The Herald of Death

Chapter 5

Chapter Five :

I went back with Dryden and his men to their camp; we were all hoping for a few more hours of sleep before the sun rose and it was time to leave again.  Before I could rest however I started to take care of the minor injuries I had obtained during my fight with Dryden. It bothered me that I hadn’t even scratched him, let alone maimed him. Was I losing my touch ?

I shook my head. That was absurd, it must have been fatigue and surprise that had put me off my game. Nothing more. Nonetheless I couldn’t seem to shake the slight feeling of unease this last fight gave me.

“Do you need some help with that ?” Think of the devil and he shall appear… Standing in front of me was the one and only Captain Dryden with a guilty look on his face. “I didn’t mean to hurt you-“

I didn’t allow him to finish his sentence. “You mean it was an accident that your dagger found it’s way to my throat and drew blood there ? Accident was it that you crushed my wrists to make me talk ? And it was obviously bad luck that your sword cut my arm. Why have you come to harass me ?” The mix of strange and foreign emotions inside me was pushing me to be snappy and difficult. I didn’t care that I was shredding every book of etiquette ever written and grinding every rule of decorum, politeness and society into dust. Being rude to this man was as good a way to vent these troublesome emotions as any.

“No, those weren’t accidents but it was an unfortunate event. I was under the misapprehension that you were a man and perhaps even a bandit. It was with that mindset that my men and I disturbed you. Please believe that I have never laid a hand on a woman with the intent to harm and I deserve the greatest shame for having done so tonight. Albeit unknowingly. I understand your resentment too well my Lady but I beg that you allow me to begin to atone for the wrongs I have caused you by granting me permission to see to your wounds.” He gestured to the arm I was bandaging with a frown.

 For a second he almost made me feel guilty about using my feminity against him. After all I was appealing to his morals and reminding him that he had hurt a woman. A crime in his book. A crime I was dramatizing just to see him squirm. I had suffered worse injuries, these meant nothing to me and I usually hated to be thought of as a weak woman. But the guilt was quickly squashed beneath the resentment. Though he was wrong about the cause of my resentment. I didn’t resent his attack, I resented the outcome.     

“Is your lack of observation to be your excuse for the barbaric attack ? Your incompetence is the reason I’m injured, there were more than enough signs that you blatantly ignored.  I was wearing a dress and bandits are seldom as obvious a target as I was. I took no pains to hide my campsite or remove my tracks. Furthermore my physical form, even in the dark, doesn’t remotely resemble that of a man. Moreover you were pressed, rather inappropriately I might add, against my bosom when you were squashing me against that tree. Still you pretend that you did not know I was a woman. “ It was rather insulting that he mistook me for a man when I wasn’t in disguise. “ I had heard many compliments and stories of your heroics Captain but I must admit that I find myself disappointed. It seems the person who spoke so highly of you was either under some sort of delusion or had a talent for exaggeration.  And I can deal with these injuries on my own. I have neither need nor desire for your help. I do not intend to help you ease your guilt. You made a mistake therefore you’re responsible for the consequences.” With that I walked away, leaving him speechless. I’m certain no one had ever spoken to him that way before. But this time around I wasn’t playing a role. I was dropping most of my masks and acts to be myself. Too bad if he didn’t like the real me, very few people did anyways.

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The men the next morning were surprised to see me awake and ready to leave so early. They still hadn’t realized I wasn’t their typical woman. They kept trying to be gallant and help me but I didn’t need their help. They were so used to useless women that they didn’t know what to make of a self-sufficient woman like me.