Page 48 of Rhaz's Redemption
“The walls are to vertical and the moss covering them makes them too slick to climb.”
“I figured that might be the case,” she commented without looking my way.
“I’ll find another solution though,” I promised. “There are a lot of reeds and other strong plants in the ravine. I might be able to make a rope long enough to hook around a tree and then we can climb out of here that way.”
“That sounds promising,” she finally turned around and met my gaze. “Let me know if I can help. I want to get out of here as much as you do.”
“Of course,” I nodded. Her words were filled with ice and her gaze was empty. The thought of being trapped here with Beatrice wasn’t unpleasant for me. It was actually a bit of adream come true, but I got the feeling she didn’t feel the same way.
I left the cabin and went searching for hearty plants to make a rope with and was pleased to find a cluster of raka leaves along with plenty of reeds. I harvested the leaves and let them dry out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon as I worked on weaving the reeds together into a strong rope that could hold us both.
For lunch we ate some of the rations in Beatrice’s pack and for dinner I cooked two small forest creatures that I’d found in a nearby burrow.
Beatrice remained quiet for the rest of the day despite my efforts to draw her out into conversation.
“Did I miss anything while I was gone?” I asked as we sat across from each other inside the cabin in front of the fire place.
“No,” she shook her head. “Not much happened.”
“I see,” I commented.
A long silence fell between us as we ate and I decided to comment on our lack of firewood just to make Beatrice aware of our situation.
“We won’t be able to burn much wood while we’re out here. The number of trees in this ravine are few, and I don’t want to cut down the fruit trees unless we have to.”
Beatrice looked up from her dinner then then gazed into the fire. “I’m assuming that means we won’t be able to burn wood at night.”
“Unfortunatly yes,” I confirmed.
She nodded to herself then got up and left the cabin. She returned a short time later with three large rocks and placed them onto the fire. I wasn’t sure what they were for, but I assumed Beatrice had her reasons.
“Um,” I began again while running my hand through my hair. “We could share a bed at night so you can stay warm.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Her comment was quick and direct. She was not interested in sharing a bed with me, and I didn’t blame her. I would do as she wished, but if she started shivering in the night I might have to sleep near her either way. We wouldn’t share furs, but I’d find a way to keep her warm.
After dinner I found a basket of furs and pulled a few out for myself. Beatrice had two furs in her pack and there were still five in the basket. So I was satisfied that she’d have enough to be comfortable.
I pushed her bed closer to the fire so she’d stay as warm as possible for as long as possible, and I set up my furs close to the fire as well.
Once that was done I went to check on the rake leaves I’d found earlier. They were sufficiently dried out by now, so I brought them in and set them in front of Beatrice who was sitting by the window and looking out at the stars.
“I found these while looking for reeds to make rope with.”
Beatrice traced the top leaf light with her finger then looked up at me with a bewildered expression on her face.
I wasn’t used to being so direct. Even with my brother shifters I tended to to keep to myself. Should say more?
“They’re dry.” I added, but her expression didn’t change.
“Oh, here’s a writing stone. I don’t think it’ll work as well as the ones near the mountain, but it was the darkest one I could find in the ravine.”
I turned her hand over and placed the stone in her palm, but she just kept looking up at me as if she were just as at loss for words as I was.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said in nearly a whisper.
“I know.” Now it was my turn to be confused. Why wouldn’t I collect raka leaves for her? This was Beatrice, the female who held my heart. The beautiful human female who’d I’d fallen for since the moment I first laid eyes on her.
She closed her fist over the writing stone and looked down at the leaves. “Thank you,” she whispered.
