Page 121 of Rogue Elves of Ardani

As they walked, Vaara and Aruna struck up a conversation amongst themselves. That left Crow and Novikke with only each other to talk to. Despite Crow’s cheerful mood, things felt as stiff and uncomfortable between them as ever.

“You were in the Queen’s Army?” Crow asked.

Novikke froze mid-sip, her eyes widening in surprise.

Crow raised her eyebrows. “Were you trying to keep it a secret?”

“It’s complicated,” she replied. “What gave me away?”

“That bow you’re carrying is standard issue for soldiers. I’ve seen others walking around with ones just like it.”

Novikke glanced over her shoulder at the unstrung bow sticking out of her bag. “I didn’t think anyone would recognize it.”

“Most people wouldn’t. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

There was another long, uncomfortable silence. A few paces away from them, Vaara and Aruna continued to talk like they were old friends—like there was no discomfort between them, regardless of what had happened with Vaara’s brother.

Crow sighed softly. She was accustomed to using words like weapons. Conversation was a means to an end in her line of work. Lies and manipulation came too easily.

Maybe she’d forgotten how to have a normal, friendly conversation.

“I...” she began, and Novikke looked over at her again, eyes sharp. Crow glanced away. “I was always a little jealous, when I saw other women in army uniforms around the city. I always wondered how they did it.”

“Did what?”

“How they had the ability and the confidence to fight. With their bodies, I mean, not with magic. I could never...”

“You could. Anyone can learn.”

“I couldn’t.”

Novikke gave her a dry look. “If even I can do it, anyone can do it. Really.”

“You’re taller than I am,” Crow pointed out.

“There are many smaller people who can hold their own in a fight.”

“Is that so? What do you think would happen if I tried to fight someone like Vaara without magic? He could just pick me up and throw me over his shoulder.”

Novikke’s eyes narrowed again. “Did that happen?”

“No. It was hypothetical.”

Novikke shot another suspicious glance in Vaara’s direction. The sly smile that Crow frequently saw on her face always disappeared when she looked at Vaara. “If he tried to pick you up, you could twist out of his grip like this, grab his arm and put your back to him, then throw him to the ground.” She demonstrated a complicated looking maneuver.

Crow remained skeptical. “And then what?”

“Run away very quickly, obviously.”

Crow laughed.

By the time they were halfway back to Valtos, all the bottles were nearly empty. Novikke and Crow in particular were smiling and laughing more and more often as they walked on. The wine eased the tension in the air. Conversation began to flow more easily.

It was probably just a coincidence, and nothing at all to do with the wine, that Crow kept stumbling over invisible obstacles. More than once, something unexpectedly caught her foot, and she would have fallen if Vaara hadn’t been there to catch her arm.

As they neared the city, farmsteads and small clusters of houses started to appear on the hills around them. If it hadn’t still been well before dawn, Crow might have worried about coming across a stray farmer or traveler on the road.

They came to the top of a hill that was crisscrossed by paths left by something being dragged across the snow—from children sledding down the hills, Crow realized.

---