The Dreamer's Fall

Chapter 54 - Siblings

Fenric groaned as he tossed off his fur blanket and sat up in his cot. His eyes naturally fell toward his throbbing knee, which seemed to have become even more swollen than when he had fallen asleep.

Thankfully, his armor negated most of the damage when the enemy's spell glanced off it during the battle; otherwise, he might've lost his leg. Still, it was stiff, which meant he'd need to be careful lest he hurt himself more.

Fenric fought through the discomfort and limped to a trunk where he kept his clothing. Once dressed, he threw on a thick fur cloak and carefully stepped out of his tent into the crisp night air.

"Captain! You're finally up!" A feminine voice resounded through the camp.

Fenric looked to the voice's source and saw Mara sitting near a small campfire with some of his other men. As soon as his eyes met hers, she jumped up and darted over.

"How's your leg?" Mara asked, looking over his body as if her last name was Ikorryn.

"It's a bit stiff, but it'll be fine. Where's Alan?" Fenric asked, swatting her away like a buzzing fly.

Mara pouted. "You should cut his pay! He's a lazy good for nothing!"

"What'd he do now?" Fenric asked.

"I was supposed to be able to sleep until nightfall, but he woke me up two hours early! I barely got four hours of sleep! Hmph... He's lucky I don't feel like getting a bucket of ice water to wake him up later." Mara grumbled.

"You better not." Fenric warned. "The last thing I need is you two at each other's throats again because of pranks taken too far."

"Don't worry, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'll just kick his ass when he wakes up." Mara said, punching the air in front of her. "Never mind that. Cassia and Cinto need more parchment to practice their writing. I was going to ask lord Arthur for some, but I figured it was best to wait for you to wake up first."

Fenric frowned as he glared at Mara. "Did I not give you two money to buy more parchment when we were camped outside Penkburghel?"

Mara shrank back. "Don't look at me like that, Captain! I'm innocent, I swear! I didn't go with Alan that day, remember? You told me to stay and watch the camp while you went off somewhere with the little lord."

Fenric thought back and realized she was speaking the truth, yet his anger didn't fade. He didn't believe Alan was stupid enough to steal from him, but he wouldn't be surprised if the idiot had improperly stowed the newly bought parchment or misplaced it somewhere.

"You had how many days to notice, yet you didn't speak up." Fenric flicked her in the forehead. "You're not innocent."

"Hey!" Mara shouted as she jumped back and held her forehead. "I am, too! I'm being persecuted for Alan's mistakes!"

"I'll take care of it for now." Fenric laughed as he turned to leave. "Have Alan figure out what he did with the order when he wakes up."

As he reached Arthur's tent, he spotted Senna struggling to carry a laundry basket nearby and called out to her. "Ms. Senna, please allow me."

Senna happily obliged, handing the basket to him. "Ah, thank you, Mr. Fenric. I'm a bit embarrassed. I misjudged just how far the stream was from here."

"You didn't go alone, I hope?" Fenric asked as the two walked beside each other. "It may be close to the edge of the camp, but it's still dangerous."

"I wasn't alone. Soldiers were traveling the path, filling up kegs with water, so I followed them and got some laundry done." Senna replied before pointing to a retractable wooden clothes rack outside Arthur's tent. "You can place it there, and thank you again, Mr. Fenric."