She didn't know what to do. Finally, completely without thinking, she grabbed the nearest stick and threw it at the man. She tried to aim at the hand in which he held the dagger and really hit. Then she jumped to Adar and wrapped her arms around his body so that he couldn't attack.
"No! Adar! I'm fine! Stop it!" she told him.
Adar growled once more, but then he looked at her with his dark eyes and Lina felt his tense body relax.
The man just stared in disbelief at the girl taming the dog. Was this even possible?
Without realizing it, he put the dagger back in its sheath. All the possible expressions of surprise in the world could not describe the depth of his sheer confusion. He thought he had seen everything in his life, but he was clearly wrong.
"Is that monster yours?" he asked, tearing at his shirt sleeve.
He bandaged the wound on his forearm with the torn sleeve and, holding one end with his good hand and the other with his mouth, he tightened the makeshift bandage tightly. It was no use, so he tore off the other sleeve of his shirt and repeated the process. Two layers of cloth would probably do some work before he could properly treat the wound.
The cloth soaked up blood quickly - he had no choice. He had to get to his horse as quickly as possible. He had some bandages there and a few alchemical healing potions.
He headed briskly in the direction where his campsite was a few hundred meters away. That meant walking past the girl and the dog. She held her animal tightly, only hoping that she would hold it when she walked past.
Lina exhaled in disbelief again and looked at Adar. He was calm now and his eyes were watching the man approaching them and, as she guessed, preparing to leave.
She knew that she wouldn't hurt him now, so she let the dog go. He stood there, just staring at the man.
Lina tried to pretend she didn't see the stranger reach for his dagger again.
She stood up and blocked the man's way.
"Well, first of all," she said, and even though something whispered to her that she was taking a risk, she didn't back down, "he's not a monster, he's a great friend, and secondly..." she hesitated for a moment, but then she took the stranger's hand.
She gripped his arm tightly, lifted his hand, and looked at it.
"Secondly, you need to get this treated, and now. It's bleeding badly," she said in a firm voice.
She let go of the man's hand and tore a thicker strip of cloth from the bottom of her dress. She quickly wrapped it around his forearm and pulled it tight.
The man was once again in a state of complete surprise. Just a few seconds ago he had been about to cut her dog to pieces, and now she was bandaging his injured hand. Her
touch was warm and healing. He complied, still watching the dog out of the corner of his eye.
"Thanks," he managed when she finished bandaging. "I can handle the rest, I have a few potions in my saddlebags."
The girl was definitely an expert at treating wounds. The bleeding had almost stopped. She reminded him of the young healers he had met in army camps after battles.
"I can do it now," he smiled, trying to suppress the pain in his mind.
The wound might not be bleeding as much anymore, but the pain was still the same.
Lina looked up, surprised by the change in tone of the stranger's voice, and when she looked at him, his gaze, now devoid of any of its previous fury, made her a little nervous. As soon as she saw his smile, her heart started racing, without exactly knowing why.
She jerked her head to collect herself.
"You're welcome… you're welcome," she said uncertainly.
She realized then that she was still holding the man's hand in hers, and that jolted her awake.
"Come with me now, okay?" she said, and now it sounded a little stronger than before. "Our house is a short distance away, and my mother is the most renowned herbalist in the area. She will treat your wound properly and you won't even know you had one in the morning."
The man looked at her for a long time. He looked into her eyes. He saw the sincerity.
Was the girl really that kind-hearted? He was pretty sure he had never met anyone like her. Almost all people, regardless of age, always looked down on him. Whenever someone found out he was a mercenary, they slammed the door in his face. That was one of the many reasons he never tried to settle down. He didn't want to constantly feel disgusted looks on his back.
The only friends he had were among the mercenaries, and even those were diminishing after each battle he went through. To ordinary people, he was trash, scum. A rabble who hung around doing dirty work. Yet this girl looked at him with sincerity and kindness. He might change his mind when he found out what he did for a living, but until then her offer of help could be useful.
"Okay, but I have to go get my horse," he nodded behind him.
Then he set off down the path to his campsite.
"Okay," Lina agreed, watching the man disappear into the trees.
She took a deep breath to calm herself, her gaze falling on Adar. He looked at her, whimpered once, and nodded in the direction the stranger had gone.
Lina laughed, "No, Adar. No more jokes now."
But then she became serious, frown lines forming on her forehead: "You shouldn't have rushed at him like that. He didn't do anything to me. Don't do it again, okay? I'll call you when I need you, you know that," she continued to coax him.
Then she turned towards the lake, to the bushes, where she had hidden her clothes and shoes, and put them on. Meanwhile, Adar approached her with his tail drooping and his sad eyes looking at her. After a while, Lina felt sorry for him and began to stroke his head and behind his ears.
The man arrived at the camp. First of all, he took off the makeshift bandage, washed his hand with clean water, applied some medicinal herbs to it, and bandaged the wound with a real bandage. He drank one of the pain-relieving elixirs and changed his shirt. He put what was left of the old one in his bag, thinking that the piece of rag might come in handy for a bandage someday.
The horse had not had much time to feed, and it was still tired after a day's journey. So the man fully equipped himself so that the horse would not bear all the weight. He put on a doublet over his shirt and covered his chest with solid steel armor with broad shoulders. He covered his shins with steel guards and his forearms with greaves. The greaves themselves were quite tight, so when they were applied to the bandage, they tightened the wound even more.
He saddled the horse and threw the saddlebags over it. The sturdy, coal-black animal watched everything with interest.
"Take it easy, my friend, we're just going for a walk," he patted him.
