Goodbye to the Knight✔️

33. Why lie?

After those few days, where time blended and my temperature bounced constantly from end to end, I began to recover.

The worst has passed.

My strength slowly grew back with the return of my appetite and healthy colour filled my cheeks once more, however Killian has begun to ask questions now that my life wasn't in any noticeable danger.

Sage gave me the heads up when we went out collecting snow to melt into water in preparation for our journey tomorrow.

"Ell, Killian was asking questions about you again."

I look up from the snow I am gathering, "What did you tell him?"

"Here, pass me the waterskin," I pass it to him, "I told him that you have been pretending to be a man for your own safety,"

I nod, "Okay, that makes sense, its a lot more dangerous to be a women travelling in these times." I suddenly catch Sage's sheepish expression and I raise my eyebrow, "That is not the full story is it? What else did you tell him."

"Well..." He trails off.

"Sage!"

"Okay lassy okay, I'll tell you," He pauses, "So I might've told him you're dressing as man because you're in danger..."

"Go on..." I say, unsure of which direction this is going to go.

"I may have said that your father is in trouble with a dangerous merchant and so he has sent you away for safety — In my defence I had to think on the spot!"

"No, no, it is actually quite a good back story, how did Killian take it?"

"In Killian style, he nodded with a serious expression on his face and said he would talk to you later, hence why I am telling you your new backstory."

"Thank you," I smile at him then with a grin I ball together some snow and throw it at him.

His jaw drops then he lunges to the ground and grabs snow himself, forming three snowballs meanwhile I am also forming my own.

Snow goes flying and laughter gets tossed up with bursts of snow. By the end of our snow fight we have both collapsed onto the ground, snow everywhere, in our hair, down our clothes, and it is melting.

Sage stands up and looks down at me, "I'm very glad you didn't die on us,"

"I couldn't have left you alone with a knight, I'm not that mean, however thank you for taking care of me,"

He offers a hand and I take it, heaving myself up off the cold ground and embracing him.

"Come on, lets head back up to the cave and get dry,"

We grab our things and trek back to the cave, our snow ball fight having taken us a surprisingly far distance away. Because of the cold weather, our fire has been lit both at night and during most of the day so we get hit by a warm wave of air when we reach the back of the cave.

I get a delightful shiver from the warmth, and after putting down the waterskins, I plunk myself down by the fire and take off my cloak, laying it out beside me.

"We are now all set for tomorrow, the snow should be melted by then," I say. Ever since Killian found out about my gender I haven't needed to speak in a deeper voice removing one less stress on my brain.

"Good, we are about a week away from Kirkwall village, there we shall be able to stock up on more food that can't be gathered or hunted whilst we travel." Killian says from his place leaning against the cave wall, slowly carving away at some wood.