Under the Oak Tree Book 2 "Conquering hearts" ( Fan fiction)

Chapter 21 - Riftan

My blood ran cold. I had heard this name before as a child. A comrade of my fathers had presented me with my father's dagger at my mothers' burial. He had glanced between the blade, my mother's freshly dug grave, and then rested his gaze on me as he cursed the name the under his breath. I didn't understand the reference then, and still don't understand the reference now.

Rolling the parchment back up, I stuck it in the hidden compartment in my breast plate, mentally noting to bring this up with Ruth later. I was far too exhausted to delve further into that at the moment. Turning from my armor, I found myself gravitating to the bed.

Stradling the edge of our bed, I looked for a distraction, and ended up settling on watching the kittens fight over the remaining milk in the bowl. Although I had gotten them as a gift for Maximillian, they made our room feel more like home, in her absence. While the two boys continued to rough house, Laura the white female kitten strolled over and sat at my feet. Chuckling to myself I scooped her up and placed her on the bed. Out of the three, she was the one that preferred my company the most.

Following suit, I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and laid back, momentarily enjoying the relief of my head hitting the pillow. Closing my eyes, I tried to will myself into a dreamless sleep. Has I was about to open my eyes, unsuccessful in my previous attempt, something soft brushed against my cheek and snuggled into the crook of my neck. Reaching my hand up to scratch between Lauras ears, I chuckled and was rewarded with a soft purr.

Curious as to who won the battle of the milk bowl I glanced to my left. The bowl sat empty, and the kittens were suspiciously quiet. Hanging my arm off the bed I waited, knowing that the opportunity to swat at my hand would be far too great a temptation. I didn't have to wait long before I felt the two kittens taking turns swatting from different angles. Grabbing them both by the scruff of their necks I brought them up onto the bed to join Laura and I. Roy, the smallest of the three, darted to the other side searching for Maxi has he often did, while Ron, the largest of the three, lay in the middle of the bed.

Roy, not having found her, circled back and joined Laura. Although I welcomed the kittens, if the men were to ever see me in this position, I don't think I would ever be able to live it down. I could almost imagine the relentless taunts from Hebaron. I paled just thinking of how far his twisted mind would take it. Regardless, I willed myself to lay there, enjoying their warmth and occasional purrs, allowing my mind to drift to Maximillian.

We were back in the barracks at the war encampment, and I had just gotten back from a raid. She was sitting wrapped in one of the thin towels on the floor of our dimly lit tent, her legs crossed, brushing out her long auburn hair. She had been humming to herself quietly, the simple tune matching the rhythm of her brush. How she managed to look so at ease and carefree in the middle of a tent on a battlefield was beyond me. She stopped brushing her hair mid stroke when she realized I had entered the tent, her face had erupted into a huge grin that spread from one ear to the other. Before she could jump up, I had motioned for her to stay where she was as I stripped out of my armor and washed off in the corner of the tent.

Although I was slightly turned the other direction, I still managed to keep her in my line of sight. I was not willing to give up the opportunity to burn this image of her into my head. Memories like these made the cold dreary nights away from her barrable. Although her humming had stopped, she continued brushing her hair, her eyes lingering on me. Her cheeks would burn bright red anytime we made eye contact, and the brush would stop in her hair momentarily. Now free from the beasts' blood that had covered my armor, and after what felt like centuries of torture, I had made my way to her pulling her into my lap and taking over the brush in her hand.