Duha lives alone by necessity not by choice. The world passes her by for the most part. Her past prevents her from getting close to other yaspilrmeth. The world around her is changing to the point where even she can't hide from it anymore. The Drago...
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Time slipped passed me in what felt like both forever and no time at all. Warmth touched my body waking it from its rest. I opened my eyes as the sun started to rise. Looking over at Bessy I saw her eating the feed we put out for her.
Ahh another that wakes with the sun. I frowned, thinking something was wrong, and looked down at the boy. He looked up at me. He didn't wake up for food... that is not a good sign. I pulled out the thing to feed him and filled it with the last of the milk. He ate hungrily.
I stroked Katja's hair as she slept with her head on my lap. I watched over my pack for another hour before gently waking up Katja. Her blue eyes looked up at me. "Is it time to get up?"
"It is."
She sat up and stretchered. Standing made my muscles ache. I'm getting too old for this shit. "Come on pup. Let's teach you to fight."
She picked up her quarterstaff and stood in front of me. "Are you going to do that with him on you?"
"I will show you how to defend him."
I showed her a few strikes and she mimicked them perfectly. We had a mock fight, it started slow but gained in speed until we were having a proper fight. I marched her blow for blow and held myself back to allow her in my defences. Eventually, I knocked her foot out and grabbed her before she fell. "Well done. Let's eat."
She sat down panting as I pulled food from our packs. "How.. come you're... not out.. of breath?"
I smiled. "I've been fighting a long time pup."
She gulped water and took her food. We ate as she got her breath back. A sound made me stand up grabbing my weapon. Katja was slower to gain her feet looking at me with fear. Soon she heard the sound of horses. The sound of galloping was coming closer. A group of men in armour and with long lances rounded the hill and surrounded us. Their armour shone in the early morning light, and the king's crest adorned their clocks.
Fuck! That is not something I can deal with. I stood straighter and Katja copied me. One man moved his horse closer and levelled his lance to my chest. "Where do you hail from a stranger?"
"The village of Hythe. It was burned to the ground and we fled to a farm, where the owner sheltered us. He was attacked by the same bandits and we fled again with one of his cows to feed my son."
The man's saddle creaked as he looked into the sling on my chest. "You fended off this group of bandits?"
I shook my head. "They split up as we ran one way and the farmer another. I was able to knock some of them out."
The man brought his lance up from my chest and tilted my head back by pressing the tip into my throat. "These two are not worth it, sir. If there are bandits we should look for them."
His lance moved and I let my head drop to meet the eyes of the other man. "I feel I need to talk to these women."
"I feel we have told you all we can sir," Katja said.
