War Across Alturia[Private]

[Roche_777]

Ulric could see the effort and strain in the woman's movements. It would be enough of a struggle to get her out in a healthy condition, but her present state would surely make travel slow and require his attentiveness and patience. He couldn't wait to put this whole thing behind him, and return to his normal life. Well, normal for a man who lives alone, and constantly travels the countryside. Life was better that way though, you didn't have to worry about losing anyone.

"Let's get going then," Ulric turned and led Adelaine deeper into the Wilds. The creek was a short walk, normally just few minutes, but the girl's injuries stretched it to ten. He attempted to help her where it was more uneven or unstable. Ulric wasn't use to having someone rely on his care, and it was a strange yet satisfying feeling. He could hear the creek as they drew closer.

"We should put your arm in a sling when we get back to camp." Ulric stated, as the came even closer to the creek. It was now just a few steps away. Ulric pointed to a large tree six paces upstream. "I'll be behind that tree. If anything happens just howler." Ulric pulled his hood over his head, and took a seat near the base of the aforementioned tree. He couldn't help but have thoughts of what was to transpire behind him, but wasn't planning to make any attempts at peeking.

He could hear the disturbance of the water as a squirrel played in the trees above. He needed to make plans for the coming trip.. Routes they would take, what places they would stop, and provisions and expenses. If there were more men coming after Adelaine, he could have another fight on his hands. He needed move accordingly and not draw attention to themselves. He needed to know where they were going first. He didn't believe everything the girl had told him. Why would someone pay that much to have a dutchess' daughter hauled across the border? A ransom seemed unlikely. People who needed money ransomed people, not someone with loads of gold to pay off others. He would get the truth somehow.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Kaia watched him as he led her to the creek. To keep from paying too much attention to the pain that came with every step, she payed attention to her new travel guide. He seemed like he'd been alone for awhile now. Was he lonely? Is that why he'd been so kind and willing to bring her home? Ulric seemed pretty honest but she could never be sure of when to trust him. She couldn't leave on her own after all. She'd never make it home alive. Occasionally, there'd be a hill or a large log he'd have to hold her right elbow and help her with, but for the most part it was a quiet trek, however slow because of her injuries. She didn't want her arm to keep swinging limply because it hurt so much, so she stepped lightly, walked slowly.
She was glad he offered to put her arm in a sling so she nodded and smiled thankfully. She could hear the creek a few paces away and when she could see it flowing clearly, Ulric pointed out where he would stay.
"Okay. Thank you."
she took a deep breath and headed for the small river. Before she'd been kidnapped she'd never bathed in a creek before, but now she was very eager to do so. She had missed clean water and now that she had it, she didn't care what temperature it was. Looking back once to check if he was watching which he wasn't, she took a little while to take off her dress, leather shoes and underwear. Goosebumps rose along her bare flesh and she whimpered under her breathe when she had to move her shoulder to take everything off. Her flesh was marred with bruises and small cuts when it was normally pure and light. She sighed and stepped into the creek, shivering until she got used to the temperature before turning back to pull her dress closer to the creek enough so that the hem would soak. The rest of it was relatively clean and she'd rather have it dry so she only washed the muddy torn bottom of it.

After that, she washed herself as thoroughly as she could, sinking down into the water to soak her dark hair. Under the water, she pretended she was part of it, just drifting down forever until she woke up surrounded by her little family smiling at her in the castle. It was peaceful there, where she couldn't hear much or see anything. She kind of wished she could stay for awhile, but her need for air grew urgent so she let herself stand, back turned toward the tree he stayed behind. She wrung out her hair and squeezed it over her right shoulder. It was annoying with only one usable arm, but she did so nonetheless, relishing in the feel of being clean. She had quite missed it.

 

[Roche_777]

Ulric hummed tunes he had learned from William, and watched the forest move with life all around. The branches swayed in the breeze, leaves rustling against each other. He could hear the birds chirp and sing all around, and way off to the right a couple deer were grazing behind some bushes. Behind him the creek flowed smooth, only a small rush heard as it ran over some bare roots. Adelaine was taking her sweet time with her bath, but what else could he do but wait. She was probably tending to her injuries, and it would be rude to rush her. Not like they were gaining any ground today as it were.

The sounds all around were calming, and Ulric adjusted into a more relax position. He was tired from the mornings escapades, and could feel his consciousness being pulled away by the forest lullaby. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick nap while the noble lady had her bath. He let go, allowing sleep to come over him. Head rested against the tree, hood pulled down over his face, and sitting on a pile of needles was comfortable as any bed for the ranger. He didn't dream, simply slipped into the limbo of sleep.

