Anyone up for chapter three? Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far!
Rommie03, sweetblonde15, alfalfa7, luvthefluf, and Tori Gend
---Chapter Three---
Fight or Flight
by: ElfLuver13
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The sound of the horses' hooves trotting along mingled with the mysterious sounds of night as they rode. After nearly a day of continuous riding, with no rest, Caitrin began to feel the effects of long rides on horseback. Her thigh muscles ached from clenching the horse beneath her, her backside pained her after hours and hours of sitting, and her shoulders brought even more discomfort by sending sharp, shooting pains down her arms when she tried to move them.
She did not often ride horses in her duties, preferring to walk to better evade capture. With a horse she could be easily noticed. Murtagh sent her a glance over his shoulder and she struggled to hide her signs of fatigue. She cursed inwardly when he smirked, knowing that he most definitely noticed her predicament.
"Would you like to stop?" He asked. She glared at him through narrow eyes, knowing that he was patronizing her in a silent way. He already thought her weak for being a woman, this was bound to make it even worse.
"No, that is, unless you want to," she answered. "Mayhap you have become sore and would wish to stop?" He frowned at her assumption, it was clear to anybody that he rode often and expertly. He handled the menacing bay as if it were a reliable old cart, instead of an intimidating, mean-tempered, nasty beast. Her own mount, the long-legged gray, was high-strung and skittish. The gelding tended to shie at every noise, especially at night.
"I am not sore, I only offered because you seemed wearied of our traveling. It is near the time when we should stop, if not for ourselves but for the horses," he said. She silently thanked the horses and their short endurance for the chance to rest up.
Murtagh cut off the trail and picked his way precariously through a thicket. Caitrin followed close behind, trying not to get snagged by the prickly bushes. The brush thinned into a small clearing, big enough for two horses and two humans to rest the night. Large, overhanging trees sheltered the small bit of space, blocking out the moonlight and numerous stars. What looked like a clear stream ran along the side of the clearing, giving them and the horses easy access to fresh water.
"Why didn't you tell me you were in pain?" He asked her quietly as they watered the horses. She turned to look at him slowly, wondering why he would ask her such a question. Obviously she couldn't lie, it was obvious what had ailed her, she had dismounted stiffly and almost fallen over for the lack of strength in her legs.
"I had not thought you noticed, and I could have easily ridden another three leagues or so," Caitrin answered confidently.
"You could not have ridden any longer, believe me. You looked as though you were about to fall flat on your face," he told her. She tried to find a way to deny him and his statement, but she couldn't find a reasonable excuse. She was spared a response when wind suddenly seemed to blow more harshly, stirring up leaves and dust around them. Caitrin pulled the collar of her cloak around her face to shield it from the onslaught of nature.
Moments later, a now familiar red shape landed in front of them. Caitrin had not factored a dragon into the equation when she had calculated the amount of space for each of them in the clearing.
"Will he... ah... be sleeping near us?" She asked him. He looked back at her as if she were mental.
"Of course. Where else would Thorn rest out of sight?" Murtagh answered. It made sense, somehow, and Caitrin watched as the mammoth beast curled up in the clearing. Once the dragon was settled, it was a wonder both them and the horses even fit in the clearing.
The horses were tied to some low hanging branches near the river. Caitrin stared at the small space left for them, it was barely bigger than a closet. Murtagh unrolled his bed roll and went to lie down before stopping and staring at her inquisitively.
"Is something wrong?" He asked.
"No, no everything's just... fine," she answered, unrolling her bed roll as well. She stood staring at the two sleeping places, wondering how it was going to work when the two bed rolls practically overlapped. With a grunt, Murtagh had fallen into his and seemed to be asleep. Cautiously, Caitrin lowered herself into hers and wrapped herself in the wool blanket.
His leg moved, touching hers briefly. She tensed, her body stiffening. Moving to the edge of her bed roll, Caitrin rolled onto her side, facing away from him, and tried to ignore the soft breathing of him and concentrate on falling asleep.
Something felt warm, and nice. Caitrin awoke slowly, trying to savor the last moments of sleep. Funny, she hadn't felt so comfortable last night...
She felt movement. With confusion, she realized this movement was beneath her. She began tilting her head upwards, afraid of what she would see. Murtagh's grey eyes stared back at hers in equal consternation. He raised one dark eyebrow at her, and it finally hit her. After they had fallen asleep, she had involuntarily moved to his side and he to hers.
She sat up with a start, earning a groan from Murtagh as she accidentally delivered a blow to his stomach with her arms as she sat up.
"Sorry," she said softly, drawing back in fear.
"I'm fine," he answered, standing up and going about his business as if nothing had happened. She tried not to meet his eyes, knowing that if she did her cheeks would flush a brilliant red, like the color of his dragon. Her horse snapped at her for disturbing his sleep and began to sidestep when she tried to place the saddle on him. With a sigh she tried again, but the horse remained stubborn.
