Erin (book 1 of Erin Series)

eleven

Morning comes, and my mind starts to wake up. My face is buried in something warm and soft. I feel I am wrapped in something, and it feels nice. I open my eyes, to see a chest. At first I felt safe, and enjoyed being in the embrace, until I realized it was Rune that was embracing me. I quickly sit up, and push him away from me, not realizing how close he was to the edge of the bed, as he wakes up the moment he falls off the bed.
"What was that for?" he sits up, rubbing his head.
"Why were you holding on to me??" I yell back at him.
"What? You were the one who grabbed onto me! The storm was getting worse, and you were shaking. I didn't realized you were asleep, so I turned around to caress your head and comfort you. You just grabbed onto me, so when I realized you were still asleep, I did not want to wake you."
"Well you should have." I stand up and walk over to my boots.
"Wha.." He sighs. "Why do women have to be so confusing?" I hear his whisper.
I ignore him and check to make sure the boots were dry. When I see that they were, I put them on. "Get ready. I want to get out of this town soon."
"We still have to purchase clothing for the winter." he stands up stretching, his muscles flexing, showing how strong he really was.
"Well, then what are you waiting for? Hurry up."
He rolls his eyes at me, but none the less, slips on his shirt, and get ready to go.

The ground is still wet from the rain, and the air even colder than it had been. I hold onto myself, trying to keep warm as we walk through the town, looking for a shop with cloaks, and blankets. My body involuntarily shivers and when I breathe, steam comes from my breath. suddenly I feel something warm being placed on my shoulders. Rune placed his jacket on me, I turn around to look at him. "I'm fine." I start to take the jacket off.
"Just wear the damned thing." He huffs and stops at a door to a building. I stop as well, and he walks inside, with me behind him. Inside it was a bit warmer, but I still continue to shiver slightly, though not as bad because of the jacket. The room was filled with many different furs, and cloaks, and whool blankets. He immediately starts to pick up different blankets, a cloak for himself, long and black. I look around, touching the soft furs, I pick one up, but Rune comes behind me, taking it from me and setting it back.
"Those are too expensive."
"Don't you work for the queen? I thought you had plenty of money to spend?"
"She doesn't pay me that much. Here, this should fit you just fine." He hands me a grey cloak, made of wool. I try it on, it was a fine length, and it was warm, but it was itchy. I cringe at the feel, and he chuckles. "You'll get used to it. Now, lets go." He walks up to the desk, holding a large pile of blankets and more cloaks.
"How do you expect to carry all those while we travel?" I ask. "Don't you expect me to carry any of them, since you're the one buying them."
"I am going to purchase another horse. Maybe a third, so you can ride as well."
A woman walks up to the desk, older than me, but younger than him it seems. Her long brown hair hung over her shoulders, in locks of curls, her dark skin smooth. She looks at the pile, then at him, her eyes twinkling, and when her eyes meet me, she looks down, writing numbers on a paper. She gives us a price, smiling sweetly at him.
Rune sets down several coins, and her eyes widen. "Sir,-"
"Keep the change." He says picking up the pile once more, and heading out of the building. I follow him, back out into the cold, but I don't feel as cold with the cloak on. He walks toward the stable in which we left the horse, and he talks to the owner. I start getting the horse ready to leave, and a few moments later he walks back to me.
"He said we can take any two horses of out choosing. So, you go ahead and find one, I will choose one that will be strong enough to carry what we need."
"What more do we need to get?" I ask holding the reigns of the horse and handing them to him.
"Winter will be coming, therefore food will be scarce. We need to gather as much as we can."
I huff, not having a good feeling if we stay in the town much longer, but go off to find a horse of my liking. I look around at them, pet them, and examine how fast they could be if we needed to run. But my eyes caught a large white horse, her skin beautiful and pure. She is calm when I approach her, and leans her head in to let me pet her, unlike the other ones.
"I want this one." I say, looking over at Rune, who has already gotten a horse, stacking the blankets and cloaks on them. He nods at me and we exit the building with the three horses. We then walk toward the market, and pick out different breads that will last a good while if we wrap them. He places them in a bag, filling it almost half way with the amounts of bread and crackers. He finds dried meats, and gets them as well, filling the rest of the bag with them. I look around, seeing some dried fruits, but seeing we had no room for anything else, I turn away.
"Go ahead and pick up some tin cups. We will need them to melt water. I'll pick up large canteens to store them in." He says. I nod, and head off to pick up a few. While I was looking around, an older man walks up to me.
"Going on an adventure?" He asks in a ragged voice.
I turn to him and nod. He takes the tins from me, setting them back. "Those are not good ones to have. You will need some that will withstand the cold air, and not melt when you are cooking. And its best to have one large one, and a few small ones. The small ones to melt water, or brew broth in, and the large one to cook with." He picks up a few small ones, handing them to me, and walks over to a large one that came with a stand that folds up and can hold a fire underneath. He hands them to me as well.
"Just take them. I won't charge you for them." He says. I look at him confused. "Lotus finally blew up, didn't he?"
I just give him a shocked look. How did he know Lotus?
"Don't worry child. I was once part of the same group you were in. I was there when you were just a small kin. I was getting old then, but remained in the group until I was unable to fight. The captain that raised you did well. But I always saw a fire in Lotus's eyes. He wanted power, and was jealous of the captain. He also hated how well you learned. Did the captain himself retire, and put Lotus in charge?" He asks.
His face becomes more familiar, and memories pop into my mind. I remember seeing him around when I first became a part of the group, but so many people came and went, it was hard to remember all the faces. "Actually no. I would have taken the captains place. In fact, Lotus killed the captain. And I am sure he wants me dead."
His expression does not change. He just nods. "Let me see your sword."
I hesitate, but I take it out of the sheath, holding it out so he could see it. When he went to grab for it, I grip the handle, one thing I was taught was to never let go of my sword. He smirks.
"Charles taught you well. Now, your sword could use a sharpening."
"I don't have time. We have to get going." I say.
"So you are not traveling alone? Good. Where are the two of you headed?" He asks.
"I.. I'm not sure. I guess I am just traveling with him, while he tries to find out information about some war. I am looking for my parents while I travel with him."
He thinks for a moment. "You must get going then. I am sure Lotus has men searching for you at this very moment."
I nod and turn to walk out of the building with the objects in my hands.
"Erin,"
I turn to face him.
"You are meant for great things. I know you will lead well. Travel safe."
"Thank you." I turn and walk out.