“Hard labor?” His lips did that twitching thing again. “I suppose I’ll need to re-evaluate your duties. I’m sure there’s a suitable job for you somewhere. Perhaps as the court jester? I believe the position is open.”
“That was mean. Besides, if I worked in the castle entertaining the royals, you’d miss my mouth too much. Just admit it.”
“I’ll do no such thing. Come on.” He tipped his head toward the exit. “I’ll show you where you can bathe.”
“Callum mentioned a hot spring,” I said as I rushed to keep pace beside him. “Can I go there? I think I’ve earned a good soak.”
“The spring is a ways up the mountain,” he answered. “By the angry growls of your stomach, I fear you’ll die of hunger before we reach it.”
Insufferable knight. But I inwardly smiled about how in tune he was with me.
He led me to a building beside the barracks. A bath house. There were several deep, steaming tubs. Must’ve been the same magic that kept the water basin warm. It wasn’t as awesome as a hot spring, but the water felt amazing on my sore muscles.
Maddox was the perfect gentleman too, standing outside the door while I washed. He didn’t let anyone inside. Hope budded in my chest, and I shoved it back down. There was no way he was interested in me like that. He was just being nice.
Afterward, I changed into clothes that belonged to one of the other knights. The pants were too long, so I had to roll them at the ends, and they were big around the waist. I pulled the belt as tight as it would go before throwing on the tunic—also big.
Maddox smirked as I exited the room, the steam wafting out from behind me. That smirk soon fell.
“Captain!” Baden rode toward us on horseback and pulled the reins to come to a halt in the grass. Blood trickled from his temple, and his armor was tarnished. “My party was on patrol near the dark wood when we were attacked. The knights are holding them off for now, but the beasts keep coming. They’re heading for Bremloc.”
Maddox instantly sprang into action. He shouted orders to the surrounding knights, and they dropped everything they were doing to obey, gathering weapons and preparing the horses.
I stood in place, heart racing ninety to nothing. Beasts had attacked? How many?
Callum jogged over with two horses in tow, the brown one I’d ridden my first day in the kingdom and the other was the black stallion. Both were saddled.
“Stay here,” Maddox told me. “I’ll return as soon as I can.”
“Be careful.” In the two days I’d been there, I’d gotten to know several of the knights. I didn’t want anything bad happening to any of them. Especially to the captain whose gaze lingered on mine for several more heartbeats.
Maddox lifted his hand but dropped it before making contact with my cheek. His blue eyes burned with determination… and something a bit tender. He then swung up into the saddle and left with Callum. The other knights rode behind them.
And I watched after them, hoping all made it back safe and sound.
***
Waiting was a special kind of torture. Too restless to sit still, I went inside the mess hall. Bowls and plates had been left on the tables, some still half-full, having been abandoned with the news of the attack.
My heart dropped into my stomach. A stomach that no longer had an appetite.
I gathered the dishes from their lunch, scraped out the food, and placed them in the basin to soak before washing them. An hour passed. Then another. I made the beds in the barracks and tidied up the clothes strewn across the floor, busying my hands to distract my mind. Thoughts rolled around in my head anyway. Worries.
The light shifted as the sun made its journey across the sky. They were still gone.
Still not hungry but knowing I needed to eat, I entered the kitchen area and searched the pantry. Learning my way around a medieval-style kitchen was a challenge at first, but I soon got the hang of it. It helped that there were modern touches to most of it. The stove didn’t run on electricity or gas. Instead, logs burned inside that radiated the heat upward. The hearth was also used sometimes, but my clumsy self would probably fall into the fire accidentally, so I’d stick with the stove and oven for now.
Runes powered the oven, allowing it to function just like the ones I knew from my world. I didn’t question it. I was just thankful I could experience a bit of normality again.
Baking helped soothe my mind. I found the ingredients I needed for blueberry muffins—and did my best to substitute ones I didn’t. As I whipped up the batter, I tried to forget everything apart from the steps. But I’d been baking muffins for so long I could do it in my sleep, so there wasn’t much to keep my mind occupied for long. Once the batter was done, I hunted for a muffin pan. Not finding one, I decided to fill skillets with the batter instead and popped them into the oven.
While they baked, I started on dinner.
I chopped carrots, onions, and potatoes before throwing them into a pot and filling it with water. As the vegetables cooked, I seasoned with salt and pepper before smelling some of the other spices in containers and trying a few. I then found leftover rabbit from the night before and added it to the pot. Might as well make enough food for when the others returned.
And theywouldreturn.
Just hopefully in one piece.