"Need some help?" Murtagh called to her. As much as she wished to deny it, help would be quite useful. She knew she would never get anywhere with what she was already doing, and reluctantly nodded. Murtagh simply held the horse's head firmly, trying to keep him still as she placed the saddle on his back.
"So, about this morning..." Murtagh began. Caitrin stopped securing the saddle and looked up at him sharply.
"What about it?" She asked.
"You didn't move towards me, did you?" Caitrin stared back at him in disbelief.
"No," she answered indignantly, her voice dangerously low. "I believe it might have been you who moved towards me."
"I would have remembered that," he replied.
"You were asleep! How could you remember anything?" Murtagh smirked, letting go of the horse and handing the reins to her.
"Let me know if you need anymore help," he said. Caitrin thought she caught a hint of a patronizing tone. Her blood boiled at his arrogance and superiority.
"I shall," she spit out. She mounted her horse as he did and followed him out of the clearing, watching as the small, red dot in the sky flew above them.
After four hours of riding, with only one brief rest, both travelers could feel the tension mounting between them and the utter fatigue setting in. The horses had slowed to an almost lazy walk, heads dropped low and ears relaxed and hanging loosely.
A snap in the underbrush brought them to attention. Murtagh stopped and raised a hand to stop her as well. Caitrin obeyed and listened herself for what might be lurking in the prickly undergrowth. Her horse pranced nervously, ears flattening and tail swooshing nervously.
"Get down!" Mutagh yelled, yanking his horse out of the range of a flying arrow and hurrying over to her. He grabbed her off her saddle and galloped into the forest with her dangling beside him with an arm around her waist. She struggled to get free from him but his vice-like grip held her strong.
"Put me down!" He complied when they stopped, leaving her to fall the short distance to the ground with a thump. She stood up indignantly, brushing the dust and dirt from her cloak. "What was that for? And where is my horse?"
"We were being ambushed, in case you couldn't tell. The Varden have caught our scent it seems and decided to try and take us out before we reached them. As for your horse, he's probably run off by now," he finished. "They will have followed us, so be ready."
Caitrin's dislike of him grew with each passing moment. While still glaring at him, she drew her sword and faced the sounds coming from the direction they had just fled. Murtagh dismounted and stood beside her. She felt his presence oddly comforting in the back of her mind, but she pushed that thought from her head quickly. Hadn't she just hated him a few a moments ago?
More arrows flew at them and they quickly dodged them. A man covered in strange chain mail dropped down from the trees and raised his sword as he ran at them. Caitrin moved forward and easily disposed of him, watching as his face twisted in aguish behind his helm and his broken body crumpled to the ground. More came and soon they were both involved in dodging, striking, and killing the Varden soldiers without barely breaking a sweat.
"Do you think there is any more?" She asked him, surveying the dead bodies around them. He seemed to listen for a moment, his head completely still. She heard him utter some strange words, thinking that it was the odd ancient language that no one spoke anymore, except for the riders. Caitrin watched as his eyes changed, and he seemed to be looking somewhere else, even though he was looking straight at her.
"They have either fled, or we have killed them all," he replied. "There is not a single one roaming these hills anymore." Caitrin watched, fascinated, as his eyes returned to normal and he flashed her a rogueish grin.
"What was that you did?" She asked him.
"A simple spell that allows me to see through Thorn's eyes. He is above us as we speak, and eager to rest. We will be stopping earlier tonight because of the ambush."
"Our supplies are running low, especially since most of them were on my horse," Caitrin told him, bitterness etched into her voice. She became furious when he laughed, but couldn't help letting a small smile break onto her face at the sound of him. "What?"
"You won't let that go, will you? Look, we can stop in a town not far from here, it's even on our way to the Burning Plains. It's a few day's ride from here, so until then you'll have to ride on my horse with me," he said. Caitrin let out a small yelp of protest. "Would you rather walk? Or perhaps ride on Thorn? I'm sure he'd love that," he muttered.
"What if you rode Thorn, and I rode your horse?" She asked hopefully. He shook his head.
"Riding Thorn was never an option, I need to be on the ground, and so do you," he finished. She heard the finality in his statement, and reluctantly agreed. She cast a glance at his horse saddled and ready, knowing that he might have been too much for her to handle.
He mounted his horse effortlessly and offered her a hand. Caitrin took it and swung up behind him, settling into the saddle and molding herself to the contours of his back. She felt him twitch at the close contact. His hair tickled the edge of her face as he turned to make sure she was settled. Murtagh clapped his heels to the horse's sides and Caitrin quickly latched her arms around him as the horse began to gallop.
The next chapter will be very interesting. Please Review! I want to know if I'm doing this right or if it could be better!
-ElfLuver13