
Maya's cheeks flushed a light pink color as she looked at her friend. Which is what he was…a friend that they both admitted to having strong feelings for. Oh boy. That elderly lady was right…they weren't married yet. They were on the road to getting there though.
"If you are done pulling weeds you probably should find her grandson and tell him so that we can get paid." Maya murmured softly as she turned her head away.
Ray nodded, before titling his head slightly to the side. "How do I do that again?"
Maya smiled, before informing him the words that he needed to use. "He terminado la tarea con la que necesitabas ayuda."
Ray nodded, before repeating the words back at her. "He terminado la tarea con la que necesitabas ayuda."
"Yes. That is correct. Go while I prepare the horses." Maya fought the urge to lean in and kiss him.
Ray nodded again, before hurrying back to the house where the grandson was chopping wood. Clearing his throat, he spoke haltingly in the young man's native tongue. "He terminado la tarea con la que necesitabas ayuda."
The man nodded, before disappearing inside. When he came back out, he was carrying a small coin bag that was bulging. The man smiled as he nodded the bag to him. "Gracias, aprecié la ayuda que me diste."
Ray felt panic rise up as he realized that he didn't really know what he just said. Pushing this to the back of his mind, he merely nodded to the young man, hoping that he had just thanked him for doing the job.
Walking back to Maya, he helped her up onto Maribelle, before hopping onto Firebolt. The sooner they left this place, the sooner they could get to their final destination…
…
Ray carefully set up the campfire, his gaze darting occasionally over to Maya. Ever since they had left the small farm that belonged to the elderly lady, she had been acting a bit strange, blushing whenever he would talk to her about the most mundane things, firewood, setting up camp…where to set up camp. Even asking her if she is alright brings a light dusting of pink to her cheeks.
"Maya? Is dinner ready yet?" Ray tentatively asked, worried about how she'll respond to the question.
"Yeah..it's ready." She turned her head to the side so that he wouldn't notice the light pink dusting that had formed on her face.
Ray shook his head, before walking over and sitting next to her, picking up his portion of the meal. "Thank you."
"You're Welcome." Maya shyly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
Ray nibbled on his dry piece of bread, staring at the flames that would hopefully keep any wild animals at bay for awhile. Maya sighed, before brushing her hands off and slipping into the tent to get some shuteye.
Ray watched her go, wishing that he knew what was going on with her this particular night. Sometimes he wished that he had at least one sister so that he could understand the mindset of women better. Who knows…maybe she would have played with him as a child instead of leaving him to feign for himself in that area.
A/N: Done! Um, yeah… Maya can't stop blushing around Ray now. Isn't that wonderful? Also… I had a somewhat weird, really terrifying nightmare last night and have been up since five this morning because of it. Not fun… so I might get rather tired later today…for now I am awake and typing. (I played games on my phone instead of working on my stories for the first couple of hours…)
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SkyTalon