"Valerie, what are you doing?" Jonathan called back.
"She doesn't want to go," Valerie said.
"What do you mean, she doesn't want to go?" He turned Perry around and stopped to look at her.
Valerie's filly was walking as slow as it seemed possible. Which only served to make Valerie's foul mood even fouler.
"As in she doesn't want to move faster than this." Valerie held her arms out.
"Maybe if you weren't so crotchety, she'd be in a better mood," Jonathan said.
"Maybe if you weren't so happy-go-lucky, I'd be in a better mood."
"What in blazes does that mean?"
"Just shut up."
"Are you going to name her?"
"I'll get around to it," she snapped.
"Valerie, we'll find the wizard. Old Man Peterson only said it was the next lot of mountain ranges," Jonathan said. Valerie's horse had finally made it to Perry's side. They nuzzled one another.
Valerie scoffed. "You'd think if she liked him so much, she'd want to walk near him."
Jonathan rolled his eyes and Valerie scowled at him.
"Stop giving her such a hard time, Val," Jonathan said as Perry moved off again. "She seemed fine last week."
Valerie wanted to tell him that last week she had not been wandering around with images of him and Fina remnant from her dreams. The night before, she had dreamt of them hugging and laughing. Dream-Fina had seemed quite happy to ignore Valerie no matter how nice she had been. It had made her grumpy since she woke, not helped by the fact they were still halfway through their trek to the valley at the base of both mountains.
"I don't know what's wrong with you today, Val. But it'd be nice if you sorted yourself out before we get to the next town."
"Why? I could just be a really grumpy trader," she said, under her breath.
"I heard that."
She grumbled some more, not helped by the fact that her horse slowed down again.
"Just find her a name. I'm sure she'll feel better then," Jonathan said.
"Why couldn't Mr Peterson name her?"
"Stop whining and looking for the easy road out."
"If I chose the easy road, I would never have left home in the first place!"
Jonathan nodded. "I suppose so, yes. So naming your horse should not be too much of a challenge, then." He whistled merrily and said no more.
Valerie spent the rest of the day wondering what to call her. She had spent the last week calling her 'you' and 'girl' and 'horse'. She supposed if someone did the same with her for over a week, she would be pretty contrary too.
She patted the horse's neck. "I'll find you a name soon," she said softly.
The horse whinnied in response and her pace seemed to pick up. Soon, Valerie and her horse were trotting along pleasantly beside Jonathan and Perry. And thankfully, they stayed that way until they stopped for the night.
The stopped in a small glade. Trees covered the distance between them and the road, but they were not too far away that they would not hear people passing, nor too close that Jonathan could not position their fire out of sight of any passers-by.
The night before, Jonathan had finally agreed to let her help put their shelter up. Valerie was looking forward to helping again, finally feeling useful again. She started to untie the bag the shelter went in but Jonathan shook his head.
"We won't need that tonight. I'll just get a fire going and we can lie beside it."
Valerie nodded, showing she understood, and put the bag away again.
She moved off, going to look for wood.
"It's all right, I can manage. Stay here with the horses." He left, heading away from the road.
Valerie shrugged and sat on a log to wait for him.
A few minutes went by and she noticed that the horses looked uneasy. She checked her side, her blade was still there, safe – though why it would not have been, she did not know.
A few more minutes went by and the wind picked up. The trees rustled and Valerie's hair blew around her face. She re-plaited it and thought about getting the cookware out for when Jonathan returned.
She heard a noise, like a giant cracking, and looked toward the trees again. They seemed to be moving a lot for the wind strength, according to the little Valerie knew. She watched a bit longer, but all seemed fine.
She had turned back to the saddlebags when she heard Jonathan yelling, "Valerie!"
Valerie laughed to see him, running comically with a bundle of sticks in his arms, leaping over obstacles. The laughter died as she saw the combination of terror, concern and preparation his face displayed. As he got closer, he dropped the sticks, drew his sword and dagger, and spun around to face the way from which he had come. Valerie, still unsure what was happening, drew her sword as well and stood beside him.
"What's–" Valerie was cut off by the answer to her question barrelling through the last of the trees into the glade. "Trolls," she whispered, all humour now gone.
There were two of them, which was not surprising given they usually travelled in pairs. They seemed smaller than the books Valerie had read, but they were still huge. They were at least twice the size of Jonathan, about the size of a two-storey house. They were heavy set, with knobbly skin the colour of mossy boulders. Their faces were squashed and they had little black, beady eyes. One had a small tuft of green hair sticking out from its head. Their bodies were surprisingly in proportion, Valerie had thought they were more squat with arms that easily raked the floor as they passed. Each troll was holding a wooden club. Valerie could not tell if they were male or female. Were there even female trolls?
