After staring at this strange knight's careful work for a moment, Princess Serena does in fact apply herself to the task. She's never been asked to do something like this before, but she has done a great many things in the past day that she never would have expected. And besides, how hard could it be to pour water into a waterskin?
Unfortunately, she didn't consider the temperature of the pan despite having seen it in the fire only minutes ago. She pulls her hand back sharply at the sting of the heated metal. Edmund snatches her hand, startling her with his speed, and inspects the slightly red fingers. Deciding it's only a minor burn, he lets go of her hand and tells her to wrap her cloak around her hand to grab the pan.
Serena feels the heat of the blush on her cheeks and turns her face away, feeling foolish for not knowing something so simple. Edmund seems not to notice, though, already returned to his task and glancing up only to look out the cave entrance occasionally.
Alright, Serena steels herself, there's no reason I can't do this. Careful of the pan and now realizing the water inside is likely hot as well, Serena wraps her thin purple cloak several times around her hand and slowly tips the water into the waterskin. The water in the pan is enough to almost fill it. With a slight smile of satisfaction, Serena sets the empty pan on the cave floor before sealing the waterskin and setting it aside.
"Do you know how to sew?" Edmund asks suddenly. He's finished poking holes in the rough leather ovals and slides the small, sharp knife back into his boot.
"I can embroider," Serena answers slowly. Edmund's jaw clenches slightly as he considers the project in his lap. With a resolute nod, he gestures for Serena to sit beside him and turns toward her. He sets one of the ovals between them and pats it once before grabbing up a length of leather cord. Serena sets one foot on the leather, understanding the basics of what he's working on if not the specifics.
"Just weave it through to pull the edges together," he instructs, folding the front over her toes and poking the leather through the two sides to start it. Serena nods and takes the ends of the cord, setting about to lace them through the holes in a rough approximation of lacing up a boot.
With a nod, Edmund turns away and grabs the pan and walks outside. By the time he returns several minutes later and settles the pan near the fire again– dumping in some of the water Serena had worked so hard to get into the waterskin– Serena has the front of both leather shoes laced. She flounders then, though, trying to figure out the best way to secure the heel part.
"Here," Edmund says, taking the laces of the left shoe from her. He removes them from the last two holes she'd laced and pulls the heel part snug against the back of her foot before lacing the cord back through the holes of the front and back parts. Serena watches closely as he continues lacing the back piece around her leg and ties it snugly at the front of her shin. "Just do that," he says, indicating her other foot before moving to the back of the cave.
As she carefully repeats the lacing process, Serena sees Edmund sorting through the saddle bags the Horse– Phillip, she reminds herself– had left behind. He empties packages of preserved foods and another waterskin and stuffs them into the larger pack that had held his spare clothing. Serena smooths the wool socks she's still wearing as she crosses the laces. She's sure the oversized wool shirt looks as ridiculous over her dress as the pants do underneath her skirt, but she's grateful for the warmth. Still, she feels guilty to be keeping them since she'd seen him unpack no other clothing.
As she finishes securing the right shoe, she hears a low howl from outside. She stiffens as her heart rate picks up, but then remembers the dark Wolf is outside. Edmund turns as Adan enters the cave. The Wolf nods once and the two share a look Serena can't decipher.
"We need to leave shortly," Edmund says, checking on the water pan. He shifts it out of the fire. "If you need to…" he trails off and waves to the cave entrance without meeting her eyes. "Just don't go far," he finishes, turning back to his repacking. Serena figures out what he's hinting at after a moment, and the insistence of her bladder forces her to heed his suggestion.
With careful steps, she picks her way down from the cave entrance. The leather shoes are slightly slick on their smooth bottoms, but she's surprised at how well the fur lining and wool socks insulate her feet from the snow. Much better than yesterday, she thinks, but then shakes her head to avoid delving too deeply into the memories of her terrifying trek. Instead she focuses on moving carefully into the woods, until she can no longer feel the watchful eyes of the Wolf stationed next to the entrance of the cave on her back.
.
.
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If you need a visual of what they made, look up "Animal Hide Shoes" on youtube. These are based on the Scottish kind of design, but they put the fur on the inside.