The Dragon Bond: Heirs of Lyra

Chapter 62

Those words sounded so strange coming from Shade's mouth. He was proud of her? After all she did to him, nearly killing him, and injuring his arm?

Shade helped the Princess up. She held onto his hand, letting her own slide to where she cut him. "We need to clean that up." Though the cut was superficial, she worried about infection.

Fortunately Shade seemed prepared for anything. His bags were packed well with supplies, provisions, and weapons. He cleaned his wound and wrapped it on his own, Elysia watching from her position on a tree stump.

It was funny, she already felt so at ease with him here. His presence gave her hope. Hope that they would make it to Bacciballum and gain an alliance with them. She knew she was safe now. Shade wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. She needn't worry about whether or not she was traveling in the right direction, or if she would have food to eat, or a safe place to rest. Safety was a good feeling and one she hadn't felt in a while. Part of her wanted to embrace Shade for it, though she knew he would loathe the gesture.

As they travelled on, Elysia kept her horse close to Shade's. She took comfort in his proximity and it was nice to have another person around--even if they didn't talk much. With time she allowed her gaze to linger on him, observing the way he focused on his surroundings. His posture was relaxed, but Elysia could tell his senses were sharp. The slightest disturbance and he would know.

Eventually he pulled his horse to the side and stopped. "We can rest here for a few hours."

She tied her horse up, gave it some food, then joined Shade on the ground where he was. His back was resting against a tree, his hands busy preparing a snack for them. He tore off a piece of jerky and handed it to her.

She ate it slowly, taking a seat to his right. They shared their snack in silence. Afterwards, he handed her a flask with water and she drank it sparingly before returning it.

"Try to sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to leave."

Grabbing her extra cloak from her saddle bag, she re-joined Shade on the ground.

"That's all you brought?" He was less than impressed. "How have you been staying warm at night?"

She shrugged, wrapping the cloak around her shoulders. "It hasn't been comfortable." She could recall those cold, lonely nights all too well. It had been hard enough to fall asleep from the chill, but even harder for the fear someone may attack her in the night. At least with Shade, she had no worries of that. 

Her guardian sighed, getting up and walking over to his own horse. He pulled out a thick, fleece blanket and tossed it to her.

"Thank you." His continued kindness was shocking her. Maybe he truly was impressed with her? Here she had thought he would be furious.

This was a side of him she had never seen before. They had journeyed together before--endured the harsh conditions of the caves to Sagrada--but this was different. There was a mutual respect between them now. The Princess had managed to successfully travel thus far into enemy land; something no one had thought possible. Perhaps Shade was finally witnessing her strengths.

Elysia tried getting comfortable and falling asleep. Despite having a warm blanket, she was struggling to rest her aching body. The ground was hard; Shade hadn't chosen a particularly comfortable location. Not that there were many of those in a forest...

Bravely, she scooted over to where Shade was resting, his upper body relaxed against a tree. Keeping her eyes low, she quietly shifted until she was close to him, then leaned against his body.

The moment they touched, Shade asked, "What are you doing?" There was no edge to his voice, no emotion either. He didn't resist or lean away. She took that as a sign to continue.