 

[Ravenbelle]

When Kaia finished, she had nothing to dry herself with so she stepped out and grew covered in goosebumps, shivering in the cold even when she pulled on all of her clothes and shoes. It stuck to her in some places and her thick hair dripped and made sure she'd stay cold for awhile. Using her walking stick, she trembled up the bank and toward the tree Ulric said he would stay behind. Sure enough, he was still there thank goodness, but he was asleep. He looked tired and she knew why. It had been quite the morning for him and maybe he hasn't slept since he saved her. Kaia didn't want to wake him...he looked so peaceful, but she didn't want to freeze either. So, she walked over to his other side and sat beside him, one arm wrapped around herself as she stared up at the sunlight filtering through the trees. She longed to be one of the birds flitting in the trees. No responsibility or care or worry. Flying off into the distance where things are okay. She closed her eyes, recalled a soft tune she used to hear before falling asleep...then she hummed a lullaby to distract herself from the cold.
The young princess leaned against the tree beside Ulric, lost in little snippets of memory from when her mother was alive.

Laughing in the garden catching little bugs made of light....drawing on the parchment daddy uses to write letters...listening to the harp when mommy plays with her long fingers and soft hands...

She was very careful about her movements, for waking him would be unkind, especially after all he's done for her. But she was off in dreamland now, unaware of the world around her and she started sliding closer to his shoulder until they touched. It wasn't her left shoulder and her half-asleep shivering body pressed closer to the warmth until she was almost humming under her breath laying on his shoulder.

 

[Roche_777]

Ulric's eyes flickered open, his mind taking stock of the world around him, comprehending it. He noticed his left side was weighted down. His turned his gazed to see that the foreign body was Adelaine. She had for whatever reason slept against him, and Ulric was not sure of what to do in this situation. For several minutes he remained in his place still as possible, but she showed no signs of waking. He gently nudged her the other direction until she stirred and adjusted her position. No longer supporting her weight, the ranger stood and stretched his body. He looked upon the girls sleeping face, now clean of the blood and dirt from earlier. There were a few scrapes and bruises, but she was still beautiful. Ulric averted his gaze, checking the position of the sun. It had been a couple hours since the left camp, but there was still plenty of daylight.

"Hey, its time to wake up." She didn't even twitch. Ulric moved close and gently shook her to rouse her. "Hey, it time to head back to camp." Ulric stepped back, and waited for the girl to properly wake up. He realized that his food supply would be tapped by morning if he didn't find something to bolster the supply. When Adelaine was ready he led her back to camp, once again helping her in the areas that were difficult to navigate. He didn't say anything though, his attention in the trees above. He had removed his bow and an arrow from his back, and grasped them in his left hand. he heard the sharp call of a bird from the branches. He motion his companion to halt and pressed his index finger to his lips. Ulric crept in the direction the noise was made. He heard it again, and his ears led his eyes to the target. A pheasant was perched in the canopy. Roche slowly prepared his shot, and trained his focus onto the bird. Before the bird could react to the twang of the bow, it was on the ground impaled. He retrieved the bird, and retrieved the girl.

Back at camp, Ulric dropped his things, and began to prepare the bird for cooking. He opted to skin rather then feather it, as it took less time. Once he had it cleaned and skewered, and the fire burning, he left it too cook. He went to his saddle bag and a his extra shirt. "Come on, let's get that arm tied up." Ulric kneeld by Adelaine's side, and tied her left arm up to her chest high enough to take the weight off her shoulder. "There you go." Looking up at Adelaine, he became uncomfortable being so close.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Kaia hadn't slept so peacefully in so long that it took her an uncharacteristically long time to awake when Ulric asked her to. When he nudged her though, she yawned and nodded, taking a moment to stand up. She felt much better than before her bath and though she still needed to lean on something to keep her steady, she was't all that dizzy anymore, especially when he continued to help her over the more difficult terrain. The walk was silent and she expected as much. One would grow quiet when living alone. How long had it been since this ranger had a companion that could speak? A few times she remembered how she had accidentally fallen asleep against him, and the last time she opened her mouth to apologize, but he immediately stopped her still and gestured to be quiet before notching an arrow.

Kaia's eyes widened as she followed his line of sight, spying a pheasant in the trees before he killed it. She winced when it hit the ground and followed with her head down all the way to camp.She had never seen anyone kill an innocent creature before. It was just...shot, without having done anything to deserve it. In an instant, just gone. Kind of like how she had been kidnapped so suddenly. There one minute, gone the next.
She never liked the idea of killing other species for food. She'd eaten some meat before, one special occasions, but on her dinner plate, there was usually anything but meat. So when the par returned to camp, she was unprepared for Ulric's casual preparation of the dead bird for food. It ruined any appetite she might've had, she kept her eyes down and tried to ignore the sounds, instead distracting herself with the horse, whom Ulric had not yet told her the name of. A few times, she decided to test out her range of motion, but right no it was basically zero, unless she wanted to suffer constant agony. Ulric probably saw, so as soon as what was left of the pheasant was on the fire, he kneeled in front of her and used a bit of his extra shirt to tie her arm close to her chest. The way he moved it hurt enough to make her grit her teeth and hiss a few times, but it was over quickly and would surely feel better soon.

"T-thank you." She smiled tentatively, but sincerely, unable to keep her gaze away from his eyes sparkling in the firelight for a moment.