The Dragon Knight; The Secrets of the Desert

The Secrets of the Desert (Chapter 10)

“Are you sure you are okay now?” Robin asked once more as we were breaking down camp. Lassa was saddling up the two remaining horses, his own and Robin had found mine again. I was sure he was listening but he was pretending not to. Just like he had done last night.

We had sat around the fire together and he just stared off into the flames or had made sure the horses were okay while Robin tended to me. He had washed the Red Fog Water off as best as he could be the more came off the more I found myself falling asleep, finally. But I hadn’t fallen asleep immediately. Robin had been able to get me to talk for a good half hour before I finally drifted off.

I knew Lassa watched us the entire time. I knew he had been watching while Robin poured water over my head. I knew he had been watching Robin burn the wet clothing after I had changed into something dry. I knew he had been watching us as Robin sat down next to me to try and warm me up. And I knew he had been listening to every word that was exchanged.

But I hadn’t cared. What did it matter if he saw Robin and I interact? It didn’t. But I was grateful that he just let us be for the night and didn’t try to make me feel guilty or whatever by telling me how stupid I had been. Instead he had tried to turn the conversation away from it. For that I was very grateful.

“Yes, don’t worry. I’m fine now. A good night sleep can do wonders.” I smiled but it felt so fake on my face. Sure I did feel better but not completely rested yet. Not that it matter. Once I got on Zjarr’s back I would forget all about it and just enjoy the amazing feeling of sitting on her back while she flew high above the trees.

Robin didn’t see right through me, or if he did he didn’t comment on it. He just nodded. “So, are you heading straight to Ädelsten then?”

“No,” I said shaking my head. “I’m going back to Leht first. Priam said he was heading back to the archives soon and I asked if I could come with him. It’s on the way to Rubis anyway. I want to see what happened at the archives. After that I’m going straight for Ädelsten.”

“Are you still planning on stopping at Fullmåne?”

“Yes. A quick scan of the library and then I’ll be on my way to Teixeira. I’ll wait for you there before entering the capital. Or you might have to wait for me if you get there first.”

I grinned and after a handful of seconds where I thought he wouldn’t, he returned my smile. That made me feel slightly better. But then the smile slipped off his face and I could see that he really didn’t like this; us going our separate way, if only for a few days. I walked up to him and grabbed his hands, squeezing them a little before swinging our arms from left to right like my sister would do whenever I was sad.

“Come on, don’t worry. We’ve going our separate ways before. Sure it was only for a couple of days before you caught up with me but at least this time it is planned and you know where I’ll be. And it’s not like the Desert where I’m just going to disappear of the face of the earth.”

I gazed up at his face, trying to keep the hope on my own. He just had to trust me. Sure I didn’t like that we weren’t going on together but it wasn’t like he was going back to the Elfique Forest and never coming out again. And whether or not he was going to take the potion he needed to tell Svadilfari his decision.

“Will you just go with Lassa to Sable Sucé and then go on to the Elfique Forest, get your potion or not, and deliver Sofia’s letter to the Queen as well as Anila and Haizea?” I asked him, knowing that whatever answer I was going to get right now was final.

He stared down at me for a moment, unseeing. He didn’t even seem to notice he had stopped me from swinging our arms. Behind him I could see Lassa looking at us but I paid him no mind. Then Robin closed his eyes and sighed.