She gulped and took an involuntary step backward.
"Stay by my side, no matter what," Jonathan said, positioning himself slightly in front of her as the trolls advance, grinning lopsidedly.
"What if–?"
"No matter–"
Jonathan did not finish his sentence as a club swung, lightning fast, hit him in the stomach and threw him backwards. He slammed into a tree and slid down it. He did not move and Valerie felt panic welling up inside. Her breathing became faster and her heart pounded. Valerie had trained to fight knights, not trolls. She forced herself to take deep breaths as she watched her opponents.
The trolls grinned at Valerie, but there was nothing very pleasant in their faces. Valerie grimaced as the troll on the left swung its club back. She waited for what she hoped would be the right moment and ducked, feeling the air rush past her as the club was swung over her head. Valerie rolled to the side, standing up again. She looked around cautiously. The second swing was a lot slower than the first and she was wary about what would come next.
She heard panting and saw Jonathan slouch into her peripheral vision.
"You did better than me, is seems," he wheezed.
"Marginally. The attack was much slower."
Jonathan nodded, just getting his blade into position to parry another swing from the troll. He grunted, jumping back and shaking his arms out.
Valerie was then kept busy with her own troll. They were much more nimble on their feet than their size implied. Valerie, needing a break, ran away from the troll, hoping to get some distance and some time to think.
However, before she had had a chance to turn around, a shadow passed over Valerie and the troll landed heavily in front of her.
She yelled in frustration, which seemed to serve only to excite the troll more. It smiled widely, showing stubby teeth that were a slightly lighter shade than Valerie had expected. Either trolls had magnificent teeth, or oral hygiene was very important to them.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the club swung down. She threw her blade up over her head, flat. The club smashed down and the flat of her sword hit her head, but with a lot less impact that the club alone would have. Pain shot through her arms and head.
Princess! she heard Ivo in her mind. She would have berated his use of her title, but she did not really have time.
She grunted and he must have taken that as some kind of reply.
Are you okay? Where are you? Can we help? His words flowed like a barrage, with barely any pause between them.
I would be if you stopped distracting me! she replied.
What is it?
Trolls. Hush. Talk later.
She felt like she gave him a mental shove and there was blessed silence in her head again. The troll was just lifting its club up again, so the exchange must have lasted mere seconds. Valerie rolled out from under it. She felt air push down on her and rolled the other way, narrowly avoiding the club as it hit the ground. Dust flew at Valerie and she shut her eyes quickly. She took a moment to look for Jonathan.
He looked quite impressive for a man who had just flown into a tree. He almost danced nimbly around the other troll. Green liquid oozed from the troll's leg and Valerie assumed Jonathan had at least landed one blow. Jonathan on the other hand was bleeding quite well from a few cuts of his own. His shirt had a great red patch on his stomach and Valerie feared his wound had opened again.
She had very little time to worry about Jonathan as she tried to keep herself alive.
She spent more time rolling around on the floor, trying to avoid the troll's club, than she did blocking or attacking. Her clothes were filthy and she could feel dust in her eyes, nose and mouth. She spat, trying to clean her mouth out as best she could. She thought it would be really nice if they could take a drink break, but she did not think the troll would be amenable to that plan.
She heard a victory shout from Jonathan and a crash. Both she and the other troll turned around and saw its companion was lying face down in the dirt. Jonathan stood with his arms raised above his head. When he saw them looking at him, he dropped his hands and began to advance on the remaining troll.
Valerie's troll roared. Rancid breath flowed over her and she gagged a little.
So much for oral hygiene, she thought.
With Jonathan's help, she was able to spend less time avoiding the troll's blows and more time trying to land her own. Between them, they seemed to be making headway. While one was dodging, the other could hit. The troll, though, was much madder now its fellow was down. Valerie had the impression that the trolls had been playing with them before, but now this one meant business. Its blows were faster, its ability to lash out at one of them and then block a blow from the other increased.
Valerie's arms felt like they were ready to fall off, and her body was bruised all over from throwing herself on the ground so often, but she knew she could not give up. The troll swung again at Jonathan and Valerie timed her hit perfectly; it hit the troll right in the side, drawing green, sticky blood. Valerie paused for a moment, both elated and surprised.
