Sorry it took so long to get this chapter posted. Sometimes Real Life gets in the way of writing _

Friends of Fire 3
by: River

William awakened before everyone else, giving water to the horses and preparing their bags for the trip. Like Roland had said, they were a day from the next town, so it meant no unnecessary stops. Once the primary things were done, Will walked down the rock path leading to the lake to refresh himself. He knelt down and dipped his hands in the cool water, and splashed it in his face.

He felt exhausted, not physically but emotionally. Many things had happened in the last couple of days; Kate's illness, problems in his relationship with Jocelyn, lack of training to continue jousting. Things didn't seem to go well. Not well at all.

Hearing voices, he turned his head in direction of the camp and saw the others finally awake.

Chaucer clapped his hands together. "What is for breakfast this morning?"

Roland sighed and shook his head.

"What did I say?" he asked.

"Not five minutes have you been awake and you are already talking about food." Wat pointed out.

"I cannot decide when and where I am to be hungry," he defended.

"Oh that's easy, you are always hungry."

Chaucer glared at him.

"We are not staying for breakfast. We must leave at once, and eat on the road," William interrupted. "The sooner we leave, the quicker we'll arrive to town."

"Do we have time to take a bath in the lake, at least?" Jocelyn frowned.

"No. I suggest everyone to gather their personal belongings, we shall leave within the hour." He turned around and made his way to Kate's tent. Jocelyn stared at him leave in disbelief.

"I cannot take a bath?" She echoed and glanced back at the others. "That is so... inhuman!"

"Don't worry, milady. One day without a bath will not harm you," Wat smiled at her.

"Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for you," Chaucer said, and walked away.

"Or you," Roland replied from behind. Chaucer turned around quickly but Roland had left for his tent and Wat ignored him in every way possible.

William made his way to Kate's tent and called her name, making sure she was ready for his visit. After receiving her answer, he stepped in and caught sight of the ill woman sitting on her covers, looking up. She smiled weakly and looked away.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

She shrugged and inhaled softly. "Nothing has changed from last night. Although I haven't had any urges to vomit this morning."

He sighed with relief. "That's good. How's the temperature?" He lifted his hand to touch her forehead. He wasn't surprised to feel the same warmness as yesterday. She raised her eyes to his and her lips curled just enough to show him she was smiling.

"It hasn't improved," she stated softly.

Their eyes locked and William felt reluctant at retrieving his hand. Only one day had gone by since Kate had fallen sick but for him it seemed more like a week. There might not be many things happening on the outside, but it did inside of his head - and heart. He had grown closer to Kate within the last day, closer than he had ever expected. Kate wasn't a person who let her guards down, certainly not when being among friends who were only men.

While his mind wandered away, his fingers began to caress the side of her face. She was soft, he observed.

"William?"

His eyes reopened at the speed of sound. Kate hadn't moved but a frown of confusion was spread across her features. Realizing what he was doing, he jumped away from her as if she was fire.

"I did not mean to..."

"No, of course not." She shook her head.

"I just-"

"It's alright, William. We are all tired." She held out her hand, stopping him before he went any further. He nodded, running a nervous hand through his blond and curly hair.

"William, we are all ready to leave!"

Roland's voice startled him. He raised his head to Kate to speak but she nodded quickly, cutting him off before he even had a chance to say a word.

"I shall be out in a minute."

He said nothing and left. Roland stood outside the tent and watched as he stumbled out. He frowned in concern.

"In everything alright?"

He nodded and smiled. "Yes, yes, of course. She is, uh, getting ready."

His friend nodded and watched as he went to his own tent.

-=-

Once everything was packed, everyone was ready to go. Despite what earlier happened between him and Kate, William decided she was going to ride on his horse with him, which he thought was best. This caused yet another argument from Jocelyn, who wanted to ride with him. He wasn't about to let that happen, both because he felt strangely nervous and uncomfortable around her, and also because Kate was just too weak to ride a horse by herself. The thought of leaving her to another one of his friends hadn't even crossed his mind.

William stepped on his horse and Roland helped Kate in his arms. They refused to make eye contact. She was placed in front of him, so if she faded into unconsciousness again, he was there and ready to hold her back from falling on the ground.

Jocelyn had her own horse, unwilling to share her with anyone else. The others were left to walk.

The sky was darkening with each passing hour. Dark clouds invaded the sky, promising heavy rain at any moment. The wind picked up its pace, making the ride through the mountains difficult. There were no trees or lakes in sight, only rocks and patches of grass here and there. So far, no places to hide in case of a rainstorm.