Then he put out the fire, took the horse by the bridle, and led it back along the path to the girl. Even if the dog started growling again, he didn't have to worry about his horse's reaction. He was a warhorse, one pooch wouldn't throw him, he had perfect training.
"We can go," he announced to the girl as soon as she was in sight.
Lina looked at him and her eyes widened when she saw him in full armor. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Adar approaching the stranger's horse and starting to sniff him.
"Erm..." she bit her lip to keep from smiling. "You know, my mother and grandfather are quite peaceful people. They won't attack you."
"I like to believe it, but I was in the saddle from dawn to dusk today, and Burinsfel needs a rest here, so I want to relieve him," he replied.
"And by the way, could you tell him that my horse is not for eating?"
He raised an eyebrow at the dog, who was sniffing the horse with excitement, causing Burinsfel to whinny nervously and shake his head.
"Don't worry, boy, it's okay," he calmed the faithful horse in a gentle voice and stroked its snout.
Lina laughed and couldn't stop for a long time.
"He doesn't want to eat him, he wants to get to know him," she replied with a laugh.
As if to confirm her words, Adar lowered himself to the front, barked once and began to wag his tail happily.
"You're waiting for danger around every corner," the girl shook her head. "I suppose you even sleep in that outfit."
She looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and then set off down the path leading from the lake to the house where she lived. Adar ran and was next to her in a moment.
The man lined up next to the girl leading Burinsfel by the bridle.
"I don't sleep in it," he defended himself.
Lina raised an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment.
"Well, sometimes, yes, but only on the battlefield or just before a battle," he admitted, and stared far ahead for a moment, a strange shadow obscuring his eyes.
"When hell breaks loose," he said almost in a whisper, "every second is precious. I can't waste time getting dressed when I'm supposed to be on the front lines."
Lina looked at him and realized that she had that strange expression on her face again. She looked ahead and said, "Yes, in war, yes. I know there's not much time there. I know that more than well…"
For a moment, her expression changed too.
"But," she spoke immediately and smiled, "there's no war now. We're going in peace and quiet, so… try to see it this way."
"When I get off Burinsfeld's saddle, throw off my armor, and put her back in her bags," he promised, walking calmly beside the girl.
"Okay, we'll see," Lina laughed.
She was cold, but she was used to it. It wasn't the first time she had bathed like this. But she still wrapped her arms around her chest and looked ahead.
Thanks to the full moon, the night was relatively clear, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see more than two meters in the forest.
The man was enchanted by the moonlight, piercing through the branches of the trees, casting shadows of white light into the forest.
He hadn't missed the change in the girl's expression before. It scared him, because when it happened, he saw himself in her eyes. She must have been carrying a lot of pain somewhere inside, but he decided not to ask. He himself was in more pain inside than was healthy for one person.
"I'm sorry about Adar," Lina spoke after a moment of silence, realizing why she was actually going to their house with the man. "He's just... trying to protect me, and sometimes... he overdoes it. I'm sorry," she said in a lower voice, looking at him apologetically.
"When you put it like that," he frowned, "I'm glad the dagger didn't do its job."
Trying to protect. He'd experienced that too once. It had been a long time since… no, it wasn't the time to think about the past.
"Is it still far?" he asked, trying to dispel the gloom.
"No, we're already here," Lina replied as soon as they emerged from the forest and turned onto the path.
A small wooden house stood in front of them now, its windows letting in pleasant light. On its right was a garden, and behind it an orchard of fruit trees. On its left was a small stable. The door to the house was open, and a woman had just come out of it.
"Child!" she cried when she saw her. "I was worried about you! It's already dark! You've never stayed so long before, and…" she stopped short when she realized that her daughter was not alone.
Lina's mother was only slightly smaller than her daughter. The glow of the light coming from the house illuminated her black hair, braided in a braid. She was dressed like a simple country woman. Her face was covered with many wrinkles that made her look older than she actually was. She had a regular face with sharp brown eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mother," Lina replied. "I was holding back. This man was hurt by Adar, he bit his hand," she explained.
Lina's mother sighed and glared at Adar, causing him to whimper and disappear into the house.
"I told him you'd take care of him," she added uncertainly.
The mother looked at the man and knew immediately who she was.
"What is your name?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed.
Lina flinched, realizing that she didn't actually know his name at all.
"My name is Brax, ma'am," he replied, bowing humbly. "Your daughter was kind enough to offer me treatment."
He couldn't help but notice the searching gaze of the girl's mother. She examined him carefully, her gaze lingering especially long on the handles of the war hammer that jutted out over his shoulder.
"I don't like to interrupt so late," he said, as respectfully as he could.
If the girl's mother was truly as good a healer as her daughter claimed, she would be able to set off on her journey soon. If everything went well, the treatment would be done quickly and he would retreat back into the forest. His makeshift campsite wasn't far away, and he could easily start a fire again. He didn't want to stay any longer than absolutely necessary.
The woman's searching gaze frightened him. Here it was again. Contempt would come soon. She undoubtedly had a pretty good idea of what he was like.
Maybe he shouldn't have put on the gear after all, but if he was going to be rejected again, it was better sooner than later. The common people didn't like him and he didn't like them. They were so stubborn. They always condemned him before they knew anything about him. But in a way, he understood them. He earned his living by fighting. His very presence was undesirable - he was a potential threat to everyone. They were afraid that if he decided to attack them, capture them or blackmail them, they wouldn't be able to stop him. He had seen it many times, this was no different. Her eyes confirmed it.