The Stableboy's shadow (BL)

Chapter 17

 As morning came, I was observing the boy that completely changed in a matter of days. His sweet and naïve nature that was buried under the warnings of a man he trusted finally surfaced, and now, the frown on his face, I felt, was due to his confusion; what else had the Lord informed him of was misinformation? His doubts...

They hurt my chest.

It was about time I retrieved that little nugget of shadow.

It was still somewhat early, so I decided to heat up some of our more perishable rations. I got my kettle out of my bag and started with some meat. It wasn't coffee, but I hoped the smell would be enough to wake Percy up. Getting too close to him was getting painful.

A few minutes later, he finally awoke. I heard him groan his displeasure as he stretched. I snuffled a laugh before getting over myself. What was wrong with me?

I'd have to take it back tonight.

I was lost in my thoughts when he came to sit by my side. It's only when he reached for the kettle and shook it that I realized he had been up for a while, and I hadn't moved much. Without a word, he took over the breakfast preparations, grabbed his share and handed me mine. We ate in silence, as I thought about our itinerary.

I hadn't expected to be this far West when we'd get this close to Castletown, and so far, we had gone north on the King's Road. The closer we'd get from the capital, the more knights we would meet. If we reached the next village on this road, we'd have to pay tolls and I'd be too exposed. But the other roads, including the one we'd have to take, were unguarded and perilous, subject to monster ambushes. Alone, I'd have no problem walking it. With the boy, I could only fear the worse.

- So, tomorrow is gonna be a bit peculiar, I announced. We'll have to take an other road then this one, and I want to make sure that we're prepared. How far are you in your knight's training?

- What do you mean?

- Well, from what I could tell, you didn't get out of the village surrounding Alessio's mansion that often. Did you go on raids? Did you ever fight creatures?

- I... uhm, well... I fought off goblins attacks once or twice at the edges of town. There are only four knights assigned in town so they couldn't really leave for raids. They're always needed. Why do we need to leave this road?

I sighed. This would be more difficult than I anticipated. Maybe we wouldn't come across too many monsters, but still, the dangers were there. In a bad situation, I wouldn't be able to protect him. I had yet to see him fight.

- The closest we get to the Capital; the more patrols are on the King's Road. The guard the road to make sure caravans, traveling merchants and guests don't get attacked by any kind of monsters. Since I'm wanted, and I don't want to pay a toll leaving every village we travel to, it would be an unnecessary risk to keep traveling here. That also mean that whatever monsters the Knights fend off are polluting the other roads. We'll need to be very careful, on guards at all time.

I looked up to the sky. The sun was just starting to rise up from the horizon. There was a nice, fresh breeze around us. I had no choice. I had to confirm that he was able to fend for himself and that I could depend on him, at least a little. So, I grabbed one of my leather bracelets and tied my hair away from my face.

- Let's try something before we start walking, I announced. I wanna see how good you are with that sword of yours.

- Y-you want t... to spar?

He seemed genuinely confused. I smirked and reached for one of my daggers, leaving the practice sheath on. Percy kneeled next to his bag and reached in for a couple of seconds before he pulled out a folded leather piece. He clumsily grabbed the handle of his sword and unsheathed it, then insert it in the leather scabbard. He tightened it with the small rope laced in it and secured it around the pommel. Then, he rose to his feet, the sword in his right hand.