The Warrior

Chapter nine

         Chapter nine


         The next morning, Marissa woke alone to the sound of heavy rain pounding on the tent canvas. She’d always loved the sound of rain on the roof when she could stay indoors to enjoy it. Now she groaned and burrowed further under the blankets, knowing she would have to travel all day in the pouring rain, if it didn’t soon let up. She nodded off for a while, but soon woke again, hearing raised voices outside the tent. Recognizing one of them as Kay’s, she quickly got up, dressed and went out to see what was happening.
         A bleak sight met her as she stepped outside, right into a deep puddle, soaking her soft leather boots. The wide, open planes of the area gave no protection from the weather, and the field they camped on had turned into a mud-hole overnight. Muttering under her breath she would have gone straight back to bed, but instead she spied Kay talking to an agitated Rodrick, so she walked over to find out what was going on.
         Kay spared her a quick smile, and pulled her to stand next to him with an arm around her waist. Partially sheltered under his heavy cloak, she soaked up his warmth for several minutes before focusing on Rodrick’s words.
         “-and he’s simply nowhere to be found. The other pages swear they don’t know where he is.”
         A terrible though crept into Marissa’s mind.
         “Wait, you’re not talking about Robbie, are you? Is he missing?”
         Rodrick nodded curtly to confirm her suspicion, but continued to direct his focus on Kay. Unfazed by the implied dismissal, she interrupted.
         “Then we must find him! Has a search party been formed?”
         “You bet your sweet little ass we’ll find him!” Rodrick’s voice was strained by outraged fury, but faced with Kay’s thunderous glare he quickly calmed down.
         “I apologize, Mylady. We have men out looking for him now, and the little… I mean, he won’t get away.”
         “Get away?”
         Kay interrupted before Rodrick could begin another rant.
         “Rodrick believes Robbie has deserted us, to escape punishment for the loss of my mare yesterday.” Kay’s voice was casual, betraying none of his own thoughts and feelings on the subject, but his hand on her waist gave a reassuring squeeze.
         “Robbie would never do that, Rodrick. He is not a coward, and he truly loves Kay.”
         Both men looked doubtful at that proclamation, but faced with her absolute faith in the boy, they couldn’t help having second thoughts about their earlier conclusion.
Rodrick was the first to crack.
         “Damn it! I’ll step up the search. If something’s happened to the kid…” With a quick nod of farewell, he left to oversee the search.
         “Does this mean we will camp here today?” Marissa tried to keep the hope in her voice at a minimum, but knew from Kay’s smile that she didn’t fool him.
         “No. We will delay the departure a bit, but if he hasn’t been found in an hour, we will break camp, but leave a search party with enough horses to catch up once they find him.”


         As it happened, they found Robbie less than 20 minutes later. Kay breathed a sigh of relief at the news, though he’d assumed the same thing as Rodrick when he first found out the boy was missing. Only the memory of the page’s conversation with Marissa two days earlier, and the affection she’d shown him then, had prompted him to delay their departure long enough to organize a search. At the sight of Robbie’s unconscious body, covered in bruises under a thick layer of mud, he breathed a silent thanks to Ignar that he’d made the effort.
         They were within shouting distance from the camp, but several large boulders hid the boy from the searchers. Careful not to worsen the damage, they managed to transport the kid back to the camp, straight to the healer’s tent.
         Marissa paced in front of the tent, anxious for news when they arrived. She paled when she first saw the extent of the boy’s wounds, but stubbornly refused to leave. Kay considered insisting, but the tender way she looked at the boy, and the care she showed as she began cleaning him with a soft cloth, brought a longing ache to his stomach. He remembered how many times he himself, bruised and battered after numerous fights, had secretly longed for someone to show him the same care and devotion Marissa now showed his page. He groaned at the pathetic thought, but didn’t object to her presence.
          After a quick examination, the healer declared that the boy’s worst injury was a dislocated shoulder, and a broken rib. Kay, who’d suffered the same more times than he could remember, breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the kid would be fine given time and rest. He helped the healer set the shoulder and bandage the rib cage tightly while Robbie was still unconscious, not wanting to cause him more pain than necessary. Marissa was almost in tears by the time they finished, and he wanted to find the person who’d done this and kill him slowly, for causing her pain.
         “He will be fine, Marissa.” He reached out and caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers. Her skin was so soft and smooth, it never ceased to amaze him.
         “I know. He’s just so young, and he’s been through so much. He deserves better than this Kay. Everybody deserves better than this.”
         He didn’t have the heart to tell her that there were much worse things in life, than what the kid had experienced up to now. And in any case, she was right. Just because things could be a lot worse, that didn’t mean they shouldn’t be better. With a sigh, he leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.
         “I will see if Rodrick’s found any witnesses. There will be a guard outside the tent, so you will both be safe. Send someone to find me once he wakes up. It looks like we’ll stay here today after all.”
         She managed a weak smile at that, and once again he felt the need to kill whoever had stolen her happiness. He wanted to see her smile again, with that stubborn carefree innocence that was her trademark. He would do almost anything to make it happen.


