The Thief and Prince

Chapter 13: The Outpost

The water is cool, extinguishing my thirst as I gulp it down before handing it back to him. Out of the ten brutes, I'd have to say he was the kindest of them all. No, not kind, perhaps civil is a better word for it. He's not aggressive towards us when retrieving us from the wagon—as others are still snatching us by whatever they can grab first. He also makes sure to give us our fill of water unlike one man who only gives us a sip before yanking the flask from our hands and emptying it at our feet in spite.

As he hands the large metal canteen to Amiri, the men who have just dismounted begin to strip, flinging their clothes off and dropping them in piles.

My head jerks back and I immediately avert my eyes, though the sight of their naked bodies are still fresh in my mind. Darko gives a deep chuckle, shaking his head, "You act as if you've never seen a man naked before."

Furrowing my brows, I decide to ignore his jab, "I suppose you all are bathing?"

"Aye," he says before holding up the now-empty flask and giving it a slight shake, "And filling up again."

"I don't suppose we can bathe, can we?" Crispin then suddenly asks. I look him over, noticing the grime that has built up over our week of travels, remembering the last bath we took was at the inn in Farnmoss. I suppose as a prince he's never had to go this long without bathing and I fight the urge to smirk at my friend. To be fair though, he is still covered in his own dried blood from our first night which has now left parts of both is face and chest crusty.

Darko looks at him and laughs, "Sorry lad. Only the women," he says. We then walk down to the river bend where the men have since begun to bathe. "Up against the tree you two," he instructs, looking at Crispin and Amiri. The two share a glance and Amiri rolls his eyes as they lean against the trunk, allowing Darko to tie them to its base.

When he's done, he turns around to Laria and I and removes our bounds. The moment the ropes slide off I immediately massage the tender skin around my wrists that has been rubbed raw. It's the first time since our capture that they have not been knotted together and I sigh in relief, twisting my wrists in circular motions for reprieve.

"Jasper said you two need to wash up," he says, glancing at his naked comrades that splash around in the river, "I suggest you go upstream. He'll send someone for you in twenty minutes and he said if you run off, he'll kill your two friends," Darko says, pointing behind him with his thumb.

"We don't need to do anything," Laria states, jutting out her chin in defiance. Out of the four of us, she's had the most difficulty doing what we are told.

Darko sighs and rubs his temple with his wide fingers, dirt cakes his nails and it's obvious he wishes to bathe as well. "Look woman, I'm just passing along the message. I could care less what you do. I'm going to join the others and Jasper has given you twenty minutes to wash. I suggest you do so now because you won't get the chance for a while," he huffs before slipping off his boots and shirt.

"Come on, Laria," I mutter, taking her hand and leading her away. We walk a good distance upstream and give Crispin and Amiri a backwards glance, assuring they are still okay. They watch us with concerned eyes and I see their mouths moving as they share words.

Turning back, we continue walking until we are satisfied with our distance and veer to the right onto the bank. The men are small figures and I know we have probably wasted a lot of our time walking. We then quickly strip off our clothes and wade out into the water, the cool water lapping at my ankles.

Wading out further, we find a dip to where we are submerged to our hips and bend down so that the water reaches our chest. We are silent as we wash, taking advantage of the small moment of freedom we have. Scrubbing ourselves as clean as we can, we take the last few moments to relax.