Long Suffer the King

XIX

A/N: oh my gosh it's been so long but because I have break soon and I have missed my little world I have finally written enough to update aaaaa!

Before she can even dismount her horse, Joan comes up to Ophelia. "Where were you?"

"I went to visit my uncle, I needed advice." Ophelia answers curtly, swinging her leg over and jumping down off her horse. she grabs the lead and ties it to the reins, guiding the mare to where the other horses were tied up for the day. Joan follows behind her. "Ophelia,"

"I understand if asking for aid from the sorcerers isn't wise. If you don't want to do it I won't be upset. It's a bad decision." she cuts in.

"That wasn't going to be my answer. I spoke with Citlali privately and she named at least four sorcerers with some of the best reputations. I believe if we find them and ask for their aid we'll be well off." Joan watches Ophelia's hands become slow as she tied the rest of the lead to a post. "And what about those who might no longer ally with us?" she asks.

"Well, that's for you to convince them. Speak to them, tell them why you're doing this. You can be convincing, Ophelia." Joan notices the book in Ophelia's hand and smiles. "I trust you'll know what to say. Words aren't lost on you."

Ophelia looks down at the ground and hears Joan start to leave. "Did you know?" she blurts out, making Joan stop and face her. "Know what?" Joan's expression is quizzical.

"That he's dying." the sentence is hard for her to get out. Joan sighs, not answering. Ophelia understands the message clearly. "If he died before I had met him would you even had told me?"

"No. What effect would his death have meant to you when you grew up without him?"

"He's family, regardless. You just don't want me turning against you." Ophelia pieces together. She doesn't receive any argument against her thought. "The only reason I'd ever go against the woman who saved me from death is if you lie to me. So stop trying to hide things, please." Ophelia walks past her, heading to her tent.

She sits on her cot and opens the book up to the first page, the book making a crinkling sound after finally being opened after so many years. Ophelia runs her hand over the page and notices how some of the ink is smudged. She turns to the next page which has a map of Anivard. It's old and she can see the places where towns that have moved over the years have been marked out and replaced.

Ophelia turns the next page, promising to go back to the map later and revising it; the map is outdated and doesn't show everything Anivard is now. She begins reading, blocking out everything else. She doesn't notice how late it is until Klaus comes into her tent with a bowl of soup. "Was starting to think you were ignoring me after siding with Joan." he chuckles, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Ophelia shakes her head, not looking up.

"You missed dinner, so I brought you something to eat." Klaus rubs his beard. She finally looks up and blushes. "Thanks, here." Ophelia sets the book off to the side and takes it, fingers grazing his. Klaus nods and smiles. "Page turner?" he motions to the book.

"It's the history of Anivard but... it seems so unreal." Ophelia answers, sipping quietly at her soup. It's cold but it's something.

Klaus leans down to untie and take his boots off so he can face her and sits cross-legged. Ophelia notices he looks cleaner than usual, his hair out of its usual bun and wet. "I see you finally cleaned up, mountain man."

He laughs and grabs the book, eyeing her for permission to look through it. Ophelia motions for him too. "Don't lose my place."

"I decided I needed a bath after training today." he replies to her earlier statement, leafing through. They have the basins to wash their faces and arms in but that's only for a few. Other than that, she realizes, the majority of them go weeks without washing. At least the smell isn't too noticeable. "Why learn all of this from a book when you can learn it verbally, through storytellers?"