The Tale of The Frenzied Maiden and The Knight of The Three Fingers

Chapter 8

Disa woke up for no particular reason. It was still in the middle of the night, no sound had alerted her senses and there was nothing distressing about the calm darkness around her. She had been sleeping deeply, dreamlessly, a feat she had not enjoyed since before the departure to this blighted Island. Lingering on the border of consciousness she was a passive observer to the world around her, unable to interact yet aware of its events. She was still lying on her side, hands tucked under her cheek, face comfortably nestled in the nape of the knight's neck whose warmth she had instinctively sought. The other woman was holding her close, arms around her upper back, chin resting against her tousled curls. The sensation was wonderful, and would she only remember it as a mere dream at dawn she would still cherish it dearly. She was drifting off anew as she drowsily noticed a certain tensity in the knight's embrace, and as she was on the very verge of slumber she found herself to hear her snivel quietly against her hair. 'Linnae', she thought to herself, 'Linnae, are you weeping?'

She was yet again dormant.

Disa watched her partner clean her gear in the silent, almost invisible drizzle of the early morning haze. She always failed to notice her rising. Joining her on the deck crudely shielded by a wooden roof, she saw that the knight's evident fatigue had easened overnight, albeit pale streaks on her cheeks told the truth of her nightly sorrow. Seized with empathy and endearment, the physician did still not try to address it. She thought of last night, of how she had never before been so clueless of how to declare her infatuation. Such matters had never before been particularly difficult for the honest, straightforward woman. Neither had she before been so afraid of rejection.

Her want for this woman had turned far more profound than the carnal desire she had initially been struck with; and although that was an aspect of superficiality that could not be denied, a sense of true devotion had begun to blossom underneath. Furthermore, among the obvious, ordinary reasons for liking, there was... Something else, something that was far more difficult to make sense of, a persistent notion that no matter what, there was some particular need for the two of them to be together, something perfectly logical, and for some reason time was running out. Needless to go over the multitude of aspects in her head yet again, as she had done countless of times before, Disa stated these irrefutable facts until she saw that the other woman's gaze was resting on her and a simper overtook her mulling expression. 'Hey', she said rather sheepishly. 'Hey.' The knight's work came to a halt. The duo had to huddle to escape the raindrops, both unusually keen on not making this particular conversation ebb out into nothing. This gladdened the physician.

'I slept well tonight. I mean, for the most part...' Unsure about to what the knight referred specifically, as she had not yet acknowledged the very faint remainder of tears and was likely not going to do so, Disa could not inquire before she quickly added, 'thank you... For that.' 'Anytime', the physician replied with what must have been a rather stupid grin, meant to be a pleasant smile. 'Err. Anyway, what's today's plan?' As if she had directly asked the sky itself it rumbled deafeningly just once before the henceforth gentle haze shifted into a proper downpour. 'I guess my question answered itself, huh.' Disa stated dismayingly before hurrying to seek shelter in a part of the shed where its low ceiling was properly sealed.

The sudden opportunity to spend an entire day in complete peace with Linnae was as much a blessing as it was, a curse would be all too unfair to call it, but a challenge nonetheless. Flustered beyond all good sense from last night's reveries, she followed the knight's good example and decided to focus diligently on various practical chores. First, they thoroughly tended to every piece of the knight's armour and weaponry, before proceeding to go through every piece of equipment and ration from Moonveil's saddlebags. Due to Linnae's keen accuracy, she had not yet spent even a fifth of her unique collapsible hunting bow's arrows, and so they had managed to stock up on neatly packaged salt-preserved meat as well as a rich variation of edible roots and herbs. From this, Disa managed to cook a surprisingly enjoyable stew. Mid-dinner, her companion suddenly addressed another matter that it was no doubt that she had carefully deliberated before doing so.