Jocelyn glanced worriedly at the sky. "Perhaps we should go back to where we were, William."

"Here or there makes no difference. We will get caught in the storm either way," shouted William through the wind. Kate buried her face in his chest, pulling her woollen vest over her face to protect her from the sand of rocks carried by the wind.

"We might not go back on our footsteps, but it would be wise to seek a hiding place until this rainstorm ends!" Roland suggested when he felt drops of rain on his face. Before anyone had a chance to say anything else, the few drops quickly turned into a storm. The rain created a curtain before their eyes, forbidding them to see what laid beyond. The ground was turned into mud, making it difficult for them and the horses to move forward.

"William!" Jocelyn squealed. "We need to find someplace dry before we all get sick!"

"And where can this be, Jocelyn? There is no place to go!" Will yelled in return. They kept walking for another few minutes before the sound of rock falling was heard. William stopped the horse and squinted in the rain to see where it came from.

"Why are we stopping now?" Jocelyn frowned and glanced at Chaucer. The man shrugged and was patted on the stomach by Wat. He leaned closer to hear what he had to say.

"There are sounds. Sounds of rock, so we must keep our eyes open--"

"Watch out!"

By the time the words were spoken, it was too late. Rocks came stumbling off the mountain only to hit the ground surrounding them. It was almost as if they could feel the ground shake beneath their feet. The horses, caught with no warning, began to panic. Jocelyn was first to hit the ground. She saw her horse ran away with speed before fading in the rain. William struggled hard to keep his own horse steady, yelling to Kate to jump off. The other men were unable to approach the panicked animal, so they helplessly watched from afar.

William cried out when he was second to fall off the animal. Kate encircled her arms tightly around the horse's neck, too scared to let go. She called out Will's name several times before the horse ran off in zigzags. Her yells melted with the rainstorm and soon there was nothing.

"Are you alright?" Chaucer helped Jocelyn to her feet. Too shaken to speak, she just nodded and was led to William.

"Kate!" He shouted.

"First we must seek somewhere to hide," Wat argued.

"No!"

"Yes, Will, come on--" Wat grabbed Will's arm but the man roughly pushed him away. His foot slipped against the mud and he landed on the ground.

"We're not going anywhere until I find her," he panted.

"We are not going to fight you, mate!" Chaucer shouted.

"William, please, stop your insanity and let's go," Jocelyn pleaded.

A loud thunderstorm startled everyone, followed by a lightning. It created a few seconds of light, enough to give Roland a sight of a cave hidden among rocks. Pleased and relieved of his discovery, he pointed the direction to his friends.

"Come on!" Wat repeated, taking his friends once again by the arm but not as tightly as before. William gave no protest this time and followed his friends.

-=-

There wasn't much Kate was able to see. Her eyes were closed pretty much throughout the whole ride. When she reopened them, there was only rain and darkness surrounding her. Suddenly her hands slipped from around the horse's neck and she accidentally slid off the horse. Screaming with fright, she fell on the ground and started rolling off a hill at such speed she couldn't stop. The hill finally ended as her descent slowed down. The dizziness she was feeling now was nothing compared to what she was feeling the day before. She pushed herself off the ground, soaked and full of mud.

She pulled her hair away from her face and tried looking around, hoping to see one of the horses or maybe someplace where she could see her friends. Unfortunately, she couldn't even see the hill she had just rolled off from.

She gathered her remaining strength and yelled, "William?" but there were no answers.

Scared, she wrapped her arms around herself and glanced around. As another lightning lit the sky, she spotted smoke in the distance. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she carefully eyed the sight before her. It was near, she realized. She uncovered her eyes and smiled. Where there were smoke, there were fire, and where there were fire, there were people.

Looking back where she thought she had came from, she decided it was best to seek someplace warm for the night and search for her friends in the morning. As long as they wouldn't leave without her. Determined, she walked with a quick pace towards the smoke. She spotted a small wooden house, and no doubt the smoke came from inside. With her eyes filled with tears, she accidentally stumbled against a few rocks before finally reaching the doorsteps.

She inhaled the cold air sharply, her lungs seemed to burn with fire, and let herself drop in front of the door. With a weak hand, she began to knock as loudly as she could.

"Help!" She screamed and banged on the door further more. Finally the door opened and Kate lifted her head to see to who she was speaking to. A man in his fifties stood in shock at the sight of Kate lying on his doorsteps. His wife soon appeared next to him and hurried herself next to the young woman in need.

T b c