But that one moment was all the troll needed. Valerie felt a great pressure in her stomach and felt herself lifted off the ground. Pain blossomed everywhere as she flew backwards. She hit the ground, feeling fine for a fraction of a second, then blacked out as soon as her right temple smacked down on the dirt.
Valerie heard noises before her eyes opened. She heard Jonathan muttering to himself. She heard the crackle of a fire. The horses whinnied and snorted softly. She heard wind through the trees.
There was a slight chill to the air, but it felt nice against the pain that felt like it surrounded her body. Her head throbbed, her face was itchy, her mouth was dry and she felt drained. She felt like she could not move if she tried. Which was not all that bad given she had no desire to try right now.
She smelled the fire as well, and something cooking on it. Her stomach rumbled appreciatively. That was until the thought crossed her mind that it could be roasted troll, then it lurched rather uncomfortably. She smelled herself too, and that was none too pleasant.
She breathed deeply, regardless, trying to steady her racing heart.
"Val?" Jonathan's voice was beside her.
"Mmm..." she said, opening her eyes slowly.
Her vision was fuzzy, like she was looking through fog. She blinked a few times, but had trouble getting rid of the two Jonathans who seemed to dance above her head. Behind the Jonathans, it was night.
"How are you feeling?"
She felt herself being pulled into a sitting position and grimaced against the pain. She blinked some more and her vision focussed a bit better.
Jonathan held a mug up to her lips and she drank a little. It may have only been water, but it was the sweetest water she had ever tasted. Dirt and grit included. Jonathan draped a rug around her shoulders and sat in front of her, peering into her face intently.
"Your father is really going to kill me after this," he said.
She tried to speak, but only coughed. She took another sip of the water and tried again. "Why now?"
"You may not have come out of that fight as pristine as you once were, Val," he replied. His face had such a show of concern on it that Valerie truly worried what had happened to her.
"Do I still have all my arms and legs?"
"Yes."
"Then, I'm sure it's fine," she said, her eyes closing.
"You were hoping for a husband who liked you beyond your station and looks, yes?"
Her eyes snapped open. "Why?"
Jonathan said nothing, but looked at her guiltily.
"Why, Jon?"
He rubbed his hand together.
"Jonathan?"
"Valerie."
"What is it?"
He took a deep breath, very slowly. "I think you're going to have a scar, Val."
"A scar. That's it?"
He nodded.
"Where?"
"Next to your right eye."
Now he had mentioned it, Valerie could feel something on her face at her right temple. She reached up gingerly, not sure what she was going to find, and touched a bandage.
"I've done what I can. Hugh's always told me I stitch well, so if there's a chance it won't scar..."
"God, Jonathan. If you could be more vain! There's no need for me to be at all, you're covering it for both of us."
"Val, I..."
"It's okay, Jon. I'm teasing." She reached forward and he took her hand. She squeezed it as best she could, but worried it was so pitiful he would not feel it. He must have, because he squeezed back gently. "Thank you for doing your best. However I come out of it, I'm sure I'll still look like me. At least I'll be safe from pompous twats like Wilmont. Now, my outsides might better reflect my insides."
Jonathan smiled sadly and nodded. He leant forward, kissed her hand and stood up.
"Are you hungry?" he asked. She nodded. "I'll get you something to eat."
"As long as it's not roast troll," she said.
His frown vanished in a split second, replaced with a smile. He snorted. "No, it's not roast troll, Val."
He sat beside her and helped her eat when her arms gave way. She had no idea what it was, but it was delicious. She thought that at that point, even roast troll would be delicious. Every so often, he held the mug to her lips and she drank. When her eyes started to droop again, he let her lean against him and held her while she dozed fitfully.
She could not seem to sleep for longer than a few moments at a time. Something would hurt or itch and she would wake. She tried lying flat again, but that was even more uncomfortable, so she nestled herself back in Jonathan's arms and got what sleep she could.
Eventually, the sun came up. Valerie could hear Jonathan snoring softly, so she sat and watched the remains of the fire. She could see they were still in the same glade in which they had fought the trolls. She could not see their bodies from her vantage point and she was pleased with that.
After a little while of peaceful staring, Jonathan woke. He kissed her head and eased himself out from under her. She winced at the movement.
"Sorry," he said.
She shook her head. "I was awake and I hurt whenever I move, so no harm done. Well, no more harm done." She smiled and her face ached.
Jonathan scowled at her as if to tell her not to make jokes.
