Blood in the Dirt

Chapter 28

"Andrea? Are you okay? You've been in there for like twenty minutes." Andrea snapped out of her self-loving trance at the sound of Emmett's voice. She grabbed the clothes she had been wearing beforehand, and opened the door. Emmett glanced up from something he was looking at on a rack, and his jaw dropped.

"What, what is it?" Her stomach lurched, when a thought crept into her head. Am I not wearing pants?

"N-Nothing." he stammered. She raised an eyebrow and looked down at her outfit. She didn't understand what he was gaping at.

She looked back at him, and made the connection. The outfit that the men wore was loose, and looked stiff, but hers was quite the opposite. She suddenly felt very exposed, and crossed her arms over her chest in the hopes to get him to stop staring.

"I know it isn't the standard issue of armor," Susanna began, "but I reckon since you were the first woman I ever made a suit for, I thought I would experiment a bit. You aren't unhappy with it are you? I think it looks real nice."

Andrea bit the inside of her cheek in embarrassment, and tasted metallic liquid before long.

Emmett noticed she was uneasy so he said, "I think you look prettier than any woman I've ever laid eyes on." Andrea was surprised at what he had said, and her heart sped up. Emmett realized that what he said might have sounded as though he liked her, so he quickly added, "I mean, the outfit doesn't look—"

"See? That outfit will do just fine. Now go on, I thought you two were supposed to be leaving at noon." Emmett nodded, rubbing the nape of his neck, as him and Andrea left the store. "You two be safe out there, ya hear?"

Andrea asked Emmett where they were supposed to meet with Helstan and the others. "Just in the town square I think."

The two grabbed the horses reins, and walked them to the town square. The rest of the group had been waiting for them, and Regus was a little unhappy. "This saddle is making my legs sore."

"Oh grow up." Zain barked.

She looked at the small group before her, and was glad to see Noble Gino smiling at her as she walked up to him. Andrea saluted him. "No, please, I hate when people do that. I may be coming along with you guys, but I am far from being in charge here. Treat me as you would the others."

She nodded her head in response, and did her best to forget that he was  a higher rank than she was. "Sir—"

"Please, just call me Gino."

Andrea started over, "Gino, would you happen to know the others soldiers names?"

"Most of them, yes." he turned around and nodded towards a man with hair as dark as night. "That's Zain. He's very quiet, and I think he's only said two words since he arrived."

"The one speaking with Helstan is Simon right?" Andrea asked as she watched the red-haired man gab Helstan's ear off.

"Si. And the one standing just behind him is Percy." Andrea looked and took note of his basic features. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and a frail-looking build. "The other two are Amir and Noah. Noah is the older one, with the greying hair. He's extremely quiet as well, but seems comfortable talking around Amir."

Andrea couldn't see Amir's face since he was turned the other way. She told herself to make sure she gets a good look at him later.

"I have to say," Gino started, "the only one who seems friendly is Simon."

"I guess this is going to be a long trip then."

"Okay everyone!" Helstan shouted. "Mount up!"

They headed west out of town towards Yinuz. Andrea was fascinated by the small farming town. She had only ever been to Yaron, her home town, or the capital, Yarmol. She loved the smell of fresh air, and while Yaron had lots of it, something about Yinuz's air was just...better.