         It was late afternoon by the time Robbie woke up, and two more hours before the healer would allow Kay to question the boy. No witnesses had come forward, so their only hope now was that the boy could name his attacker. Marissa wanted to stay during the questioning, but this time Kay refused to give in to her pleading eyes. He didn’t know what the boy would be able to tell, and didn’t want to risk upsetting her even more. She reluctantly left, but not before informing him that she’d promised Robbie that he could stay in their tent while he recovered.
         “The stables are not clean enough, and I want him somewhere I can keep an eye on him, where he will be completely safe. That means our tent.” Her eyes glittered with stubborn determination, but Kay was too floored by his reaction to hearing her call it “our tent” to even consider objecting. It probably didn’t mean that she was ready to share everything with him, like the rest of their lives, but a primal part of him interpreted it that way, and he wanted to howl his victory from the top of his lungs. Instead he found himself nodding numbly, and watched her leave the tent with a triumphant tilt of her head.
         Rodrick's quiet chuckle brought him back to the situation at hand, but when he turned around, the man studiously avoided his eyes. Knowing that a comment would only lead to merciless teasing, he focused instead on Robbie, looking pale but calm, ready to answer their questions. He smiled gruffly to the boy, trying to put him at ease.
         “So, I know you hurt right now, but you will be fine, the injuries aren’t as serious as we first feared.” Robbie nodded, but didn’t comment. Kay continued: “Can you tell us what happened? Who did this to you?”
         Robbie had several bruises around his mouth, and talking was clearly painful, yet he didn’t hesitate to tell his story.
         “I was asleep behind your tent, the other pages usually leaves me alone there, when it started to rain. It soon soaked through my clothes, and I had just decided to sneak into the stables when someone grabbed me. It was dark, and he came at me from behind, so I couldn’t make out who it was, but he was big and strong. I didn’t stand a chance against him. He knew who I was, cause he called me “Kay Hir’s pathetic little trell”. “ Robbie’s voice shook at the memory, but he collected himself and continued. “I would have called out, but he choked me until I passed out. When I woke up I was blindfolded. He told me to give you a message, to tell you that he will punish you and Lady Marissa.”
         “Punish us? For what?”
         “He didn’t say, but he was angry. He called Lady Marissa names not fit to describe a Lady, and when I protested he went mad. I passed out shortly after, and when I woke again, I was here.”


         They continued questioning him, but the boy couldn’t remember anything else. Finally they left the tent, promising to send someone to bring him around to Kay’s tent. Kay was furious at the thought that someone was threatening Marissa, and completely confused as to the cause of the threat. If he didn’t know first hand that she had been an innocent up to two days ago, he would have suspected a jilted lover. As it was, all he could do was make sure she was protected at all times. 
         Rodrick had his own thoughts on the situation.
         “Did you notice anything off about that story?”
         Kay only looked at him, until he continued.
         “The boy claimed he was choked unconscious. Yet his throat was pretty much the only place on his body that didn’t have a mark on it.”
         Kay nodded, he’d noticed that too.
         “Of course it could just be that he froze in panic, and he was ashamed to tell us…”
         “Yes, that is a likely explanation.”
         “But you don’t believe it.” It was not a question. Rodrick knew Kay well enough to read the doubt in his eyes.
         “It IS a likely explanation. But damn it all, if Marissa is in danger, then I will not make assumptions that may later turn out to be wrong. Robbie will stay in our tent, that way Marissa can fuss over him and I can keep an eye on him.”
         “The threat was not just made to Lady Marissa, you are in danger too.”
         “I can take care of myself, you know that. I won’t take unnecessary risks, but Marissa’s safety takes precedence. Understood?”
         “Yes, my Lord.” Rodrick took the question as the order and dismissal it was. Straightening up and thumping his right hand against his left shoulder in salute, he turned sharply and left to attend his duties, leaving Kay to his thoughts.


         Marissa was asleep by the time he got back to the tent. She’d dressed in one of his tunics, and she almost drowned in excess fabric, making her look even smaller than she was. It was dark outside, no torches stayed lit in the still pouring rain, but several candles threw a flickering light on the sleeping figure in his bed.
         He loved watching her, seeing her easy manner with the men in the outfit, her genuine interest in everything and everyone around her. He found himself jealous of everyone she talked to, everyone who commanded her attention but him. Everything about her fascinated him. Her smile, laughter, the softness of her pale skin, her generous curves, the stubborn tilt of her jaw, her silky soft hair, even now fanning across his pillow in a mass of blonde curls.
         How quickly she had become his world.
         His hands tingled with the need to touch her, but the arrival of two soldiers carrying Robbie on a stretcher between them broke the moment. He motioned for them to be quiet, and directed them to the corner, where the stretcher was placed. Robbie began to speak, but Kay interrupted with a shake of his head, pointing at the sleeping form of Marissa. The boy nodded, and settled down to try and sleep.
         Kay quickly stripped and lay down next to Marissa, pulling her into his arms and settled in with his face against her neck. Breathing in her scent, he finally relaxed into sleep.


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