Fearless // Lafayette x Reader

21. She Camps and Dreams

"Get to the horse," Laf said.

"What?" The girl asked frantically.

"Get to the horse. Now." He placed a hand on the small of her back and they walked, quickly, and then broke into a run towards their steed. When they reached it, he boosted the girl up onto its back before climbing up behind her and spurring it into a trot.

"Laf, I don't understand." She tried to turn and face him, but the jerky movement of the horse and the position of the saddle made it nearly impossible. "What's going on? What does this mean?"

"(Y/N), you have to listen to me." He tried to speak calmly through the thick haze around them, but she could hear the fear in his voice. "This means...it means that someone has been looking for you."

She was quiet.

"And it means that they have finally found you."

A shiver ran down her spine in contrast to the hot, balmy atmosphere. Someone was looking for her, coming after her.

And they knew where she was.

The smoke was lessening as they rode. "So what are we going to do?"

"Well, we are going to have to leave this horse, for starters." Laf gently slowed the horse to a stop and dismounted, motioning that she do the same. "His tracks will be very easy to follow, so let us hope he finds his way back to town, oui?"

She nodded, and they stood together and watched the horse trot away until he was out of sight.

"Now," Laf continued, "we must find our way back to the colonies."

"And how on earth are we going to do that?" She whispered. "This person following me - whoever they are - if they can set fire to a large house unnoticed, they've probably got all the harbors watched, everywhere!"

"Perhaps." Laf tilted his head up thoughtfully. "Perhaps not."

She squinted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, if there is one harbor that is still unwatched, I know which harbor it would be."

~~~

The fire crackled, orange flames licking the black sky.

Laf and (Y/N) sat in silence around their little camp. She was munching one on of the beignets from the bakery that they'd taken with them, and he was staring out into the distance.

The girl scooted closer to him. "Hey."

No response.

"You hungry?" She asked softly, holding out a pastry.

He shook his head.

She matched his expression, gazing out into the woods, but the fire kept flickering into her view.

Oddly, she was reminded of that night such a long time ago, when she sat by the fire in their first camp, and Laf came out to sit with her. They had barely known each other then. And now, they'd come so far.

"Laf?"

He didn't make any response. Glancing over, she could see tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

She swallowed. This wasn't just about her. A much as the person following them was about her, that same person also destroyed his childhood home.

"Hey. Hey!" She used the pad of her thumb to swipe a tear track off of his cheek. "I know it's a lot. It's a lot, isn't it?"

He didn't respond. She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly in her own.

"Yeah, it's a lot. I mean, fighting in a war is hard enough as it is. And now, you're just back home, and I show up. And everything suddenly explodes. You must hate me, right? It was where you grew up, and it's my fault that it's completely gone."