The Wizard's Misery The Chronicles of the Midlands Book One

Chapter Fifteen

They started walking again and soon they were approaching another bend in the creek and as they rounded it, Celine jumped as they startled a deer that had come down to the water to drink. "Oh, my!" she said laughing softly. "I thought it was one of the hounds!" she exclaimed as its white tail disappeared through the scrub and into the forest.

They continued along and soon the brush grew right down to the edge of the creek and they had to walk through the water. Celine was glad that the creek had gotten shallow enough for rocks to peek through as they hopped from rock to rock, making their way deeper into the woods. Finally they reached an area where the underbrush receded and they could walk along the bank again.

She watched Brandon walking ahead of her and she was flattered that he had asked her to continue with him in case there was trouble. Then it occurred to her that if they encountered the soldiers they would be fleeing instead of fighting, and she began to wonder if he had ulterior motives. She remembered when he had awakened her this morning with that kiss and became thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder if he likes me?" she thought as she began to think over his behavior towards her. "Nah," she thought. "He only did it to break the magic. His behavior is all about business."

She kept on thinking about him and the kiss and then she thought about how handsome he was with his emerald green eyes and black curly hair. She liked his mustache and beard and how he kept them neatly trimmed, giving him a rugged appearance. She also liked his lean muscular body with broad shoulders and trim waist that she had seen when he had taken off his shirt. He was definitely an attractive man and she could understand why Molly had been attracted to him. "No sense in thinking like this," she reasoned after a while, realizing that she was getting herself into troubled waters. "As soon as we finish this task, he'll be taking me home and then I'll probably never see him again," she thought and sighed.

She went back to puzzling over why he had wanted to her to come along."Was it to stop me from going home by myself because of the assassins?" she asked herself as she thought about it for a moment, getting a little angry. "Well, it's too late to head back now so I might as well just continue." She was a little irritated when Brandon glanced back at her and smiled and she felt like saying something about him tricking her, but thought better of it.

"He thinks I'm just a helpless woman!" she thought getting more perturbed. "I wish I could show him just how well I can take care of myself," she thought as she imagined herself challenging him to a duel. Then her thoughts became more serious as she considered the possibility of encountering the assassins. She had never actually fought in a life or death situation before. She had only ever fought for the fun of it in friendly duels with her father and Robin and that thought startled her. Then reassuring herself, she thought, "I can take care of myself. Pa taught me well and there's not much difference between a duel and areal battle as long as you keep a cool head and don't let fear get the better of you."

It was nearing mid afternoon when Brandon stopped walking and put down his pack. "I think this is a good time to take a break and get something to eat," he said as he opened the pack and took out the bag that Bob had packed for them. "Are you hungry?" he asked as he offered her a sandwich.

"Yes, thank you," she replied, accepting it. She sat down on the bank and opened the paper wrapping and seeing that it was roast beef, she took a bite as she watched Brandon open up his.

"We're making pretty good time," he said and took a bite as Celine nodded her head in agreement.

"How far away are we from the footbridge?" Celine asked a few moments later as she turned to get her water skin.

"We're more than half way," he replied. "Soon we're going to have to be real quiet and careful since the creek runs closer to one of the smaller paths. If the soldiers are patrolling there, we should be able to hear the dogs. The dogs will help us to know where they are," he told her and then he took another bite of his sandwich.