"We'll need to stay here for a few days while you get your strength back." He obviously knew she had been about to protest as he held up a hand and kept talking. "Riding a horse with cracked ribs is a very different thing to sitting and standing around. We'll stay here a few days."
Valerie knew better than to argue with him when he used his serious voice. She nodded, conceding.
"We should probably get you cleaned up too. I did my best last night, but it will be easier if you're awake." Jonathan poured some water into the pot and set it above the fire, which he then stoked. "This will need to heat and cool, so relax a while and I'll tend to the horses." He started walking away. "Now would be a good time to come up with a name for her!"
"Okay, okay." Valerie sighed.
She sat and waited for the water. When it was cool enough, Jonathan got a piece of cloth and started wiping her face. He avoided the bandage on her temple.
"We'll look at that later," he explained.
He pulled up her shirt and she saw how bruised her stomach was. It was an angry shade of blue and purple, with some hints of yellow and green. Had it not been her skin and supposed to be a different colour, Valerie would have though it quite pretty.
Jonathan passed her a piece of cloth and she looked at him quizzically.
"Use it to cover your...chest," he said. "Then I can help you get your shirt off and we can check you for other wounds."
Valerie pushed the cloth up under her shirt and held it against her chest awkwardly. She was a lot more sore in a lot more places than she had realised.
"All right, lift one arm up," Jonathan said and he gently pulled the shirt up and released her arm. "The other."
They repeated the process, Valerie changing hands to hold the cloth against her. Her arms felt like lead, but she held them, as unsteady as they were. There was a breeze that tickled her naked back, but also soothed her bruises.
Jonathan inspected her back and she heard his indrawn breath.
"That bad?" she asked.
"It's not great." He replied, beginning to wipe down her skin. "Let's leave it at that."
She nodded and left him to his work.
He cleaned her from neck to toe, with another slightly awkward moment when they had to remove her trousers. When he was finished, he wrapped a bandage around her abdomen and then dressed her in a clean dress, as it was the easiest thing to get on her.
"It won't be ideal for travelling, but it's going to be better than these. It's good you picked something simple," he said, holding up her blood- and dirt-stained trousers and shirt. "I'll wash them and see if I can patch them up. But it may be better to get some more at the next town."
"I should have clean pants and shirt in my bag. I wasn't quite so stupid as to leave home with only two pairs of clothes, you know."
Jonathan touched her cheek gently and smiled. "I know, but you will need more than one set. I cannot believe we've gone through two outfits already. We should have got more sensible things from Kailan as well as the other bits." He sighed.
"How were you to know we'd get into a fight with trolls?"
"Well, that is somewhat true. But travelling with you, I should have known we'd get into some scrapes."
"We survived though, didn't we?" She smiled.
Jonathan looked guilty, but nodded. "We did. We survived and will be right with a bit of rest and a few less fights."
Valerie spent the next two days sitting, sleeping, eating and having her bandages changed. Going to the toilet was difficult, but she managed with little mess.
When Jonathan had first peeled the bandage away from her temple, what little scab that had form pulled off with it and Valerie felt warm blood trickle down her face. Jonathan swore and began mopping it up. He worked fast and Valerie decided not to ask him where he had learnt to deal with wounds so well. She did not think she wanted to know.
The third morning, she decided she was sick of sitting down and sleeping.
"Jonathan, help me up."
He turned around from where he had been polishing their swords.
"Just a minute." He began rummaging around in her bags. "Valerie!"
"What?" She almost jumped up. He sounded like he had been bitten by something.
"You have your armour in your pack."
"Yes," she replied. "Had you not realised?"
"I don't make a habit of rummaging through other people's belongings, thank you. From now on, I think I'll make you wear it when we travel."
"We would look like very funny traders in armour, Jonathan."
"We would look like very funny traders covered in cuts and bruises as we are, Valerie." He pulled her armour out of the pack. "I should give this a clean as well."
"Can you help me up first, please? I need to stretch my legs."
He sighed, exaggeratedly. "Fine. But, sometimes it really does feel like I spend my life taking care of you."
Valerie realised that he basically did. It was supposed to be her quest and yet Jonathan had either convinced her to let him do everything or had spent the time saving the life of the supposed almost fully trained knight. She was not sure if this was because of instruction from her father, because Jonathan did not think her capable enough, or if she was truly not capable enough after all.
However, not wanting him to know where her thoughts had gone, Valerie snorted. "Isn't that your purpose in life, Jon? To keep me out of harm?"
She had meant it as a joke, but he frowned and did not speak as he helped her to her feet. When he saw she was steady, he sat down and began polishing her armour.
