Runaway with Faye

Chapter 5

Pressure on her stomach woke Faye up. She opened her eyes to find Jyri's arm over her, and she shoved it away. "Gross."

Jyri sat up, giving her a look that matched her internal disgust. "Same to you," he said, blinking at the rising sun. "You were supposed to wake me up before falling asleep. That's how keeping watch works, you know."

Faye's knife was still gripped in her hand, and she slid it in her pocket, before sitting up. "I fell asleep before I could."

Jyri rubbed his eyes. "We need to get moving, at any rate."

"What about breakfast?"

Jyri reached for his pack. He pulled out last night's bread, and handed it to her.

"Just this?" But she ripped off a piece anyway.

"There should be a lake down there." Jyri nodded towards a cluster of trees as he dug through his pack.

"And?"

"I haven't bathed in two days." He pulled out clothes, and a bar of soap. "Watch our stuff."

Faye sat on a boulder, and took the last bites of bread. She stayed alert, in case it was a ploy to kill her. Her eyes swept through the trees, and she figured he'd have a hard time sneaking up on her in a tree. So she climbed the tallest one, up towards the topmost branch, and didn't stop until she reached a point where the branches would no longer support her weight. Still, she was high enough to see the lake, and a dot that looked like Jyri. So he wasn't lying about bathing. She looked away, towards the path they traveled on the previous night. Two figures off in the horizon caught her eye. It was hard to see who they were, but Faye didn't want to find out.

Her palms scraped against the tree bark as she slid down, and jumped off the bottom branch. She wasted no time sprinting to the lake. And arrived just in time to see Jyri take his final steps out.

Faye slapped her hand over her eyes at the same time Jyri covered himself. "Do you mind?"

"I was in a tree, and I saw two people headed this way," she said, hand still over eyes, wishing the visual away. "It might not be them, but-"

"I'm not taking the chance." Jyri paused, rustling with something. "You can look."

Faye removed her hand. Jyri hadn't bothered drying himself. His pants grew damp from his legs, and he shoved his arms through the sleeves of his shirt, but left it unbuttoned. Scooping up his dirty clothes, he made his way through the trees. Faye ran behind him.

Jyri shoved his clothes in his knapsack, and Faye slung her own on, hopping onto Holger. Holger attempted to bite at her until Jyri climbed on behind.

"A-ha!" Kern's voice echoed through the trees, and he and Roark emerged, on horseback.

"I knew we'd find them!"

Roark's booming voice spooked Holger, and he bolted without command. Faye held onto the estin's collar, wind whipping through her hair.

"Get them!" Kern shouted.

The sound of galloping pounded in her ears, and Jyri urged Holger on.

"Can't you use magic on them?"

"I need my hands." With that thought, Faye tightened her grip, her sweaty palms causing some difficulty. She peered around Jyri's side. The two guards were only a couple feet away. "They're close."

Roark threw something towards her. Faye jerked her head back in. A knife whistled through the air. It thunked into a tree, blade first.

"You idiot! That was our last knife!"