"Your Grace…" The voice trembled, hesitant and small in the overwhelming dark of the forest.
"I asked why are you here!" Aeryn shrieked like a hen protecting her eggs. Her hand snapped up, the air ready to bind and the blood ready to follow. This time, the threat was not feigned; the primal fear of being recaptured fueled her power.
The voice trembled harder, and the person stopped dead. Then, the figure dropped instantly to its knees. "Your Grace, calm down! I am not here to snitch up on you! I wish to follow you!"
"You are not with them?" Aeryn asked.
"No, no, no, My Lady," the person scrambled up, frantic to bridge the distance. "I am not with them! At all! I swear! I am loyal only to you!"
"Then you were following me?" Aeryn moved forward, the saber held defensively. The girl, in a sudden fright, moved back.
"Yes! No, no, no, no, no!" The girl dropped to her knees, raising her hands defensively. "My Lady, I was following you, but I was not following you because someone made me follow you, I was following you because I wanted to follow you! and me following you has nothing to do with anyone who is following you!!!"
"what the heck am i even saying!", girl thought out loud while hitting her forehead.
"WHAT?" Aeryn's powerful command was barely audible, drowned out by the girl's chaotic stream of words.
"No, no, no, My Lady, you don't understand… no, no, no, please, please spare me, spare me, I cannot have another demonstration," she pleaded, hugging her arms tightly. "Your Highness, I was scared the heck out of my wits just now. I thought I'd messed it up! The last time…" She broke off, whispering to herself, "And here I thought I am not afraid of anything. Seems I haven't seen the world yet."
"What are you mumbling in your mouth?" Aeryn was irritated by the confusion.
"Huh? Ahh…" The girl got up and started to come closer, close enough that Aeryn's hand twitched, ready to attack. A small, scared squeak escaped her lips, "Ehhhhh!", and she shivered. Then, moving aside and putting her hand tentatively on Aeryn's arm, she gently but firmly lowered it down.
"Your Highness! I swear on my honor, blood, and life that I am not with anyone and I am here on my own accord!" She finished this declaration, snapping to attention and beaming with genuine, if slightly manic, pride.
"Why?" Aeryn asked, utterly expressionlessly, the chaos in her mind matching the chaos of the girl.
"Why? Hmm… because I like you!"
Aeryn looked at her, moved back a step, and another silent What? formed on her pale lips, her hands raising again in alarm.
"No, no, no, My Lady, not like that! Ai, yahh! Nooo, nooo, noooo! I am straight! Well, not straight! Like, I don't look straight, I look pretty round, a circle, but like, in the theoretical meaning, straight. Like, not a line, but straight!" She gestured wildly, trying to explain her sexuality using geometry.
Aeryn was staring at her, her head tilted, her blank expression eloquently conveying: "What the heck! What is this dumb fool?"
She let out a ragged sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Your Highness, I mean I like you like I like you, like an ideal! Yes, yes, yesss, yesss! I want to be your army, your apprentice, your follower, your protector, anything like that!"
Aeryn was still gazing at her confusedly, like staring at a person whose nose was misplaced on their head. Then, the sheer absurdity of the girl's confession, her over-the-top dramatics, and her frenetic energy finally pierced through the fog of Aeryn's daze. She started laughing, a deep, cleansing sound that turned hysterical, forcing her to wipe tears of amusement from her eyes.
The girl watched, utterly confused, then started laughing as well. Her laughter quickly spiraled into a jarring, maniacal attack of giggles, so violent and out of control that Aeryn stopped laughing immediately and started staring at her again with concern. After a full minute of laughing all alone, the girl realized the sudden, profound silence and came to an abrupt, breathless halt.
"Ha ha ha haaaaaa…" she finally managed, then clasped her hands in front of her like a small child guilty of a bad deed.
Aeryn smiled, the simple act of genuine amusement feeling alien and wonderful. "So, let me get this clear."
"So you were following me." Here, the girl moved her hands in a big 'no,' her face tense with worry over causing another misunderstanding.
"But not on anyone's command. You want to stay by my side. Is that right?"
"Yes, My Lady!" The girl thumped her chest like a proud warrior.
"You want me to take you, right?" The girl was nodding like a ravenous child. "Hmmmm, I seee…"
"Yesss… yes, yess, yes," the girl was saying under her breath, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"No, I won't take you." Aeryn turned and started walking in the direction she was headed.
The girl's happy face instantly crumpled, turning sour and sad, and her hand slipped from her chest. She immediately ran back. Aeryn heard this and thought, "Humph… and she liked me enough to follow me! Liars."
Then, she heard the horse hooves behind. She looked back and saw that the girl was not running back to the camp, but was coming after her, pulling the two horses.
A little flicker of unexpected warmth bloomed in Aeryn's chest. She cleared her throat and stopped, asking the girl, "Why are you still following me?"
The girl smiled sheepishly. "Please, Your Highness, I know you are angry with me… and you told me to never bend the rules for anyone, not even you, but only for myself. But My Lady, I want to be with you, I want to learn from you, I just want to stay with you!"
Aeryn suddenly understood. The girl's intense loyalty and willingness to fight for her, even at the cost of expulsion, resonated deeply. Aeryn remembered Sakina's report: one of the Cinder Fire Hegamony girls had taken a stance in her favor but had assaulted others, due to which Aeryn had been forced to expel her.
"What's the probability that you won't lash out at my people again?" Aeryn asked, her voice turning serious.
"I swear I will not do anything to hurt them, or you!"
"You were expelled because of this reason! It's an issue of control, Rissa!" Aeryn said, using the girl's name for the first time.
Here, the girl let go of the horses and linked her arm with Aeryn's. "Your Highness, I will learn that as well! Please allow me to go with you! Pleaseeee…" She looked at Aeryn with big, googly eyes, and Aeryn suddenly got a memory flash, not the missing two days, but a previous interaction, where she was scolding this very girl, yet was smitten by her sweet, innocent looks and fierce loyalty.
She unlinked their arms and turned again to walk.
"Your High…nesss…" the girl said silently, her voice shivering, and she was about to cry when Aeryn called her from the front, in a strong, clear voice, "Rissa, hold the horses! We don't have time to waste!"
Rissa, the Cinder Fire Hegamony girl, jumped with happiness, a sound of pure relief and triumph escaping her. "Comingggggg!" She took the reins again and ran to catch up to Aeryn, leading the two dark horses.
.
.
Join my Patron Accuscripter community today for just $4 and read 10 Chapters Ahead of the public release schedule!