"Jonny, are you all right?"
"Hm?" He did not look up.
"You seem much more preoccupied on this trip than I've ever seen you, and you've barely played your lute."
He looked at her and smiled. She could not tell if it was genuine or not.
"I'm fine, Val. Just worried about what your father is going to say when I get you home and you've fought brigands in Clade, pirates on the river, been Linked with a leviathan and his captain, fought trolls, and you have a scar on your face. And that's not to say what else you will encounter. We haven't even found the wizard or received your quest yet. If this is what happens on the way to get the quest, what's going to happen to you on the quest?" He sighed, looking rather defeated.
Valerie would have knelt by him if she thought her body would move in such a fashion on its own. Instead, she shuffled over and put her hand on his shoulder. After a few moments, he placed his hand on hers, then went back to the armour.
Valerie started walking around the glade. She had not paid much attention to it since she had woken up after the fight. She had merely hobbled behind a bush to do her business and then sat at the fire again. However today, she paid a little more attention.
The bodies of the trolls were lying at one side, thrown together in a heap. Valerie was surprised, surely Jonathan had not been able to move them by himself? She went up to the carcasses. They did not smell, despite being a few days old. She leant closer and breathed in. All she could smell was damp dirt and moss. It was a strong smell, but not an unpleasant one.
She looked the bodies over. They looked much less scary now. The bigger one, that Jonathan had fought, had a great gash in its chest that looked almost singed. The second one however, had a great hole in its chest as though a fireball had gone shooting through it.
Valerie looked around the glade. She could not see any burnt trees or rocks. She looked again at the trolls' wounds and decided that fire must have been involved. But how that had happened, she had no idea.
"How did you kill them, Jonathan?" she called.
He looked up suddenly, his face clouded over. "What?"
"How did you kill the trolls?"
"The same way you would have, I'm sure."
"But they look singed."
Jonathan's lips pursed. "I wouldn't know anything about that, Val. Maybe it's a troll thing?"
She shrugged. "All right, calm down. Isn't it a bit morbid to keep the bodies here?"
Jonathan's face broke into a smile. "I'd like to see you move them any further." He packed away the last of her armour. "Besides it's not like they rot like other creatures."
"I noticed. Another troll thing?"
Jonathan's smile faltered. "Yes. That one is definitely a troll thing." Before Valerie could say anything more, he changed the subject. "How are you feeling?"
"On the mend."
"Good, I want to get moving as soon as possible."
He was looking shifty and she did not know what had him so spooked.
"We can leave now?"
Jonathan looked like he was seriously considering it. He stared at her and she knew he was thinking through all the options. Eventually, he shook his head.
"We'll head off tomorrow. If you can't ride comfortably, we'll walk until you get tired. Even slow is better than not at all."
Valerie nodded and let him help her sit down again. She watched him as he made them something to eat and later, when he thought she was asleep, she watched him pull his shirt up.
She had to stop herself from gasping aloud. The wound on his stomach was indeed open again and it looked like it had a sickly, green tinge around the jagged edges. She did not know how he had been hiding that from her as he helped her up and down. Valerie wanted to confront him, but knew he would just dismiss her concerns, telling her he knew more about it.
She frowned and tried to fall asleep, but her brain kept whirring.
Perhaps he wanted to get moving for his sake? It must be serious if he wanted to move when she was not quite ready yet.
Valerie? The sleepy voice of Ivo came, then was much more awake. Valerie!
Hello, Ivo. She smiled.
You're okay? See, Per. She's okay!
I can hear that, Peredur's voice said.
I'm fine. We came across two trolls, but Jonathan killed them. I was only knocked out for a little while, and am on the mend again.
She heard two distinct sighs of relief. And realised how stupid she had been. If she had died, they would have died as well.
Don't feel bad, princess, Ivo said. You won't die. Jon would never let anything happen to you.
He wouldn't, would he? But, I'll be more careful in future. She smiled.
Just try not to be so good at hiding from our thoughts, Ivo said.
Yes, we have been trying to talk to you for days now, Peredur said.
I couldn't hear you.
We guessed as much. I don't know if it's the distance or you, but just be sure to check in now and again. She felt Ivo smile.
I will. I shall let you get back to sleep now, she said.
Thank you, princess. Goodnight.
Goodnight Ivo, Per.
Goodnight, she heard Peredur say, then they were gone again.
She looked over at dear Jonathan, who was staring into the fire as though contemplating the problems of the world, and knew she was in safe hands.