Queen

XI.

Deo Ganghage had long faded into the distance as we traveled through lands I didn't rule. We avoided the cities now, villages and camping were safer. Plus, Arne had fought some battles in a handful of kingdoms and it's less likely that we'd met an ex-soldier looking for revenge in the country.

I watched Arne take a bite from the animal Kitten caught and Cook roasted. It had looked like a deer when Kitten dropped it at my feet and Arne tripped over it. There was never a dull moment with that lion.

"Very good Ba," I praised, cutting off the nickname. Even after nearly two weeks of avoiding saying it, I still had issues with calling him Baby. "Don't you think that Cook did a good job?" I asked instead.

Arne swallowed his bite before speaking. "She did great," he said shortly. While he had been doing better with eating, he developed a problem with speaking lately. I don't know if the hot springs brought this on, or if he was still nervous about being outside my palace, or something else. The list of possibilities was  very long.

It bothered me. He was like this when I first pulled him from the red light district, quiet and shy. He'd warmed up over the years, talking more, asking for needs and wants, eating more. Now he was turning back into the broken man I rescued and had to keep from killing himself.

Though he hadn't tried killing himself yet. I wasn't allowing  him anything sharp just in case. I don't believe he knew I was doing it.

"How much longer until we reach Hanashi Nejire?" Arne asked.

"Another day's travel at least," I told him, "Though the soldiers speak of a possible storm tomorrow, which would delay us a day or two. But we're early anyway so no matter what, we'll be fine."

Arne bunched up the fabric of his harem pants in his grip. "Is," he said, "Is the, the sky yell, yellow?"

I blinked in surprise at him. Why was he asking what color the sky was? "Is the sky yellow?" I repeated, "Ba, why are you asking that?"

Arne sank his teeth into his bottom lip and he didn't answer me. I glanced out the tent flap at the sunset. "The sunset's yellow, if that's what you mean," I said, pouring myself a cup of wine, "Could you tell me why you want to know if the sky was yellow?" I snagged the last slice of goat cheese and added, "I see we haven't finished the cheese."

"If the sunset is, the sunset is red," Arne said, head tucked down and so quiet that I had to inch closer to hear his voice, "The weather, the weather will be good the next day. If, um, if the sunset is yellow, the weather will be, will be poor the next day."

I held the cheese under his nose and was about to pull it away and put it in his hand, but he bit it and gulped down the coin-sized slice. I let it go and tucked a stray lock of hair behind his cut ear. "I guess we may have a storm tomorrow," I told him, "Thank you for helping."

"You're welcome," Arne said, smiling for the first time in a while, "Will you be needing me tonight Mistress?" I gulped. I had trained him too well. He had his head cocked to the side and had undone the belt for his coat.

"Not tonight," I said, trying not to think about him under me, or his moans, or his soft hair in between my fingers, "We've been traveling all day." I left out that I was sitting for most of the day.

Arne was quiet for a moment, then he slunk off the crate we shared and knelt on the ground. He lay his head on my lap and pressed a gentle kiss to my leg. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

I couldn't think of what he would be apologizing for this time. My tiredness? "For what?" I asked, lifting his head up to look at me.

Arne stared blankly with his gray clouded eyes and gulped. "I don't know," he answered.